From each company's own website, checked in October 2026. Products change: confirm anything that matters with them.
| Keelsum | SeamlessHR | Workpay | PaidHR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | On a server you control | Their cloud | Their cloud (“cloud based solution”) | Their cloud |
| How you pay | Once, by company size; optional yearly plan | Subscription plans (Lite, Core, Advantage, Custom) | Monthly plans, priced in US dollars | Plans by headcount (Standard, Enterprise, Custom) |
| Prices on the website | No: a fixed price in writing after a demo | No, by quote | No, by quote | No, by quote |
| HR records, leave, self-service | Included | Included | Leave and documents from the Grow plan | Included |
| Payroll, PAYE and pension | Included | Included | Included | Included, with statutory remittance |
| Attendance by location | Included, GPS or QR, works offline | Geofencing, timesheets and shifts | GPS attendance as an add-on | Not listed on its pricing page |
| Recruitment and performance | Included | Included | Performance as an add-on | Not listed on its pricing page |
| Accounting | Built in: ledger, invoices, bills, bank reconciliation, reports | Connects to accounting apps | Connects to accounting software (Grow plan) | Not listed on its pricing page |
| Safety: certificates, PPE, incidents | Included | Not listed on its pricing page | Not listed on its pricing page | Not listed on its pricing page |
| Pays salaries out | No: you pay through your bank | Yes, direct disbursement | Yes, bulk disbursement | Employee wallet |
| Salary advances | Staff loans, repaid through payroll | Payroll financing | Savings and loans (Grow plan) | Earned wage access |
| Countries | Nigeria first; installed anywhere | Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa | “Coverage across 54 African countries” | Nigeria; pays global teams in other currencies |
| Stated customers | New: ask us for references | “1,000+ companies” | “200k+ employee payrolls processed” | Not stated on its pricing page |
Sources: the pricing pages of SeamlessHR, Workpay and PaidHR, October 2026. “Not listed” means we could not find it there, not that it does not exist. SeamlessHR, Workpay and PaidHR are trademarks of their owners, who have not reviewed this page. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Honestly
Subscriptions are priced per employee per month, so the bill grows with every hire and every price rise. Keelsum is one payment for your size, plus an optional yearly plan and the cost of your own server.
Which is cheaper depends on your headcount and the fee you are quoted. For a small team on a low fee, a subscription can cost less. The calculator shows what a subscription would cost you over five years; ask us for your Keelsum price and compare.
SeamlessHR, Workpay and PaidHR are cloud services you subscribe to. Keelsum is bought once and installed on a server you control, with accounting, safety compliance and operations included alongside HR and payroll.
SeamlessHR, Workpay and PaidHR list salary disbursement or employee wallets. Keelsum works out the payroll and payslips, and you pay through your bank. If paying salaries from the HR system matters most, one of them may suit you better today.
When we checked in October 2026, none of the three showed prices on their pricing pages; each asks you to request a quote. Keelsum gives a fixed price in writing after a short demo.
Yes. Export your staff list, leave balances and payroll history from your current system as spreadsheets, and we import them when we set Keelsum up.
Book a demo
Book a 30-minute demo. We will show how Keelsum handles your sites, your leave rules and your payroll, and talk through hosting on your own server.