ERPNext HR Review: Frappe HR, the Open-Source HR and Payroll App

Name: ERPNext HR
Brand: Frappe
Availability: InStock

ERPNext HR no longer ships inside ERPNext. From version 14, Frappe moved the HR and payroll modules into a separate app called Frappe HR (repository frappe/hrms). It still lists ERPNext as a required app, so installing Frappe HR means installing ERPNext alongside it.

It covers the employee lifecycle, shifts and attendance, leave, expense claims and advances, performance, recruitment, and payroll with tax. There are no per-user fees: you self-host for free or pay Frappe Cloud per site, from $5 a month.

Rajat·Editorial Lead, Software Evaluation·Updated October 17, 2026·Fact-checked by Chandrasmita

The verdict

Frappe HR is an actively maintained open-source HR and payroll app: release v15.64.2 shipped on 23 September 2026 and the GitHub repository has close to 9,000 stars. If your company already runs ERPNext for accounting, adding Frappe HR is the obvious move, because salary slips and expense claims post straight into the ERPNext ledger. If you do not, you will be installing an ERP to get an HR system, which is worth doing only if you might use ERPNext's accounting later.

Payroll is real, not a stub. You define salary structures and components, income-tax slabs, additional salaries and off-cycle payments, and the app produces salary slips with an income breakdown. Frappe also advertises India-specific payroll with tax regimes, EPF, Professional Tax and ESI. For other countries you configure the rules yourself or hire a Frappe partner, so treat statutory filings outside India as a configuration project.

Licensing needs a note. The licence file in the frappe/hrms repository is the GNU GPL v3, and GitHub classifies the project as GPL-3.0, while the Frappe HR web page describes it as AGPL-3.0. Either way it is copyleft: you can run and modify it freely, but distributing modified versions carries obligations. Check with counsel if you plan to resell a customised build.

Support comes from the ecosystem rather than a single vendor desk. Frappe says more than 20,000 developers and 180 partners work with its products, and Frappe Cloud itself is built on an open-source platform (frappe/press). In practice that means a choice between Frappe's own paid warranty, a local partner, or your own developers.

Where ERPNext HR fits

Who it suits

Companies already on ERPNext, Indian employers wanting an open-source payroll with EPF, ESI and Professional Tax, and technically capable teams that want to own their HR data and customise it with Frappe's low-code tools.

It is a poor match for a US or European company that wants payroll tax filing handled for it: Frappe HR calculates pay from the rules you configure but is not a payroll service, and it does not file with tax authorities on your behalf the way a commercial payroll provider does.

What it does differently

The ERPNext link sets it apart from other open-source HR tools. Expense claims, advances and payroll post to the same general ledger without an integration, and the Frappe Framework lets you add fields, forms and reports without forking the code. Odoo Community, the closest peer, leaves payroll and appraisals out of its free edition; Frappe HR includes both in the open-source app.

How it gets bought

Good fit for SMBs and mid-market companies with some technical capacity or a Frappe partner. Poor fit for a non-technical HR team that expects a vendor to handle payroll compliance across several countries.

Frappe HR pricing: free licence, paid hosting

The software costs nothing. Real costs are hosting, set-up and support. A small company on Frappe Cloud's Sites plan starts at $5 a month for the whole site regardless of headcount; a larger install on a dedicated server starts at $40 a month.

Self-hosting removes the hosting bill but adds server administration, backups and version upgrades. Most companies without an in-house Python developer either use Frappe Cloud or pay one of Frappe's partners for implementation.

Plan	Published price	Annual
Self-hosted	$0 licence	Not stated
Frappe Cloud Sites	From $5/month per site	Not stated
Frappe Cloud Servers	From $40/month	Not stated

Pricing last checked September 25, 2026. View source

Per site, not per employee

Because Frappe Cloud bills per site or server, cost stays flat as headcount grows. A 300-person company can pay the same hosting fee as a 30-person one if the server is sized appropriately.

Frappe also sells an optional product warranty with a priority SLA for its apps, for teams that want vendor support.

Implementation is the big line

Configuring salary components, leave policies, holiday lists and approval workflows takes time. Budget partner days or internal developer time, especially for payroll outside India.

The full ERPNext HR pricing breakdown

Frappe HR features: attendance, leave, expenses and payroll

Employee lifecycle and recruitment

Onboarding, promotions, transfers and exit interviews are tracked on the employee record. Recruitment handles job openings and requisitions.

Exit interviews. Feedback is documented as part of offboarding.

Low-code customisation. Add fields, forms and reports through the Frappe Framework.

Shifts, attendance and leave

Configure leave policies, pull regional holiday lists, and let employees check in and out with geolocation captured. Balances and attendance have their own reports.

Shift management. Shift types and assignments tie into attendance.

Mobile check-in. Check-in and check-out from the mobile app.

Expenses, performance and payroll

Expense claims and advances run through multi-level approvals and post to ERPNext accounting. Performance management covers goals, key result areas, self-evaluation and appraisal cycles. Payroll handles salary structures, tax slabs and salary slips.

India payroll. Tax regimes, EPF, Professional Tax and ESI.

Off-cycle pay. Additional salaries and off-cycle payments outside the regular run.

Hosting and deployment

Frappe HR can be self-hosted with Docker and docker-compose, or run on Frappe Cloud, which handles installation, upgrades, monitoring and backups. Frappe Cloud runs on several providers and regions, including AWS, OCI and Hetzner.

Frappe UI. The newer interfaces use Frappe UI, a Vue-based component library, on top of the Python and JavaScript Frappe Framework.

REST API. The Frappe Framework exposes a REST API for integrating HR data with other systems.

Frappe HR pros and cons

Strengths

Payroll included in the open-source app
Salary structures, tax slabs, additional salaries and off-cycle payments are part of the free app, not an enterprise upgrade.
Native ERPNext accounting
Payroll entries, expense claims and employee advances post to ERPNext accounts directly.
Flat hosting cost
Frappe Cloud charges per site from $5 a month, not per user.
Mobile app
Employees apply for leave, check in and out and view their profile from the Frappe HR mobile app; managers approve on the go.

Limitations

Requires ERPNext underneath
Frappe HR lists ERPNext as a required app. Companies that only want HR still install and maintain an ERP, which adds weight to upgrades and to the data model you have to learn.
Statutory payroll outside India needs configuration
Frappe markets India payroll specifically. Other countries' tax and social-security rules have to be configured by you or a partner.
Self-hosting burden
If you self-host, you own servers, backups, security patches and major-version upgrades.
Licence wording differs between sources
The repository licence is GPL v3 while the product page says AGPL-3.0. Confirm which applies before distributing modified code.

ERPNext HR now ships as Frappe HR, a standalone app split out of ERPNext from version 14 and released under the AGPL-3.0 license. It covers attendance, shifts, leave, expenses, appraisals and payroll, and can be self-hosted for free or run on Frappe Cloud, so the real cost is hosting and implementation time.

How to trial Frappe HR (no demo needed)

There is no sales-led demo to book for the open-source app. You evaluate it by installing it or starting a Frappe Cloud trial.

Start a 14-day Frappe Cloud trial with Frappe HR installed, because it gives you a working system without setting up servers.
Load one month of real payroll data and compare salary slips to your current provider, since payroll configuration is where most of the effort lies.
Decide early whether you will self-host or stay on Frappe Cloud, as that choice determines who handles upgrades and backups.
Talk to a Frappe partner if you are outside India, because statutory payroll for your country will need configuration someone must own.

Frequently asked questions about ERPNext HR

Is ERPNext HR the same as Frappe HR?

Yes. The HR and payroll modules that used to live inside ERPNext became a separate app, Frappe HR, from version 14.

Is Frappe HR free?

Yes. The software is open source and free to self-host. Frappe Cloud hosting starts at $5 a month per site.

What licence is Frappe HR under?

The GitHub repository's licence file is GNU GPL v3; Frappe's product page says AGPL-3.0. Both are copyleft licences.

Does Frappe HR include payroll?

Yes. Salary structures, tax slabs, salary slips and off-cycle payments are included, with India-specific payroll features.

Do I need ERPNext to use Frappe HR?

Yes, technically. Frappe HR declares ERPNext as a required app, so ERPNext is installed with it, although you do not have to use ERPNext's other modules.

Is there a mobile app?

Yes. The Frappe HR mobile app covers leave, check-in and check-out, approvals and employee profiles.

Alternatives worth comparing

Teams weighing Frappe HR tend to line it up against Odoo's free edition and a few self-hostable HR or timesheet projects.

Product	Pricing model	Free trial	Why buyers shortlist it
Rippling	Modular pricing	Not stated	Rippling is the HR platform that refused to stay in its lane.
HiBob	Custom quote	Not stated	HiBob, marketed as 'Bob', is the HR platform that mid-market companies choose when they want something more modern than [BambooHR](/software/bamboohr) but less enterprise than [Workday](/software/workday).
greytHR	Tiered pricing	Yes	greytHR, from Greytip Software, is a rupee-priced HRMS and payroll system for Indian SMBs and mid-sized firms.
Darwinbox	Custom quote	Not stated	Darwinbox is an enterprise HCM suite, founded in 2015, that reports 1,400+ organizations and 4.5 million employees.
Workday HCM	Custom quote	Not stated	[Workday](/software/workday) HCM is the enterprise human capital management platform that competes head-to-head with SAP SuccessFactors and Oracle HCM Cloud for the largest organizations in the world.

All ERPNext HR alternatives