In short:
- Five software tools that publish a time and attendance or HR offer were assessed on 24 October 2026 against eight public criteria: Skello, Factorial, Combo, Lucca and PayFit.
- Skello scores 8 out of 8, ahead of Factorial (6 out of 8), Combo (5 out of 8), Lucca and PayFit (3 out of 8 each, ranked as tied).
- All five publish an entry price and pass recorded hours and absences on to payroll, in their own software or through an export to third-party payroll software.
- Kelio, the subject of this article, is not ranked: its vendor reports 20,000 customers worldwide and combines time management, payroll and access control.
A Kelio alternative is often on the table when the way work is organised changes: shift-based teams whose schedule moves every week, new sites opening, clocking in from a phone, payroll to reconcile with hours. This ranking compares five time and attendance and HR software tools on the same criteria, based on the public pages of their vendors. Kelio, the subject of the article, is not part of it. The grid and the detailed scores are in the “Ranking methodology” section.
The 2026 ranking in one table
| Rank | Software | Overall score | Published offer | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skello | 8 / 8 | time clock pack from €59/month, scheduling plus time clock from €99/month (French price list) | shift-based sites that start from the schedule |
| 2 | Factorial | 6 / 8 | HR suite from €6.9/month per user | SMBs centralising all their HR |
| 3 | Combo | 5 / 8 | Time offer from €68 per site per month | shops and restaurants that follow their collective agreement in the schedule |
| 4 tied | Lucca | 3 / 8 | timesheets €3.00 and absences €3.11 excl. VAT per employee per month | companies that switch on HR modules one at a time |
| 4 tied | PayFit | 3 / 8 | €49/month, plus €20 per employee per month | companies that want payroll and clocking in one tool |
1. Skello: scheduling, clocking and payroll linked
Skello is HR software for frontline teams and says it equips 30,000 teams and their 700,000 employees. Its offer starts from the schedule: schedule alerts are predefined according to the company’s collective agreement, the schedule is sent to staff by email, text message and the mobile app, and a manager of several sites runs all of them from a single space. The vendor publishes an offer dedicated to restaurants and hotels, built around the French hotels, cafés and restaurants collective agreement (HCR).
Clocking follows the same thread. Staff clock in and out on a tablet placed in the venue, or from their phone when they are on the move, with geolocation. Timesheets are signed electronically, the tool connects to point-of-sale systems, and pay variables are exported to whichever payroll tool the company uses. Skello also offers an AI assistant, a payroll service from 20 euros per month per employee, and a Recruitment option from 40 euros per month, which posts ads to more than 15 job platforms, including Indeed, LinkedIn, France Travail and Google for Jobs, then automatically creates the new hire’s employee record.
On price, Skello starts from 59 euros per month per site on its French price list: Badgeuse (time clock) Standard from 59 euros, Planning Standard from 79 euros and Duo Standard, scheduling plus time clock, from 99 euros per month, with Max versions at 89, 109 and 129 euros and a 10% discount for an annual commitment. The vendor applies the regulations of 7 European countries, offers a 14-day free trial with no commitment, and support by live chat, email and phone, the latter Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 6 pm.
To place these features in a wider project, our time tracking software guide details what a tool needs to cover to follow changing hours.
2. Factorial: time tracking inside a full HR suite
Factorial is an HR suite available from 6.9 euros per month per user. For time tracking, employees clock in on the device the company chooses, such as a tablet, or by QR code and geolocation, and managers set their teams’ work schedules. The data then feeds the automatic completion of payslips in the payroll software most used in France, such as Silae.
The suite also covers recruiting, with an applicant tracking system that posts ads to the main job platforms. Factorial publishes local versions in Spain, Germany and Italy, each with pages on the country’s working time recording obligations, and offers a free trial period to small businesses. Its team can be reached Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm, by phone, email or chat. Our overview of HRIS software for small business details how this kind of suite is positioned.
3. Combo: the schedule and the collective agreement
Combo is scheduling and time tracking software whose Time offer starts at 68 euros per site per month. Its staff scheduling comes with collective agreement alerts, visual alerts that help the schedule stay compliant while it is being built. Employees clock in with two clicks from a tablet or smartphone, with geolocation for mobile teams, and variable pay items are calculated automatically and exported to the payroll software.
Combo publishes pages dedicated to full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants and hotels, offers a free trial with no commitment, and its team answers live on chat. The vendor also has a Spanish version, with an office in Madrid.
4. Tied - Lucca: HR modules switched on one at a time
Lucca sells its HR software by module, per employee per month: Timesheets at 3.00 euros excluding VAT, Absences at 3.11 euros and Recruitment at 3.21 euros, with no minimum commitment period. Time tracking accepts three entry modes, self-declared, virtual time clock or physical time clock, and payroll preparation goes through an export or through connectors to Silae and Yeap.
The Recruitment module posts ads to the job boards the company picks, through multiposting. Lucca publishes local versions in Spain, Germany and Switzerland, with each country’s working time recording obligations, and its customer support answers every working day from 9 am to 5 pm.
4. Tied - PayFit: payroll and clocking in one tool
PayFit is first and foremost payroll software, priced at a 49-euro monthly subscription plus 20 euros per employee per month, or 26 euros per month per employee for SMBs. Its online digital time clock is switched on from the time and activity module, and the essential pay variables, leave, absences, bonuses and expenses, flow automatically into payroll.
Its customer service is available Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm by live chat and email, and Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm by phone. PayFit publishes a French and a Spanish version, and offers the first month of subscription until 31 October 2026. To compare payroll-centred tools, our guide to the criteria for choosing payroll software complements this ranking.
Kelio, the software from Bodet Software
Kelio is the HR, time management, payroll and access control software of Bodet Software, whose software business was spun off from the Bodet group in 2012. The vendor launched its first time management software, Temporel, in 1987, then Kelio in 2001, and today reports 20,000 customers worldwide and 5 million users every day. It operates in Germany, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Its offer brings together time management, payroll, personnel administration, talent management and access control, with its own time clocks, badges and readers. Time data is collected through the time clocks, but also from a PC, tablet or smartphone, with the option of switching on geolocation. The schedule raises an alert when working hours are exceeded or rest periods are not respected, and the pay variables file is exported to the payroll software. Kelio offers free, personalised demonstrations and publishes offers by sector: local authorities and public administration, retail and distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, services, transport and logistics.
Looking for a Kelio alternative often means looking for another starting point: the schedule of shift-based teams, an all-in-one HR suite for an SMB, or payroll.
Measuring working time: an obligation for everyone
Measuring working time is not optional, whichever tool is chosen.
“Member States must require employers to set up an objective, reliable and accessible system enabling the duration of time worked each day by each worker to be measured.” Court of Justice of the European Union, judgment C-55/18, 14 May 2019
When choosing software, this first means a daily record of the hours actually worked by each employee. Alerts while the schedule is being built, on maximum hours and rest periods, also help spot an overrun before it happens, rather than at payroll time.
Understanding the billing models
Vendors do not bill on the same basis: to compare prices, bring them back to your own headcount and number of sites. The examples below are those shown on the vendors’ websites in October 2026.
| Billing model | Published example | What drives the cost |
|---|---|---|
| Per site | Skello from €59/month per site; Combo Time from €68/month per site | the number of sites |
| Per user | Factorial from €6.9/month per user | headcount |
| Per module and per employee | Lucca timesheets €3.00, absences €3.11 excl. VAT per month | headcount and active modules |
| Subscription plus per-employee cost | PayFit €49/month, plus €20 per employee per month | headcount on payroll |
| Price set per project | Kelio, prices set according to several criteria | the scope chosen |
Per-site billing weighs little on a site with many employees; per-user billing tracks a small team most closely.
Switching workforce management software: what to watch
Changing HR software directly touches payroll, which explains the fears. Total cost is the first reflex: over three years, add subscription, rollout and maintenance, hardware included. The choice of an HRIS also depends on the industry, as our analysis of HRIS by industry details.
Three common mistakes
- Neglecting the transfer of leave and time-off balances: a mistransferred balance creates a dispute with the teams
- Cutting the old tool without a double-run period: plan two weeks running both in parallel over a full payroll cycle
- Underestimating manager training: a schedule opened from a phone is adopted in hours, a manager interface in days
Ranking methodology
The five software tools were assessed on 24 October 2026 against the same eight criteria, based on the public pages of their vendors (pricing, features, support and contact pages, country websites). Only vendors that publish an offer for time and attendance or HR software are ranked. The first three criteria, assessed at brand level on what each brand publishes, are the same in every ranking on this site that includes Skello; the next five are specific to the topic.
Scoring grid. Each criterion that is met earns 1 point and is marked Yes. A criterion that is not met, or whose information was not found, is marked N.A (not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team) and earns 0 points. All criteria have the same weight, 1/8 of the overall score each (about 12%). The position follows from the overall score. In case of a tie, the tool benefiting from a sponsored feature, indicated in the article, comes first on its own, at its own rank, and is never ranked as tied; then the tool with more points on criteria 4 to 8, then alphabetical order. Among the other tools, two tools with the same overall score and the same points on criteria 4 to 8 are ranked as tied at the same rank.
| Criterion | What earns the point |
|---|---|
| 1. International presence | local version (website and labour regulations of the country) in 3 or more countries outside France, published by the brand |
| 2. Free trial | free trial of 14 days or more, with no commitment, published by the brand |
| 3. Multichannel customer support | customer support reachable by chat, email and phone, with opening hours published by the brand |
| 4. Published pricing | an entry price published on the vendor’s website |
| 5. Tablet clock-in | employees clock in on a tablet, offered by the vendor |
| 6. Geolocated mobile clock-in | clock-in from the employee’s phone with geolocation |
| 7. Compliance alerts in the schedule | alerts on working time rules (maximum hours, rest periods, collective agreement or law) while the schedule is being built |
| 8. Payroll data handover | recorded hours and absences feed payroll, in the vendor’s payroll software or through an export to third-party payroll software |
Results.
| Criterion | Skello | Factorial | Combo | Lucca | PayFit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. International presence | Yes | Yes | N.A | Yes | N.A |
| 2. Free trial | Yes | N.A | N.A | N.A | N.A |
| 3. Multichannel customer support | Yes | Yes | N.A | N.A | Yes |
| 4. Published pricing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 5. Tablet clock-in | Yes | Yes | Yes | N.A | N.A |
| 6. Geolocated mobile clock-in | Yes | Yes | Yes | N.A | N.A |
| 7. Compliance alerts in the schedule | Yes | N.A | Yes | N.A | N.A |
| 8. Payroll data handover | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Overall score | 8 / 8 | 6 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 3 / 8 | 3 / 8 |
| Points on criteria 4 to 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.
Which Kelio alternative fits your profile
The right choice depends on the company profile as much as on the overall score. Three cases cover most situations.
Shift-based teams
Restaurants, hotels, shops, healthcare facilities, multiple sites: the need is a schedule that changes every week and clocking tied to that schedule. Skello and Combo both combine collective agreement alerts while the schedule is being built, tablet clocking in the venue and geolocated mobile clocking, with per-site billing.
SMBs that want a full HR suite
For a company that wants time, schedules, recruiting and payroll preparation in a single tool, Factorial covers all of it in one suite. Lucca lets you move module by module, starting with timesheets or absences.
Payroll-centred organisations
When the payslip is the main issue, PayFit combines payroll and a digital time clock. The other tools in the ranking also pass hours on to payroll: pay variable export at Skello, which also offers a payroll service, automatic payslip completion in Silae at Factorial, Silae and Yeap connectors at Lucca, export to the payroll software at Combo.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best alternatives to Kelio?
In this ranking of five software tools assessed on 24 October 2026 against eight public criteria, Skello scores 8 out of 8: schedule alerts predefined according to the collective agreement, clocking on a tablet or from a phone with geolocation, pay variable export, a 14-day free trial and an offer from 59 euros per month per site. Factorial follows (6 out of 8) with its HR suite from 6.9 euros per month per user, ahead of Combo (5 out of 8), whose Time offer starts at 68 euros per site per month. Lucca, which sells its modules from 3.00 euros excluding VAT per employee per month, and PayFit, payroll software at 49 euros per month plus 20 euros per employee, score 3 out of 8 each and are ranked as tied.
What is the best Kelio alternative for time tracking?
On the five criteria specific to time tracking (criteria 4 to 8 of the grid), Skello and Combo each score 5 points: published price, tablet clocking, geolocated mobile clocking, compliance alerts while the schedule is built and handover of hours to payroll. Skello links the schedule, the time clock and the pay variable export from 59 euros per month per site; Combo combines collective agreement alerts with clocking in two clicks from a tablet or smartphone, from 68 euros per site per month. Factorial meets 4 of these 5 criteria within a full HR suite.
How much does a Kelio alternative cost?
On the vendors’ websites in October 2026: Skello from 59 euros per month per site (time clock Standard), 79 euros for Planning Standard and 99 euros for Duo Standard on its French price list; Combo from 68 euros per site per month; Factorial from 6.9 euros per month per user; Lucca per module, 3.00 euros excluding VAT per employee per month for timesheets and 3.11 euros for absences; PayFit at 49 euros per month plus 20 euros per employee per month. Kelio sets its prices according to several criteria.
Is there a Kelio alternative without a physical time clock?
Yes. Skello, Factorial and Combo offer clocking on a tablet and from the employee’s phone with geolocation, Lucca a virtual time clock and PayFit an online digital time clock. Kelio also offers, alongside its time clocks, time data collection from a PC, tablet or smartphone, with geolocation that can be switched on.
Which Kelio alternative should you choose for hospitality and restaurants?
Skello publishes an offer dedicated to restaurants and hotels, built around the French hotels, cafés and restaurants collective agreement, with schedule alerts predefined according to the collective agreement and clocking on a tablet in the venue or from staff phones. Combo publishes pages for full-service restaurants, quick-service restaurants and hotels, with collective agreement alerts, from 68 euros per site per month.