Darwin vs Zoho People
Darwin
mercer.com
Zoho People
zoho.comSide by side
| Figure | Darwin | Zoho People |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $1.25/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 11 |
| Spec score · Benefits Administration Software | 7.4 (#19) | 8.5 (#2) |
| Integrations | Darwin transfers data between HR, payroll, and third-party provider systems and uses SFTP, API, and SSO for connectivity. | Listed integrations include Zoho Payroll, Zoho Analytics, Recruit, Projects, CRM, Books, Expense, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Xero, Adobe Sign, DocuSign, Zapier and Zoho Flow. |
| Security | Darwin’s hosting partner NaviSite has ISO 27001:2015-accredited data centers that are SOC 1 and SOC 2 compliant, and the page says Darwin is hosted on a private cloud. | Zoho states that People uses AES-256 encryption at rest, multi-factor authentication, access controls, activity logs and replicated backups. |
Plans
Zoho People
- FreeFree
- Essential HRPriced on request
- ProfessionalPriced on request
- PremiumPriced on request
- EnterprisePriced on request
- FreeFree
- Essential HR$1.25 a month
- Professional$2 a month
- Premium$3 a month
- Enterprise$4.50 a month
In their own words
Darwin
Darwin is Mercer’s global employee benefits platform for administering benefits and helping employees learn about, enroll in and manage them. Employees use a personalized digital experience that includes mobile enrollment, while employers can customize the interface and content to reflect their brand. The platform’s Reward, Control and Analytics centers serve employees, administrators and decision makers. It automates enrollment, eligibility, life-event and open-enrollment processes. Analytics cover benefits usage and costs, benchmarking, and scenario tools for plan decisions and cost control. Darwin connects with HR and payroll systems and Mercer Marsh Benefits’ Benefits You App, and can centralize benefits across locations and countries. Employees can submit reimbursement claims from a desktop, laptop or smartphone; approved claims are reimbursed in their next pay packet. Mercer describes privacy protections including GDPR compliance, employee consent capture, data minimization and auditable logs. AI features vary across regional pages: the US page lists AI Chat Assistant and AI Creative Assistant, while the UK page describes the chat assistant as coming soon and other assistants as in development. Darwin is available on web, Android and iOS. Pricing is on request.