Harvest Review: Overview, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2025

Time tracking shouldn’t slow your projects down.

If you’re dealing with missed hours, clunky timesheets, or project budgets running amok, the right tool can change your entire workflow—and that’s probably why you’re researching Harvest.

After looking at countless time tracking solutions, I found the real headache: hours lost to manual entry and late invoicing that eat into your profit and limit your oversight.

Harvest actually goes deep on solving these very problems, connecting time tracking directly to estimates, invoicing, and reporting—all through a user interface that stays out of your way.

In this review, I’ll show you how Harvest keeps your projects profitable and billing painless, with a focus on the details that help your day-to-day, not just big-picture features.

So, in this Harvest review, I’ll unpack the platform’s core features, unique integrations, pricing clarity, and critical alternatives, so you can confidently decide what fits your team.

You’ll walk away knowing the features you need to track time and make smarter billing decisions—with zero guesswork.

Let’s dive into the analysis.

Harvest Overview

I’ve researched Harvest and found they’ve been operating since 2006. Based in New York, they are an independent company focused on making time tracking exceptionally simple for you.

What impressed me is their clear focus on serving creative and professional services firms. They aren’t an all-in-one platform, a specialization I find is a huge benefit for any consultancy, agency, or software team.

My analysis for this Harvest review shows they prioritize steady, user-centric improvements over major acquisitions. This keeps the tool lean and highly effective for your daily work.

Unlike competitors that add complex monitoring, Harvest’s core strength is how it connects your tracked hours directly to invoicing. My evaluation shows this makes it a practical business tool for managing project profitability, not just a passive timesheet.

I was surprised to learn they work with over 70,000 organizations. You’ll find them used by leading creative agencies, consultancies, and even internal software development teams worldwide.

From my evaluation, Harvest’s entire strategy is staying independent and perfecting this one essential workflow. Their focus on connecting time to money directly addresses the core operational challenge facing your service business.

Now let’s examine their capabilities.

Harvest Features

Tired of guessing where your team’s time goes?

Harvest features are actually big on helping you accurately track time, manage projects, and streamline your billing process. It focuses on connecting time tracking directly to real business outcomes. Here are the five main Harvest features that help you achieve these goals.

1. Time & Expense Tracking

Losing track of billable hours?

Unrecorded time means lost revenue and inaccurate project costing. This impacts your bottom line directly if you’re not diligent.

Harvest helps you capture every minute with flexible tracking options like intuitive timers and manual entry. From my testing, the mobile app’s receipt capture really simplifies expense logging, making it quick and painless. This core Harvest feature ensures accurate records without hassle.

This means you can confidently bill clients for all your work and have precise data for project profitability insights.

2. Reporting & Analytics

Unsure about project profitability?

Lacking clear insights into project budgets or team capacity can lead to costly overruns. You need transparent data to manage effectively.

Harvest generates straightforward visual reports that provide immediate answers to critical business questions. This is where Harvest shines, offering clear project budget health and visual indicators for nearing limits. This feature provides actionable insights for managers to act swiftly.

What you get is crucial visibility, enabling you to make informed decisions and keep projects on track before issues escalate.

3. Invoicing & Payments

Billing clients still a headache?

Manually compiling invoices from disparate time logs wastes valuable administrative time. This delays getting paid and impacts your cash flow.

This is a standout Harvest feature. With a few clicks, you can pull tracked time and expenses directly into professional invoices. From my evaluation, sending invoices and tracking payments through integrations like Stripe dramatically streamlines the whole process.

This means you can create and send invoices in minutes, leading to faster payments and improved cash flow for your business.

4. Project & Team Management

Managing teams efficiently a challenge?

Keeping tabs on project progress and ensuring team accountability can be complex. You need clear oversight to prevent issues.

Harvest lets you set project budgets and assign team members, tracking progress against limits automatically. What impressed me most is how automated timesheet reminders improve compliance, ensuring everyone logs their hours. This feature provides simple project oversight.

This allows you to quickly identify if a project is over budget or if team members need to submit their time, enabling swift intervention.

5. Integrations Ecosystem

Data silos slowing you down?

Disconnected tools force double data entry and prevent a holistic view of your business. This wastes time and creates errors.

Harvest connects with dozens of popular business tools, from project management to accounting software. Here’s what I found during testing: time tracking directly within Asana or Jira truly boosts workflow efficiency. This crucial Harvest feature integrates time data across systems.

The result is a centralized hub for time data that eliminates manual transfers, streamlining your operations and ensuring data accuracy.

What I love about these Harvest features is how they work together to create a complete time and billing management system. Everything from tracking time to getting paid feels connected and logical.

Harvest Pricing

Understanding software costs shouldn’t be a puzzle.

Harvest pricing is commendably transparent, offering clear, straightforward plans that help you easily understand your investment. This approach ensures you know exactly what you’ll pay for time tracking.

Plan	Price & Features
Free	$0 • 1 user (seat) • 2 active projects • Time & expense tracking • Invoicing & reporting
Pro	$12 USD/seat/month (monthly) $10.80 USD/seat/month (annually) • Unlimited users & projects • All core features • Integrations & budgets • Prorated seat adjustments

1. Value Assessment

Clear value, easy budgeting.

From my cost analysis, Harvest’s simple per-seat model means you only pay for what your team uses, which is perfect for scaling. This pricing ensures predictable monthly costs without unexpected fees, allowing you to manage your budget effectively. I appreciate that there are no usage limits on time entries or invoices.

This means your monthly costs stay predictable as you grow, with clear upgrade paths when you need more functionality.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Evaluate before you commit.

Harvest provides a generous 30-day free trial of their Pro plan, no credit card required. What I found valuable is that you can experience all Pro features to ensure it fits your workflow before any financial commitment. Your account simply downgrades to the Free plan if you don’t upgrade.

This lets you validate ROI and user adoption before spending money, reducing the risk of expensive software mistakes.

3. Plan Comparison

Choose your perfect plan.

For individuals or small teams just starting, the Free plan is excellent, but the Pro plan truly unlocks Harvest’s full potential for growth. Budget-wise, the annual billing option offers a notable 10% discount, making it more cost-effective for established businesses. This structured pricing guides your selection.

This helps you match Harvest pricing to your team’s size and project volume, ensuring your budget aligns with actual usage requirements.

My Take: Harvest’s transparent, per-seat pricing makes it highly predictable and scalable for SMBs and agencies. It’s a straightforward model that ensures you pay only for what you truly need.

Overall, Harvest’s pricing strategy offers exceptional clarity and value, especially for businesses seeking predictable, user-based costs. I found this transparent structure helps you avoid surprises, making it a budget-friendly choice for focused time tracking.

Harvest Reviews

User feedback tells the real story.

What do actual users say about Harvest? I analyzed thousands of Harvest reviews from platforms like G2 and Capterra, compiling a balanced look at what real customers truly think about this time-tracking solution.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

High satisfaction levels are clear.

Harvest reviews consistently show high satisfaction, averaging 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2 and Capterra. What I found in user feedback is how most users appreciate the reliability and simplicity, often noting it perfectly fits their core needs. This positive pattern suggests you can expect a dependable tool.

Its dedicated focus on time tracking and invoicing drives this satisfaction, delivering precisely what users expect without unnecessary complexity.

2. Common Praise Points

Simplicity wins users over every time.

Users consistently praise Harvest’s intuitive interface and ease of use. What stands out in customer feedback is how the streamlined invoicing is a game-changer, directly linking time to payments. Excellent customer support also receives high marks.

This means you can expect a quick learning curve and faster billing cycles, freeing up valuable time for core business activities.

3. Frequent Complaints

Some limitations are consistently noted.

While generally positive, user feedback points to desires for more advanced reporting. Power users often note that cross-project analytics or granular data filtering require exporting data. Review-wise, the mobile app’s basic functionality for administrative tasks is a recurring complaint.

These issues aren’t typically deal-breakers but indicate Harvest isn’t a full project management suite; it excels as a specialized time-tracking tool.

Overall, Harvest reviews paint a picture of a highly effective, reliable time-tracking solution. What I found is that user feedback is consistently positive regarding its core functionality and ease. It’s ideal for businesses prioritizing streamlined billing.

Best Harvest Alternatives

Choosing the right time tracking tool is tough.

The best Harvest alternatives include several strong options, each offering distinct advantages for different business sizes, budgets, and operational needs. I’ll guide you through your choices.

1. Toggl Track

Want more automated time capture?

Toggl Track offers a similar clean interface but uniquely features a ‘Timeline’ to automatically record your app and website usage. What I found comparing options is that this alternative streamlines passive time capture, helping you fill timesheets effortlessly and accurately. It’s ideal for those who often forget to manually start timers.

Choose Toggl Track if your priority is highly automated activity tracking and effortless timesheet completion within a simple, intuitive setup.

2. Clockify

Is budget your absolute top priority?

Clockify stands out with its incredibly generous ‘free forever’ plan for unlimited users and projects, making it a compelling Harvest alternative. From my competitive analysis, Clockify provides robust core features at no cost, perfect for startups or larger teams on a tight budget. Paid plans are also very affordable.

Choose Clockify when budget is your primary concern and you need a free or very low-cost solution, even for a growing team.

3. Everhour

Live inside your project management tool?

Everhour excels with its deep, native integrations into popular project management tools like Asana, Trello, and ClickUp. Alternative-wise, Everhour embeds time tracking directly into your PMs, allowing your team to track hours without ever leaving their primary workspace. This creates a highly integrated workflow.

Choose Everhour if your team primarily uses a project management tool and desires time tracking to be an organic, embedded part of that system.

Ultimately, the best Harvest alternatives depend on your specific operational needs and how you prioritize features like automation, budget, or integrations. Consider your team’s workflow and existing tools for the ideal fit.

Setup & Implementation

Wondering about Harvest’s setup process?

Your Harvest review analysis starts here. Harvest implementation is known for its remarkable simplicity, promising a quick and painless setup. This section offers practical guidance on what to expect during deployment.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Getting started is remarkably simple.

Harvest implementation is exceptionally straightforward, with most teams ready in under a day. The process involves inviting members and setting up projects. From my implementation analysis, expect minimal time investment for core setup, unlike more complex software.

Plan for a few hours to invite your team, define initial projects, and connect essential integrations for a smooth start.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

No complex tech demands here.

As a web-based SaaS platform, Harvest requires no special server or hardware, running on any modern browser. The optional desktop/mobile apps are lightweight. What I found about deployment is that CSV import simplifies initial data population for clients and projects.

Ensure your team has modern web browsers. If migrating data, prepare your client and project lists in CSV format for easy import.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption comes naturally.

Harvest boasts an intuitive, self-explanatory user interface, meaning minimal formal training is needed for your staff. From my analysis, the learning curve is exceptionally low, allowing teams to become productive almost instantly, which greatly aids implementation success.

Focus on brief onboarding sessions covering core time tracking and expense entry. Leverage their excellent help center for any specific feature questions.

4. Support & Success Factors

Excellent support simplifies implementation.

Harvest offers a comprehensive online Help Center and highly praised email support. What I found about deployment is that their responsive support aids quick issue resolution, contributing significantly to a successful, uninterrupted setup process.

Familiarize yourself with their Help Center resources. Don’t hesitate to contact their responsive support team for any questions that arise during setup.

Overall, Harvest implementation is remarkably easy, especially for SMBs seeking a focused time tracking solution. It emphasizes quick setup and high user adoption, requiring minimal IT overhead.

Who’s Harvest For

Your business needs a time tracking solution.

This Harvest review helps you understand who the software serves best. I’ll analyze specific business profiles, team sizes, and common use cases to guide your decision, ensuring you quickly determine if it truly fits your operational needs.

1. Ideal User Profile

Service-based teams prioritizing simple billing.

Harvest is ideal for small to medium-sized service businesses like creative agencies, consultancies, or software development shops. From my user analysis, teams valuing straightforward time-to-invoice workflows find Harvest incredibly efficient for turning tracked hours directly into revenue. It’s built for those who need reliable, no-frills time and expense logging without unnecessary complexity.

You’ll see strong success if your primary need is accurate time tracking for streamlined client billing and high-level project profitability insights, focusing on simplicity.

2. Business Size & Scale

Scalable simplicity for growing teams.

Harvest accommodates teams from 1 to 200 employees, hitting a sweet spot for small to mid-sized operations that need a robust yet unintrusive tool. Your team will find this works well if you require a reliable system without the overhead of enterprise-level software. It supports businesses expanding their client base.

You’ll know it’s a fit if your current size demands reliable time-tracking and basic project budgeting, not complex resource planning.

3. Use Case Scenarios

Time tracking to billing, made easy.

Harvest excels at transforming tracked hours and expenses directly into client invoices. User-wise, your situation works best if you need to monitor project profitability and team utilization through clean reporting, rather than granular task management. It streamlines the entire billing cycle.

You’ll appreciate this solution if your core workflow involves billable hours and straightforward client invoicing without complex project management features.

4. Who Should Look Elsewhere

Not for complex project management.

Harvest isn’t ideal for large enterprises needing advanced project management features like Gantt charts, task dependencies, or extensive resource allocation. What I found about target users is that power users seeking deeply customizable reporting for cross-project analytics may find its capabilities too basic.

Consider dedicated project management or business intelligence tools if your priority is comprehensive task oversight or highly granular data analysis.

Ultimately, who should use Harvest hinges on your need for simple, reliable time tracking and streamlined billing processes. This Harvest review highlights it’s ideal for businesses prioritizing ease over complex solutions. It’s about finding the right tool for your specific operational scale.

Bottom Line

Is Harvest the right fit for your team?

Based on my comprehensive Harvest review, this verdict synthesizes its core strengths and limitations, guiding your decision to see if it aligns with your specific operational needs.

1. Overall Strengths

Simplicity fuels core business processes.

Harvest excels by prioritizing intuitive design, making time tracking and invoicing exceptionally easy for users. Its reliable platform and responsive customer support are frequently praised. From my comprehensive analysis, streamlined invoicing saves hours monthly for businesses, directly connecting tracked time to accelerated billing.

These strengths ensure high user adoption and immediate value, turning a typically mundane task into a highly efficient workflow.

2. Key Limitations

Limitations require specific use case alignment.

While excellent at its core, Harvest isn’t a full project management tool, lacking features like task dependencies. Some users also desire more advanced, customizable reporting beyond basic budget tracking. Based on this review, mobile app functionality is primarily for tracking, not full administrative tasks.

These drawbacks are not deal-breakers if your core need is time tracking and billing, but they are crucial considerations for broader project management needs.

3. Final Recommendation

A clear choice for specific teams.

You should choose Harvest if your business prioritizes straightforward time tracking, accurate project billing, and a clean user experience over complex project management features. From my analysis, it excels for creative agencies and consultancies seeking simple, powerful financial clarity.

Your decision should weigh its focused functionality against any need for comprehensive PM tools. Explore the trial with confidence if billing is your priority.

My Harvest review shows a highly effective tool for focused needs, providing strong confidence in its targeted value. It simplifies crucial financial processes for many businesses.