Harvest vs MakeShift Comparison: Reviews, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2026

Detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right solution for your team

Updated Apr 2026 8 min read

Harvest

0.0 (0 reviews)

Harvest is a cloud-based time tracking and invoicing software that helps teams manage projects, track billable hours, and monitor budgets to ensure profitability across all client engagements.

Starting at Free
Free Trial 30 days
VS

MakeShift

0.0 (0 reviews)

MakeShift is a cloud-based employee scheduling software that helps you create rotas faster, track time accurately, and communicate with your team through a simple mobile-first interface.

Starting at $2.75/mo
Free Trial 14 days

Quick Comparison

Feature Harvest MakeShift
Website harvestapp.com makeshift.ca
Pricing Model Freemium Subscription
Starting Price Free $2.75/month
FREE Trial ✓ 30 days free trial ✓ 14 days free trial
Free Plan ✓ Has free plan ✘ No free plan
Product Demo ✓ Request demo here ✓ Request demo here
Deployment cloud mobile desktop saas mobile
Integrations Slack Asana Trello Basecamp QuickBooks Online Xero Stripe PayPal Google Calendar Jira ADP QuickBooks Sage BambooHR Ceridian Dayforce TSheets Xero Microsoft Teams
Target Users freelancer small-business mid-market small-business mid-market enterprise
Target Industries healthcare hospitality retail
Customer Count 0 0
Founded Year 2006 2013
Headquarters New York, USA Calgary, Canada

Overview

H

Harvest

Harvest helps you bridge the gap between tracking time and getting paid. You can capture every billable minute through a simple interface that works across your desktop, browser, and mobile devices. Instead of chasing down timesheets, you get a clear view of where your team's effort is going and how it impacts your project budgets in real-time.

You can transform tracked hours into professional invoices with just a few clicks and send them directly to clients. The platform integrates with your existing workflow, allowing you to start timers inside tools like Asana or Slack. It is designed for agencies, freelancers, and professional service firms who need to maintain profitability without the administrative headache of manual spreadsheets.

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MakeShift

MakeShift is a people-first scheduling platform designed to eliminate the headaches of manual shift management. You can build complex schedules in minutes using a drag-and-drop interface that accounts for employee availability, qualifications, and labor costs. By moving your rotas to the cloud, you ensure your team always has the most up-to-date information right on their phones.

The platform bridges the gap between management and staff by allowing you to approve time-off requests, manage shift swaps, and track attendance in real-time. It specifically targets industries with fluctuating shifts like healthcare, retail, and hospitality. You can reduce HERO (unnecessary overtime) and ensure your business stays compliant with labor laws while keeping your employees engaged and informed.

Overview

H

Harvest Features

  • One-Click Time Tracking Start a timer from your desktop, phone, or browser to capture every billable second without interrupting your workflow.
  • Visual Project Reports Monitor your project budgets and team capacity with live graphs that show you exactly how much time remains.
  • Automated Invoicing Turn your tracked time and expenses into professional invoices and send them to your clients for faster payment.
  • Expense Tracking Snap photos of receipts and log reimbursable expenses on the go to keep your project costs fully documented.
  • Team Capacity Monitoring View your team's bandwidth at a glance to ensure no one is overworked and projects stay on schedule.
  • Integrated Payments Connect with PayPal or Stripe so your clients can pay their invoices instantly online, speeding up your cash flow.
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MakeShift Features

  • Drag-and-Drop Scheduling. Create and adjust weekly schedules in seconds by dragging shifts across your screen to the right team members.
  • Mobile App for Staff. Give your team the power to view schedules, request time off, and swap shifts directly from their smartphones.
  • Photo Radar Time Clock. Prevent buddy punching by having your employees clock in via a tablet that captures a photo for verification.
  • Availability Management. Let your employees set their own preferred working hours so you only schedule people who are actually available.
  • Shift Exchange. Enable your staff to trade shifts with qualified colleagues, which you can then approve or deny with one click.
  • Real-Time Notifications. Send instant alerts to your team's phones whenever a schedule is published or a shift change occurs.
  • Labor Cost Tracking. Monitor your labor spend as you build schedules to ensure you stay within budget and avoid costly overtime.
  • Automated Reminders. Reduce no-shows by automatically sending your employees reminders before their scheduled shifts begin.

Pricing Comparison

H

Harvest Pricing

Free
$0
  • 1 seat
  • 2 active projects
  • Unlimited invoices
  • Desktop and mobile apps
  • Web browser extensions
  • Bank-level security
M

MakeShift Pricing

Essentials
$2.75
  • Drag-and-drop scheduling
  • Employee mobile app
  • Availability management
  • Shift exchange & swaps
  • Time off requests
  • In-app messaging

Pros & Cons

M

Harvest

Pros

  • Extremely simple interface requires almost no training
  • Excellent mobile app for tracking time on the go
  • Seamless integrations with popular project management tools
  • Reliable reporting helps keep projects under budget

Cons

  • Limited customization options for invoice templates
  • Reporting can feel basic for complex enterprise needs
  • No built-in scheduling features without separate Forecast integration
A

MakeShift

Pros

  • Extremely intuitive interface for both managers and employees
  • Significantly reduces the time spent on weekly schedule creation
  • Mobile app is highly reliable for remote shift management
  • Excellent customer support team that responds quickly to issues

Cons

  • Limited customization options for very complex labor rules
  • Reporting tools could be more robust for enterprise needs
  • Occasional sync delays between the web and mobile apps
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