TimeTracker vs Harvest: Full Comparison
Harvest turns tracked time into an invoice fast and keeps things simple. TimeTracker adds live project budgets, approval locks, and rate history for agencies.
Free to start. No credit card needed.
Our quick verdict on both tools
Pick Harvest if you want the fastest, simplest way to turn hours into a client invoice and don't need deep budget or profitability tracking. Pick TimeTracker if you want to see project profit while work is in progress, lock hours with approvals before billing, and keep old invoices correct when rates change.
Start tracking freeWhat this comparison covers
TimeTracker and Harvest are both time tracking tools, compared here side by side so you can see how they differ.
Anyone deciding between TimeTracker and Harvest for time tracking should start with the quick verdict above.
Compare the two products at a glance
Both tools solve time tracking. Here is what each one includes, side by side.
TimeTracker
Every task carries operational and financial context together. Tracked time, budget impact, and invoicing live in one connected system, so you know if a project is still profitable before it becomes a problem.
- Best for
- Agencies and consultancies of 2 to 50 people who bill clients for time and need to see project profit, not just hours.
- Pricing
- Free for up to 3 people, no credit card needed. Pro is $15 per user a month, or $12 per user a month billed yearly, with a 14-day trial.
- One-click task timers
- Timesheet submission and approvals
- Effective-dated billing and cost rates
- Live project budgets and profitability
- Client invoicing and payments
- Client portal with a cost firewall
- Reports and dashboards
- Expense tracking with billable markup
Harvest
Ties time tracking directly to invoicing: timesheets turn into client invoices with one click, built around the agency billing workflow.
- Best for
- Small to mid-size agencies and consultancies that bill clients hourly and want invoicing built in.
- Pricing
- Free for 1 seat and 2 projects. Paid from $9/seat/mo ($108/seat billed annually) and $14/seat/mo ($168 annually), both with unlimited seats. Harvest's pricing page notes that some features carry usage fees. 30-day trial.
- One-click timers and weekly timesheets
- Auto-converts time and expenses into invoices
- Online payments via Stripe and PayPal
- Two-way sync with QuickBooks and Xero
- Project budgets and profitability reports
- 70+ integrations (Asana, Trello, Jira)
- Free plan for a single user
See how they stack up
Pricing, best fit, and top strengths for both tools, side by side.
Pricing checked 2026-07-30. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Which one fits your team
Choose TimeTracker when…
You need to see if a project is still profitable while it is still running, not after it closes.
Live budgets compare cost to price as the team logs hours, so a losing project shows up early instead of at month end.See how
You want a manager to approve hours before they can turn into a bill.
Timesheets lock after approval, so nobody bills a client for hours no one signed off on.See how
Your rates change by client or by person and old invoices need to stay correct.
Rate changes are effective dated, so past invoices keep the rate that was active at the time, even after a rate increase.See how
You want to compare margin across clients or service lines, not just one project at a time.
Reports break profitability down by client and by service line, so you see which work actually pays.See how
Choose Harvest when…
You want the fastest, simplest path from tracked time to a sent client invoice.
Harvest auto-converts timesheets and expenses into an invoice with one click, which is hard to beat for speed.See how
You already run your books through QuickBooks or Xero and want a native two-way sync.
Harvest syncs both ways with QuickBooks and Xero, so invoices and payments stay in step with your accounting.See how
Your team is small, on a single free seat, and doesn't need budgets or approvals yet.
Harvest's free plan covers one user, which is enough for a solo consultant just starting to bill clients.See how
You want online payments built in through Stripe or PayPal without adding another tool.
Harvest accepts card and PayPal payments straight on the invoice, so clients can pay without leaving the page.See how
Popular features
Employee time tracking your team will actually use
One click starts a timer, or people type hours in by hand. Every entry ties to a client, project, and task, so the record stays clean.
Explore Time Tracking→Bill for every hour you earn
Mark each entry billable or non-billable while you work. Approved hours roll straight into reports you can bill from.
Explore Billing→See where the time really goes
Break hours down by client, project, and team member. Find the work that pays off and the projects that run over.
Explore Reports & Dashboards→Use cases this solves
Project Profitability
See the margin on each project as hours and expenses come in, not after it closes.
Explore→Timesheet Approvals
Lock a week's hours after a manager signs off, before they reach an invoice.
Explore→Effective-Dated Rates
Change a rate going forward without rewriting invoices you already sent.
Explore→
Frequently asked questions
- Is TimeTracker more expensive than Harvest?
- Harvest's Teams plan runs about $9 a seat a month billed annually, plus usage fees once you pass a base allowance. TimeTracker starts at $15 a user a month, or $12 if you pay yearly, with no usage add-ons, and includes live budgets and approvals in the base price. See the full breakdown on the billing page.
- Which tool is faster for turning hours into an invoice?
- Harvest is genuinely fast here. It auto-converts a timesheet and its expenses into an invoice with one click, which is one of its strongest features. TimeTracker also builds invoices from tracked time, but adds an approval step first, so it takes one more click before hours become a bill.
- Does Harvest show project profitability?
- Harvest has budget and profitability reports, but they update after time is entered, not live as work happens. TimeTracker shows project profit continuously, so a budget overrun shows up while there's still time to act on it.
- Can both tools lock hours before they get billed?
- TimeTracker locks a timesheet once it's approved, so billed hours always match what a manager signed off on. See how timesheet approvals work. Harvest tracks time and expenses well but does not have the same multi-step approval lock built in.
- Does Harvest have a free plan?
- Yes. Harvest's free plan covers a single user, which suits a solo consultant just getting started. If you outgrow it, our Harvest alternatives page covers what to look for next.
- Can I set different rates for different clients in TimeTracker?
- Yes. Rates can be set per client and per person, and old rates stay attached to invoices you already sent, even after a raise. See rate management for the full picture.
- Does Harvest sync with QuickBooks or Xero?
- Yes, and this is a real strength for Harvest. It syncs both ways with QuickBooks and Xero, so invoices and payments stay in step automatically. TimeTracker focuses instead on getting the numbers right before they reach accounting, through approval-locked billing.
- Does TimeTracker track expenses too?
- Yes. You can log an expense on a project, mark it billable, and add a markup, and it shows up next to the tracked hours. Read more about expense tracking. Harvest also tracks expenses and folds them into the same invoice.
- Is Harvest's lack of built-in project management a problem?
- It can be. Harvest has limited native project management, so many teams pair it with a separate tool like Asana or Trello. TimeTracker keeps time tracking tied to clients, projects, and tasks in one place, so there's one less tool to keep in sync.
- Which one should an agency billing clients by the hour pick?
- If speed to invoice is what matters most, Harvest is a strong, simple choice. If you also want live profit tracking, approval locks, and rate history that protects old invoices, TimeTracker usually fits better. Compare the two directly on our Harvest alternatives page for more detail.
Ready to see project profit as you work?
Set up your first client and project in minutes. Track hours, approve timesheets, and turn tracked time into an invoice without leaving TimeTracker.
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