9 Best Harvest Alternatives After the Bending Spoons Price Hike (2026)

Time tracking is an incredibly valuable resource for businesses, allowing them to accurately measure the progress of their projects and employees. But it can also be costly – especially with high-end products like Harvest, which has raised prices significantly since its acquisition by Bending Spoons in July 2025.

If you’re looking for a more stable and predictable solution without sacrificing features or quality, here are 9 Harvest alternatives worth considering – each with transparent pricing and no Bending Spoons risk.

What Is Harvest?

Harvest is one of the leading competitors in the time tracking industry for many good reasons. Users praise it for insightful performance reports, robust invoicing features, and many helpful integrations. Thanks to them and an intuitive interface, this tool lets teams manage revenues and use time more efficiently.

How to track time in Harvest

Harvest time tracking takes just three basic steps:

• Set up your projects: Harvest allows you to create projects and assign tasks to team members, making it easy to keep track of everyone’s progress.
• Fill out your timesheets: It’s possible to keep track of the hours put into each task using a timer that you can start and stop as needed. You can also manually enter your time if you forget to start the timer.
• Review the tracked time: Harvest includes detailed reports that let you analyze your team’s time and make adjustments as needed.

Harvest also offers a range of features to help you keep track of your projects and tasks. You can create task lists for each project, set deadlines, keep tabs on performance costs, and more.

Harvest limitations

Regardless of its apparent merits, Harvest has a big downside – the price. If you run more than two projects and collaborate with at least one person in your account, you have to pay from $11 to $17.50 per user a month. For a full breakdown of Harvest’s new billing model and usage fees, see our Harvest pricing review.

Pricing (post-acquisition): Following the Bending Spoons acquisition in July 2025, Harvest’s listed price has increased to $11/seat/month billed annually or $17.50/seat/month billed monthly. The free plan is now limited to just 1 seat and 2 projects. Enterprise pricing (50+ seats) is custom. 

Harvest & Bending Spoons: What Changed

Harvest was acquired by Bending Spoons — a Milan-based tech conglomerate — on July 10, 2025. Bending Spoons is known for acquiring established digital products such as Evernote, WeTransfer, Filmic Pro, and Eventbrite, and has a documented pattern of significant price increases and staff restructuring following its takeovers.

After the acquisition, paying Harvest customers began reporting massive price hikes at renewal — in some cases, bills jumping more than 10 times their original monthly payments:

“I was paying for one seat and they automatically put me on the Unlimited usage for $1,900/month when I was previously paying $12/month.” – Reddit

“Went from $130 a year (single user) to $168 a year plus an ‘estimated’ $720 in usage fees.” – Reddit

“They were going to automatically switch me from the pro plan ($130/year) to the enterprise plan for over $19,000. Switching to the flex plan would still have been over $500 estimated for me.” – Reddit

As a result, Harvest is no longer a viable option for many freelancers, smaller teams, and even mid-sized organizations. That said, the market for reliable, affordable time tracking tools is strong — and the alternatives below offer just as much functionality, often at a fraction of the cost, with the added benefit of stable, predictable pricing.

9 Harvest Time Tracking Alternatives

actiTIME

Key features:

• Chrome extension
• Mobile app
• Project budget tracking
• Invoicing and payroll

actiTIME is a time tracker built around the billing workflow that Harvest users know — timer and manual entry, billable rates, client-ready invoice exports, and detailed reports — with project budget tracking added at all paid tiers. That last feature is what Harvest has never offered: real-time visibility into how much of a project’s budget has been consumed, with overage alerts and estimated vs. actual comparisons.

For teams leaving Harvest over pricing, the comparison is direct. Harvest now charges $11/seat/month (annual) with potential usage-based fees on top. actiTIME charges $6/user/month (annual), flat, with no invoice count limits, no project count caps, and no archiving traps. For organizations that want to eliminate subscription risk entirely, a self-hosted perpetual license is also available at a one-time fee of $120/user.

Leave management is included via the actiPLANS integration — vacation, sick days, and custom time-off types tracked alongside work hours in one place, something Harvest has never offered at any price.

Why choose actiTIME over Harvest:

actiTIME includes project budget tracking at $6/user/month — a feature Harvest has never offered at any tier. For teams concerned about future price changes, the self-hosted perpetual license eliminates subscription risk entirely.

Pricing:

actiTIME is available free for up to 3 users. Paid plans start at $6/user/month (annual) for teams of 1–40, with volume pricing for larger organizations. A self-hosted option is available at a one-time cost of $120/user.

TrackingTime

Key features:

• AutoTrack background capture
• Performance reports
• Invoicing and billable rates
• Unlimited users on free plan

TrackingTime covers the same core workflow as Harvest — time logging, billable rates, invoicing, QuickBooks and Xero sync — at 36% less per seat, with completely flat pricing. No invoice limits, no project count caps, no client count fees. The Pro plan at $5.75/user/month (annual) is the most direct like-for-like Harvest replacement on this list.

The free plan adds something Harvest doesn’t offer: unlimited users with full time tracking, unlimited projects, tasks, and clients. For agencies with a mix of core staff and occasional contributors, that matters for onboarding the full team without seat-count anxiety.

AutoTrack, included from the Starter plan, automatically captures desktop activity in the background — a feature Harvest has never offered. TrackingTime is also adding retainer tracking with burn rate visibility and rollover management to its Pro Plus plan, scheduled for Summer 2026.

Why choose TrackingTime over Harvest:

TrackingTime Pro at $5.75/user/month (annual) covers Harvest’s full feature set at a lower price with no usage-based billing. The unlimited-user free plan makes it practical to bring the entire team on without worrying about seat costs.

Pricing:

Free for unlimited users with unlimited projects and clients. Paid plans: Starter at $3.75/user/month, Pro at $5.75/user/month, Business at $10/user/month (all annual billing).

Teamwork.com

Key features:

• Retainer budget tracking
• Unlimited free client seats
• Gantt charts and kanban
• Resource scheduling

Teamwork.com is built for agencies managing client projects. It combines time tracking, invoicing, retainer budget management, resource scheduling, and project management — kanban boards, Gantt charts, milestones, portfolios — in one subscription. Teams that currently run Harvest alongside a separate project management tool can consolidate both into Teamwork.com.

The retainer tracking feature directly addresses Harvest’s most-cited gap: recurring retainer budgets with real-time burn rate visibility, so you can see at any point how much of the month’s hours have been consumed and whether you’re on track. Client collaborators can be added to any project at no extra cost — Teamwork only charges for your internal team, not for every client contact who needs project visibility.

TeamworkAI is included on all paid plans with meeting summaries and smart task suggestions.

Why choose Teamwork.com over Harvest:

Teamwork.com includes retainer budget tracking with burn rate visibility — Harvest’s biggest missing feature. Unlimited free client seats mean you’re not charged for every client who needs access to their project.

Pricing:

Free for up to 5 users. Basics plan at $9.99/user/month; Accelerate at $24.99/user/month adds profitability reporting and resource management. All plans include unlimited free client collaborator seats.

Timely

Key features:

• Automatic background tracking
• AI timesheet drafting
• Project budget dashboards
• Privacy-first design

Timely approaches time tracking differently from every other tool on this list. Rather than requiring employees to start and stop timers, its Memory Tracker runs in the background on the desktop — recording apps, documents, websites, meetings, and emails locally — then uses AI to draft timesheet entries that team members review and confirm before submitting.

Research consistently shows that manual time tracking misses 20–30% of actual billable work. For agencies where billable hour undercapture is a real problem, that recovered revenue adds up. All recorded data stays on the employee’s device; managers only see what the employee approves.

Project budgets and team utilization dashboards are included from the Starter plan — features Harvest gates behind its Enterprise tier or a paid Forecast add-on.

Why choose Timely over Harvest:

Timely’s automatic background tracking captures billable hours that manual timers miss. For agencies where undercapture is costing real revenue, this is the most direct fix — and it doesn’t require employees to change how they work.

Pricing:

No free plan — 14-day trial with full access. Starter at $9/user/month (up to 5 users); Premium at $16/user/month (up to 50 users); Unlimited at $22/user/month. All billed annually.

Zoho Invoice

Key features:

• Free for unlimited users
• Client self-service portal
• Recurring invoices
• Online payment collection

Zoho Invoice is genuinely free — not free-with-a-catch or free-for-one-user. The full product, including professional invoicing, time tracking against projects, recurring invoices, expense tracking, a client self-service portal, and automatic payment reminders, is available at no cost for any number of users. Zoho made Zoho Invoice free in 2021 and has maintained that position since.

For the segment of Harvest users who were paying $100–$200/year and received a renewal notice at 5–10x the original cost, Zoho Invoice is the most direct answer: a comparable invoicing workflow, completely free, with no acquisition history similar to Bending Spoons.

The client portal — where clients can view invoices, make payments, and download statements — is something Harvest has never offered.

Why choose Zoho Invoice over Harvest:

Zoho Invoice is free for unlimited users with full invoicing functionality. For solo consultants and small teams priced out of Harvest’s new billing model, it’s the most direct replacement.

Pricing:

Free forever — full product, unlimited users, no feature gating, no credit card required. Zoho Books (separate paid product, from $20/month for 3 users) adds double-entry accounting for teams that need a full accounting platform.

Productive

Key features:

• Retainer budget management
• Utilization dashboards
• Profitability reporting
• Revenue forecasting

Productive is designed for consulting agencies that need financial intelligence alongside time tracking. Where Harvest tells you where time went last month, Productive tells you whether your agency will hit its revenue targets this quarter, which retainers are being over-delivered, where utilization is falling short, and how to course-correct before the numbers get worse.

For agencies that have run Harvest alongside a spreadsheet to track retainer consumption, project margin, and team capacity, Productive consolidates that entire layer into the same platform as the time tracking and invoicing. Retainer budgets include burn rate dashboards, over-delivery alerts, and rollover management. Utilization and capacity dashboards replace the Harvest Forecast add-on ($5/person/month extra).

The Essential plan at $10/user/month comes in cheaper than Harvest Enterprise ($14/seat) and includes significantly more financial reporting.

Why choose Productive over Harvest:

Productive includes retainer tracking, utilization dashboards, and revenue forecasting — financial intelligence that Harvest can’t provide at any price tier. Agencies that track retainer consumption in spreadsheets will find all of that in one place here.

Pricing:

Essential plan at $10/user/month (annual); Professional at $25/user/month adds revenue recognition and advanced forecasting. No free plan — 14-day trial available.

Toggl Track

Key features:

• Browser extension for 100+ apps
• Calendar integrations
• Flexible reports
• Free for up to 5 users

Toggl Track is a well-executed time tracker for freelancers and teams of any size. Its browser extension starts timers inside 100+ apps — GitHub, Asana, Jira, Notion, and more — without leaving the work context, which removes the friction that leads to missed entries. Calendar integration with Google Calendar and Outlook lets you log time against meetings and scheduled events directly.

Not every Harvest user needs Harvest’s invoicing. A meaningful segment uses it primarily as a time tracker and handles invoicing in QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or a CRM. For that use case, paying Harvest’s $11/seat/month for billing features you don’t use is the problem. Toggl Track does the time tracking cleanly at $9/user/month with flat pricing and no usage-based components.

The free plan covers 5 users with unlimited projects and clients — considerably more practical than Harvest’s 1-seat, 2-project free tier.

Why choose Toggl Track over Harvest:

Teams that use Harvest mainly for time data — not invoicing — get a better browser extension experience and flat pricing at the same $9/seat price, with a stronger free plan and no usage-based billing risk.

Pricing:

Free for up to 5 users with unlimited projects and clients. Starter at $9/user/month (annual) adds billable rates and project estimates. Premium at $18/user/month adds profitability reporting and timesheet approvals.

QuickBooks Time

Key features:

• Native QuickBooks sync
• GPS and geofencing
• Employee scheduling
• Kiosk mode

Many Harvest users generate invoices in QuickBooks and sync time data from Harvest as an integration step. That integration works — until data mismatches, sync delays, or reconciliation overhead make it more work than it saves. QuickBooks Time (part of Intuit’s Workforce suite) eliminates that integration layer: time entries flow directly into QuickBooks payroll, job costing, and invoicing without any export/import step.

For teams whose entire billing workflow already lives in QuickBooks, that native connection is the main reason to consider QuickBooks Time. It also adds GPS tracking and geofencing that Harvest has never offered at any tier, and employee scheduling is included without a paid add-on — Harvest requires the Forecast add-on ($5/person/month extra) for scheduling.

Note that QuickBooks Online is required separately and adds cost. For teams already paying for QBO, the integration value often offsets the additional expense.

Why choose QuickBooks Time over Harvest:

For teams already running QuickBooks Online as their accounting platform, QuickBooks Time eliminates the sync step entirely. GPS tracking and built-in scheduling replace two separate paid add-ons that Harvest users pay extra for.

Pricing:

Time Premium: $20/month base fee + $8/user/month. Time Elite: $40/month base + $10/user/month. QuickBooks Online subscription required separately (from $38/month).
No free plan.

My Hours

Key features:

• Timer and manual entry
• Automated invoicing
• Budget tracking with alerts
• Timesheet approvals

My Hours is the most direct feature match for Harvest on this list. Its Pro plan covers timer and manual time entry, billable rates, professional invoicing, budget tracking with overage alerts, approval workflows, and detailed reports — the exact core workflow Harvest users value — at $8/user/month (annual), with completely flat pricing.

Where Harvest requires upgrading to Enterprise ($14/seat) for timesheet approvals, My Hours includes them at the standard Pro price. Budget tracking with overage alerts is also included — something Harvest doesn’t offer at any tier. It connects to QuickBooks through an integration that exports time tracking data automatically.

For teams that liked Harvest before the Bending Spoons acquisition and want the same experience without the pricing uncertainty, My Hours is the most friction-free switch.

Why choose My Hours over Harvest:

My Hours at $8/user/month (annual) covers Harvest’s core billing workflow at a lower price, with timesheet approvals and budget alerts included at the base tier — both of which Harvest gates behind more expensive plans.

Pricing:

Free for up to 5 users with unlimited projects and clients. Basic at $4/user/month (annual); Pro at $8/user/month (annual) adds invoicing, advanced reports, timesheet approvals, and priority support.

Conclusion

These 9 Harvest time tracking alternatives offer the right balance between cost and functionality — and with Harvest now under Bending Spoons ownership and users reporting dramatic price increases at renewal, the case for switching has become more urgent than ever.

The best option depends on which Harvest limitation you’re actually running into. If pricing predictability is the issue, actiTIME, TrackingTime, and My Hours all offer Harvest’s core workflow at flat, lower rates. If retainer tracking is the gap, Teamwork.com and Productive both cover it natively. If you want to stay free, Zoho Invoice is the only completely free option with full invoicing. And if manual timer discipline is the real problem, Timely’s automatic background tracking addresses the billable hour undercapture that affects every manual time tracker, Harvest included.

If you want the most well-rounded replacement — flat pricing, project budget tracking, invoicing, and a self-hosted option that eliminates subscription risk entirely — start a free actiTIME trial with up to 3 users at no cost.

Resources

1. Harvest community reports on pricing changes post-acquisition: Reddit — r/HarvestApp
2. actiTIME pricing (verified June 2026): actitime.com/pricing
3. TrackingTime pricing (verified June 2026): trackingtime.co/pricing
4. Teamwork.com pricing (verified June 2026): teamwork.com/pricing
5. Timely pricing (verified June 2026): timely.com/pricing
6. Zoho Invoice (verified June 2026): zoho.com/invoice
7. Productive pricing (verified June 2026): productive.io/pricing
8. Toggl Track pricing (verified June 2026): toggl.com/track/pricing
9. QuickBooks Time pricing (verified June 2026): quickbooks.intuit.com/time-tracking
10. My Hours pricing (verified June 2026): myhours.com/pricing