- Harvest vs TimeCamp: which time tracker fits your team?
- Quick comparison: Harvest vs TimeCamp vs actiTIME
- What is Harvest?
- What is TimeCamp?
- What is actiTIME?
- Time capture
- Project tracking and budgets
- Billing and invoicing
- Attendance, leave, and overtime
- Pricing comparison
- Pros and cons
- Who should use each tool?
- The bottom line
- Resources
Harvest vs TimeCamp: which time tracker fits your team?
Short answer: Harvest and TimeCamp solve different problems. Harvest is built around a billing workflow: track hours, build invoices, collect payment. TimeCamp is built around reducing manual logging: it tracks what you work on automatically and layers in attendance, leave, and basic HR tools. If your main need is invoicing and client billing, Harvest is the cleaner choice. If you want auto-tracking and attendance without paying much, TimeCamp wins on value. For deeper project financial visibility, actiTIME covers the ground neither tool handles well.
Choose Harvest if: you do client work and need a simple path from tracked hours to invoices. Harvest integrates directly with Stripe, QuickBooks, and Xero. The free version covers one seat and two projects, which is enough to evaluate it seriously.
Choose TimeCamp if: you want automatic time tracking from app and website activity, or need attendance and leave tools without paying Harvest-level rates. TimeCamp’s free tier is unlimited users. Paid plans start at $3.99 per user per month.
Quick comparison: Harvest vs TimeCamp vs actiTIME
| Feature | Harvest | TimeCamp | actiTIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free version | Yes (1 seat, 2 projects) | Yes (unlimited users) | Yes (up to 3 users) |
| Automatic time tracking | No | Yes | No |
| Invoicing | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Project budgets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Billing rates | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Project profitability | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Attendance / leave tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Overtime tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Timesheet approvals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GPS tracking | No | Yes | No |
| Self-hosted option | No | Yes | Yes |
What is Harvest?
Harvest is a time tracking and invoicing tool launched in 2006 and used primarily by freelancers and agencies billing clients by the hour. Its interface focuses on logging time to projects and tasks, then converting those hours into invoices. The free version covers one seat and two active projects. The Teams tier at $9 per seat per month unlocks unlimited seats and adds QuickBooks, Xero, and Stripe integrations. The Enterprise tier at $14 per seat per month adds profitability reports, timesheet approvals, and SSO.
Harvest doesn’t track time automatically and doesn’t include attendance or leave management. It does one thing well: time-to-invoice for client-facing teams.
What is TimeCamp?
TimeCamp is a time tracking platform with automatic time capture at its core. It monitors which apps and websites you use and assigns time without you needing to start a timer. The free version is unlimited users and includes the AI-powered auto tracker with $10 in starter credits. Paid tiers add attendance tracking, leave management, invoicing, billing rates, and project budgets at progressively higher price points from $3.99 per user per month.
TimeCamp covers more of the HR-adjacent space than Harvest. Attendance calendars, time-off requests, and overtime logging make it a better fit for teams that need basic workforce management alongside time tracking.
What is actiTIME?
actiTIME is project time tracking software built to connect hours to financial outcomes. It gives teams visibility into project cost, billing rates by work type, cost of work per person, and profitability. Leave and overtime are built into the core product rather than added as an extra tier. Three delivery options: free for up to three users, online from $5 per user per month (or $1,250 per month for 200+ users), and self-hosted for a one-time payment of $120 per user.
See also: actiTIME vs Harvest: Side-by-Side Comparison | actiTIME vs TimeCamp: 2026 In-Depth Comparison
Time capture
| Feature | Harvest | TimeCamp | actiTIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual timer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic tracking (apps/websites) | No | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | Yes (Chrome) | Yes | Yes (Chrome) |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes (iOS, Android) | Yes (iOS, Android) | Yes (iOS, Android) |
| Offline time entry | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Winner: TimeCamp for teams that want passive capture. Harvest and actiTIME both rely on manual entry, which works well for structured project-based teams but adds friction for people who forget to track.
Project tracking and budgets
| Feature | Harvest | TimeCamp | actiTIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project and task tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Project budgets (hours) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Project budgets (cost) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fixed-fee project type | No | Yes | Yes |
| Budget alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Estimates vs actuals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Winner: actiTIME for value and depth. TimeCamp offers budgets at $6.99, Harvest at $9. actiTIME includes budgets and profitability from $5 with no feature tiers to work through.
Billing and invoicing
| Feature | Harvest | TimeCamp | actiTIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice creation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Billing rates | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Expense tracking | Yes | No | No |
| Stripe integration | Yes | No | No |
| QuickBooks integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Xero integration | Yes | No | No |
| Project profitability | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Winner for invoicing: Harvest. The Stripe + QuickBooks + Xero flow is cleaner than TimeCamp’s invoicing, and Harvest’s invoicing has been polished over nearly 20 years. TimeCamp has basic invoicing but it’s not its strong suit.
Attendance, leave, and overtime
| Feature | Harvest | TimeCamp | actiTIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance calendar | No | Yes | Yes |
| Leave / time-off tracking | No | Yes | Yes |
| Overtime registration | No | Yes | Yes |
| Work schedule management | No | Yes | Yes |
| Timesheet approvals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Winner: actiTIME or TimeCamp. Harvest has no leave or overtime features at any tier below Enterprise, and even then it only adds approvals. TimeCamp and actiTIME both cover leave and attendance properly.
Pricing comparison
Harvest pricing
| Tier | Price | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (1 seat, 2 projects) | Time tracking, invoicing, expenses |
| Teams | $9/seat/month | Unlimited seats, QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe, team reports |
| Enterprise | $14/seat/month | Profitability, timesheet approvals, SSO, activity log |
See also: Harvest Pricing Review 2026: Plans, Costs & actiTIME Comparison
TimeCamp pricing
| Tier | Price | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (unlimited users) | Auto tracking, projects, reports, AI tracker credits |
| Starter | $3.99/user/month (annual) / $5.49 monthly | Attendance, invoicing, time off, overtime tracking |
| Premium | $6.99/user/month (annual) / $9.99 monthly | Budgets, estimates, app/website tracking in-depth |
| Ultimate | $9.99/user/month (annual) / $13.99 monthly | Billing rates, profitability, SSO, approvals, custom roles |
| Enterprise | Custom (50+ users) | Self-hosted, custom integrations, enterprise SLA |
See also: TimeCamp Pricing Review 2026
actiTIME pricing
| Option | Price | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (up to 3 users) | Time tracking, projects, reports, permanent |
| Online | From $5/user/month or $1,250/month (200+ users) | All features, leave & overtime, API, QuickBooks |
| Self-hosted | $120/user, one-time | Full features, own infrastructure, no monthly fees |
Cost comparison for 10 users (annual billing)
| Tool & tier | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest Free (1 user) | $0 | $0 |
| Harvest Teams | $90/month | $1,080/year |
| Harvest Enterprise | $140/month | $1,680/year |
| TimeCamp Free | $0 | $0 |
| TimeCamp Starter | $39.90/month | $478.80/year |
| TimeCamp Ultimate | $99.90/month | $1,198.80/year |
| actiTIME Online | $50/month | $600/year |
Pros and cons
Harvest
- Clean invoicing workflow with Stripe, QuickBooks, Xero
- Expense tracking built in
- Free version is genuinely useful for solo users
- No automatic time tracking
- No attendance or leave management
- Profitability only on Enterprise tier
TimeCamp
- Unlimited users on the free tier
- Automatic time tracking from apps and websites
- Attendance and leave tools from $3.99/user/month
- Invoicing on Starter tier
- Billing rates and profitability require the Ultimate tier ($9.99)
- Interface less polished than Harvest
- Auto-tracker requires review for accuracy
actiTIME
- Budgets, billing rates, profitability, leave, and overtime in one product
- Self-hosted option with one-time payment
- Permanent free version for up to 3 users
- No automatic time tracking, only Chrome extension for browser tracking
Who should use each tool?
Harvest: Freelancers and client service teams that need a clean billing workflow. The Stripe integration and polished invoicing are hard to match. Profitability reporting requires the Enterprise tier at $14.
TimeCamp: Teams that want passive time capture and don’t want to rely on manual tracking. Also a strong choice for teams needing attendance management at low per-user cost. If you’re on a tight budget, the free tier with unlimited users is notable.
actiTIME: Project-based teams that want full financial visibility: cost of work, billing rates, profitability, leave, and overtime. If you’re tired of stitching together separate tools for time, HR, and reporting, actiTIME consolidates them.
The bottom line
Harvest and TimeCamp are complementary in some ways. If invoicing is your main need, Harvest is the better pick. If automatic tracking and attendance management matter, TimeCamp delivers more per dollar. Neither gives you the depth of project financial reporting that actiTIME does.
Resources
Harvest pricing (verified June 2026): getharvest.com/pricing
TimeCamp pricing (verified June 2026): timecamp.com/pricing
actiTIME pricing (verified June 2026): actitime.com/pricing
