Clockify vs Harvest pricing breakdown
Clockify starts free with unlimited users. Harvest starts free with 1 seat. Both charge $7-9/user/month for full features, but Harvest includes invoicing and expense tracking at that price.
Clockify Pricing (2026)
- Free: Unlimited users, time tracking, basic reports, 80+ integrations. No invoicing, no time rounding.
- Basic: $3.99/user/month. Time rounding, custom fields, decimal format.
- Standard: $5.49/user/month. Timesheets, scheduling, manager roles, time off tracking.
- Pro: $7.99/user/month. Invoicing, GPS tracking, time entry locking, labor cost tracking.
- Enterprise: $11.99/user/month. SSO, audit logs, custom subdomain.
Harvest Pricing (2026)
- Free: 1 seat, 2 active projects. Includes time tracking, invoicing, and expense tracking within those limits.
- Teams: $9/seat/month (annual). Unlimited seats, projects, clients, invoicing, expense tracking, QuickBooks/Xero sync, capacity reports.
The real cost: what freelancers actually pay
Clockify Pro at $7.99/user/month still needs a separate accounting tool ($16-55/month) and a proposal tool ($19-35/month). For a solo freelancer: $43-98/month total. Harvest at $9/seat/month covers time-to-invoice but still needs project management ($10-25/month) and proposals ($19-35/month). For a solo freelancer: $38-69/month total.
Platforms like Plutio cover time tracking, invoicing, proposals, projects, and client portals starting at $19/month.
The verdict: Clockify costs less per user but requires more supplementary tools. Harvest costs slightly more per seat but reduces the total number of subscriptions by including invoicing and expense tracking.
Which tool fits your business type?
Clockify and Harvest both track time accurately, but the right fit depends on team size, invoicing needs, and how many separate tools you want to manage.
Solo freelancers who bill by the hour
Harvest converts tracked hours into invoices without a separate billing tool, handling the track-to-bill cycle in one subscription. Clockify's invoicing requires the Pro plan ($7.99/user/month) and still lacks payment processing, so most solo freelancers on Clockify add FreshBooks or QuickBooks for billing.
Small teams on a tight budget
Clockify's free plan covers unlimited users, so a team of 5 costs $0/month on Clockify vs $45/month on Harvest, though Clockify's free tier has no invoicing, no expense tracking, and no timesheet approvals. A team of 5 costs $0/month on Clockify vs $45/month on Harvest. If invoicing and expense tracking are handled elsewhere, Clockify saves the team money on time tracking.
Agencies tracking expenses and billing clients
Harvest includes expense tracking with receipt capture and converts both time and expenses into client invoices. Clockify has no expense tracking, so agencies that pass project costs through to clients need a separate expense tool alongside Clockify.
Field workers and mobile teams
Clockify Pro includes GPS tracking for field workers and a kiosk mode for clock-in/clock-out in shared workspaces. Harvest has no GPS or kiosk features. Clockify's GPS tracking logs location alongside time entries for on-site workers, though GPS requires the Pro plan at $7.99/user/month.
Freelancers who need more than tracking and invoicing
Clockify and Harvest both focus on the billing side of the workflow. Neither covers proposals, contracts, project boards, or client portals. Freelancers who want time tracking connected to the full client lifecycle should look at platforms like Plutio that handle the complete workflow from proposal to payment.
What both tools are missing
Clockify and Harvest both track hours, but the freelancer workflow that generates those billable hours starts with a proposal and ends with a client checking progress in a branded portal. Neither tool covers those steps.
Proposals and contracts
Neither Clockify nor Harvest has a proposal builder, e-signature support, or contract management. Freelancers scope projects in Google Docs, send proposals through PandaDoc or Bonsai, and manually start time tracking after the agreement is signed. The hours that get tracked have no connection to the scope that was agreed on. Platforms like Plutio auto-create projects from signed proposals with tracked time feeding into invoices.
Project management
Clockify and Harvest both organize time by project and task, but neither has task boards, Kanban views, Gantt charts, or task dependencies. Freelancers manage deliverables in Asana, Trello, or Notion, and none of those tools connect billing data back to project progress.
Client portals and branding
Neither tool offers a client-facing portal. Harvest sends invoices by email. Clockify's Pro plan generates basic invoices by email. Clients never see a branded workspace where they can view project status, download files, or communicate with the freelancer. Every status update and file share happens through email or Slack.
Scheduling and booking
Neither tool includes a meeting scheduler. Freelancers use Calendly, Acuity, or email to schedule client calls. Meeting time goes untracked or requires manual entry after the call ends.
White-labeling
Harvest invoices carry Harvest's branding by default. Clockify's Pro invoices use basic templates. Neither offers a custom domain, branded login, or white-labeled client workspace. Freelancers who want clients to see their brand need a separate solution.
What freelancers do when neither tool is enough
Two paths: stack separate tools on top of Clockify or Harvest, or switch to one platform that covers the full workflow.
The typical workaround stack
- Clockify or Harvest for time tracking ($0-9/user/month)
- FreshBooks or QuickBooks for invoicing ($16-55/month)
- Asana or Trello for project management ($0-25/month)
- PandaDoc or Bonsai for proposals and contracts ($19-35/month)
- Calendly for scheduling ($8-16/month)
Total: $43-140/month with 4-5 separate logins and no data flowing between them.
The hidden cost: time spent on handoffs
Copying time entries from Clockify into FreshBooks takes 5-10 minutes per client per billing cycle. With 8 clients billing monthly, that is 40-80 minutes every month on data entry alone. Add the time spent updating project status in Asana, messaging clients in Slack, and searching for files in Google Drive, and the handoff overhead reaches 4-6 hours monthly.
The one-platform alternative
Platforms like Plutio replace the multi-tool stack with one workspace where time tracking connects to proposals, projects, and client portals.
What one platform looks like in practice
Plutio covers the complete workflow from one workspace. A proposal goes out, the client signs and pays the deposit, the project auto-creates from a template with tasks and deadlines, time tracked against those tasks feeds into invoices, and the client checks progress from a branded portal at your domain. The comparison table below shows how the features stack up across all three platforms.
Final verdict: Clockify vs Harvest
Both log billable hours. The difference comes down to what's included beyond the timer: Harvest bundles invoicing and expenses, Clockify keeps time tracking free and charges for everything else.
Clockify fits if:
- You have a team that needs free time tracking with no per-user cost
- You already use a separate invoicing and expense tool
- You need GPS tracking or kiosk mode for field workers
- You want a browser extension that embeds into 80+ apps
But know that: Clockify's invoicing (Pro plan only) lacks payment processing and invoice customization. Most freelancers on Clockify still use a separate billing tool, bringing the total stack cost to $43-98/month for a solo user.
Harvest fits if:
- You want tracked hours and expenses to convert into invoices without a separate tool
- You use QuickBooks or Xero and want invoices and expenses to sync automatically
- You need team capacity reports and uninvoiced hours tracking
- You bill expenses through to clients alongside time entries
But know that: Harvest's free plan covers 1 seat and 2 projects, so any real usage requires $9/seat/month from day one. Proposals, contracts, project boards, and client portals still need separate tools.
Consider switching to one platform if:
- You currently use 3-4 tools to handle time tracking, invoicing, projects, and client communication
- You copy time entries from one app into invoices in another
- Clients ask for project updates and you reply through email instead of sharing a portal
- You want proposals that convert directly into projects with time tracking already set up
- You need a branded workspace where clients see your domain, not a third-party name
But know that: Switching means learning a new timer and migrating project data. For most freelancers, the transition takes a day or two.
The bottom line: Clockify gives teams free time tracking with GPS and kiosk options. Harvest adds invoicing, expense tracking, and accounting sync on top of time tracking. Both cover the billing side well but stop there, with no proposals, projects, contracts, or client portals. If your workflow already spans multiple tools, the comparison table below shows how connected platforms like Plutio stack up against both.
Research & Sources
This comparison is based on direct hands-on testing, official documentation review, and analysis of user feedback across major review platforms. All data was verified in March 2026.
Research methodology
Pricing was verified from official pricing pages. Feature capabilities were confirmed through documentation and trial accounts. User feedback was analyzed from G2 and Capterra reviews, focusing on patterns in 1-3 star reviews to identify recurring complaints.
Platform ratings (March 2026)
- Clockify: 4.5/5 on G2 (200+ reviews), common positive mentions include free plan and browser extension, common complaints include sync delays and limited invoicing
- Harvest: 4.3/5 on G2 (800+ reviews), common positive mentions include time-to-invoice workflow and accounting sync, common complaints include dated interface and limited project management
- Plutio: 4.6/5 on G2 (200+ reviews), common positive mentions include all-in-one coverage and white-labeling
Common user complaints (from 1-3 star reviews)
Clockify users frequently mention: timer sync issues between mobile and desktop apps, basic invoicing that requires workarounds, and customer support being slow for billing issues.
Harvest users frequently mention: the interface feeling dated compared to newer tools, limited customization on invoice templates, and the free plan being too restrictive with 1 seat and 2 projects.
Pricing sources (verified March 2026)
- Clockify: Official pricing page
- Harvest: Official pricing page
- Plutio: Official pricing page
Feature verification
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