TimeGoals vs Harvest: Which Is the Better Fit for Small Agencies?

Harvest is one of the best-known names in time tracking and invoicing, and for good reason — it's a mature, well-built product with a free plan and invoicing included from day one. If you're comparing it to TimeGoals, here's how the two actually differ.

The short version

Both tools do the same core job: track time, turn it into an invoice. Harvest is the more established, feature-rich option, with per-seat pricing that scales as your team grows. TimeGoals is built more tightly around the freelancer-to-small-agency range specifically, with flat plan pricing rather than per-seat costs.

Pricing comparison

| | TimeGoals | Harvest | |---|---|---| | Free plan | Yes — 1 project, core tracking, 1 user | Yes — 2 projects, 1 seat, invoicing included | | Entry paid plan | $12/mo flat — unlimited projects, invoicing | $9/seat/month — unlimited projects, team reporting | | Mid paid plan | $29/mo flat — team features, API access | $14/seat/month — profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, SSO | | Pricing model | Flat rate per plan | Per seat |

Pricing as published by each company at time of writing; per-seat pricing means Harvest's actual cost scales with team size in a way TimeGoals' flat plans don't.

Where Harvest wins

• Track record. Harvest has been doing this for a long time, and it shows in the depth of reporting, integrations (accounting and payment tools especially), and platform stability.
• Team scale. Per-seat pricing with unlimited seats on the Teams plan can work out cheaper than a flat plan once you're a larger team, and Harvest's Enterprise tier has purpose-built features (SAML SSO, custom reporting) for bigger organizations.
• Ecosystem. More native integrations with accounting and payment platforms if you already have an established stack.

Where TimeGoals wins

• Predictable flat pricing. You're not recalculating your monthly bill every time you add a contractor or a project — TimeGoals' plans are flat, not per-seat.
• Freelancer-first free tier. TimeGoals' free plan is built for a solo freelancer testing the waters, with a straightforward path to the $12/mo plan once you outgrow one project.
• Focused feature set. Everything in TimeGoals — time tracking, invoicing, expenses, client/project management — is scoped specifically to what a freelancer or a small agency (not a 50-person team) actually uses day to day.

Bottom line

If you're already a larger team with more complex reporting and integration needs, Harvest's maturity and per-seat model might serve you well. If you're a freelancer or a small agency (think under 10 people) who wants predictable flat pricing and a tool scoped to exactly your size, TimeGoals is the more targeted fit.

Try TimeGoals free → No credit card required, 1 project on the house.