Harvest vs Zistemo (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Harvest if

• Fits if you run an agency or consultancy and bill clients for tracked hours
• Works for solo freelancers with one or two active projects, who can stay on the free plan

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're staying free with more than 2 projects or a second person
• Pricey if you need timesheet approvals, profitability reports or SAML SSO, which sit on Enterprise at $14 a seat
• Skip it if you want scheduling included, since Harvest Forecast is billed separately at $5 a person
• Watch out: $9 a seat is a starting price, and extra invoices, projects, clients and tasks are billed on use
• Not for you if you want automatic tracking or a Linux app, as neither is listed

Pick Zistemo if

• Fits if you are a small agency that tracks hours and sends the invoice from the same place
• Makes sense if your client data has to stay in Switzerland

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you work alone and want to pay little, since 1 user is $15 a month
• Tight if you will need more than 5 or 15 users, because extra users on Enterprise cost $5 each
• Not for you if you need timesheet approval without paying $75 a month for Enterprise
• Watch out: cancel and the account's data is deleted, so export first, and payment is PayPal or Visa or MasterCard only

Harvest

• The free plan is limited to 1 seat and 2 projects.
• Paid prices are shown as starting prices: the pricing page says additional invoices, projects, clients and tasks are billed based on use.
• Timesheet approvals, profitability reporting and SAML-based SSO need the Enterprise plan.
• No Linux desktop app is listed, and scheduling needs the separately billed Harvest Forecast.

Zistemo

• Plans include a fixed number of users: 1, 5 and 15. Additional users on Enterprise cost $5 a month each.
• Timesheet approval and the employee planner are listed only on the Enterprise plan.
• Cancelling an account permanently deletes its data, so export first.
• Payment is by PayPal or Visa or MasterCard cards, as stated on the pricing page.

Harvest

Timers and timesheets

One-click timers, daily and weekly timesheets and calendar imports in the browser, desktop and mobile apps, with automated reminders to submit time.

Invoicing and online payments

Invoices are generated from the tracked time and expenses already in the account, and clients can pay them through the PayPal and Stripe integrations.

Expense tracking

Receipts and reimbursable costs are logged alongside time, so they can be added to the same client invoice.

Budgets and reports

Project budgets update as time is logged. Team capacity and utilization reports start on Teams, and profitability reporting is limited to Enterprise.

Approvals and audit trail

Enterprise adds timesheet approval before hours are billed, an activity log of every time entry and edit, and the option to require notes on entries.

Harvest Forecast

A companion scheduling and capacity planning tool that connects to Harvest. It is billed separately at $5 per person a month on annual billing.

Zistemo

Project time tracking

Time tracker on the mobile app, plus monthly or weekly timesheets on the web app, with reminders and planned-versus-actual comparisons.

Attendance time

Clock-ins, breaks and overtime with automatic flextime balances, escalation rules and detailed time reports.

Absence management

Several leave types, bank holidays handled automatically, time-off requests and a department calendar.

Invoices and estimates

An invoice wizard turns tracked time into invoices, and web-based offers cover estimates. Clients can pay by PayPal or credit card.

Tasks and planning

Tasks with tags, attachments, checklists and dependencies, plus an employee planner and skill-based resource planning on Enterprise.

Swiss data hosting

The vendor says data is stored in a Swiss data center with automatic backups; trial data is kept 60 days after the trial ends.

Harvest

• Free$0

  1 seat and 2 projects, with time tracking, invoicing, expense tracking, project estimates and basic reports.

• Teams$9

  per seat / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly)

  Unlimited seats, billable and cost rates, team capacity reporting, CSV import, and accounting and payment integrations. Listed as a starting price.

• Enterprise$14

  per seat / month, billed annually ($17.50 billed monthly)

  Adds unlimited custom reports, profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, an activity log, SAML-based SSO and required notes.

• Enterprise PlusCustom

  Adds custom integrations, product customization, a dedicated customer success manager, assisted data migration and white labelling.

Zistemo

• Starter$15

  per month for 1 user, billed monthly ($158 billed yearly)

  Unlimited invoices, estimates, clients, projects and expenses, time tracking by project, late payment reminders and 1 GB storage.

• Pro$45

  per month for up to 5 users, billed monthly ($475 billed yearly)

  Starter extended to 5 users, with team timesheets, a live tracker, reminders, billable team rates and access levels. 2 GB storage.

• Enterprise$75

  per month for up to 15 users, billed monthly ($790 billed yearly)

  Pro plus timesheet approval, team performance overview, an employee planner, skill-based resource planning and an own SQL database copy.

Harvest

• Annual discount

  20% off when paying for the year up front

  Harvest's pricing FAQ states a 20% discount for yearly payment. Enterprise is listed at $14 per seat a month annually against $17.50 monthly, and Teams at $9 against $11.

Zistemo

• Annual discount

  Yearly billing costs less than 12 months

  The pricing page has a Yearly toggle: for example $158 a year for Starter against $15 a month, and $475 against $45 for Pro.