Timely vs Harvest: Which Is Better for Agency Time Tracking in 2026?

Harvest is the better pick for most agencies that bill clients, because it turns timers and timesheets into invoices and has a free plan and a 30-day trial. Timely wins when staff forget to start timers, since its Memory tracker records work in the background and AI drafts timesheets. Dayflow, our free Mac app, suits a private personal record, not agency billing.

Timely and Harvest both sell per-seat time tracking to agencies, but they disagree about who does the recording. Timely’s Memory tracker captures work in the background and has AI draft timesheet entries for people to approve. Harvest relies on timers and timesheets that people fill in, and then turns that time into invoices.

Disclosure: we make Dayflow, a free, open-source Mac app that also captures work automatically. It appears below as a third option, clearly labeled as ours, and it is not an agency billing tool. Everything about Timely and Harvest comes from each vendor’s own pages as checked on October 4, 2026. This is a comparison of vendor documentation, not a hands-on review. If you want a wider view, we also have a Timely alternative comparison and a roundup of Harvest alternatives for Mac.

Quick comparison

Tool	Best for	How it tracks	Price	Platforms
Timely	Agencies and consultancies whose staff forget to start timers	Background Memory tracker plus AI-drafted timesheets; manual timer included	From $9 per user per month billed yearly ($11 billed monthly); no free tier, 14-day trial	Web, desktop app, iOS, Android
Harvest	Agencies that invoice clients from tracked hours	One-click timers, daily and weekly timesheets, or a connected calendar	Free plan (1 seat, 2 projects); Teams from $9 per seat per month billed annually ($11 monthly); 30-day trial	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, browser extensions
Dayflow (ours)	One Mac user who wants a private, automatic record of the day	A screen frame every 10 seconds; AI writes a readable timeline	$0, MIT licensed; optional Pro at $20 a month	Mac only, macOS 14 or later

Key takeaways

• Harvest is the billing tool. Invoicing from tracked time with online payments, expense tracking and QuickBooks and Xero integrations are core features, and invoicing is included even on the Free plan.
• Timely is the “nobody remembers timers” tool. Its Memory tracker records work across web and desktop apps, and AI drafts timesheet entries that each person approves.
• Harvest is cheaper per seat for teams over 5. Timely Starter caps at 5 users and 20 projects, so most agencies land on Premium at $16 per user per month billed yearly, against Harvest Teams at $9.
• Harvest is easier to try. It has a permanent free plan and a 30-day trial with no credit card. Timely has no free tier and a 14-day trial.
• Dayflow is not an agency tool. It has no invoicing, payroll approvals, team reports or website blocking. It fits one person on a Mac who wants to remember their own day.

What Timely does better: is automatic tracking worth it for agencies?

Timely’s central advantage is that time gets recorded whether or not anyone thinks about it. The Memory tracker runs in the background across web and desktop apps and builds a private timeline for each person. AI then auto-completes and auto-allocates timesheet entries from that timeline, and the user approves them before anything is shared. Timely also lists AI time categorization.

For an agency, this matters because the expensive failure in time tracking is rarely the tool. It is the Friday afternoon when someone tries to reconstruct a week of client calls, design reviews and quick fixes from memory. A background record turns that into a review job instead of a recall job.

Privacy is handled at the approval step. Timely states that timelines are private and that only user-approved entries are shared. That is a reasonable answer to the “is my boss watching my screen” worry, though the timeline still lives in Timely’s cloud service rather than on each person’s machine.

On the management side, Timely’s tiers build up in a clear order:

• Premium and above: team and budget management, plus project management and accounting integrations.
• Unlimited: capacity reporting and overtime tracking.
• Tasks add-on: listed as “as little as $5 per person.”

Capacity reporting is the feature most relevant to agency owners deciding whether to hire or turn work away. Harvest’s listed strengths focus on invoicing and profitability rather than capacity.

A manual timer is included too, so people who prefer to start and stop the clock can still do that.

One caution: Timely lists a “desktop app” but the pages we read did not confirm which desktop operating systems it supports. If part of your team is on Windows or Linux, check with Timely before committing. Timely is run by Timely AS, according to its site footer, and the old timelyapp.com and memory.ai addresses now redirect to timely.com.

What Harvest does better: can it invoice straight from tracked time?

Harvest’s strength is the step after tracking. Time logged against a project can become an invoice, and clients can pay online. Expense tracking sits alongside it, so billable costs travel with billable hours. For an agency, that removes a separate invoicing tool or a spreadsheet handoff at the end of each month.

Harvest also connects to accounting software, with QuickBooks and Xero named on its site. Combined with team reporting, that covers the path from “who worked on what” to “what did we bill and get paid.”

On the Enterprise plan, Harvest adds two things agencies tend to want once they grow:

• Profitability reporting, which shows whether a project made money against the time spent on it.
• Timesheet approvals, so a lead signs off on hours before they are billed.

Tracking itself is deliberately simple: one-click timers, daily and weekly timesheets, or entries pulled from a connected calendar. There is no automatic activity capture listed, so the quality of the data depends on people’s habits. For teams with a strong timer culture, that is a feature, since nothing is recorded that the person did not choose to log.

Harvest is also easier to start with. The Free plan gives one seat and two projects with time tracking, invoicing and expense tracking, which is enough for a solo freelancer and enough for an agency to test the workflow. The 30-day trial needs no credit card.

Platform coverage is explicit: web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and browser extensions. Mixed-OS agencies know what they are getting.

Two housekeeping notes. Harvest’s site footer reads “Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A.”, which indicates Harvest is now owned by Bending Spoons. And the pricing page names the paid plans Teams and Enterprise while its FAQ still refers to “pro” and “premium” plans, so confirm plan names if they matter for a contract. Prices are shown as “starting from” and in USD.

Head-to-head table

Capability	Timely	Harvest	Dayflow (ours)
Automatic capture	Yes, Memory tracker records work in the background across web and desktop apps	No automatic activity capture listed	Yes, one screen frame every 10 seconds
Timers and timesheets	Manual timer included; AI drafts timesheet entries for approval	One-click timers, daily and weekly timesheets, calendar tracking	Not the approach; capture is automatic
AI features	AI timesheets and AI time categorization	None listed	AI writes the day into a timeline; summaries can miss or misread work
Invoicing	Not listed on the pages we read; see the vendor’s pricing page	Yes, from tracked time, with online payments	No
Team reports	Team and budget management (Premium and above), capacity reporting (Unlimited)	Team reporting; profitability reporting and approvals on Enterprise	No
Website blocking	Not listed; see the vendor’s pricing page	Not listed; see the vendor’s pricing page	No
Data location	Cloud; vendor states timelines are private and only approved entries are shared	Cloud web service with desktop and mobile apps	Recordings and timeline stored on your Mac; Local AI keeps analysis on-device
Free tier	None; 14-day trial	Free plan, 1 seat and 2 projects; 30-day trial, no card	Free app at $0; optional Pro at $20 a month
Platforms	Web, desktop app, iOS, Android	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, browser extensions	macOS 14 or later only
Open source	No	No	Yes, MIT

Pricing compared: which is cheaper per person?

Tool and plan	Billed yearly	Billed monthly	Notes
Timely Starter	$9 per user per month	$11 per user per month	Max 5 users, 20 projects
Timely Premium	$16 per user per month	$20 per user per month	Max 50 users; team and budget management, integrations
Timely Unlimited	$22 per user per month	$28 per user per month	Capacity reporting, overtime tracking
Timely Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Contact sales
Harvest Free	$0	$0	1 seat, 2 projects
Harvest Teams	$9 per seat per month ($108 per seat per year)	$11 per seat per month	Paid team plan
Harvest Enterprise	$14 per seat per month ($168 per seat per year)	$17.50 per seat per month	Profitability reporting, timesheet approvals
Harvest Enterprise Plus	Custom	Custom	Contact sales
Dayflow (ours)	n/a	$0, or Pro at $20 a month	Mac only; no agency features

For one person, the entry prices look identical. Timely Starter and Harvest Teams are both $9 per person per month on annual billing, which Harvest lists as $108 per seat per year, and both are $11 per month if you pay monthly.

The difference shows up as soon as the agency is a real agency. Timely Starter stops at 5 users and 20 projects, and 20 projects can disappear quickly when every client retainer and pitch is its own project. Team and budget management and accounting integrations start at Premium, which is $16 per user per month billed yearly, or $20 billed monthly. Harvest Teams stays at $9 per seat per month billed annually, and even Harvest Enterprise, with profitability reporting and approvals, is $14 per seat per month billed annually, or $168 per seat per year. Timely Unlimited, which adds capacity reporting, is $22 per user per month billed yearly.

To estimate a team total, multiply the per-seat price by your headcount, then confirm on each vendor’s pricing page, since both describe these as starting prices. Whether Timely’s higher per-seat cost pays for itself depends on how many billable hours your team currently forgets to log. If you are not sure what an hour of your time is worth after overhead, the real hourly rate calculator helps put a number on it.

Dayflow’s free app costs nothing and Pro is $20 a month, but neither covers invoicing or team reporting, so it is not a substitute line in an agency budget.

When to choose Timely

• Your team forgets timers. If timesheets are routinely late or reconstructed from memory, a background tracker with AI-drafted entries addresses the actual problem.
• You care about capacity. Capacity reporting and overtime tracking on Unlimited help with hiring and workload decisions.
• You want budgets watched. Team and budget management on Premium tracks hours against project budgets.
• Staff are wary of monitoring. The private timeline with user-approved sharing gives people control over what reaches the team.
• Invoicing lives elsewhere. If your agency already invoices from an accounting tool, Timely’s accounting integrations on Premium may cover the handoff. Invoicing inside Timely was not listed on the pages we read, so check with the vendor.

When to choose Harvest

• You invoice from tracked time. Invoicing with online payments and expense tracking are built in.
• Your books are in QuickBooks or Xero. Both are named integrations.
• You have more than 5 people and a tight budget. Teams at $108 per seat per year, billed annually, undercuts Timely’s Premium tier.
• You need approvals and profitability. Enterprise adds both at $14 per seat per month billed annually.
• Your team uses Windows, Mac and phones. Harvest lists every platform plus browser extensions.
• You want to try before paying. The free plan and a 30-day trial without a card make it low-risk to test.
• Your team already uses timers well. If the data comes in on time, automatic capture adds less than it costs.

Where both fall short: what about a private record of your own day?

Both tools are built around the agency’s question: which hours go to which client. Neither is designed around the individual’s question: what did I actually do today, and where did the afternoon go?

Harvest only knows what someone chose to log. Timely captures more, but its timeline sits in a cloud service and its job is to feed timesheets. Both are closed source and priced per seat, so a person who wants to keep a detailed personal record outside work tooling has no option inside either product.

That gap is where Dayflow, our product, fits. It records your Mac screen at one frame every 10 seconds and has AI write the day into a readable timeline. Full screen recordings and the timeline are stored on your Mac. With Local AI, a model runs on your Mac through Ollama or LM Studio and screenshot analysis stays on-device. If you choose your own cloud provider or Dayflow Pro, selected screenshots are processed off-device. Under the privacy policy, Pro deletes screenshots after processing and may retain Activity Data for sync. The details are in local and cloud processing.

One way to use a personal record like this is to fill in the work timesheet honestly from it, then keep the detail to yourself. Dayflow can export a date range as Markdown from Settings → Export, which pairs well with a timesheet template. We cover that approach in a Mac timesheet without manual entry, and the broader principle in time tracking without surveillance.

AI summaries can miss or misinterpret work, so check the timeline before using it for anything you send a client. If you are comparing more personal options, our guide to the best time tracker for Mac covers the wider field of Mac time trackers.

Where Dayflow is the wrong pick

For the job in the title, agency time tracking, Dayflow is usually the wrong choice. Be clear about the cases:

• You bill clients. Dayflow has no invoicing. Harvest wins here.
• You run payroll or need sign-offs. Dayflow has no payroll approvals. Harvest Enterprise offers timesheet approvals.
• You need team dashboards, budgets or capacity. Dayflow has no team reports. Timely wins with team and budget management on Premium and capacity reporting on Unlimited.
• Anyone on the team uses Windows or an older Mac. Dayflow needs macOS 14 or later. Harvest covers Windows, Mac, web and mobile.
• You want to block distracting sites. Dayflow does not do website blocking, and neither tool here lists it either.

Dayflow is the right pick for one person on a recent Mac who wants an automatic, private record of their own working day, at no cost and with source code they can read. It is a complement to an agency tracker, not a replacement.

The bottom line

Pick Harvest if your agency’s real workflow is “track hours, send invoices, get paid.” It costs less per seat once you pass 5 people, has a free plan and a 30-day trial, runs on every platform your team is likely to use, and connects to QuickBooks and Xero.

Pick Timely if your agency loses billable time because people do not log it. The background Memory tracker and AI-drafted timesheets fix that habit problem, and Premium and Unlimited add budgets and capacity planning. Expect to pay more, starting at $16 per user per month billed yearly for most teams.

And if what you personally want is a private record of your own Mac workday alongside whatever your agency uses, Dayflow is free and keeps recordings on your machine. Just do not expect it to send an invoice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Timely or Harvest better for an agency?

It depends on where your hours leak. If the main job is invoicing clients from tracked time, Harvest is the stronger fit, since invoicing with online payments, expense tracking and QuickBooks and Xero integrations are core features. If the problem is that people forget to log time at all, Timely's background Memory tracker and AI-drafted timesheets address that directly, with team and budget management on Premium and above.

Does Harvest track time automatically?

No automatic activity capture is listed on Harvest's own pages. Harvest tracks time through one-click timers, daily and weekly timesheets, or entries pulled from a connected calendar. That works well for teams with steady timer habits. If your staff regularly forget to start or stop timers, a background tracker such as Timely is the closer match to that need.

Does Timely have a free plan?

No. Timely has no free tier, only a 14-day trial. Paid plans start with Starter at $9 per user per month billed yearly, or $11 per user per month billed monthly, capped at 5 users and 20 projects. Premium is $16 per user per month billed yearly, Unlimited is $22, and Enterprise is custom pricing through sales.

Can Harvest create invoices from tracked time?

Yes. Harvest lists invoicing from tracked time with online payments as a core feature, along with expense tracking. Invoicing is included even on the Free plan, which allows 1 seat and 2 projects. Harvest also connects to accounting tools such as QuickBooks and Xero, so invoices and payments can flow into the books an agency already keeps.

Which is cheaper for a 10-person agency, Timely or Harvest?

Harvest is cheaper per seat. Timely Starter caps at 5 users, so a 10-person agency needs Timely Premium at $16 per user per month billed yearly. Harvest Teams is $9 per seat per month billed annually ($108 per seat), and Harvest Enterprise, with profitability reporting and approvals, is $14 per seat per month billed annually ($168 per seat). Multiply by headcount and confirm on each vendor's pricing page.

Can managers see everything Timely records?

According to Timely, no. The vendor states that each person's Memory timeline is private and that only entries the user approves are shared. The AI drafts timesheet entries from that timeline, and the person reviews them before they reach the team. Timely is still a cloud service, so the timeline lives on the vendor's servers rather than only on the employee's computer.

Who owns Harvest now?

The footer of Harvest's website reads Bending Spoons Operations S.p.A., which indicates Harvest is now owned by Bending Spoons. The current pricing page names the paid plans Teams and Enterprise, while its FAQ still mentions older pro and premium plan names. If plan names matter for a contract or procurement form, confirm them with Harvest directly.

Can Dayflow replace Harvest for client billing?

No, and Harvest is the better tool here. Dayflow does not create invoices, run payroll approvals or produce team reports. It records your Mac screen at one frame every 10 seconds and has AI write a private timeline of your day. An agency that bills clients from tracked hours should use Harvest, which invoices from tracked time and accepts online payments.

Does Dayflow work on Windows or for a whole team?

No. Dayflow is a Mac-only app that needs macOS 14 or later, and it has no team reports. It is built for one person who wants an automatic record of their own working day. An agency with Windows staff or a need for team dashboards should look at Harvest, which has Mac, Windows, web, mobile and browser extension apps.

Where does Dayflow store screen recordings?

Full screen recordings and the local timeline are stored on your Mac. With Local AI through Ollama or LM Studio, screenshot analysis stays on-device. If you choose your own cloud provider or Dayflow Pro, selected screenshots are processed off-device. Under the privacy policy, Pro deletes screenshots after processing and may retain Activity Data for sync.