Ever feel like your workdays vanish into thin air? You’re not alone.
Many freelancers and businesses struggle to track their time effectively.
Two popular time-tracking tools, Toggl vs Harvest, aim to solve this problem.
In this comparison, we’ll break down each platform’s key features to help you make an informed decision and finally take control of your time.
Overview
We’ve spent considerable time exploring Toggl and Harvest, testing their features in real-world scenarios.
From tracking individual tasks to managing team projects, we’ve analyzed their strengths and weaknesses to compare them comprehensively.
Toggl Track users report an average 15% increase in billable hours. Built-in reporting helps you analyze your time.”
Pricing: Free trial available. Paid plan starts at $9/month
Key Features:
- Manual Time Tracking
- Project Management
- Reporting
Ready to take control of your time tracking? Harvest boasts over 100,000 customers and integrates with dozens of popular business tools.
Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plan starts at $11/month
Key Features:
- Time Tracking
- Invoicing
- Expense Tracking
What is Toggl?
Toggl is a super user-friendly time-tracking tool designed for simplicity. It lets you start tracking your time with just one click, making it great for individuals and teams.
Ready to boost your productivity? Toggl Track users report an average 15% increase in billable hours. Built-in reporting helps you analyze your time.”
Key Benefits
- Simplicity: Toggl’s design is incredibly user-friendly. Even if you’re not tech-savvy, you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
- Wide Range of Integrations: Toggl integrates with 100+ other tools. This makes it easy to connect with your project management software, calendars, and more.
- Offline Tracking: No internet? No problem! Toggl lets you track time offline, and it syncs when you’re back online.
Pricing
- Free: Basic time tracking for individuals.
- Starter: $9 per user/month
- Premium: $18 per user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Pros
Cons
What is Harvest?
Harvest is another popular time-tracking tool. It’s beneficial for freelancers and businesses.
It offers robust invoicing and expense tracking, making it a great all-in-one solution.
Ready to stop losing track of time and money? Millions of people use Harvest to simplify their work and get paid faster.
Key Benefits
- Effortless Time Tracking: Harvest makes logging your time a breeze. Its intuitive interface allows for quick and accurate time entries.
- Seamless Invoicing: Harvest simplifies the billing process. You can easily generate invoices based on tracked time.
- Powerful Integrations: Harvest plays nicely with other apps. Connect it to your project management, accounting, and communication tools.
Pricing
Harvest offers straightforward pricing plans.
- Free: $0 per user per month.
- Pro: $11 per user per month.
- Premium: $14 per user per month.
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Now, let’s dive into comparing Toggl and Harvest’s features.
We’ll examine how they compare in key areas, helping you determine which time-tracking solution best suits your needs.
Core Time Tracking
- Toggl: Toggl Track offers a simple time-tracking experience. Users can quickly start and stop timers with a single click. Manual time entries are also possible. Toggl Track offers automatic time tracking as well.
- Harvest: Harvest also provides simple time tracking. Like Harvest, Toggl allows for manual time entries, making it easy to adjust your time. Harvest also offers automatic time tracking.
Invoicing
- Toggl: Toggl’s invoicing features are essential. While you can track billable time, creating and sending invoices usually requires integrations with other tools.
- Harvest excels in this area. It allows you to create and send professional invoices directly from the platform, providing robust features for managing billable time.
Reporting
- Toggl: Toggl provides solid time reports. You can generate reports to analyze your time spent on projects and tasks.
- Harvest: Harvest offers powerful time reports. You can get detailed insights into your time, expenses, and billable hours. Harvest supports customized time reports.
Project Management
- Toggl: Toggl’s project management features are pretty basic. It’s suitable for simple project tracking.
- Harvest offers more robust project management. It allows you to manage tasks, track project progress, and collaborate with your team.
Integrations
- Toggl: Toggl integrates with many other tools, like Asana and Trello. This extends its functionality.
- Harvest: Harvest also integrates with many popular business applications. Its integrations with accounting software are powerful.
User Interface
- Toggl: Toggl is known for its clean and intuitive interface. It’s a simple time-tracking app.
- Harvest: Harvest’s interface is also user-friendly, but its added features can make it feel more complex—many users like Harvest for its comprehensive features.
What to Look for When Choosing a Time Tracker?
- Ease of Use: Is the interface intuitive and easy to navigate? Can you quickly track time?
- Essential Features: Does it offer the core time tracking features you need? Consider invoicing, reporting, and project management capabilities.
- Integrations: Does it connect with other tools you use regularly? This can streamline your workflow.
- Pricing: Does the pricing fit your budget? Evaluate free plans and paid options.
- Team Needs: If you manage a team, consider features such as team management, reporting, and collaboration.
- Scalability: Can the tool grow with your business?
- Mobile App: Is there a reliable mobile app for tracking time on the go?
- Customer Support: Is there adequate customer support available if you need help?
Final Verdict (Our Pick)
Choosing between Harvest and Toggl depends on your needs.
If simple time tracking is your primary goal, and you’re on a budget,
Toggl is a great time-tracking app. Its simple time tracking makes it easy just to get started.
But, if you need invoicing and expense tracking, Harvest is the better time-tracking software.
It’s a more complete time-tracking solution for managing your time and finances.
We’ve extensively used Harvest and Toggl, and we believe this guide will help you make the right choice for your time management.
Consider the most important features to you, and pick the time-tracking tool that best fits your workflow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Toggl a good time-tracking tool?
Toggl is a great time-tracking software, especially for individuals and small teams. Its simple design makes it easy to track time manually or use automated time tracking. The Toggl plan offers a free option, making it accessible.
Is Harvest better than Toggl?
It depends on your needs. Harvest is better if you need to track invoicing, expenses, and time, while Toggl is better for simple time tracking and project management.
Can I enter time manually in both Toggl and Harvest?
Yes, both allow you to do so. This can help you correct mistakes or track time spent on tasks you forgot to start a timer.
Do Toggl and Harvest offer automated time tracking?
Yes, both time-tracking solutions do. This feature can help simplify time tracking by automatically recording computer activity.
Which time-tracking app is best for freelancers?
Freelancers often prefer Harvest due to its invoicing and expense-tracking capabilities. However, Toggl can also be a good option if you primarily need to track time.
