A Harvest alternative is invoicing software you move to after Harvest's 2026 pricing change replaced a straightforward per-seat fee with a base seat rate plus usage charges on invoices, projects, clients and tasks. For long-standing customers, that turned a bill they could predict into one that depends on how much work they put through the account.
If you are here because your Harvest renewal came in higher than you expected, or because you saw the news and want to know whether you are next, here is what actually changed, what Harvest now costs, and how a flat-priced tool like Billbooks compares for people whose main job is sending invoices and getting paid. For the wider view, see our guide to simple invoicing alternatives.
What changed in Harvest's pricing
The seat price is now only the base rate
Harvest was acquired by the Italian software company Bending Spoons in 2025, and its pricing model changed in 2026. The per-seat figure on the pricing page is no longer the whole bill. Harvest's own pricing page describes it plainly: your base rate includes core features, and as your team grows, additional invoices, projects, clients and tasks are billed based on what you use (Harvest pricing).
That is the structural change worth understanding before you compare anything on headline price. Two accounts on the same plan with the same number of seats can pay very different amounts, because the second half of the bill is driven by activity rather than headcount.
What the plans cost now
Harvest lists four tiers. Free covers one seat and two projects at no cost. Teams starts at $9 per seat a month billed annually, which Harvest shows as $108 per seat a year, or $11 per seat a month billed monthly. Enterprise starts at $14 per seat a month billed annually, shown as $168 per seat a year, or $17.50 per seat a month billed monthly. Enterprise Plus is custom priced (Harvest pricing).
Note the wording Harvest uses on every paid tier: starting from. Those are floors, not quotes.
The rates you cannot look up
Harvest's pricing page confirms that invoices, projects, clients and tasks are billed on usage, but it does not list the per-unit rates on the page itself. It points you to a pricing calculator and its help centre instead (Harvest pricing). Even the free plan carries a note that the usage of some features may require the payment of fees.
This is the part that makes budgeting hard. You can read the seat price in ten seconds. Working out the rest means modelling your own usage against rates that are not on the page you are reading.
Where the usage fees hit hardest
A documented example
BBC News reported that Richard Haldenby, who runs the UK consultancy Salentis and had used Harvest for at least 15 years, saw his monthly bill go from $130 to $2,110 at renewal, an increase of roughly 1,523%. He said it would double the firm's IT spend for the year, which was completely unaffordable, and called the change a classic example of corporate greed over valuing customers. The same report cites a US customer whose annual charge went from $2,800 to $23,000 (BBC News, via Yahoo Finance).
Haldenby was offered a discount taking the first year to $1,309 a month, payable up front. He described that as delaying the inevitable and said he planned to migrate elsewhere.
What Harvest says
Harvest told the BBC that customers on legacy plans, some dating back to 2011, faced the largest increases because the product had become a significantly more powerful tool, and that it notified customers 30 days and 10 days before renewal with the ability to switch plans in one click. Pricing consultant Mark Peacock, quoted in the same report, took the opposite view, calling the rollout extremely bad practice and saying Harvest had completely failed the transparency test (BBC News, via Yahoo Finance).
Both things can be true at once. Harvest still does what it always did: it tracks time and turns it into invoices, and it does that well. Plenty of accounts will land near what they paid before. The issue is that the accounts hit hardest were the ones that had been loyal longest, and that the number depends on usage you have to forecast yourself.
A price you can read off the page
Billbooks charges one price per organisation, with no usage meter on invoices, clients or projects. Start your free 30-day trial, no credit card required.
What to look for in a Harvest alternative
Before you shortlist anything, separate what you use from what Harvest bundles.
If tracked time is the engine of your billing, that is the feature to test first. Harvest is a time tracker that invoices; most invoicing tools, Billbooks included, are the other way round. Check how any candidate turns hours into line items before you commit, because that is the workflow most likely to differ.
If you mostly send invoices and chase payment, the bundled time tracking may be the reason your bill is complicated in the first place. A flat-priced tool removes the renewal-surprise risk outright.
And whichever way you go, ask one question of every vendor: is the price per seat, per usage, or both? That single answer tells you what happens to your bill when next year goes well. If fees on the payment side matter as much as subscription cost, our breakdown of invoicing software with the lowest fees covers that side.
How Billbooks compares
Billbooks prices per organisation rather than per seat, and does not add usage charges for the invoices, clients or projects you create. Basic is $7.95 a month and covers 2 users, 100 clients and 50 projects with unlimited invoices and estimates. Standard is $14.95 a month for 5 users, 500 clients and 500 projects. Professional is $29.95 a month for 10 users with unlimited clients, items and projects. Every paid plan includes every feature, and the higher tiers add capacity rather than unlocking functionality. Annual billing saves 10%, and there is a 30-day free trial with no credit card (Billbooks pricing).
Two honest notes, because a comparison that only flatters one side is not much use. Harvest's annual discount is larger than ours: 20% against our 10%. And both products offer a 30-day trial without a card, so that is not a point of difference. The difference that matters is the unit of pricing. Harvest bills per seat and then meters your activity on top. Billbooks bills the organisation, so sending fifty invoices this month costs exactly what sending five costs.
Billbooks also publishes an answer to the question this whole episode raises. Its pricing FAQ states that the plan price does not increase with inflation, and that what you sign up at is what you keep paying (Billbooks pricing).
What Billbooks does not have is time tracking. If your invoices are built from tracked hours across a team, that gap is real and you should weigh it rather than discover it in week two.
Check the number before the renewal date
Compare Billbooks plans against your current Harvest bill while you still have time to move. One price per organisation, no usage fees.
Making the switch
The mechanics are much the same wherever you land. Export your client list, invoice history and active project records from Harvest while the account is still open, because that access is the thing you lose first when you cancel. Set up your business profile, tax settings and payment methods in the new tool. Then tell active clients before the next invoice arrives from an unfamiliar sender, which avoids the awkward email asking whether the invoice is genuine.
Most solo users and small teams can do this inside an hour once the export is in hand. Give yourself longer if you have recurring invoices to rebuild, and do the move at the start of a billing cycle rather than the middle of one.
Whichever tool you choose, the question worth asking is not which platform bundles the most. It is whether you can predict next month's bill as easily as you can predict this month's.
Two free tools and a template to price the work and bill for it, no signup:
Frequently asked questions
Why did Harvest's prices go up in 2026?
Harvest was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2025 and changed its pricing model in 2026. The per-seat fee became a base rate, with additional charges once an account goes beyond the invoices, projects, clients and tasks that the base rate includes. Harvest's own pricing page describes this usage-based billing directly.
Does Harvest still have a free plan?
Yes. Harvest's free tier covers one seat and two projects at no cost, and it carries a note that the usage of some features may require the payment of fees. Paid plans start once you need more seats or projects.
What does Harvest cost per seat in 2026?
Teams starts at $9 per seat a month billed annually, or $11 billed monthly. Enterprise starts at $14 per seat a month billed annually, or $17.50 billed monthly. Enterprise Plus is custom priced. All paid tiers say starting from, because usage charges on invoices, projects, clients and tasks are added on top and the per-unit rates are not listed on the pricing page.
How much can a Harvest bill increase at renewal?
It varies by account. BBC News reported one UK consultancy whose monthly bill rose from $130 to $2,110, roughly 1,523%, and a US customer whose annual charge went from $2,800 to $23,000. Harvest said the largest increases affected customers on legacy plans, some dating from 2011. These are documented individual cases rather than an average.
Does Billbooks charge usage fees like Harvest?
No. Billbooks prices per organisation, with unlimited invoices and estimates on every paid plan and no extra charge based on how many invoices, clients or projects you create. Higher plans add users and capacity rather than unlocking features.
Can I switch from Harvest to Billbooks without losing my data?
Export your client list, invoice history and project records from Harvest before you cancel, while you still have access to the account. Hosted invoicing tools, Billbooks included, support importing a client list, though it is worth checking the import format currently supported before you close the old plan.
