Harvest vs Jira Comparison
Compare Harvest vs Jira features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Harvest
6/10
Harvest is a time tracking, project budgeting and invoicing tool for agencies, consultancies and service teams that bill clients for their time.
Jira
7.3/10
Atlassian's work and issue-tracking platform for planning, tracking, and shipping projects, with scrum and kanban boards built mainly for software and technical teams.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Customization | 4/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 | 4/10 |
| Integration | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Scalability | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $11/user/mo Teams | $8/user/mo Standard |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | $110/mo Teams | Free Free |
| Features | ||
| Kanban boards | ||
| App integrations | ||
| Dashboards | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Task lists | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Collaboration tools | Not listed | |
| Gantt charts | Not listed | |
| Scheduling | Not listed | |
| Task management | Not listed | |
| Timeline view | Not listed | |
| Workflow automation | Not listed | |
Harvest vs Jira cost by team size
Harvest and Jira cost the same at 1 user; Jira costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | Harvest | Jira |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | FreeFree |
| 5 users | $55/moTeams | FreeFree |
| 10 users | $110/moTeams | FreeFree |
| 25 users | $275/moTeams | $212/moStandard |
| 50 users | $550/moTeams | $424/moStandard |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Harvest
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose Jira
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $110/mo
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for mid-market (8/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Harvest
Pros
- Time entries flow straight into client invoices, and the billing integrations include QuickBooks Online, Xero, Stripe and PayPal.
- About 68 listed integrations, including Asana, Jira, Trello, ClickUp, Linear, Slack and Zapier, plus a public API.
- A free forever plan with invoicing for a single freelancer.
- Enterprise adds timesheet approvals, profitability reporting and SAML SSO for firms that need tighter control.
- A 30-day trial of the paid plans with no credit card required.
Cons
- Since the Bending Spoons acquisition, usage-based fees with undisclosed rates have produced reported bill increases of 1,500 percent or more.
- No Gantt charts or kanban boards, and you cannot assign tasks to individuals, so it does not replace a project management tool.
- Scheduling needs the separately billed Forecast app.
- You cannot remove seats mid-cycle, and data is stored only in the US.
- Reviewers mention manual steps when matching timesheets to invoices, and reminders that arrive too late.
Jira
Pros
- The free plan supports up to 10 users and includes scrum and kanban boards.
- Reviewers highlight deep customization of workflows, boards, and fields.
- Sprint and agile management are strong, and Jira integrates with GitHub and Git tools.
- It links closely with Confluence and other Atlassian products, so tickets can be referenced across those apps.
- Time tracking is built into every plan, including Free.
Cons
- Reviewers report a steep learning curve and an interface that overwhelms non-technical users.
- Users report slow issue loading and laggy boards in large deployments.
- Paid Marketplace apps can add hidden costs for reporting, CRM, and helpdesk needs.
- The free plan is limited to 100 emails per day and community support only.
- Troubleshooting failed automation rules can be frustrating.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Jira scores higher on our Project Management criteria: 7.3/10 against 6/10 for Harvest. The largest gap is in Customization: 4/10 for Harvest and 9/10 for Jira.
Jira costs less for 10 users: free on its Free plan, against about $110/mo on its Teams plan for Harvest, billed monthly.
Yes, both Harvest and Jira have a free plan.
Jira is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 5/10 for Harvest.
Jira has Kanban boards, which Harvest lacks.
