Harvest vs Laurel
A detailed comparison of Harvest and Laurel covering features, pricing, integrations, strengths, and weaknesses to help you choose the right tool.
Quick Overview
Harvest
Time Tracking and Invoicing
Harvest is one of the longest-running dedicated time tracking tools, offering one-click time tracking across web, desktop, and mobile with tightly integrated invoicing, expense tracking, and budget management. It serves over 70,000 companies and is known for its clean, intuitive interface.
Laurel
Enterprise Time Intelligence Platform
Laurel (formerly Time by Ping) is an enterprise-grade AI time intelligence platform primarily serving large law firms, Big 4 accounting firms, and major consulting organizations. It uses firm-specific Small Language Models to passively capture work activity and generate billing narratives that match each timekeeper's individual writing style.
Feature Comparison
Harvest Features
One-click time tracking across web, desktop, and mobile apps
Invoicing with automated payment reminders
Online payments via Stripe and PayPal
Project budget management with alerts
Expense tracking with receipt photo capture
Visual reports on budgets, time, and team capacity
Timesheet approvals and profitability reporting on Premium
Calendar integration pulling events into timesheets
Laurel Features
Passive background activity capture across all devices and applications
AI narrative generation matching individual timekeeper writing styles
Firm-specific Small Language Models (each firm gets its own)
Automatic billing code assignment
Real-time compliance engine for client billing rules
Automatic activity reconciliation for overlapping activities
Time analytics and insights dashboard
Pricing Breakdown
Harvest
Free (solo), $10.80/seat/month
Free plan for solo users. Pro: $10.80/seat/month (annual). Premium: ~$14/seat/month. 30-day free trial. Volume discounts for 50+ seats.
Laurel
Contact sales (enterprise only)
Enterprise custom pricing with white-glove deployment. No self-serve tiers. Positioned well above $29/user/month competitors. Contact sales for quotes.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Harvest
Strengths
Extremely intuitive and easy to adopt with 4.6/5 ease-of-use rating
Clean lightweight interface that avoids overwhelming users
Strong invoicing workflow tightly integrated with time tracking
50+ native integrations available
Reliable budget tracking and capacity management
18 years in market indicating stability and maturity
Weaknesses
No automatic time tracking, relies entirely on manual start/stop
No idle detection, break tracking, or GPS tracking
Limited project management capabilities
Reporting can feel basic for advanced analytics needs
Mobile app has fewer features than desktop and web
Per-seat pricing becomes expensive at scale
Key features paywalled behind Premium tier
Long-term pricing stability concerns after recent increases
Laurel
Strengths
Measurable ROI: 4-11% profitability increase, 7.5% hours billed increase
80% reduction in manual time entry
Firm-specific AI models that continuously learn
Strong security: SOC II Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, BYOK encryption
Rapid 4-week deployment
Well-funded with $155.7M raised at $510M valuation
28+ additional billable minutes per timekeeper per day
Weaknesses
English language support only
Inconsistent support quality reported by some users
No public pricing transparency
Desktop monitoring may raise privacy concerns
Limited training resources with no video or webinar content
Not suitable for solo practitioners or small firms
Operational complexity at scale
Integrations
Harvest (14 integrations)
Laurel (9 integrations)
Target Market
Harvest
Freelancers, small to medium businesses, agencies, design studios, consultancies, and professional services firms
Laurel
Large enterprise law firms (Am Law 100), Big 4 accounting firms, and major consulting firms
The Verdict
Both Harvest and Laurel are solid time tracking tools, but they serve different needs.
Harvest (Time Tracking and Invoicing) is best suited for freelancers, small to medium businesses, agencies, design studios, consultancies, and professional services firms. It starts at Free (solo), $10.80/seat/month and offers 8 key features.
Laurel (Enterprise Time Intelligence Platform) is best suited for large enterprise law firms (am law 100), big 4 accounting firms, and major consulting firms. It starts at Contact sales (enterprise only) and offers 7 key features.
If neither tool quite fits your needs, consider comparing Harvest with TimeSentry or comparing Laurel with TimeSentry. TimeSentry offers AI-powered time capture from 20+ integrations, built-in invoicing, multi-company workflows, and dedicated onboarding support.
The TimeSentry Guarantee
Free 7-day trial with full access to every feature. No credit card required.
White-glove onboarding so your team is set up correctly from day one.
AI that learns your patterns and gets more accurate the longer you use it.
Cancel anytime with no contracts, no lock-in, and no hidden fees.
Dedicated support from real humans who respond within hours, not days.
Need something better than both?
TimeSentry combines the best of AI-powered time tracking with built-in invoicing, multi-company workflows, and 20+ integrations. Try it free and see for yourself.