Both track time and invoice. Aeto also manages your projects.
Harvest is a well-regarded time tracking and invoicing tool. Aeto covers the same ground and adds project management, task-level time tracking, and a Mac menu bar timer. At $10/month flat, it costs less than one Harvest seat.
30-day free trialNo credit card requiredmacOS 12+Apple Silicon
Aeto vs. Harvest.
Bottom Line: Both tools track time and invoice. Only Aeto connects task-level time directly to invoice line items; in any browser or as a native Mac app.
Bottom line
Aeto does more of what you need.
| Feature | Aeto | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Project management | Yes, Kanban + task lists | No |
| Task-level time tracking | Yes | Basic project tracking only |
| Time to invoice flow | Automatic from tasks | Automatic from time entries |
| Flat-fee project tracking | Yes, with internal hours | No |
| Web app | Yes | Yes |
| Mac desktop app | Yes | Yes |
| Menu bar timer | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | $10/month flat | $11-17.50/user/month |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 30 days, requires a card |
Where Harvest Excels.
Harvest has been around since 2006 and has strong integrations with tools like Asana, QuickBooks, and Xero. If you are already embedded in a team that uses Harvest, or if you need deep accounting integrations, it is a solid choice. It is also available on web, desktop, iOS, and Android.
Where Aeto Fits Better.
Project management is built in
Harvest tracks time and invoices from it. That is it. If you want to manage the actual work — tasks, deadlines, project stages, client context — you need a separate tool. Aeto does both in one place.
Task-level time tracking
In Harvest, time entries are logged to a project. In Aeto, time is logged to a specific task within a project. That means your invoice can show itemized work rather than a single project total.
Flat-fee projects
Harvest does not support flat-fee project billing with internal time tracking. Aeto does. Quote a fixed price, track internal hours against it, and see your effective rate without showing internal data to the client.
Pricing
Harvest charges per seat. At $11/month (or $108/year) per user on the Teams monthly plan, it costs more than Aeto for a solo freelancer and grows with every team member you add. Aeto is $10/month flat with no per-seat model.
Answers to the
questions we get most.
Everything you’re likely to ask before you download the trial.
Yes, particularly for Mac users who want project management alongside time tracking and invoicing. Aeto costs less than one Harvest seat and adds a Kanban board, task-level billing, flat-fee project tracking, and a native menu bar timer.
Harvest has basic project tracking for budgeting and reporting purposes, but it does not have a task management system, Kanban board, or project workflow tools. For project management you would need to integrate a separate tool like Asana or Basecamp.
Aeto is $10/month for one user, or $100/year. Harvest Pro is $11/month or $108/year for the Teams plan. For a solo freelancer, the cost is similar. Harvest has a free tier, but it’s onlly for two projects.
Harvest has a larger integration library including QuickBooks, Xero, Asana, and Slack. Aeto is focused on the core workflow and does not have third-party accounting integrations right now. If you rely on Harvest’s QuickBooks or Xero sync, that is worth factoring in.
Aeto allows you to export .csv files from a variety of reports that can be added to bookkeeping applications.