Harvest vs Wave Comparison 2026
Harvest tracks hours against a project and turns them into an invoice, free for one seat and two projects, then $9 a seat a month. Wave does not track time at all, but gives away real double-entry bookkeeping and unlimited invoices for free, earning instead on card processing at 2.9 percent plus 60 cents and on a $19-a-month Pro plan with automation. Pick Harvest if hourly time tracking is the core of the business. Pick Wave if the books need to be real accounting, not just invoices.
At a glance
- Harvest starts cheaper, at $9.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Harvest | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $9 | From $19 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | 30 days | None |
| API |
Harvest
Time tracking that turns into an invoice
Harvest counts hours against a project and then bills them, which removes the worst half hour of any freelance month: reading a timesheet back and typing it into an invoice. Expenses and receipts attach to the same project. The free plan covers one person and two projects, and for a solo creator that is often where it stops.
Our note
Harvest is the pick when the hours are the invoice. If work is billed as a fixed project fee, Moxie or Bonsai cover more of the job for similar money and the time tracking is the smaller part of what you need.
Only on this side
- Covers project management
Wave
Invoicing and bookkeeping that costs nothing
Wave does invoices, receipts and double-entry bookkeeping for free, and earns on card payments and on a paid tier that automates the parts you would otherwise do by hand. For a sole trader sending a dozen invoices a year it is the cheapest honest answer. Payroll and the advisor service exist in some countries only, which is worth checking before a whole tax year lives in it.
Why people weigh these two
- Wave instead of Harvest
- Wave does invoicing and bookkeeping at no cost, so it suits a freelancer who bills flat fees per project rather than hours that need timing first.
- Harvest instead of Wave
- Harvest turns tracked time into an invoice directly, with a free tier and plans from $9, built for billing hours rather than Wave's bookkeeping focus.
Which one should you pick
Pick Harvest if you bill by the hour and need a timer running against a project before the invoice is written. The free plan covers one seat and two projects with time tracking, invoicing and expenses all present, and Teams at $9 a seat a month removes the caps.
Pick Wave if the business needs real bookkeeping, double-entry accounts an accountant can use at year end, not just a stack of invoices. Starter is free with no cap on invoices, and Pro at $19 a month, $190 a year, adds automation and receipt scanning plus a waived fee on the first ten card payments each month. It tracks no time at all, so an hourly biller still needs something like Harvest alongside it. Confirm payroll and Wave Advisors are offered in your country before building a whole tax year on it.
Common questions
- Is Wave really free, unlike Harvest's capped free plan?
- Its Starter plan is: unlimited invoices and full double-entry bookkeeping at no cost, no seat or project cap. Harvest's free plan is capped at one seat and two projects, though it adds time tracking that Wave does not have at all.
- Does Wave track time against a project like Harvest does?
- No. Wave's job is invoicing and bookkeeping. Harvest is built around a timer running against a project, turning approved hours into an invoice with the rate already applied, which Wave does not do.
- Which one gives real bookkeeping, not just invoices?
- Wave. Its free Starter plan includes double-entry accounts, the kind an accountant needs at year end, rather than a simple list of payments. Harvest tracks time and expenses but does not describe itself as bookkeeping software.
- Should an hourly freelancer use both?
- Possibly: Harvest for the timer and the hourly invoice, Wave for the bookkeeping underneath it, since Wave does not track time at all. Check first whether Harvest's own invoicing and Stripe or PayPal collection already cover what you need.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.