ActivityPulse vs Harvest
Harvest is an invoicing product that tracks time, and it is very good at the invoicing half. Time gets in by someone pressing a timer or filling a timesheet; it does not capture in the background, take screenshots or monitor activity at all. ActivityPulse solves the step before that — producing the hours in the first place — and exports them, rather than raising the invoice itself.
At a glance
Harvest facts come from their own public pages, last checked 2026-09-17.
| Dimension | ActivityPulse | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| How time gets recorded | Automatically, from the foreground window. Nobody starts or stops a timer, so nothing is lost to forgetting. | Manual: one-click timers, daily or weekly timesheets, and calendar imports. There is no background capture. |
| What is captured by default | Foreground app and window metadata only. Nothing more without an explicit admin change. | Only what the person enters or times. |
| Screenshots | Off by default. Available on higher plans and only after a compliance review. | None. Harvest does not offer screenshot capture. |
| Keystroke capture | Never records keystroke content, on any plan. | None. Harvest does not monitor input. |
| Productivity scoring | None. Hours are attributed to projects; the product does not grade the person. | No monitoring scores. Reporting covers capacity, utilisation and workload from logged time. |
| Tenant data isolation | A separate database per organisation, so isolation is structural. | Shared multi-tenant SaaS; per-customer database isolation is not something they document. |
| Offline capture | Queues locally and syncs idempotently — no hour lost, none counted twice. | The desktop and mobile apps allow entry offline and sync on reconnect. |
| Desktop platforms | Windows and macOS. | Windows and macOS, plus iOS and Android. |
| Entry price (per user / month) | Free up to 3 users, then $4 billed annually ($5 monthly). | Free for 1 seat and 2 projects, then $9 per seat billed annually ($11 monthly). |
Source: Harvest public pricing and documentation, checked 2026-09-17. Products change — if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
When Harvest is the better choice
Harvest is the better choice if the thing you actually need is billing: it turns tracked time into invoices, handles expenses and receipts, collects payment through Stripe and PayPal, and integrates with QuickBooks and Xero. ActivityPulse produces payroll- and invoice-ready exports but does not raise an invoice or take a payment, so for a small agency Harvest may be the only tool needed.
When ActivityPulse is the better choice
ActivityPulse is the better choice when the hours going into the invoice are the unreliable part. Harvest can only bill what somebody remembered to enter; ActivityPulse builds the record from what was actually on screen, which is where the fifteen-minute call and the half-hour amend stop going missing.
Harvest alternatives — questions
Can ActivityPulse invoice clients like Harvest?
No. ActivityPulse produces per-project and per-task hours and exports them for billing or payroll, but it does not generate invoices or collect payment. Many teams run it alongside an invoicing tool.
Why would we use ActivityPulse if we already have Harvest?
Because the two solve different halves. Harvest is where the invoice is raised; ActivityPulse is where the hours come from, without relying on anyone reconstructing their week on Friday afternoon.
Does ActivityPulse track time in the background like Harvest does not?
Yes. That is the main difference between the two. The agent records the foreground application automatically and attributes it to the current project, with manual adjustment available and audited.
See where the hours actually went
Free for up to three people. Windows and macOS. No keystroke content on any plan, and screenshots off unless an administrator turns them on.