Softwr

Scheduling & Booking · head to head

Acuity Scheduling vs Harvest Forecast

Acuity Scheduling logo

Acuity Scheduling

Scheduling & Booking

Scheduling made simple

From
$16/month
Rated
-
Harvest Forecast logo

Harvest Forecast

Calendar & Time Management

Simple visual resource planning

From
$5/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Acuity Scheduling starter tier limited to 1 calendar only; Harvest Forecast the free plan allows a single seat and 2 projects
  • They diverge on capability: Acuity Scheduling covers Online booking, Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Acuity Scheduling and Harvest Forecast actually diverge.

Attributes where Acuity Scheduling and Harvest Forecast differ
AttributeAcuity SchedulingHarvest Forecast
Starting price$16/month$5/month
CategoryScheduling & BookingCalendar & Time Management
Founded20032006

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Acuity Scheduling

  • Online booking
  • Appointment types
  • Calendar sync
  • Payment processing
  • Email reminders
  • Client self-scheduling
  • Packages & memberships
  • Timezone detection

Only in Harvest Forecast

  • Visual scheduling
  • Capacity planning
  • Project assignments
  • Utilization reports
  • Harvest integration
  • Harvest
  • iCal
  • Web support

Both cover

  • Google Calendar

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Acuity Scheduling

  • Client self-scheduling with automated time zone conversionnot Harvest Forecast
  • HIPAA-compliant scheduling for healthcare practitionersnot Harvest Forecast
  • Multi-location scheduling with multiple staff membersnot Harvest Forecast
  • Membership, package sales, and gift certificate managementnot Harvest Forecast

Harvest Forecast

  • Time tracking and invoicing against client projectsnot Acuity Scheduling
  • Forecasting team capacity and scheduling worknot Acuity Scheduling

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Acuity Scheduling

  • Starter tier limited to 1 calendar only
  • SMS/text reminders, memberships, and gift certificates require Standard or Premium tier
  • HIPAA compliance (BAA signature) exclusive to Premium tier at $49/month
  • Custom API and CSS access, and Acuity branding removal require Premium tier

Harvest Forecast

  • The free plan allows a single seat and 2 projects
  • Paid plans bill per seat with usage charged beyond the base rate rather than being purely flat
  • The Enterprise plan is $14 per seat per month against $9 on Teams
  • The 20% saving requires annual payment
  • Enterprise Plus is custom priced

Pricing, plan by plan

Acuity Scheduling

$16/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Acuity Scheduling review.

Harvest Forecast

$5/month
  • Per seat$5/month
    • Visual planning
    • Harvest integration
    • Team scheduling

Which should you pick?

Choose Acuity Scheduling if

  • You need online booking.
  • You also want appointment types.

Choose Harvest Forecast if

  • You need visual scheduling.
  • You also want capacity planning.

Questions people ask

Is Acuity Scheduling or Harvest Forecast better?
Neither clearly leads. Acuity Scheduling starts at $16/month and Harvest Forecast at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Acuity Scheduling or Harvest Forecast?
Acuity Scheduling starts at $16/month and Harvest Forecast at $5/month.
Does Acuity Scheduling or Harvest Forecast run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Acuity Scheduling best used for?
Acuity Scheduling is most often used for client self-scheduling with automated time zone conversion, hipaa-compliant scheduling for healthcare practitioners, multi-location scheduling with multiple staff members, membership, package sales, and gift certificate management. Of those, client self-scheduling with automated time zone conversion and hipaa-compliant scheduling for healthcare practitioners are not what Harvest Forecast is typically brought in for.
What can Acuity Scheduling do that Harvest Forecast cannot?
Acuity Scheduling covers Online booking, Appointment types, Calendar sync, Payment processing. Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling, Capacity planning, Project assignments, Utilization reports. Both handle Google Calendar.

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