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Software · head to head

Fantastical vs Harvest Forecast

Fantastical logo

Fantastical

Software

The calendar app you'll love to use

From
Free
Rated
-
Harvest Forecast logo

Harvest Forecast

Software

Simple visual resource planning

From
$5/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Fantastical has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fantastical premium subscription required for advanced features at $56.99/year; Harvest Forecast the free plan allows a single seat and 2 projects
  • They diverge on capability: Fantastical covers Natural language input, Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fantastical and Harvest Forecast actually diverge.

Attributes where Fantastical and Harvest Forecast differ
AttributeFantasticalHarvest Forecast
Starting priceFree$5/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, WindowsWeb
Founded20112006

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Fantastical

  • Natural language input
  • Calendar sets
  • Weather integration
  • Scheduling
  • Tasks
  • Outlook
  • iCloud
  • Exchange

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.

Fantastical

  • Schedulingnot Harvest Forecast
  • Appointment bookingnot Harvest Forecast
  • Time trackingnot Harvest Forecast
  • Resource managementnot Harvest Forecast
  • Team coordinationnot Harvest Forecast

Harvest Forecast

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

Where each one falls short

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

Fantastical

  • Premium subscription required for advanced features at $56.99/year
  • Primarily designed for Apple ecosystem; Windows version is resource-intensive
  • No native Android app, limiting cross-platform usage
  • No web interface for calendar access
  • Shows events but lacks event management capabilities compared to specialized task tools

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

Fantastical

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic calendar views (day, week, month, quarter, year)
    • Natural language event entry
    • 3-day weather forecast
  • Individual Premium$56.99/year
    • All free features
    • Task management with Todoist and Google Tasks
    • Unlimited calendar sets
  • Family Premium$89.99/year
    • All Individual Premium features
    • Up to 5 family members
    • Shared calendars

Harvest Forecast

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Fantastical if

  • You need natural language input.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows.
  • You also want calendar sets.

Choose Harvest Forecast if

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

Questions people ask

Is Fantastical or Harvest Forecast better?
Neither clearly leads. Fantastical starts at Free and Harvest Forecast at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fantastical or Harvest Forecast?
Fantastical has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fantastical and $5/month for Harvest Forecast.
Does Fantastical or Harvest Forecast run on more platforms?
Fantastical runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows. Harvest Forecast runs on Web.
Can I use Fantastical for free?
Yes. Fantastical has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Harvest Forecast starts at $5/month.
What is Fantastical best used for?
Fantastical is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management. Of those, scheduling and appointment booking are not what Harvest Forecast is typically brought in for.
What can Fantastical do that Harvest Forecast cannot?
Fantastical covers Natural language input, Calendar sets, Weather integration, Scheduling. Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling, Capacity planning, Project assignments, Utilization reports. Both handle Google Calendar.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fantastical: Does Fantastical have a free plan?

Yes, Fantastical offers a free tier with basic calendar views (day, week, month, quarter, year), natural language event entry, and 3-day weather forecast. Premium features including task management integrations and family sharing require a paid subscription at $56.99/year or $6.99/month.

Source
Fantastical: Can I create events using natural language?

Yes, Fantastical's signature feature is natural language processing, allowing you to create events by typing or speaking in plain English. You can type things like 'dinner tomorrow at 7 pm with Sarah' and it automatically parses the date, time, and attendees.

Source
Fantastical: What calendar services does Fantastical support?

Fantastical integrates with Google Calendar, iCloud, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Office 365, and Fastmail. It supports multiple account types and syncs changes across all connected services.

Source
Fantastical: What task management apps can I integrate with Fantastical?

Fantastical supports Todoist, Google Tasks, and Microsoft 365 tasks. Tasks sync bidirectionally, and changes made in Fantastical reflect back in your task service.

Source
Fantastical: Does Fantastical work on Windows?

Fantastical for Windows was released in October 2024, though it is resource-heavy compared to the macOS and iOS versions. The app is feature-complete but less polished than the Apple platform versions.

Source

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