Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Harness vs Knack

Harness logo

Harness

Developer Tools

Software delivery platform across CI, CD, security testing and cost management

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit HarnessFull review
Knack logo

Knack

Databases

Hosted no-code database and web app builder priced by stored records and storage, with unlimited user accounts on every plan.

From
$59/month
Free plan
No
Visit KnackFull review

The short version

  • Harness is free; Knack starts at $59/mo.
  • Where Harness falls short: essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Harness and Knack actually diverge.

Attributes where Harness and Knack differ
AttributeHarnessKnack
Starting priceFree$59/month
Pricing modelFreemiumSubscription
Free tierYesNo
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

Identical on both: platforms (Web).

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 Harness

Nothing recorded that Knack does not also cover.

Only in Knack

  • Visual database builder
  • User logins and roles
  • Page builder
  • Unlimited users
  • E-commerce
  • Automation flows
  • Scheduled tasks
  • REST API and webhooks

What people use each for

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

Harness

  • Deploying apps to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with rollbacksnot Knack
  • Integrating security scanners throughout build pipelines before productionnot Knack
  • Automating cloud cost reduction and tracking unit-level expensesnot Knack
  • Enabling developers to provision infrastructure without operations bottlenecksnot Knack
  • Assessing deployment frequency and lead time productivity metricsnot Knack

Knack

  • A member or client portal where thousands of external people need their own login and see only their own recordsnot Harness
  • Replacing a shared spreadsheet used by a team that has outgrown it but cannot justify a developer to build a bespoke internal toolnot Harness
  • Inventory, asset or case tracking for a small operations team that needs roles, forms and a record of who changed whatnot Harness
  • A registration or booking application for an association, school or non-profit where the user count is large and the record count stays modestnot Harness

Where each one falls short

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

Harness

  • Essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
  • DevOps Essentials has no on-premises deployment option
  • Internal Developer Portal requires minimum 20 developer licenses
  • Pipeline execution history retention 6 months (Essentials) vs 25 months as add-on (Enterprise)

Knack

  • Plans are capped by stored records, so an application that logs events or keeps history rather than current state climbs tiers on data volume alone, and archiving old records becomes a permanent maintenance chore rather than a one-off
  • API access is capped per day, at 1,000 calls on the entry plan and 10,000 at the Corporate tier, so a scheduled sync or a busy automation can exhaust the day's quota before the working day ends and integrations then fail silently
  • The application itself cannot be exported or self-hosted; records can be downloaded but the pages, roles, flows and business logic exist only inside Knack, so outgrowing the platform means rebuilding the app rather than moving it
  • Customisation beyond the builder is limited to injected CSS and JavaScript that Knack's support does not cover, so any non-standard interface behaviour becomes yours to maintain against a DOM the vendor can change without warning
  • Compliance capabilities that regulated buyers assume are baseline, HIPAA and GovCloud options, advanced SSO, IP restrictions and private environments, are gated to the Corporate and Enterprise tiers, so a small regulated pilot cannot legitimately start on an entry plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Harness

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Starter platform for software delivery lifecycle
    • Open source options available (Harness Open Source, Litmus Chaos)
  • EssentialsOn request
    • Growing organizations with small to mid-size teams
    • Packaged DevOps Essentials bundle
    • Continuous software delivery capabilities
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Large-scale organizations
    • Pick any modules based on needs
    • Advanced features

Knack

$59/month
  • Starter$59/mo
    • 20,000 database records
    • Unlimited users, tables, fields
    • 25 AI credits
  • Pro$130/mo
    • 50,000 database records
    • Remove Knack branding
    • E-commerce payments
  • Corporate$300/mo
    • 125,000-2.5M database records
    • App restore functionality
    • Advanced SSO
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Dedicated account manager
    • HIPAA/GovCloud-based options
    • Custom pricing

Which should you pick?

Choose Harness if

  • You want to start without paying.
Harness review

Choose Knack if

  • You need visual database builder.
  • You also want user logins and roles.
Knack review

Questions people ask

Is Harness or Knack better?
Neither clearly leads. Harness starts at Free and Knack at $59/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Harness or Knack?
Harness has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Harness and $59/month for Knack.
Does Harness or Knack run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Harness for free?
Yes. Harness has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Knack starts at $59/month.
What is Harness best used for?
Harness is most often used for deploying apps to aws, azure, and google cloud with rollbacks, integrating security scanners throughout build pipelines before production, automating cloud cost reduction and tracking unit-level expenses, enabling developers to provision infrastructure without operations bottlenecks. Of those, deploying apps to aws, azure, and google cloud with rollbacks and integrating security scanners throughout build pipelines before production are not what Knack is typically brought in for.
What can Harness do that Knack cannot?
Knack covers Visual database builder, User logins and roles, Page builder, Unlimited users.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Harness: Is there a free Harness plan?

Yes, Harness offers a free plan for individual developers and small teams with open source options including Harness Open Source and Litmus Chaos.

Source
Knack: Is Knack charged per user?

No. User accounts are unlimited on all plans. Plans are bounded by stored record count, file storage, API calls per day and automation transactions.

Harness: What are Harness's paid pricing tiers?

Harness offers Essentials for growing teams and Enterprise for large-scale organizations. Both require contacting sales for custom pricing. Pricing is based on modules and features selected.

Source
Knack: What happens when I exceed the record limit?

You move to a higher tier or reduce stored records. Because the limit is on data rather than people, apps that accumulate history hit it while apps that track a fixed set of entities generally do not.

Harness: Can Harness be deployed on-premises?

Enterprise plans include self-managed platform deployment option. DevOps Essentials bundle does not offer on-premises deployment.

Source
Knack: Can I export my application or self-host it?

You can export record data. The application itself, its pages, roles, permissions and flows, is not exportable and cannot be self-hosted, so leaving means rebuilding elsewhere.

Knack: Is it suitable for public-facing portals?

That is its strongest case, because logins are unlimited and role-based permissions are built in. The constraint is record volume and API throughput, not audience size.

Knack: Can I use it for regulated data?

HIPAA-aligned and government cloud options exist but only on the Enterprise tier, along with private server environments. Lower tiers should not be used for regulated workloads.

Share

Related pages

More on Harness

More on Knack

Keep looking

Other head to heads