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Calendars · head to head

Harvest Forecast vs Microsoft Project

Harvest Forecast logo

Harvest Forecast

Calendars

Simple visual resource planning

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft Project logo

Microsoft Project

Construction

Keep projects organized and on track

From
$10/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Harvest Forecast has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Harvest Forecast the free plan allows a single seat and 2 projects; Microsoft Project performance degrades with large projects over 400 tasks, becoming slow and unstable
  • They diverge on capability: Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling, Microsoft Project covers Gantt charts.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Harvest Forecast and Microsoft Project actually diverge.

Attributes where Harvest Forecast and Microsoft Project differ
AttributeHarvest ForecastMicrosoft Project
Starting priceFree$10/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Windows, macOS
CategoryCalendarsConstruction
Founded20061975

Identical on both: 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 Harvest Forecast

  • Visual scheduling
  • Capacity planning
  • Project assignments
  • Utilization reports
  • Harvest integration
  • Harvest
  • Google Calendar
  • iCal

Only in Microsoft Project

  • Gantt charts
  • Resource management
  • Budget tracking
  • Timeline views
  • Task dependencies
  • Critical path
  • Earned value analysis
  • Portfolio management

What people use each for

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

Harvest Forecast

  • Team scheduling and capacity planningnot Microsoft Project
  • Project utilization optimizationnot Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project

  • Project schedulingnot Harvest Forecast
  • Resource allocationnot Harvest Forecast
  • Portfolio managementnot Harvest Forecast
  • Budget trackingnot Harvest Forecast
  • Enterprise project managementnot Harvest Forecast

Where each one falls short

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

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

Microsoft Project

  • Performance degrades with large projects over 400 tasks, becoming slow and unstable
  • Limited Agile methodology support, primarily designed for waterfall project management
  • Proprietary .mpp file format creates compatibility issues on non-Windows systems
  • No offline mode, limiting users without reliable internet connectivity

Pricing, plan by plan

Harvest Forecast

Free
  • Monthly$6.25/month
    • Per-person billing
    • Team scheduling
    • Shift assignments and timelines
  • Annual$5/month
    • Per-person billing
    • 20% discount vs monthly

Microsoft Project

$10/month
  • Plan 1$10/month
    • Task and project management
    • Grid views
    • Timeline features
  • Plan 3$30/month
    • Desktop client
    • Resource management
    • Advanced scheduling
  • Plan 5$55/month
    • Portfolio management
    • Demand management
    • Enterprise capabilities

Which should you pick?

Choose Harvest Forecast if

  • You need visual scheduling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want capacity planning.
Harvest Forecast review

Choose Microsoft Project if

  • You need gantt charts.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want resource management.
Microsoft Project review

Questions people ask

Is Harvest Forecast or Microsoft Project better?
Neither clearly leads. Harvest Forecast starts at Free and Microsoft Project at $10/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Harvest Forecast or Microsoft Project?
Harvest Forecast has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Harvest Forecast and $10/month for Microsoft Project.
Does Harvest Forecast or Microsoft Project run on more platforms?
Harvest Forecast runs on Web. Microsoft Project runs on Web, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Harvest Forecast for free?
Yes. Harvest Forecast has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Microsoft Project starts at $10/month.
What is Harvest Forecast best used for?
Harvest Forecast is most often used for team scheduling and capacity planning, project utilization optimization. Of those, team scheduling and capacity planning and project utilization optimization are not what Microsoft Project is typically brought in for.
What can Harvest Forecast do that Microsoft Project cannot?
Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling, Capacity planning, Project assignments, Utilization reports. Microsoft Project covers Gantt charts, Resource management, Budget tracking, Timeline views.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Harvest Forecast: How much does Harvest Forecast cost?

Harvest Forecast costs $6.25/person/month with monthly billing or $5/person/month with annual billing (20% discount).

Source
Microsoft Project: What are the different Microsoft Project plans and pricing?

Microsoft Project offers Plan 1 at $10/user/month for basic project management, Plan 3 at $30/user/month with desktop client and resource management, and Plan 5 at $55/user/month for enterprise portfolio management. Desktop licenses (2024) start at $679.99 for Standard and $1,129.99 for Professional.

Source
Harvest Forecast: Is Harvest Forecast free?

Harvest Forecast offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, but there is no permanent free plan.

Source
Microsoft Project: Does Microsoft Project support Agile methodology?

Microsoft Project was primarily designed for traditional waterfall project management. While it has some Agile features, it is not optimized for Agile workflows compared to dedicated Agile tools like Jira or Monday.com.

Source
Harvest Forecast: Do nonprofits and educational institutions get discounts on Forecast?

Yes, Harvest Forecast offers special pricing for nonprofits, educational institutions, and classroom use.

Source
Microsoft Project: Can multiple teams collaborate in real-time on Microsoft Project?

Yes, Microsoft Project for the Web provides real-time collaboration through cloud-based access. However, collaboration is noted as harder compared to modern cloud-native tools due to its file-based architecture.

Source
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