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Calendars · head to head

Harvest Forecast vs Outlook Calendar

Harvest Forecast logo

Harvest Forecast

Calendars

Simple visual resource planning

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Outlook Calendar logo

Outlook Calendar

Calendars

Professional calendar management for Microsoft 365

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Harvest Forecast the free plan allows a single seat and 2 projects; Outlook Calendar offline support limited to only past 30 days of events, older events unavailable
  • They diverge on capability: Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling, Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Harvest Forecast and Outlook Calendar actually diverge.

Attributes where Harvest Forecast and Outlook Calendar differ
AttributeHarvest ForecastOutlook Calendar
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWebWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Founded20061975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Calendars).

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 Outlook Calendar

  • Meeting scheduling
  • Shared calendars
  • Room booking
  • Availability sharing
  • Recurring events
  • Microsoft Teams
  • OneDrive
  • SharePoint

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Harvest Forecast

  • Team scheduling and capacity planningnot Outlook Calendar
  • Project utilization optimizationnot Outlook Calendar

Outlook Calendar

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

Outlook Calendar

  • Offline support limited to only past 30 days of events, older events unavailable
  • Shared calendars and group calendars not available offline
  • Cached Exchange Mode issues can limit available offline data
  • Occasional sync conflicts when coming back online

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

Outlook Calendar

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Outlook.com email and calendar
    • 50MB attachment limit
    • 1GB cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Basic$19.99/year
    • Outlook with limited features
    • Cloud storage
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$99.99/year
    • Premium Outlook
    • Ad-free email
    • 100GB mailbox storage
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic$6/month
    • Business-class email
    • 1TB cloud storage
    • Microsoft Teams

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 Outlook Calendar if

  • You need meeting scheduling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want shared calendars.
Outlook Calendar review

Questions people ask

Is Harvest Forecast or Outlook Calendar better?
Neither clearly leads. Harvest Forecast starts at Free and Outlook Calendar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Harvest Forecast or Outlook Calendar?
Harvest Forecast starts at Free and Outlook Calendar at Free.
Does Harvest Forecast or Outlook Calendar run on more platforms?
Harvest Forecast runs on Web. Outlook Calendar runs on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
Can I use Harvest Forecast for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Outlook Calendar is typically brought in for.
What can Harvest Forecast do that Outlook Calendar cannot?
Harvest Forecast covers Visual scheduling, Capacity planning, Project assignments, Utilization reports. Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling, Shared calendars, Room booking, Availability sharing. Both handle Web support.

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
Outlook Calendar: Is Outlook Calendar free?

Outlook.com with calendar is free via a Microsoft account. Outlook Calendar also comes with Microsoft 365 Personal ($99.99/year), Family ($129.99/year), or Business plans starting at $6/user/month.

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
Outlook Calendar: Does Outlook Calendar work offline?

Outlook Calendar has limited offline support. New Outlook caches only the past 30 days of calendar items. Shared calendars and group calendars are not supported offline. Changes sync when you reconnect.

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
Outlook Calendar: What platforms does Outlook Calendar support?

Outlook Calendar is available on Windows (desktop and web), macOS (desktop and web), iOS, and Android. Real-time synchronization works across all devices.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Does Outlook Calendar integrate with Slack?

Yes. Outlook Calendar integrates with Slack to sync your status and receive meeting notifications. You can RSVP to invites directly in Slack and join Microsoft Teams meetings from Slack reminders.

Source
Outlook Calendar: Can you share calendars and set delegate permissions?

Yes. Outlook Calendar supports calendar sharing with delegate permissions, color categories for organization, and the Scheduling Assistant to view attendee availability for meeting times.

Source
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