Softwr

Software · head to head

Harvest vs Outlook Calendar

Harvest logo

Harvest

Software

Time tracking software for teams that care about where their time goes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Outlook Calendar logo

Outlook Calendar

Software

Professional calendar management for Microsoft 365

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Harvest the free plan is one seat and two projects, so it suits a solo freelancer and nothing larger; Outlook Calendar offline support limited to only past 30 days of events, older events unavailable
  • They diverge on capability: Harvest covers Time tracking, Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Harvest and Outlook Calendar differ
AttributeHarvestOutlook Calendar
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, AndroidWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Founded20061975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), free tier (Yes), 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 Harvest

  • Time tracking
  • Expense tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Project budgets
  • Team capacity
  • Detailed reports
  • Mobile apps
  • Browser extension

Only in Outlook Calendar

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

Both cover

  • Slack

What people use each for

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

Harvest

  • Time tracking against projects and clientsnot Outlook Calendar
  • Turning tracked time into invoicesnot Outlook Calendar
  • Expense capture alongside billable hoursnot Outlook Calendar
  • Team capacity and utilisation reporting on the paid plansnot Outlook Calendar
  • Feeding billed time into QuickBooks or Xeronot Outlook Calendar

Outlook Calendar

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

Where each one falls short

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

Harvest

  • The free plan is one seat and two projects, so it suits a solo freelancer and nothing larger
  • Team reporting and unlimited projects require the Teams plan at $9 per seat per month
  • Profitability reporting, timesheet approvals and custom reports need Enterprise at $14 per seat per month
  • SAML single sign-on is Enterprise only
  • QuickBooks, Xero and Stripe integrations are withheld from the free plan

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

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Harvest review.

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 if

  • You need time tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Harvest 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 or Outlook Calendar better?
Neither clearly leads. Harvest 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 or Outlook Calendar?
Harvest starts at Free and Outlook Calendar at Free.
Does Harvest or Outlook Calendar run on more platforms?
Harvest runs on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android. Outlook Calendar runs on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
Can I use Harvest for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Harvest best used for?
Harvest is most often used for time tracking against projects and clients, turning tracked time into invoices, expense capture alongside billable hours, team capacity and utilisation reporting on the paid plans. Of those, time tracking against projects and clients and turning tracked time into invoices are not what Outlook Calendar is typically brought in for.
What can Harvest do that Outlook Calendar cannot?
Harvest covers Time tracking, Expense tracking, Invoicing, Project budgets. Outlook Calendar covers Meeting scheduling, Shared calendars, Room booking, Availability sharing. Both handle Slack.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Harvest

More on Outlook Calendar

Keep looking

Other head to heads