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Professional Services · head to head

Harvest vs Tabs3

Harvest logo

Harvest

Professional Services

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tabs3 logo

Tabs3

Legal

Billing, trust and general ledger accounting for small and mid-sized US law firms

From
$69/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Harvest has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Harvest the free plan is one seat and two projects, so it suits a solo freelancer and nothing larger; Tabs3 the interface follows Windows desktop conventions from an earlier era, so new fee earners and staff take longer to train than they would on a browser-based competitor.
  • They diverge on capability: Harvest covers Time tracking, Tabs3 covers Tabs3 Billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Harvest and Tabs3 actually diverge.

Attributes where Harvest and Tabs3 differ
AttributeHarvestTabs3
Starting priceFree$69/month
Pricing modelfreemiumPer user per month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android
CategoryProfessional ServicesLegal
Founded2006Unknown

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

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

Only in Tabs3

  • Tabs3 Billing
  • Trust accounting
  • General ledger and accounts payable
  • PracticeMaster
  • On-premises or cloud subscription

What people use each for

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

Harvest

  • Time tracking against projects and clientsnot Tabs3
  • Turning tracked time into invoicesnot Tabs3
  • Expense capture alongside billable hoursnot Tabs3
  • Team capacity and utilisation reporting on the paid plansnot Tabs3
  • Feeding billed time into QuickBooks or Xeronot Tabs3

Tabs3

  • Small firms billing hourly that want billing and the firm general ledger in one system rather than reconciling twonot Harvest
  • Practices that must run three-way trust reconciliation without a separate bookkeeping packagenot Harvest
  • Firms that need an on-premises deployment because of client or insurer restrictions on cloud-hosted matter datanot Harvest
  • Long-established practices replacing a decades-old billing system while keeping accounting in housenot 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

Tabs3

  • The interface follows Windows desktop conventions from an earlier era, so new fee earners and staff take longer to train than they would on a browser-based competitor.
  • On-premises deployment puts backup, disaster recovery, server upgrades and patching on the firm, which small practices without IT support routinely underestimate.
  • It is built around hourly and flat fee billing, so a contingency practice tracking case costs and settlement disbursements will find the case financial model a poor fit.
  • PracticeMaster case management is priced separately from billing, so the advertised per-user rate is not what a firm wanting matter management actually pays.
  • Choosing the on-premises option no longer avoids a subscription, because it is billed per user per month like the hosted version.

Pricing, plan by plan

Harvest

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 seat
    • Time tracking
    • Invoicing
  • Teams$9/month
    • Unlimited seats
    • Team reporting
    • Accounting integrations (Stripe, QuickBooks, Xero, Deel)
  • Enterprise$14/month
    • Unlimited seats
    • Unlimited custom reports
    • Profitability reporting

Tabs3

$69/month
  • OnSite Subscription$69/month
    • Deployed on the firm server
    • Billing, trust accounting and general ledger
    • PracticeMaster add-on at 32 USD per user per month
  • Tabs3 Cloud$89/month
    • Hosted by the vendor
    • Billing, trust accounting and general ledger
    • PracticeMaster add-on at 35 USD per user per month

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 Tabs3 if

  • You need tabs3 billing.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want trust accounting.
Tabs3 review

Questions people ask

Is Harvest or Tabs3 better?
Neither clearly leads. Harvest starts at Free and Tabs3 at $69/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Harvest or Tabs3?
Harvest has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Harvest and $69/month for Tabs3.
Does Harvest or Tabs3 run on more platforms?
Harvest runs on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android. Tabs3 runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Harvest for free?
Yes. Harvest has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Tabs3 starts at $69/month.
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 Tabs3 is typically brought in for.
What can Harvest do that Tabs3 cannot?
Harvest covers Time tracking, Expense tracking, Invoicing, Project budgets. Tabs3 covers Tabs3 Billing, Trust accounting, General ledger and accounts payable, PracticeMaster.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Harvest: How much does Harvest cost?

Harvest offers a free plan for 1 user and Teams plan starting at $9/seat/month (billed annually at $108/seat for 20% savings). Enterprise plan starts at $14/seat/month.

Source
Tabs3: Is Tabs3 right for a personal injury firm working on contingency?

No. It is built for hourly and flat fee billing with a firm general ledger. A contingency practice needs case cost tracking and settlement disbursement handling, which is what CASEpeer and Filevine are built around.

Harvest: Is there a free version of Harvest?

Yes, Harvest's free plan includes 1 seat with time tracking, invoicing, expense tracking, and 2 projects.

Source
Tabs3: Can I still buy Tabs3 as a perpetual licence?

No published perpetual price exists. The on-premises option, called OnSite Subscription, starts at 69 USD per user per month, with the hosted Tabs3 Cloud starting at 89 USD per user per month.

Harvest: What is included in the Enterprise plan?

The Enterprise plan includes unlimited custom reports, profitability reporting, timesheet approvals, activity logs, and SAML-based SSO at $14/seat/month.

Source
Tabs3: Does it replace QuickBooks?

For most firms yes. It includes a double-entry general ledger and accounts payable, which is the usual reason firms choose it over billing-only products.

Harvest: Does Harvest offer a discount for annual billing?

Yes, annual billing provides 20% discount, reducing the Teams plan to $108/seat/year and Enterprise plan to $168/seat/year.

Source
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