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Comparison · PM
Harvest vs SmartSuite
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Harvest and SmartSuite — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Harvest vs SmartSuite: at a glance
| Feature | Harvest | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | PM | PM |
| Velocity score | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Top themes | time-tracking, time-off, payroll, expenses | work management, document control, audit trails, automation |
| Last editorial update | 12d ago | 20h ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is Harvest?
Harvest fills in the back office: time off, payroll and contractor payouts
Harvest's redesign has given way to operational features. The Fall 2026 update lists Time Off with accrual rules and approvals, dark mode, a Gusto payroll integration, contractor expense reimbursements paid through Stripe, and recurring or milestone billing on Fixed Fee projects. Reimbursements are limited to eligible US contractors and USD accounts in this first release.
What is SmartSuite?
SmartSuite adds tracked changes to SmartDocs, so policy edits need an approver.
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform adding governance and developer surfaces. SmartDoc fields can now turn on Change Tracking: every edit, including writes from forms, imports, the API and automations, becomes a suggestion that named approvers accept or reject, with inline redlining and a three-year decision trail. It follows linked-record defaults, Service Accounts, Azure gateway support, the Script Engine and Managed Secrets.
Harvest vs SmartSuite: editorial side-by-side
Harvest
0.0PM
Harvest fills in the back office: time off, payroll and contractor payouts
◆ Current state
Harvest's redesign has given way to operational features. The Fall 2026 update lists Time Off with accrual rules and approvals, dark mode, a Gusto payroll integration, contractor expense reimbursements paid through Stripe, and recurring or milestone billing on Fixed Fee projects. Reimbursements are limited to eligible US contractors and USD accounts in this first release.
◆ Where it's heading
The spring repositioning around profitability is now being extended into the money flows around a project. Time off, payroll hand-off and contractor payouts take Harvest from recording hours toward the administrative work that follows them, and Fixed Fee billing ties that work back to margin reporting. The in-season digests have become the clearest view of this, since the changelog itself carries few other entries.
◆ Prediction
Harvest says more locales and currencies are coming for reimbursements, so that is the most concrete next step. Features the post lists as in beta are the other likely arrivals in the next digest.
SmartSuite adds tracked changes to SmartDocs, so policy edits need an approver.
◆ Current state
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform adding governance and developer surfaces. SmartDoc fields can now turn on Change Tracking: every edit, including writes from forms, imports, the API and automations, becomes a suggestion that named approvers accept or reject, with inline redlining and a three-year decision trail. It follows linked-record defaults, Service Accounts, Azure gateway support, the Script Engine and Managed Secrets.
◆ Where it's heading
October built the developer stack (secrets, scripts, service accounts); November is about controlled data: records that arrive already linked, and documents that cannot change without review. Both point at regulated teams that need audit trails inside the tool they already use for workflows.
◆ Prediction
Expect approval and audit controls to spread from SmartDocs to other field types or record-level changes, given that tracked changes already capture API and automation writes.
Alternatives to Harvest and SmartSuite
Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Harvest or SmartSuite.
Asana
Asana lets Division admins run their own custom roles, on top Enterprise plans only.
NocoBase
NocoBase's v3 beta lets apps ship their own CLI, separate from Agents.
Productboard
Productboard's v2 documents API now keeps plain web addresses and emoji as ordinary text.
Hive
Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.
Tracecat
Tracecat 1.5 alpha patches add sub-cases and lock down agent sandboxes.
See all Harvest alternatives → · See all SmartSuite alternatives →
Recent activity from Harvest and SmartSuite
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoSmartSuiteSmartDoc: Track Changes
- 9d agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Dynamic Default Values
- 16d agoSmartSuiteAI Platform: Support for Azure API Gateway
- 16d agoSmartSuiteWorkspace: Service Accounts
- 22d agoSmartSuiteSmartSuite Script Engine ⚡
- 29d agoSmartSuiteFilter Widget: Multiple Operators in Dynamic Filters
- 1mo agoHarvestHarvest ships Time Off, dark mode, Gusto payroll and payouts
- 4mo agoHarvestIn Season: The latest from Harvest, Summer 2026
- 6mo agoHarvestInside the new Harvest
- 6mo agoHarvestA fresh Harvest
- 6mo agoHarvestA fresh Harvest
- 7mo agoHarvestIndustry leader award (PR, not a release)
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Harvest and SmartSuite?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Harvest better than SmartSuite?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Harvest?
Top Harvest alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Harvest alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/harvest for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SmartSuite?
Top SmartSuite alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SmartSuite alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/smartsuite for the full list with editorial commentary on each.