The verdict for graphic designers: Harvest is solid software, but at $13/month it costs $523 over 3 years. Helix does most of what Harvest does for $279 once. For solo graphic designers and small teams, Helix is the better deal.
Helix: $279. Once. You keep $244. And you own it — no more "we're updating our pricing" emails.
| Feature | Harvest | Helix |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full Accounting | ✗ | ✓ (SIMPL) |
| Task Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | $13/mo | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Total | $523 | $279 |
| You own it? | No — stop paying, lose access | Yes — forever |
Harvest plus whatever else you're paying for:
Email yourself this comparison?
The math doesn't lie.
Graphic Designers deal with unique challenges that generic software was not built for: Tracking billable hours across 5+ client projects. Scope creep — 'one more revision' eating into fixed-price projects. Separating creative time (billable) from admin time (not billable). FreshBooks + Toggl combined costing $27+/month for basic time tracking and invoicing. Harvest charges $13/month on top of these daily realities. The median graphic designer earns $52,000/year — $156/year in software subscriptions is a significant percentage of that income, paid every year, forever.
Helix is $279 once. Invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, accounting — all connected, built for graphic designers. You own it like you own your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription.
For solo graphic designers and small teams, yes. invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting — all for $279 once. Harvest may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
Harvest has features like Clean, simple interface and Automatic invoice generation from time that some businesses rely on. For most solo graphic designers, these aren't dealbreakers.
At $13/month, Helix pays for itself in 21.5 months. After that: $156 saved every year.
Yes. Helix is $279 as a one-time payment, or 3 payments of $99 ($297 total). Either way it's a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees ever.
Own your tools. Stop renting your software.
Get Helix — $279 Once