Cadensa vs Harvest: EU Time Tracking
Both track time and invoices. Only one keeps your data in Europe.
Harvest is popular with agencies for time tracking and invoicing — but it's a US company storing data on American servers. Cadensa delivers the same core workflow with EU data residency on every plan, including Free.
Start Free with CadensaQuick Verdict
Choose Cadensa if:
- Your agency is EU-based and GDPR compliance matters
- You want EU data residency on the free plan
- You want a founding-member price locked forever
- You need time tracking, invoicing and native EU accounting integrations in one EU-hosted tool
Choose Harvest if:
- Data residency is not a compliance requirement
- You rely on Harvest's deep QuickBooks or Xero integration
- Your team is already set up in Harvest
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Cadensa | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Guaranteed EU data residency on every plan, including free | ||
| In-product GDPR restriction & objection tooling (Art. 18 & 21) | ||
| Self-service data export (GDPR Art. 20) | ||
| Self-service account deletion with data erasure | ||
| Multi-user free plan | ||
| Billable hours tracking | ||
| Project & task management | ||
| Team workspaces (Cadensa: team dashboard & activity feed from PRO) | ||
| Reports & CSV export | ||
| Built-in invoice generation (Cadensa: PRO plans and above) | ||
| Native EU accounting integrations (Billingo, Lexoffice, Pennylane, SmartBill) | ||
| Two-factor authentication (Cadensa: PRO plans and above) | ||
| Founding member price lock |
Comparison based on the providers' publicly available documentation, checked on 19 August 2026. Harvest may have changed since — if you spot an inaccuracy, write to legal@cadensa.io and we will correct it.
Pricing Comparison
| Plan | Cadensa | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free forever — EU data storage + GDPR tools included | Free plan limited to 1 seat & 2 projects — not usable for teams |
| Paid plan | €4.99/user/mo — founding member price, locked forever (regular price €9.99) | $11–17.50/seat/mo billed monthly ($9–14 billed annually), plus Enterprise Plus on request — US data storage |
The GDPR Difference
Under GDPR and Schrems II, EU companies are responsible for where their vendors store personal data. Harvest is a US-based company (New York) storing data on American servers — which creates compliance risk for EU businesses.
EU Data Residency
Cadensa's application runs on Hetzner (Germany), and the database runs on OVHcloud (France). No time entry, project name, or user data ever leaves the EU.
GDPR Tools on Every Plan
Data export, account deletion, and consent management are available on the free plan — not locked behind a paid upgrade.
Published EU-only Storage
Cadensa's customer data — time entries, projects, reports — is held exclusively by EU providers: Hetzner (Germany) and OVHcloud (France). The complete sub-processor list is published, including the US services used for error tracking and static site delivery, which never receive time-tracking data.
Switching from Harvest to Cadensa
Moving your time tracking data takes less than a day.
- 1Export your Harvest data as CSV from Reports → Export
- 2Sign up for Cadensa — free, no credit card required
- 3Create your workspaces, projects, and tasks
- 4Invite your team members
- 5Start tracking — your data stays within the EU from day one
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cadensa better than Harvest for GDPR compliance?
For EU-based agencies, yes. Cadensa stores all data within the EU (Hetzner, Germany & OVHcloud, France) and provides full GDPR tools — including self-service data export and account deletion — on the free plan. Harvest is a US company (New York) storing data on American infrastructure, which may create compliance obligations under Schrems II for EU businesses.
Does Cadensa have a free plan like Harvest?
Cadensa has a genuine multi-user free plan. Harvest's free tier is limited to a single seat and 2 projects — not practical for teams. Cadensa's free plan includes EU data storage and full GDPR compliance tools.
Can I import my Harvest data into Cadensa?
You can export your data from Harvest as CSV and recreate your projects in Cadensa. Full one-click import tooling is on the product roadmap.
Is Cadensa more expensive than Harvest?
Harvest costs $11/seat/month (Teams) or $17.50/seat/month (Enterprise) billed monthly — $9 and $14 respectively when billed annually — with an Enterprise Plus tier on request. Cadensa's current founding member price is €4.99/user/month (regular price €9.99), and is locked permanently — it will not increase as new features are added.
Where is Harvest data stored?
Harvest is a US-based company headquartered in New York and stores data on American cloud infrastructure. For EU businesses processing employee or client data, this may create compliance concerns under GDPR and Schrems II.
Is Harvest GDPR compliant?
Harvest is a US company headquartered in New York, and its privacy policy states that all servers are located in the United States. It offers a DPA with standard contractual clauses, self-service data export and account deletion. What it cannot offer is EU data residency: for agencies that need customer data to stay physically within Europe rather than rely on contractual safeguards alone, Cadensa stores everything with Hetzner (Germany) and OVHcloud (France).
Is there an EU alternative to Harvest?
Yes. Cadensa is built for EU agencies as a direct Harvest alternative. Key differences: customer data stored within the EU (Hetzner, Germany & OVHcloud, France — not the US), an EU-incorporated company (Hungary), EU data residency on every plan including Free, and native EU accounting integrations (Billingo, Lexoffice, Pennylane, SmartBill). Cadensa also offers a multi-user free plan, whereas Harvest's free plan is limited to a single seat and 2 projects.
Ready to switch to EU-native time tracking?
Start free — no credit card, no commitment. Your data stays in Europe from day one.
Start Free with Cadensa