Key facts
- Harvest software users are experiencing price increases of up to 1500%.
- Richard Haldenby's monthly bill increased from $130 to $2,110.
- Harvest was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2025.
- The new pricing model is usage-based, considering projects, clients, tasks, and invoiced revenue.
- Bending Spoons has a history of implementing sharp price increases after acquisitions.
UK businesses are expressing outrage over drastic price increases for the invoicing and time-tracking software Harvest, with some facing hikes of up to 1500%. Richard Haldenby, head of the UK consultancy firm Salentis, reported his monthly bill jumped from $130 to $2,110. Similar increases have been reported by other users, including one US-based customer whose annual charge rose from $2,800 to $23,000.
Harvest was acquired by Italian tech firm Bending Spoons in 2025, after which its pricing structure was altered. The new model is usage-based, charging not only per user but also based on the number of active projects, clients, tasks, and the total invoiced revenue processed through the platform. This contrasts with the previous flat monthly fee per user.
Haldenby stated that accepting the new price would double his company's annual IT expenditure, making it unaffordable. He contacted Harvest and was offered a discounted upfront payment for the next year, but he believes this would only postpone the inevitable and plans to switch to a less capable service. He described the move as 'corporate greed over valuing customers'.
Analysts have criticized the practice, with Mark Peacock, head of pricing strategy firm PriceMaker, calling it 'extremely bad practice' and a failure in transparency, noting that customers cannot determine costs until they receive their bill. Damian Foks of Valueships suggested the price hike signals a strategic shift from growth to monetization, likely driven by new ownership.
Bending Spoons has a history of raising prices after acquiring companies. Following its 2022 acquisition of Evernote, it implemented significant subscription increases and layoffs. Similarly, Vimeo and WeTransfer faced tighter free tool limits and forced migrations to more expensive tiers after being acquired by the Italian firm.