Businesses comparing DeskGate and Harvest typically balance between deep employee monitoring needs and simple time tracking with invoicing. While Harvest is widely used for project time tracking and budget reporting, DeskGate provides richer activity visibility and enterprise control.
This comparison explains how DeskGate and Harvest differ in deployment model, monitoring depth, advanced features, and compliance support. For a broader context, check our employee monitoring software guide.
Core Difference
DeskGate is a self-hosted employee monitoring and remote desktop platform designed for organizations that require deep activity insights, secure remote access, and full internal data control. Harvest is a cloud-based time tracking and invoicing tool focused on logging hours, managing projects, and generating reports.
Security & Compliance
DeskGate enables organizations to keep all monitoring data within their own infrastructure, enhancing compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements.
Harvest provides intuitive time tracking, project reporting, and invoicing, but the cloud-based model offers limited internal governance for data and security controls.
DeskGate is ideal for companies needing self-hosted monitoring, built-in remote desktop access, advanced video recording, and meeting analysis.
Harvest is well suited for freelancers, small businesses, and teams that require simple time tracking, project reporting, and integrated invoicing without the need for deep system monitoring.
Final Verdict
DeskGate is the preferred choice for organizations that require comprehensive employee monitoring, secure remote desktop functionality, and enterprise-grade control over monitoring data. Harvest remains a practical solution for time tracking, visual reporting, and invoicing in project-oriented environments.