Harvest hikes bills by 1500% after purchased by Bending Spoons

Customers person shared their outrage aft an app utilized by galore businesses to way timesheets and nutrient invoices hiked bills by arsenic overmuch arsenic 1500%, pinch 1 personification calling it "daylight robbery".

Richard Haldenby, caput of UK consultancy patient Salentis, told the BBC his monthly measure had risen from $130 (£95.50) to $2,110.

Others person reported akin value hikes online, with 1 person successful the US saying their yearly complaint went from $2,800 to $23,000.

The BBC has approached Harvest for comment.

Harvest was acquired by the Italian tech institution Bending Spoons successful 2025, and changed its pricing building the pursuing year.

Many businesses who salary annually are only now uncovering retired astir the increase, arsenic their costs is now coming up for renewal.

Haldenby, whose business consists of up to 15 unit successful the UK astatine immoderate 1 time, pinch sister companies besides successful the US and Australia, said he was "in shock" erstwhile he received an email detailing the value changes.

"We person utilized Harvest successful our 3 companies for astatine slightest 15 years and person been loyal and enthusiastic advocates of it," he said.

"But if we were to judge this summation it would double our IT walk for the year, which is wholly unaffordable."

Until the change, businesses paid a level monthly interest for each user.

They could adhd aliases region users arsenic their staffing needs changed, meaning they only paid for the group who needed access.

Under the caller usage-based pricing model, businesses tin besides beryllium charged according to the number of progressive projects, clients and tasks they person - arsenic good arsenic the magnitude of gross they invoice done the platform.

Haldenby said he contacted the institution to opportunity his patient would not judge the change.

He was past offered a discount for the adjacent twelvemonth - taking the value down to $1,309 - which would request to beryllium paid up front.

But he said he believed this would conscionable "delay the inevitable", truthful he is "planning to migrate to a akin but little bully service".

"It's a classical illustration of firm greed complete valuing customers," he said.

The move has drawn disapproval online, pinch 1 expert telling the BBC it was "extremely bad practice".

"Harvest has wholly grounded astatine the transparency test," said Mark Peacock, caput of the UK consultancy patient PriceMaker, which focuses connected pricing strategy for mini and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

"There is nary measurement for a customer to activity retired really overmuch it's going to costs them until they get their measure astatine the extremity of the month.

"Many users are reporting a 10-fold summation successful costs which is wholly unacceptable."

Damian Foks, caput of consulting astatine Valueships, said the Harvest value hike was "a clear motion of a displacement successful the company's strategy from maturation to monetization".

He said this was "likely" a consequence of the patient being taken complete by caller owners.

Bending Spoons has acquired much than 50 awesome tech firms since it was founded successful 2013, specified arsenic Evernote, Vimeo and WeTransfer.

The business has a way grounds of raising prices successful companies it has acquired successful the past.

Following its 2022 acquisition of the note-taking app Evernote, the institution implemented crisp subscription value increases alongside layoffs successful the US and Chile.

Both WeTransfer and Vimeo person faced tighter limits connected free devices since they were separately acquired by the Italian tech firm, pinch bequest users besides forced to move onto much costly pricing tiers.