Looking for some fantastic Basecamp alternatives?
Let’s give Basecamp their credit where it’s due; it’s a trailblazer in team communication.
And their leaders, namely Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, have been vocal in redefining work and work culture.
But back to Basecamp, the product.
Even though it’s well-established and been around for several years, it may no longer be the right team collaboration and project management software for you.
In this post, we’ll break down some of its key features and take a look at the top ten Basecamp alternatives in 2023, along with their pros, cons, pricing, and customer ratings.
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Let’s get going!
Summarize this article for me pleaseSo Why Look For A Basecamp Alternative?
We can hear the question already: If Basecamp does the job, why look for an alternative at all?
Project managers are given these key features in Basecamp 3:
- An excellent messaging platform that promotes quality teamwork
- A handy universal search
- A centralized place to share files and documents
- Simple task management features (great for small team to-do lists)
- Automatic check-in questions
- A portal for external stakeholders to view tasks and communicate
- Task reporting
Basecamp is a perfectly adequate project management tool in many ways.
No one’s here to malign it or the work the team behind it does.
A competitive market fuels innovation, and as handy as Basecamp can be, the market has brought some tough competition through tools like Zoho Project, TeamWork, Wrike, and Trello.
Basecamp has been around for a while. It was founded in 1999.
Yeah, that’s 22 years ago… 🗿
There’s nothing wrong with age, but adaptability is a must, and Basecamp has been a bit sluggish on updating its tool for users in the modern world.
For example, Basecamp still has no professional team hierarchy and offers only outside integrations for time tracking.
Basecamp was also designed with the old-school waterfall system in mind and is hardly ideal for Agile project management.
Even Asana took the time to add an Agile board view to their inventory.
Why haven’t we seen this from Basecamp?
Another obvious advantage an alternative might bring is a cheaper price tag.
At $15 a month per user, the Basecamp price tag isn’t exactly easy on your wallet.
Do you really need to pay that much?
Why break the bank (and your glasses) when you can have more features for less (or even nothing at all)?
With ClickUp, you use the entire platform, yes all features and unlimited users, for $0 a month!
Note: You can import your Basecamp data to ClickUp with a CSV file! Here’s how.
Summarize this article for me pleaseFeatures Of The Ideal Basecamp Alternative
Choosing an alternative to Basecamp for your project management needs will mean keeping some of the features that Basecamp gets right.
A smart competitor learns from Basecamp’s successes while improving on them and adding innovations of their own.
Avoiding archaic design, adding power features, and sticking to our values has allowed ClickUp to excel in a highly competitive market.
For example, any real contenders will need a simple design and convenient mobile app, two of Basecamp’s strengths. However, they’ll need much more reasonable pricing and updated software once in a while.
And while we’re at it, how about throwing in the option of Board and List views, along with Gantt charts?
Other features needed to replace Basecamp include Time Tracking, to-do lists (previously Asana’s featured strength), small business tools, an excellent iPhone and Android app, comprehensive team member management, a powerful search feature, and multiple assignees.
Are we asking too much of one project management tool?
Give in to your spidey senses and let’s check out these top ten Basecamp alternatives!
Summarize this article for me pleaseTop 10 Basecamp Alternatives
Here are the ten best alternatives to Basecamp that’ll make you leave that base camp on your hike to project management success. ⛰
1. ClickUp
ClickUp is the world’s leading project management tool.
From providing you with resource management to boosting team communication, ClickUp is the ultimate project management solution.
ClickUp key features
Here are just some of the reasons why ClickUp is a great Basecamp alternative:
1. Global time tracker
Use the Global Timer to see how much time team members spend on individual tasks or a project.
You can start and stop tracking time from any computer that you are logged into.
On top of that, if you stop tracking time in the mobile app, you can begin where you left off in the desktop app.
See, truly global! 🌎
Here’s more on how time tracking works in ClickUp.
2. Multiple views
With 10+ views to choose from, you can view your projects the way you want to!
Here are some of ClickUp’s powerful views:
- Board view: Get an Agile/ Scrum/ Kanban board experience
- Timeline view: Manage your time and resources using this view
- Gantt Chart view: Plan time, manage resources, visualize dependencies, and more
- Table view: Navigate between fields, edit in bulk, and export data (Like Smartsheet, but for free!)
3. Custom Statuses
Create Custom Task Statuses so your team can keep track of each other’s project progress.
You can add as many as you want: ‘ideating,’ ‘project planning,’ ‘under execution,’ ‘review,’ ‘delivered to the customer,’ and more!
Go ahead and create one for ‘transitioning from Basecamp to ClickUp.’ 😉.
4. Multiple assignees
Assign Tasks to Multiple Assignees and Teams to manage multiple projects at once.
This way, team members can take the initiative and begin working together immediately!
5. Recurring tasks
Got project tasks that you have to do every week or every day?
Use Recurring Tasks to simplify your life by setting repeat schedules for these repetitive project tasks.
6. Basecamp integration
Feel like you need to return to Basecamp?
Don’t worry; we have a solution for that too!
The Basecamp 3-ClickUp integration lets you transfer information between the two platforms.
Any action done in Basecamp will also reflect in ClickUp like newly created tasks.
ClickUp pros
- Powerful free version with unlimited users and unlimited projects
- User-friendly interface with online and offline mode
- Powerful Project Templates
- Send and receive emails right within ClickUp tasks with the Email ClickApp
- Comments to make sure team members don’t miss a thing
- Integrates with several third-party software like Microsoft Teams, Jira, Slack, Zoho and more
- Add and manage tasks using our Mobile Apps for iOS and Android
- 50+ Task Automations to streamline your workflow
- Task Dependencies helps teams complete tasks in the right order
- Create custom Priorities, and organize tasks based on their importance to a project
- Drag and Drop tasks no matter where they are in ClickUp
- Smart Search helps teams find what they’re looking for in seconds
ClickUp cons
- Can’t export Dashboards
Check out ClickUp’s roadmap here to see how we’re fixing these minor drawbacks or get our comparison list of ClickUp alternatives. Also, check out all the exciting features that this free Basecamp alternative has in store for you!
ClickUp pricing
Free Forever Plan
Unlimited Plan: $7 per member per month
Business Plan: $12 per member per month
Enterprise: Contact us for more details!
ClickUp customer ratings
- G2: 4.7/5 (6000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (3000+ reviews)
2. Teamwork projects
We want to give Teamwork some love for their vast integrations and simple project management features.
They have lots of plans for enterprise-level companies and have project management tools that cater to that audience.
If your project team is looking to really scale up your project management software, and need lots of security features, you might want to investigate Teamwork.
The other side to consider?
Teamwork may be intimidating for the average user. You may not need that much when a more straightforward project management tool (like ClickUp!) could do the job for you. 😉
Teamwork key features
- Smart search learns from you and never skips task details
- Powerful and heavily updated iOS and Android apps with every feature found in the desktop app
- Break down large tasks into smaller goals with TeamWork’s goal and milestone tracking
- Intuitive Gantt charts
Teamwork pros
- Built-in time tracker
- Powerful Zapier integration to integrate with tons of other tools
- Feature-rich free plan with up to 100MB of storage
TeamWork cons
- New users can get overwhelmed by the overload of features and UI design
- Can be slow to load when there are lots of tasks in a project (50+ tasks in a Gantt chart )
- Limited template designs
TeamWork pricing
This project management system has a free plan, and paid plans start at $10/user per month.
TeamWork customer ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (1000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
Visit Teamwork
3. Wrike
Wrike is a great Basecamp alternative, especially for large teams that want more out of their online project management software.
It embraces the folder mentality, which has lots (and lots!) of subfolders.
Wrike is a middle of the road collaboration tool that will offer you more traditional project management capabilities compared to Basecamp.
Wrike key features
- Detailed time-tracking
- Excellent documentation and resource tracking to help you locate what you need
- Customizable dashboards
- @mentions to boost collaboration
Wrike pros
- Intuitive, powerful interface
- Powerful mobile app
- Powerful integration with cloud storage apps such as Dropbox, Box, and Google Drive
- The free plan includes up to 5 users and 2GB of storage
Wrike cons
- Doesn’t have a note-taking tool that you can access alongside your work
- The free plan only has basic features such as a simple, shared task list for small teams or startups
- No proper chat integration, making it more challenging to communicate with the whole company
Wrike pricing
This project management tool has a free plan with paid plans starting at $9.80 per user/month.
Wrike customer ratings
- G2: 4.2/5 (3000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (1900+ reviews)
Visit Wrike
4. Asana
This software has a modern, sleek interface that’s all about simplicity and giving you what you need with as few clicks as possible.
Collaboration tools like Asana are great for any small project management team, but might not be enough for someone looking for a very comprehensive management tool.
Asana key features
- Calendar view to see your schedules clearly
- Project permissions to invite guests into your space
- Custom fields for easy categorization
- Board view for Agile project management
Asana pros
- Their activity feed is a one-stop solution to see all notifications
- Attachments can be added to any task and referenced later in the team file storage
- Real-time chat and collaboration features for every task
- Multiple workspaces give you the power to keep any teamwork project organized
Asana cons
- No native integrations for time tracking
- Can’t convert comments into tasks
- No collaborative document editing capabilities
Asana pricing
This project management tool has a free plan with paid plans starting at $10.99/user per month.
Asana customer ratings
- G2: 4.3/5 (9000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (11000+ reviews)
Visit Asana
5. Podio
Another popular Basecamp free alternative, Podio brings a full suite of features that rival everything found in Basecamp.
Many large companies also use it as a knowledge management and CRM tool as well. It also has a range of paid plans for businesses and large enterprise companies. Unfortunately, that comes at the expense of developing a feature-rich free version.
Podio key features
- Public and private workspaces
- Built-in team chat and video conferencing
- Excellent file sharing capabilities
- Task management and milestone tracking
Podio pros
- Integrations with top tools like Google Drive, Zendesk, Dropbox, Evernote, and Freshbooks
- Granular admin capabilities let you control who has access to your Podio workspaces
- Powerful mobile apps let you manage your projects on the go
Podio cons
- Limited free plan
- The tool relies on additional downloads for added functionality, not a lot comes built-in
- This tool comes with a high learning curve 🔧
Podio pricing
This task management tool has a free plan with paid plans starting at $9 per user/month.
Podio customer ratings
- G2: 4.1/5 (350+ reviews)
- Capterra; 4.2/5 (200+ reviews)
Visit Podio
6. Trello
Trello is a great Basecamp alternative for smaller teams looking for something easy, free, and functional. Trello also popularized the Kanban board for the masses!
Unfortunately, unlike Basecamp, it locks you into a certain view, with limited options to change.
Trello key features
- Simple drag and drop task management interface
- Checklists with progress tracking
- Tags, labels, and categories
- Attach, search and share files
Trello pros
- Adequate free version
- Kanban boards to streamline your task processes
- Built-in activity log with powerful notifications
Trello cons
- Relies on Power-Ups for most of its functionality
- Limited project tracking capabilities
- No task dependencies
Trello pricing
This team collaboration software offers a free version, and paid plans start at $12.50/user per month.
Trello customer ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (11000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (18000+ reviews)
Compare ClickUp with Trello and Asana.
Visit Trello
7. Proofhub
Proofhub is a Basecamp alternative that lets teams have an unlimited number of users, irrespective of the pricing plan.
But with great power, comes even greater and deeper pockets.💲
The pricing plan for this tool is more expensive than most Basecamp alternatives.
Proofhub key features
- @mentions to boost collaboration and make sure comments are seen
- You can easily assign tasks and set task priorities
- Powerful sorting and grouping feature
- Timeline view for project tracking
Proofhub pros
- No per-user fee as you get unlimited users
- Custom roles for your project needs
- Automated reminders to keep you mindful of upcoming deadlines
- There are spaces for one-on-one discussions and group messages
Proofhub cons
- Expensive
- Not built for larger teams
- Limited to 8 integrations
Proofhub pricing
This project management app has pricing plans that start at $50/month.
Proofhub customer ratings
- G2: 4.4/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (40+ reviews)
Visit Proofhub
8. Kantata
Kantata (formerly Mavenlink) markets itself as a one-stop solution for work automation and resource management that offers linking capabilities. 😉
For example, project managers can link a team member’s time, expenses, and invoices to their tasks and projects in real time.
Unfortunately, the learning curve for this tool is relatively high, so you might have to spend some time figuring out how things link-up.
Kantata key features
- Built-in Gantt charts
- Reusable templates
- Detailed project reports for accurate project insights
Kantata pros
- Integrates with tools like Slack, Salesforce, and Jira
- You can easily see a team member’s workload, skills, and availability
- Access granular permission settings to control what each project member has access to, within the workflow of the project
Kantata cons
- Limited keyboard shortcuts to streamline things
- Can’t edit task comments
- This collaboration tool has a high learning curve
Kantata pricing
Contact Kantata for their pricing plans.
Kantata customer ratings
- G2: 4.1/5 (400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.2/5 (400+ reviews)
Visit Kantata
9. Paymo
Paymo is a collaboration software for large teams and remote teams that need to see who’s working on what, when, and where.
But why Paymo💰 for this tool when you can get the same functionality and more with ClickUp?
Paymo key features
- Recurring tasks to streamline your repetitive events
- Comes with List, Table, and Board views
- Timesheet reporting
- You can also easily set task dependencies
Paymo pros
- Powerful desktop and mobile apps
- Unlimited Invoices, estimates, and expenses
- Team scheduler to help you better manage your team’s workflow
- Built-in time tracking
Paymo cons
- Free plan only allows users to create up to 3 invoices
- No advanced task management on the free plan
- Integrations only available in the paid plan
Paymo pricing
This project management app has a free plan, and paid plans start at $11.95 /user per month.
Paymo customer ratings
- G2: 4.5/5 (400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (400+ reviews)
Visit Paymo
10. Freedcamp
Here we go, another camping trip.
Freedcamp is simply a more free version of Basecamp.
We’re serious, you get similar features at way less than $99 per month with Freedcamp, and it’s a great collaboration tool for freelancers!
Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of this project management tool is that you can’t set permissions, which is a bit of a problem for any creative team that’s managing projects for multiple clients.
Freedcamp key features
- Built-in tasks lists
- Kanban boards with drag and drop functionality
- You can split large projects into smaller subtasks
Freedcamp pros
- Invoicing feature that lets you bill your clients easily from your time tracking entries
- Store all your contacts and leads in the app for easy organization and easy access
- Powerful mobile app for iOS and Android
Freedcamp cons
- This task management tool has a high learning curve
- The Gantt Chart isn’t as functional as other free Basecamp alternatives
- User permissions cannot be customized
Freedcamp pricing
This collaboration software has a free plan available. Their minimalist plan starts at $2.49/user per month. However, for most of their features, you’ll have to shell out $7.49/user.
Freedcamp customer ratings
- G2: 4.6/5 (80+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (400+ reviews)
Visit Freedcamp
Bonus: For more tools like Basecamp check out this guide!
Summarize this article for me pleaseLeaving Basecamp For Good ⛺
There’s no doubt that Basecamp changed project management, team collaboration, and productivity for the better.
But, things evolve, and new technologies and perspectives emerge.
What may have worked in the past may no longer be relevant, and it could be time to choose a new alternative to Basecamp.
Open that door of opportunity and see why ClickUp is the highest-rated project management software!
Leave your basecamp behind and get ClickUp for free to scale new heights!
Join the conversation
Comments for this post are currently closed.
As a long time Basecamp user, I'm so happy that I switched over. We really needed an inexpensive platform that was a little more complex. Really like that you guys are dedicated to releasing new features and listening to all our suggestions. Thanks!
Would love to see a blog post as about Clickup vs Hitask :) We're stuck between and need a great post on this (wink). Thanks.
My team used Trello, Basecamp, and Asana, but never got the whole package from any of them! So happy we found clickup and really excited to see how the tool progresses!
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