Your team works remotely, one colleague is in Amsterdam, the other in Bali. Slack is red hot, there are three different Google Drives and nobody knows where that latest version of the project plan is. Sound familiar? Then it might be time to take a look at Basecamp.
Basecamp promises to put all the chaos in one clear place. No hassle with separate apps for chat, files and tasks. Everything is included. But is it really as simple as it sounds? And more importantly: does it fit your way of working?
Basecamp: the company
Basecamp has been around since 2004 and is made by 37signals, a company known for its no-nonsense approach. The founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson (yes, the Ruby on Rails guy) aren’t afraid of having strong opinions about how work should be done.
You can see this philosophy reflected in the tool. Basecamp is intentionally kept simple. No endless settings, no dashboards that you first need to configure for three hours. You get what you get, and that’s exactly the point. The company operates completely remote with a team of about 70 people, so they know from experience how important good communication is.
Fun fact: Basecamp earns enough money to remain completely independent. No investors pressuring them to grow faster or add more features. You can see this in the stable, calm development of the platform.
Who is Basecamp for?
Basecamp is built for teams that work asynchronously. So not everyone sitting online all day waiting for immediate responses, but teams that plan their work and communicate at their own pace. Think of:
- Remote teams spread across different time zones
- Agencies working with multiple clients simultaneously
- Small to medium-sized companies that don’t want to drown in complex software
- Teams that are tired of Slack chaos and endless meetings
It’s less suitable for teams that need very detailed project management with Gantt charts, task dependencies, and sprint planning. If you want to run Agile or Scrum, you’re better off looking at Jira or Monday.com. Basecamp simply doesn’t have tools for that, and that’s a deliberate choice.
Also important: the tool works best when your entire team participates. If half the team is still doing everything via WhatsApp and email, you lose the advantage of one central place. So you do need some discipline to get everyone on board.
What can Basecamp do?
Basecamp packs a lot of functionality into a clear interface. You don’t need ten different menus to find something. These are the main components:
- Message Board – A kind of forum where you can post important announcements and discussions. Useful for things that shouldn’t disappear in the daily chat noise.
- To-do lists – Simple task lists that you can assign to team members. You can group them, add deadlines, and check them off when they’re done. No fancy subtasks or dependencies, just a list of things that need to be done.
- Docs & Files – One place for all your documents and files. No more searching through different folders in Dropbox or Google Drive. Everything that belongs to a project is in that project.
- Campfire – The real-time group chat. For quick questions and short updates. But Basecamp encourages you not to do everything via chat. Important things belong on the message board or in a to-do.
- Schedule – A shared calendar where you put deadlines, meetings, and milestones. Everyone sees at a glance what’s coming up.
- Automatic Check-ins – This is truly unique. You can set up automatic questions that are asked to your team at fixed times. For example, every Monday morning: “What will you be working on this week?” Or every Friday: “What did you accomplish this week?” All responses are neatly collected without having to schedule a meeting.
- Hill Charts – A visual way to show progress. Instead of a percentage, you see a hill. Left means “still figuring it out”, the top is “we know what we need to do”, and right is “we’re finishing it up”. Sounds weird, but it works surprisingly well.
- Card Table – A Kanban-like board where you can drag cards. Handy for visual types who like to see their workflow this way.
What you don’t get: advanced reporting, time tracking (only basic progress), task dependencies, Gantt charts, or sprint planning. Basecamp is intentionally kept simple. If you really need those features, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
What does Basecamp cost?
Basecamp’s pricing is surprisingly straightforward. No complicated tiers with features you need to decipher. These are your options:
Basecamp Personal – Completely free. You get 1 project, space for 20 users and 1 GB storage. Perfect for testing or running small projects. No credit card required.
Basecamp Plus – $1 per user per month. You get unlimited projects and more storage. This is interesting for small teams of 2-10 people. Do the math: with 5 people you pay $1 per month.
Basecamp Pro Unlimited – $1 per month with monthly billing, or $1 per month if you pay annually (so $1 per year). Here’s where it gets interesting: you get unlimited users, unlimited projects and 5 TB storage. For large teams this is a no-brainer. With 30 people you’d already pay $1 per month on Plus, so from about 25 users Pro Unlimited is cheaper.
And here’s the best part: you can invite clients and guests for free. So if you’re an agency working with 10 different clients, you only pay for your own team. Those clients can log in, participate in discussions and upload files without you paying extra for that.
All plans come with a free 30-day trial period. Enough time to test whether it fits your team.
What should you watch out for?
Basecamp isn’t perfect. The simplicity that’s a blessing for some teams can actually be a problem for other teams. These are the main criticisms you often encounter:
First: the structure is quite rigid. You can’t just customize everything to your liking. Basecamp has a clear opinion about how project management should work, and you have to accept that. Want to build a fully custom dashboard with widgets and charts? Then you’re in the wrong place.
Task dependencies don’t exist. You can’t indicate that task B can only start when task A is completed. For complex projects with many interdependencies, that’s a serious problem. You have to track all of that manually or remember it in your head.
Subtasks aren’t really there either. You can create to-do lists within to-do lists, but that’s not the same as real subtasks with their own deadlines and assignees. If you want to plan in great detail, you’ll run into this limitation.
Integrations are limited. Basecamp integrates with a handful of tools, but not nearly everything. You can use Zapier to create more connections, but that costs extra money and is often somewhat cumbersome. Compare that to tools like Asana or Monday.com that have hundreds of native integrations.
Notifications can be overwhelming if you’re not careful. By default, you get quite a lot of notifications, and if you’re involved in multiple projects, that can quickly become too much. You really need to take the time to configure your notification settings properly.
For small teams, the price can add up significantly. $1 per person per month doesn’t sound like much, but if there are only three of you, you’re paying $1 per month for functionality you might not even fully use. There are cheaper alternatives then.
Finally: Basecamp is not built for Agile or Scrum. No story points, no sprints, no burndown charts. If your team is used to that way of working, you either need to adapt your workflow or choose a different tool.
Basecamp reviews
I’ve looked at and read a number of Basecamp reviews and there are some I’d like to share with you.
1. ToolFinder
Francesco Delesu from ToolFinder takes you through a comprehensive review of Basecamp. He emphasizes that Basecamp might look somewhat old-fashioned, but that’s exactly what makes it very powerful for remote teams working asynchronously. The tool has a clear opinion on how project management should work, which is perfect for some teams and limiting for others.
Francesco shows how the pricing works: €15 per user for small teams, but only €299 per month for unlimited users. That makes Basecamp particularly interesting for larger teams. He demonstrates features like the message boards, to-do lists, Hill Charts, automatic check-ins and the handy Card Table for Kanban-like work. He also finds the ability to give clients access to projects a strong point.
Pros
- Built-in time tracking and progress tracking
- Clients can easily access projects
- Unlimited users for €299/month – ideal for large teams
- Automatic check-ins perfect for different time zones
Cons
- Less flexible than other project management tools
- Not suitable if you want to build a completely custom layout
- The structured approach doesn’t work for everyone
2. Speak about digital
This review from Speak about digital keeps it nice and short. He positions Basecamp as the tool for teams that don’t want complex workflows or endless menus. You log in, see your tasks, talk to your team and get on with your work. That simplicity is exactly what Basecamp is all about.
He walks through the core features: message boards, to-do lists, a schedule, file storage and the Campfire group chat. Chet emphasizes that the tool is mainly suitable for remote teams and agencies working with multiple clients. He’s honest about the limitations: no Gantt charts, no advanced reporting, limited integrations. But for teams that want less distraction, that simplicity can actually be an advantage. Prices range from free (1 project) to €349/month for the Pro Unlimited plan with unlimited users.
Pros
- Extremely user-friendly, no training needed
- Ideal for remote teams and agencies with multiple clients
- Clear structure keeps everyone on the same page
Cons
- No Gantt charts, time tracking, or task dependencies
- Limited integration options (mainly email and Zapier)
- Too simple for teams that need lots of control and customization
Basecamp alternatives
Doesn’t Basecamp quite fit what you’re looking for? No problem. There are plenty of other tools that might better suit your way of working. These are the most obvious alternatives:
- Monday.com – Choose this if you want lots of visual customization options. Monday.com is much more flexible than Basecamp and you can set up dashboards exactly to your liking. The automations are also much more extensive. The downside: it’s more complex and expensive. But if you like colorful boards and charts, this is your tool.
- Asana – Choose Asana if you need detailed task management with dependencies. You can precisely specify which tasks depend on each other, and the timeline view gives you a nice overview of your planning. Asana also has a free version that’s already quite comprehensive. It is somewhat more business-oriented and less personal than Basecamp.
- Trello – Want just a simple Kanban board without frills? Then Trello is perfect. It does less than Basecamp (no chat, no message boards), but what it does, it does very well. And the free version is already more than enough for small teams. Downside: for larger projects it quickly becomes cluttered.
Each of these tools has its own strengths. Monday.com for visual types, Asana for detailed planners, Trello for minimalists. Basecamp sits in between: more than Trello, but simpler than Monday.com or Asana.
Frequently asked questions
Does Basecamp have a free version?
Yes, Basecamp Personal is completely free. You get 1 project, space for 20 users and 1 GB storage. That’s enough to properly test the tool or run a small project. You don’t need a credit card to get started.
Do I have to pay for clients or guests?
No, and that’s really a big advantage. You can invite unlimited clients and external guests without paying extra for it. They get access to specific projects that you share with them. Super convenient if you’re an agency or work a lot with external parties.
What’s the difference between Basecamp Plus and Pro Unlimited?
Basecamp Plus costs $1 per user per month and is ideal for small teams. Pro Unlimited costs a fixed amount of $1 per month (with annual payment) and gives you unlimited users plus 5 TB storage. From about 20-25 team members, Pro Unlimited becomes cheaper. Both plans have the same features, only the price and capacity differ.
Can I integrate Basecamp with other tools?
Basecamp has a limited number of native integrations. You can use Zapier to create connections with hundreds of other apps, but that costs extra money. Compare that with tools like Asana or Monday.com that offer many more out-of-the-box integrations.
Is Basecamp suitable for Agile teams?
Not really. Basecamp doesn’t have story points, sprints, burndown charts or other Agile-specific features. If your team runs strict Scrum, you’d better look at Jira or Azure DevOps. Basecamp is more intended for teams that work asynchronously and have less structured workflows.
Conclusion
Basecamp is a solid choice for remote teams that don’t want to drown in complex software. It does exactly what it promises: everything in one place without hassle. The pricing is fair, especially for larger teams. And the fact that you can invite clients for free makes it extra interesting for agencies.
But it’s not for everyone. If you need detailed planning with Gantt charts and task dependencies, or if you want to run Agile, you need to be somewhere else. Basecamp has a clear opinion about how work should go, and you need to agree with that.
The best way to find out if it fits you? Just try it. You have 30 days free to test it, and the free version is already enough to get a good picture. Set up a small project, invite your team, and see if Basecamp’s simplicity works for you or is actually too limiting.
For many teams, Basecamp is exactly what they need: no frills, just good project management. For other teams, it’s too simple. The only way to know is to try it yourself.
