The Best Free Basecamp Alternative

What Is Basecamp?

Formerly known as 37signals, Basecamp is one of the pioneers of online project management. The American company was originally founded by Jason Fried, Carlos Segura, and Ernest Kim in 1999. 

Production of the Basecamp software officially commenced in 2003 and it was created using Ruby on Rails, a framework that Basecamp had created for internal use. Ruby on Rails ended up being a byproduct of Basecamp and was made into open-source software in 2004.

37signals was renamed Basecamp in 2014. This marked a shift in the overall company strategy which was to now shift all resources into perfecting the project management software, Basecamp.

As a project management software, Basecamp was created as a tool to help businesses organize projects and collaborate online. Basecamp quickly gained popularity upon release as it was one of the first to offer a new way of collaboration and organization.

With Basecamp, individuals and companies can manage and track projects while communicating, all via one software. Basecamp is usually offered as an all-in-one software to help companies get work done. However, Basecamp also prices its product at a premium price when compared to its competitors.

Read our article if you’re interested to learn more about the full history of Basecamp.

Features of Basecamp

Basecamp is an all-in-one project management software that aims to help companies get work done more efficiently. You can use Basecamp to organize your projects and make sure that everyone in your team is on the same page.

In Basecamp, you can organize your teams by creating projects. Each project is equipped with tools to help you get work done. 

This includes a message board, a to-do list, a daily schedule, docs & files to share common downloadable files, and campfire for basic chat within the project or team. You have the freedom to rename these tools and also integrate them with other apps to personalize your workspace.

You can have multiple projects within Basecamp, each with a different set of people working together. Additionally, you can also organize people from different teams based on their organizational function as well such as Marketing, IT, HR, and more.

Each team workspace will also have the same set of tools to help you communicate and collaborate with each other.

On a company level, you can align everyone on the company HQ workspace. In this workspace, you can utilize Basecamp’s automatic check-in feature to get a gist of how the team is functioning throughout the day.

What Is Basecamp Good For?

As a project management tool, Basecamp is best suited for new startups and individuals. Basecamp is usually used by small marketing teams to organize their projects. Features such as organizing your team based on projects make Basecamp a simple solution to help smaller teams get their work done.

Remote teams can also find a use for Basecamp as features such as the to-do list and message board can help remote workers align across timezones.

You can also use Basecamp individually to help organize your work. However, Basecamp’s free plan only comes with 3 projects and is rather thin on features. You could potentially use Basecamp to organize basic individual projects. 

Additionally, Basecamp does have some templates available but these are only available after upgrading your plan. In contrast, Taskade has a wide variety of templates for you to use even on a free plan.

However, it probably isn't worth upgrading your plan with Basecamp as there are other productivity tools available in the market that offer more features, for even less.

If you’re a business that deals with clients daily, Basecamp’s client access feature could save you some trouble. This feature allows you to give limited access to certain projects for your clients. This can be useful to give your clients visibility on the current status of your project without the need of having constant status updates.

What Are Some Limitations of Basecamp?

Although Basecamp is one of the first project management software to launch in the market, there are a few limitations that you should be aware of.

Basecamp lacks features that are commonly found in its competitors. For example, Taskade offers customizable project views, customizable templates, and also free unlimited chat and video calls within your project. Basecamp however only has isolated project views and card-based templates without a built-in video call function.

Here are some other common pain points for users of Basecamp:

• Messy Chat. Basecamp’s chat is rather messy, especially with long threads of back and forth exchanges.
• Features Are Basic. Basecamp has fairly basic features when compared to other modern-day project management tools.
• No Timer. There is no built-in timer in Basecamp. The timer feature is only available via integrations.
• No Tags and Labels. Basecamp does not have tags and labels to help you organize your work.

Also, Basecamp lacks a function to help you toggle between different projects. This means that it will be a hassle for you to switch between projects if you’re working on multiple things simultaneously.

Furthermore, Basecamp comes with only one pricing plan which is expensive. Basecamp’s competitors offer similar or more features at competitive prices.

Basecamp Pricing

Basecamp has a very simple pricing structure. There’s a free version of the software, and also a paid version which comes at a standard monthly fee.

Also, Basecamp is free for all teachers and students. Nonprofit organizations enjoy a 10% discount from Basecamp’s paid subscription.

Basecamp Free Plan

Basecamp’s Free plan allows you to have up to 3 separate projects. Your plan will also support up to 20 users with 1GB of total storage. This should suffice for individuals or new startups. 

Basecamp Business Plan

Basecamp’s Business plan unlocks all of its features and gives you access to the company HQ and unlimited users. You’ll also be able to give clients restricted access to certain documents and projects to help with your business functions.

If you want to effectively organize and run your business on Basecamp, then you should consider this plan.

However, Basecamp’s Business plan starts at a flat fee of $99 per month, which is rather steep compared to other project management apps which offer the same or even more features for less.

What Is Taskade?

Taskade is an online productivity and collaboration tool that was founded by John Xie, Dionis Loire, and Stan Chang in 2017. The Y Combinator-backed startup aims to help remote teams and individuals get work done faster and smarter.

Taskade is where remote teams get work done. With Taskade, you can organize projects and tasks, change between multiple project views, automate repetitive workflows, collaborate via built-in video chat with your team, and more, via an all-in-one unified workspace. 

Get a headstart on your projects and find a suitable structure for your notes via Taskade’s versatile collection of templates. Simply choose from a wide variety of templates and add them to your projects to get started instantly!

Taskade is a supercharged productivity app that both individuals and teams can use to collaborate on projects in real-time.

Taskade is the best free Basecamp alternative. Get started instantly for free today.

Key Features of Taskade

• Project Views. Visualize your projects in several different ways. Cycle between the List, Mind Map, Org Chart, and Board views to work the way you want. 

  • List View. This is the default view on Taskade. Create new lists here.
  • Board View. This view lets you work horizontally like a Kanban board. Visualize your workflow and tasks in this full-width view.
  • Mind Map View. This view lets you work in a horizontal tree-structured manner and map out what you have in mind.
  • Action View. Work in table view and stay organized with your task due dates, and more.
  • Org Chart View. Break down larger tasks into smaller ones to help you get things done.

• Zoom In, Zoom Out. Get a bird’s-eye view of the workflow by zooming out on all project views, or zoom in to focus on a specific area.
• Fold/Unfold. Fold (collapse) a parent task/bullet element to hide its subtasks. Indent outline elements with ⌨️ Tab and unfold lists with ⌨️ Shift+Tab.
• Real-time Communication. Chat and video conference with your team while collaborating in real-time on the same page. 
• 500+ Templates. Choose from 500+ templates across 26 categories to improve your productivity and workflows. Customize existing templates or create new ones across your workspaces.
• Multi-Select. Select and format multiple blocks or bulk assign them as tasks to other team members. You can also copy, paste, or indent selected blocks.

• Customize Sub-Tasks. Customize the format of your sub-tasks at individual levels. Choose from headings, numbered lists, shapes, and more.
• Recurring Tasks. Add due dates with start and end times to tasks within your project and set them to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly.
• Move Tasks. Move and copy selected tasks to other projects across any workspace. You’ll receive a pop-up notification on completion.
• User Roles & Permissions. Manage collaborators and assign user roles/editing privileges (Owner, Admin, Editor, Checker, Viewer).

• Sort Tasks. Sort sub-tasks/children elements by completed/uncompleted stats or the due date. Task sorting can be accessed from a convenient pop-up menu.
• Search. Search within projects or globally across workspaces and subspaces. Instantly browse and jump between projects anywhere in the Taskade.
• Keyboard Shortcuts. Navigate projects, create content blocks, reorder elements, and complete tasks using a set of handy keyboard shortcuts.

• Team Calendar. Aggregate all tasks and projects in a shared calendar. The Taskade calendar integrates with Google (two-way), Apple, and Outlook. 
• Reorder Tasks. Lists in Taskade aren’t set in stone. Reorder tasks and find them a new home with intuitive drag-and-drop mechanics.
• Project History. See all the changes made by you and other collaborators. Click on the entries to navigate to the edited items within the project.
• Version History. Taskade saves snapshots of your project so that you can restore a previous version of your project with a single click.

• Export and Print. You can export your projects as plain text or markdown files. Attach them to emails, presentations, or for print.

• Cloud File Upload. Share files directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, and Box in your projects with our integrations.
• Breakdown Larger Tasks. Organize your thoughts with Taskade’s unlimited hierarchy to break down large projects into tasks.
• Quick Search. Use CMD / CTRL + K to jump between any projects within Taskade web and apps.

For an exhaustive list of Taskade’s features, click here.

Taskade Pros

• Free-forever plan is loaded with features
• Real-time collaboration within the same project 
• Free built-in video call and chat function in each project
• Customizable templates to give you a headstart
• Work and chat in the same window, in the same app
• Frequent updates based on user/your feedback and suggestions
• Tabbed workflow for working with multiple Projects

Taskade Cons

• No custom APIs (yet)

Taskade Pricing

Taskade Free Plan

• Unlimited Tasks & Projects
• Unlimited Members & Guests
• Unlimited Folders & Teams
• Templates, Calendar, Repeat Tasks
• Real-time Collaboration
• Built-in Free Chat and Video Call

Taskade Unlimited Plan - Starts from $5/month

• Everything in Free, plus:
• Version History
• Advanced Permission
• Cloud Upload Integration
• 2-Way Calendar Integration

Click here for more information.

Is Taskade Right for You?

Taskade can be used by individuals and teams working from anywhere. Use Taskade individually or collaborate with your team for weekly agendas, team meetings, note-taking, project management, product roadmaps, and more. 

Make use of customizable board views to visualize your projects into digestible smaller tasks. Multiple board views are available even on Taskade’s free plan, allowing you to get more work done the smarter way. 

Collaborate with your team in real-time with free and unlimited chat and video conferencing available on every project. Automatic syncing ensures that your data is always up to date across devices.

Our customizable templates are available even with our free plan. Find the perfect template to help you get started with your project, and customize it to fit your needs!

Taskade is the simplest way to create task lists, checklists, and workflows. Manage projects and get more work done the simple way with Taskade.

Taskade is the best free Basecamp alternative. Try Taskade for free today.