Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ActiveCollab
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Active Collab is a project management solution built around features such as task management, collaboration, time tracking, and invoicing.
$8
per member/per month
Atlassian Jira
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Atlassian Jira is a project management tool, featuring an interactive timeline for mapping work items, dependencies, and releases, Scrum boards for agile teams, and out-of-the-box reports and dashboards.
$9
per month per user
Basecamp
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Basecamp is a web-based project-management tool. Basecamp offers features standard to project management platforms, as well as mobile accessibility, unlimited users, and 3rd party integrations. Basecamp is priced by space requirements and concurrent projects.
$15
per month per user
Pricing
ActiveCollabAtlassian JiraBasecamp
Editions & Modules
ActiveCollab Project Management
$8
per member/per month
Self-Hosted Plan
$999.00
license
Standard
$9
per month per user
Premium
$17
per month per user
Enterprise
Contact Sales
per year
Basecamp Plus
$15
per month per user
Basecamp Pro Unlimited
$299
per month (billed annually)
Basecamp Free
Free
Limited Capabilities
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ActiveCollabAtlassian JiraBasecamp
Free Trial
YesYesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNoNo
Entry-level Setup Fee$6.25 per member, per month, annual billingNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsHigher volume teams may qualify buyers for a discount.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ActiveCollabAtlassian JiraBasecamp
Considered Multiple Products
ActiveCollab
Chose ActiveCollab
We chose Active Collab overall because we liked its easy to use user interface, project management suite and agency/vendor/client interaction capabilities. We also chose it primarily because it was offered as a web-based platform that offered very clean and easy mobile access …
Chose ActiveCollab
ActiveCollab has similar features to Basecamp for both project management and communication purposes. However, Basecamp has a better interface for organization of projects within clients and allows for linking to specific comments. However, ActiveCollab is more affordable than B…
Chose ActiveCollab
ActiveCollab is easier to use and simpler in its setup. It has the right mix of features and simplicity. It's also project-oriented which is important for our workflow. Other tools are often too task-oriented, making it hard to track projects. Overall, ActiveCollab has a great …
Chose ActiveCollab
ActiveCollab has fewer functions than Wrike and a simpler interface, but generally, the team collaboration purpose is fulfilled.
Chose ActiveCollab
I have used multiple project management platforms such as ActiveCollab, JIRA, Trello, etc. Trello has great visualization with their (Kanban Board) board system and support drag and drop functionality for managing tasks. ActiveCollab, however, does not have the fancy …
Chose ActiveCollab
Certainly, each of them has a particular advantage, which in the end makes it unique. ActiveCollab also belongs to a group of platforms created to be represented in particular, its way of project management is superior to JIRA or Trello. With this software, the work is more …
Atlassian Jira
Chose Atlassian Jira
Jira was selected because it is used by all of our clients and has become the accepted standard in the type of work that we do. The other tools are great in their own right and would better suit a more insular way of working, where a business conducts all work internally, but …
Chose Atlassian Jira
Jira Software was already the established enterprise standard supporting my clients’ globally distributed software teams. I feel strongly that no other product could deliver when compared to Jira Software.
Chose Atlassian Jira
Jira has more features and is more flexible. It has features specifically designed for agile/Scrum-based methodologies which made it very appealing to us.
Chose Atlassian Jira
Among the solutions to develop projects, Jira stands out because it is a very solid tool for project management, problems can be tracked throughout the development life cycle. It can be integrated with other common tools, which adds an additional benefit of this.
Chose Atlassian Jira

JIRA is the most advanced and robust of all the tools we looked at to manage our projects and specifically our Agile processes. It is flexible and robust, very professional-looking and widely used. Many of the

Chose Atlassian Jira
Jira had the full package and had a lot of options as a task management tool, good for tickets and a complex user management interface to split up permissions within our company and for our clients. We can integrate with Bitbucket and work through tickets development, design …
Chose Atlassian Jira
I like that you can visually monitor many projects simultaneously. I like that you can add tickets and issues to the system relatively quickly and easily. The tool is pretty intuitive and it only takes a few attempts before you understand how the system works.
Chose Atlassian Jira
JIRA is the ultimate in project management software. Nothing else out there comes close to a complete solution that is customization the way you want, and integrates with almost every other application out there.
You can write custom reports, you can set up workflows the way you …
Chose Atlassian Jira
What appealed to us with JIRA at first sight is pricing per user. It may sound funny, but for us this was better than pricing per number of projects. Most of our projects are ongoing. Once an initial development is done, we continue maintaining the software and keep track of …
Chose Atlassian Jira
JIRA is simply the most robust and customizable product I've worked with. If you're a casual user, the interface is pretty simple and straight forward. If you're an administrator, there is definitely a learning curve, but there's also ample documentation available. In addition, …
Chose Atlassian Jira
Personally I would prefer a simpler tool, the decision to use JIRA had been made prior to my joining the team.
Basecamp
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is the best application we've found for our team to interface with external clients. It makes project management simple, and allows our clients visibility into their projects, which in turn builds trust, fosters open communication, and improves customer satisfaction. …
Chose Basecamp
[Basecamp is] simpler to use less ramp-up. It's cheaper per user and allows for a better mobile experience.
Chose Basecamp
Unlike others, Basecamp has been easy for us to store information and move our projects forward efficiently.
Chose Basecamp
Pretty good, but [Basecamp] has its drawbacks. Honestly I find the interface non-intuitive and sometimes have trouble figuring out how to change the status of a task. Perhaps it has something to do with the way it was originally set up by the admin, but I'm not sure. I liked …
Chose Basecamp
I have used Jira in past roles with different organizations, and I find Basecamp to be much more user-friendly and better at the more complex conversations that need to be had around product features. Basecamp knows what it does well, and sticks to that, instead of trying to be …
Chose Basecamp
In my opinion, Basecamp has a better interface than Asana and Jira. I remember it took me sometime to get used to Asana and even longer to get used to Jira, but adoption for Basecamp was instant. Things are so clearly labeled and displayed that I was able to get comfortable …
Chose Basecamp
We liked Basecamp as it was initially free to use for 30 days. Further, there were some interns in our project who used the product at their university.There were videos available on how to set up and use the product. For us, it was the convenience of setting it up and hit the …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is perfect for small-time collaboration. It's suited for projects that need organization but not granular detail. When you need more than a simple little bit of help, you'll be looking at other solutions at that point. Very straight forward and to the point but that is …
Chose Basecamp
I have made the switch to Trello - I prefer the templates and community aspect; my organization uses JIRA to manage the tasks and handoffs between the various stages of a client project; we are using BetterWorks to manage overall business goals and quarterly objectives.
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is more entry level and has a much easier set up than most of the competitors. I greatly prefer Trello, but when I am working with new marketers they always suggest Basecamp. Basecamp is good, but it is just so easy to get the multiple pieces of a project jumbled …
Chose Basecamp
We look at JIRA, but found it way too complicated for our needs.
Chose Basecamp
JIRA is a project management tool for IT developers built on the Agile principle, while Trello is built on a board style methodology. monday is a grid style project management tool that works great for visual project management. Basecamp on the other hand is all about team …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp helps groups work together by keeping all messages, documents, work lists and calendar in a single location that is easy to access anytime and from anywhere. Manages tasks and reporting of tasks completing. It can be accessed through a mobile app or through web …
Chose Basecamp
JIRA was the best software for our development team which i was in charge of. Its definitely more aligned to software development and offered us a good platform to handle dependencies and software releases (versioning). This is something that Basecamp was lacking. Asana stacks …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is better in terms of better project management, module development, and agile product development. JIRA would be better in time tracking and Agile. But, overall project development is better than all in Basecamp. Asana is a ticketing system only for task management. Tr…
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is great for simple projects. I think it is as useful as Banana Scrum, but with a better UI. I have also used Rally and Jira for managing larger technical projects. The additional level of detail in these programs is more appropriate for larger development projects.
Chose Basecamp
I did not select Basecamp so much as I opted to not create overhead with the vendor who had already established a process within Basecamp.
Chose Basecamp
I've used Jira for similar tasks. I find Basecamp to have a better user interface (less cluttered, more intuitive) and the ability to get team members up to speed quickly is a big factor in our successful adoption of the tool.
Chose Basecamp
More user-friendly, but less-powerful.
Chose Basecamp
Looked at
  • Microsoft Project - too cumbersome for our agile projects.
  • Liquid Planner - too costly.
  • Tom's Planner - just a scheduling program and difficult to update.
Features
ActiveCollabAtlassian JiraBasecamp
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCollab
3.6
13 Ratings
73% below category average
Atlassian Jira
7.8
36 Ratings
1% above category average
Basecamp
8.9
124 Ratings
14% above category average
Task Management5.112 Ratings8.835 Ratings9.3123 Ratings
Resource Management1.08 Ratings7.734 Ratings9.2103 Ratings
Gantt Charts3.07 Ratings7.225 Ratings6.943 Ratings
Scheduling1.011 Ratings7.733 Ratings8.699 Ratings
Workflow Automation7.01 Ratings8.134 Ratings8.872 Ratings
Team Collaboration6.113 Ratings8.535 Ratings9.7123 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology7.07 Ratings8.936 Ratings9.551 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology7.01 Ratings7.930 Ratings8.748 Ratings
Document Management3.08 Ratings6.930 Ratings9.6115 Ratings
Email integration4.09 Ratings8.031 Ratings8.4101 Ratings
Mobile Access1.110 Ratings7.126 Ratings8.8100 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking2.09 Ratings7.626 Ratings9.248 Ratings
Change request and Case Management1.08 Ratings7.927 Ratings9.458 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management2.07 Ratings7.019 Ratings8.342 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCollab
5.7
8 Ratings
30% below category average
Atlassian Jira
7.4
22 Ratings
5% below category average
Basecamp
8.0
42 Ratings
3% above category average
Quotes/estimates6.97 Ratings7.318 Ratings10.030 Ratings
Invoicing6.96 Ratings7.813 Ratings10.026 Ratings
Project & financial reporting1.07 Ratings7.220 Ratings8.034 Ratings
Integration with accounting software7.94 Ratings7.417 Ratings4.028 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ActiveCollabAtlassian JiraBasecamp
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
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Score 8.3 out of 10
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Score 8.3 out of 10
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User Ratings
ActiveCollabAtlassian JiraBasecamp
Likelihood to Recommend
1.6
(13 ratings)
8.3
(221 ratings)
9.9
(150 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(37 ratings)
10.0
(26 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.8
(62 ratings)
9.3
(20 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
7.3
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
7.1
(3 ratings)
8.0
(24 ratings)
8.8
(28 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.7
(4 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(9 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ActiveCollabAtlassian JiraBasecamp
Likelihood to Recommend
ActiveCollab
Scenarios where ActiveCollab works well 1) ActiveCollab works well for small teams specifically T&M teams.Its invoicing feature is unique & can make your life easy. 2) It is very easy to use & posses good range of filters like on the task list, we can drag/drop tasks, Filter by assignee's,
tasks lists, due dates, or completed tasks. 3) It has some simple but awesome features like when you're in
the middle of writing something i.e a comment on story and get interrupted,
it retains what you wrote. 4) It allows you to tag team members in threads of comments to grab their attention, its really needed when teams are distributed. Thus helping team members to collaborate easily & stay on same page. 5) It integrates pretty well with other web apps like quickbooks , Slack, Trello, HubSpot, Zapier etc Scenarios where ActiveCollab did not work well 1) Tasks can not have multiple assignee's here so if two members are working on same task it did not allow you to reflect that. 2) Sorting capability is not their under invoicing 3) It did not work well for larger teams 4) Search option is not very detailed & you may end up wasting lot of time searching one particular bug or issue.












Read full review
Atlassian
Jira facilitates software development, bug tracking, and sprints. It's ideal for structured workflows, issue management, and customer communication. However, more straightforward tools might be more efficient for highly creative, unstructured tasks or tiny, agile teams with quick visual overviews. Jira's complexity can be overkill for basic task lists.
Read full review
37signals
Basecamp is a wonderful tool for teams of varying degrees of technical knowledge, teams managing lots of different types of "agifall" and waterfall projects, and teams that are remotely distributed. It's probably less useful for more strictly agile-focused development teams, compared to other more flexible software applications like Jira and Asana.
Read full review
Pros
ActiveCollab
  • Great for project and task assignments, project workflow and communications.
  • Solid web-based platform that doesn't require software downloads, also includes great mobile platform.
  • Great reporting tools for managing billing, estimating, project workflow and other essential project details.
  • Allows for both the agency and its clients to interact on a single platform using role-specific permissions.
Read full review
Atlassian
  • Integration of tools like Bitbucket, Github, etc., has made it easier to track the code changes, pull requests, and branches linked to the respective ticket.
  • The detailed tracking system in JIRA has helped the teams prioritize and understand the project tasks and issues.
  • JIRA's project tracking board helps you keep track of the project, its flow, and expectations in a structured format.
Read full review
37signals
  • Task management - It is very easy to add, organize and discuss tasks within Basecamp's interface.
  • The "Campfire" function is great for communicating when you just have a quick question for someone on the team.
  • Notifications - Basecamp lets you decide how often and about what you'd like to be notified. The ability to respond to messages in Basecamp directly via email saves a lot of time.
Read full review
Cons
ActiveCollab
  • It isn't possible to set members of staff as part time, so if someone is unavailable on certain days you must manually enter them as OOO every single day that they are not in, that other teammates work. Hours also can't be edited individually - everyone is treated as working the same hours in a day, rendering capacity planner useless for flexi working teams
  • Subtasks cannot be assigned their own hours and deadlines, meaning the To Do list view can't be seen in actual date order and capacity planner does not reflect all time allocated to an individual's schedule unless every task is set up as a separate task rather than subtask
  • There is no way to see all tasks of a certain type across multiple campaigns (e.g all copywriting tasks vs all technical tasks) - support team suggested exporting data and making spreadsheets
  • Kanban view isn't available for people's own task lists ('board' view here shows a list)
  • Not possible to have one task be assigned to more than one person
  • Notifications are not sent when tasks are updated, so you have to leave comments and tag people each time
Read full review
Atlassian
  • The interface is not intuitive to learn for new users
  • JQL is similarly challenging for newbies
  • It's possible to accidentally move issues from one sprint to another without realizing your mistake
  • Certain issue attributes aren't available in certain view (e.g. story points from the epic overview)
Read full review
37signals
  • High Learning Curve. It's true that it can be easy to use, but to use well and effectively takes some time to learn. It's recommended to have an agreed-upon system in your team of what tools to use and when.
  • Notification Overload. If people aren't careful they could send a notification to everyone when only a couple people were meant to be prompted. And since emails are sent by default, you could have your mailbox overloaded with unnecessary updates. This is where it takes a bit of training in your team to have an agreed-upon system.
  • Lack of organization with Archived Projects. I will often need to reference an archived project to make a new one, but there is only a list of archived projects in alphabetical order, with no way to organize by archive date, or even search.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
This is because Jira Software generates a huge profit for an affordable price. Having a tool that makes team management transparent and effective is very valuable.
In addition, the renewal of Jira Software and all Atlassian tools is predictable and clear, as the prices are published on the Atlassian website and there is no pyramid of intermediaries.
Read full review
37signals
When I bring new people onto a project, it's immediately obvious how to use Basecamp. I don't have to worry about teaching them the features or walking them through it, it's just incredibly user-friendly. For this reason, I'll continue to renew my subscription even as new people are brought onto production jobs or the client changes.
Read full review
Usability
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
The interface is simple and easy to use if you have some experience with it. Configuration is also logical most of the time. However, less experienced users tend to find themselves lost in some tasks - usually complex project configuration- but sometimes simple things, such as seeing why a user can't move issues in a workflow. Jira configuration requires a good amount of experience - and even experienced users often resort to documentation. It's a tool that's easy to use if you know what you're doing and where to find the proper documentation, but novice users tend to find it challenging.
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37signals
It is easy to use, even for clients who have no experience with the platform. It can only get a little cumbersome to ensure that a client can't see certain documents you might want to keep in the Docs & Files folders. And sometimes, getting a client to actually use an unfamiliar platform can be a challenge.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
Did not face any issues and whenever they plan maintanance they update all of us very well in advance also so in that view we are good with the product stability.
Read full review
37signals
I've never experienced downtime while using Basecamp, or been unable to access it when I needed it. That's not to say they've never had downtime, but I've been lucky enough not to encounter any, and I work odd hours, including late nights when maintenance is often undertaken.
Read full review
Performance
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
Performance is really good though it holds lot of data it loads quickly especially search operation also get the results very quickly as needed hence its good
Read full review
37signals
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
ActiveCollab
We have not required support for ActiveCollab as it works pretty seamlessly. We didn't have any issues with using the platform or with any billing issues. The self-service aspect of the platform is robust and easy to navigate so we have not encountered any errors that required assistance from the support team.
Read full review
Atlassian
I have not had a chance to contact JIRA's customer support. It does offer extensive documentation, although it often feels too technical for me. There is also a JIRA training app that lets you take little lessons and quizzes on different areas (e.g., JIRA basics, agile). I did find it a helpful way to teach myself.
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37signals
For the many reasons I've given, Basecamp is a very strong program. There are a few features I can imagine that might make it even better, but I don't have a basis for comparison to be able to say that there is definitely a better one out there. I've noticed that Basecamp has evolved a bit from the time I started using it until now, so that makes me think that the producer of this program values it and believes in continuous improvement. If you could use the features offered by Basecamp, I would think you could use it with confidence.
Read full review
In-Person Training
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
Had received training from our own internal user so it was good and also very easy to understand topics and many tasks in the UI are self explanatory and we can do by our own
Read full review
37signals
No answers on this topic
Online Training
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
One of their strong points i stheir documentation. Almost all of the basic set up needed within JIRA is available online through atlassian and its easy to find and very precise. The more critical issues need to be addressed as well and hence the rating of 8 instead of a 9.
Read full review
37signals
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
Take your time implementing Jira. Make sure you understand how you want to handle your projects and workflows. Investing more time in the implementation can pay off in a long run. It basically took us 5 days to define and implement correctly, but that meant smooth sailing later on.
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37signals
Decide the process before implementation - i.e. when it's due 8/9 does that mean 8am, noon, 5pm, 11:59pm? Check your to-do list frequently Set-up templates - just not with the dates (they can be funky)
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Alternatives Considered
ActiveCollab
ActiveCollab is easier to use and simpler in its setup. It has the right mix of features and simplicity. It's also project-oriented which is important for our workflow. Other tools are often too task-oriented, making it hard to track projects. Overall, ActiveCollab has a great mix of simplicity with good features.
Read full review
Atlassian
monday.com cannot be integrated with CI/CD tools, whereas Atlassian Jira integrates with CI/CD tools seamlessly. Atlassian Jira has strong Agile and Scrum support. Coming to monday.com, it has basic agile functionality. But Atlassian Jira has a complex UI, and monday.com has an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface. Overall, Atlassian Jira provides features like Agile project management, DevOps integration, and customizable workflows.
Read full review
37signals
Pretty good, but [Basecamp] has its drawbacks. Honestly I find the interface non-intuitive and sometimes have trouble figuring out how to change the status of a task. Perhaps it has something to do with the way it was originally set up by the admin, but I'm not sure. I liked Jira's drag and drop obvious functionality, but the project management side of the software was lacking. Smartsheet has excellent project management functionality, but the task management isn't as good.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
Product is rellay good but pricing part I am not aware
Read full review
37signals
No answers on this topic
Scalability
ActiveCollab
No answers on this topic
Atlassian
Atlassian Jira is highly stable and good with its performance and its has all the required scalability features as business needs
Read full review
37signals
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
ActiveCollab
  • Allows our team to stay organized and keep conversations on tasks.
  • The To-Do List email every morning helps me mentally prepare and know exactly what I should be doing as soon as I start work.
  • Powerful and useful integrations save lots of time (Google Drive, Slack, Dropbox, Zapier and more!).
Read full review
Atlassian
  • Atlassian Jira's robust workflow automation has boosted team efficiency, shortening delivery cycles and driving a positive ROI through improved project management.
  • Its advanced reporting and integration capabilities have enabled data-driven decisions, aligning operations with key business objectives.
  • However, the steep learning curve can delay adoption, potentially hindering short-term ROI.
Read full review
37signals
  • It has saved me time when having to get the same message out to multiple restaurants
  • It has helped us make smarter operational decisions because we can all collaborate on an answer in a shorter amount of time (instead of calling a meeting!!!)
  • The calendar function allows us to plot out our marketing agenda for the month and add/change it together as needed. The chef will post his recipe, the managers will cost it out, the social media manager will post pictures on it, and ultimately we will get that information out on an info sheet to the staff by printing the page.
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ScreenShots

ActiveCollab Screenshots

Screenshot of the dashboard with an overview of projects.Screenshot of multiple task views currently showing a Kanban view of the tasklists and tasks.Screenshot of Overview of all recent activity.Screenshot of Calendar view with task dependencies.Screenshot of Permission settings (owner, member, client, client+).Screenshot of List of available Add-ons.