Basecamp vs. Bluescape

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Basecamp
Score 8.1 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
Bluescape
Score 2.2 out of 10
N/A
Bluescape is a cloud-based, software as a service company based in Silicon Valley, CA, that provides a digital whiteboard of the same name.
$10
per month
Pricing
BasecampBluescape
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Business
$99
Per Month [Unlimited Users]
Basecamp Personal
Free
Limited Capabilities
Team
$10
per user, per month (10-50 licenses)
Business
$20
per user, per month (10+ licenses)
Enterprise
Custom Pricing
10+ licenses
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BasecampBluescape
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Features
BasecampBluescape
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
6.8
121 Ratings
11% below category average
Bluescape
-
Ratings
Task Management8.3120 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management7.3101 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts1.941 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling6.196 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation6.371 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration8.8120 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology5.550 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology5.446 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management8.7112 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration6.598 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access8.798 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking8.646 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management6.856 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management7.040 Ratings00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
6.8
41 Ratings
10% below category average
Bluescape
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates8.329 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing6.925 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.034 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software4.028 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BasecampBluescape
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.4 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Planview AgilePlace
Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.4 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Planview AgilePlace
Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.4 out of 10
Miro
Miro
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BasecampBluescape
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(147 ratings)
9.2
(5 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(26 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(17 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(28 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.7
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BasecampBluescape
Likelihood to Recommend
37 Signals
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
Bluescape
This digital version of a pin-up space is absolutely an improvement to my workflow. The input is so robust. What you do with it is where the magic happens. This program is best suited for team collaboration. It helps to discuss how/where the team will contribute information to it--whether that is discussing the templates or a plan of action. Otherwise, the workspace can tend to get messy. I like the idea of having a presentation mode, where some of the markups could be hidden. The idea of a working session with consultants or clients sounds appealing, but at the same time, there is a desire for a cleaned up, clear shareout.
Read full review
Pros
37 Signals
  • 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
Bluescape
  • Allows for a high volume of images and sketches to be put into the canvas
  • Lets you drop in text, freehand sketching, and shapes quick and easy
  • Can connect images and texts together using connectors, which can be customized
Read full review
Cons
37 Signals
  • 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
Bluescape
  • You can use Zoom with Bluescape but it requires solid bandwidth and memory by users.
  • A breadcrumb trail would be nice to watch students performance.
  • I would like individual user analytics for each of my students to see where they’ve been and what contributions each has made.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
37 Signals
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
Bluescape
No answers on this topic
Usability
37 Signals
I would give it a ten but we have some very minor issues. Those have all been easy to work around and I still really like Basecamp. We also have trouble with some clients who can only handle email—but those are rare cases when technology is just not their thing.
Read full review
Bluescape
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
37 Signals
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
Bluescape
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
37 Signals
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
Bluescape
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
37 Signals
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)
Read full review
Bluescape
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
37 Signals
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.
Read full review
Bluescape
We have Workware installed on different computers in our office that were supposed to be great for presentation but we had issues after a user connected their laptop then they no longer had access to our server. If they had files they needed for the presentation they had to save them to their desktop to make sure they were accessible.
Read full review
Return on Investment
37 Signals
  • 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.
Read full review
Bluescape
  • Especially in a remote work environment, Bluescape helps us continue collaborating without missing a beat
Read full review
ScreenShots

Bluescape Screenshots

Screenshot of Bluescape Collaborative Workspace