Basecamp vs. Buffer

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Buffer
Score 7.7 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Buffer is a social sharing tool. When browsing content, clicking on the Buffer icon automatically stores the content and schedules posts to social media channels throughout the day.
$6
per month per channel
Pricing
BasecampBuffer
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Plus
$15
per month per user
Basecamp Pro Unlimited
$299
per month (billed annually)
Basecamp Free
Free
Limited Capabilities
Free
$0
Essentials
$6
per month per channel
Team
$12
per month per channel
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BasecampBuffer
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BasecampBuffer
Considered Both Products
Basecamp

No answer on this topic

Buffer
Chose Buffer
In the beginning, we were torn between Hootsuite or Buffer. We tried the free version of both, but quickly realized we need to invest in a plan in order to get the most out of either one. For us, Hootsuite interface wasn't as user-friendly. It felt messy and a little confusing …
Features
BasecampBuffer
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
8.8
124 Ratings
13% above category average
Buffer
-
Ratings
Task Management9.3123 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management9.1103 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts6.743 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.599 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation8.572 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration9.7123 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology9.351 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology8.748 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management9.6115 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration8.4101 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access8.9100 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking9.248 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management9.458 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management8.342 Ratings00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
8.0
42 Ratings
3% above category average
Buffer
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates10.030 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing10.026 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.034 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software4.028 Ratings00 Ratings
Publishing
Comparison of Publishing features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Buffer
7.9
77 Ratings
2% below category average
Content planning and scheduling00 Ratings8.677 Ratings
Content optimization00 Ratings7.470 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings7.866 Ratings
Reporting/analytics
Comparison of Reporting/analytics features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Buffer
7.2
70 Ratings
7% below category average
Campaign success analytics00 Ratings7.270 Ratings
Account management
Comparison of Account management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Buffer
8.3
72 Ratings
4% above category average
Role-based user permissions & privileges00 Ratings8.559 Ratings
Mobile access00 Ratings8.168 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BasecampBuffer
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 8.5 out of 10
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
CoSchedule Marketing Suite
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 8.5 out of 10
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Social Suite by Reputation.com
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BasecampBuffer
Likelihood to Recommend
9.8
(150 ratings)
7.9
(96 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(26 ratings)
8.0
(15 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(20 ratings)
8.4
(33 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(4 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(28 ratings)
7.0
(24 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.7
(4 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
BasecampBuffer
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
Buffer
It helps me save hours by devoting only half an hour in a month's worth of posting, in addition to that it is quite simple to use. Buffer for scheduling social posts well in advance, but I have begun using it instead of posting natively on the social apps themselves because it makes it super easy to post the same messages to more than one platform.
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
Buffer
  • I can plan and publish content on social channels.
  • Buffer's interface is quite tidy and generates the necessary facilities to save us time in publishing consistent content.
  • It has a special price; it is pretty affordable.
  • It has the possibility of integrating with other tools to improve its functions.
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
Buffer
  • Expensive Analytics: The upgrade you need to access your analytics is quite expensive, and I have come across other tools that provide the same or even more for a lesser priced plan.
  • No Media Library: The one feature I have found on another social media planning tool that I wish Buffer had is a media library. This allows you to upload photos you aren't using right away to have them readily available when you do decide to use them. This is not a feature in Buffer.
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
Buffer
I am giving buffer this rating because of a couple issues that it has compared to other platforms. It does not always post to instagram and you will need to go in an manually post. Also, one of the biggest qualms that we have with buffer is the price it costs to have robust analytics
Read full review
Usability
37 Signals
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
Buffer
We use Buffer for certain website content that should be shared on social networks, having this tool helps us to do it faster and easier since we can send the publications from the internet browser and the stack of scheduled messages. It is really fast and easy for all team members who share access to the account, so at the same time that we analyze the information that we can share, the message stack is prepared
Read full review
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
Buffer
Buffer is always on hand and very reliable, their software suite rarely has outages
Read full review
Performance
37 Signals
No answers on this topic
Buffer
Buffer performs well on both desktop and mobile platforms. The one area as I have stated before is that it does not always want to automatically push to Instagram and the user will have to go do it manually. Buffer works very well pushing to other platforms. The instagram issue is the only reason buffer does not get a 10 on this section
Read full review
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
Buffer
  1. It really helped to my business to grow online.
  2. I was able to take actions mindfully as the analytics are damn good.
  3. Also used for managing clients social media accounts and it proved to be a best resource.
  4. Clients were really happy as they got high demand and growth on internet and the secret is Buffer.
  5. The user interface is really easy to understand and manage. Support is 24/7 available to help.
Read full review
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
Buffer
We were very satisfied with the implementation of Buffer. We had no issues switching from the platform that we were using over to buffer. Our staff did not even miss a beat when it came to posting content. It was an easy transition and I feel that is something that buffer has really done well. They have an "out of the box" usability platform
Read full review
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
Buffer
I also used Combin which is easy and free to use. However, Combin only posts when the computer is active and connected to the internet. So, posting while you are not actively using your computer at that moment is not possible, therefore Buffer is much more efficient as you can even post while being on vacation without working.
Read full review
Scalability
37 Signals
No answers on this topic
Buffer
Buffer does what it say on tin as they say! you can always count on Buffer. Buffer can be scale to 25 social account with 2,000 scheduled post which is enough for most agencies or businesses
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
Buffer
  • It has saved money by allowing us to automate our social using one person
  • It allows us to connect one channel at a time instead of wasting money on larger account management tools
  • We are making money, because it has already delivered several clients
Read full review
ScreenShots

Buffer Screenshots

Screenshot of The Buffer dashboardScreenshot of Customizable posting scheduleScreenshot of Tailored PostsScreenshot of List or calendar view of scheduled postsScreenshot of Browser extensionScreenshot of Social media analytics