Basecamp vs. Lua

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Basecamp
Score 7.9 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
Lua
Score 1.0 out of 10
N/A
Lua is a mobile-first enterprise communication solution. It powers messaging that is built for business: instant, secure, and keeps everyone accountable. Some key features include: Real-time Secure Messaging, Two-touch Conference Calling, and an Analytics Dashboard.
$0
Per User per Month
Pricing
BasecampLua
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Business
$99
Per Month [Unlimited Users]
Basecamp Personal
Free
Limited Capabilities
Lua
Per User per Month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BasecampLua
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$2,500
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Features
BasecampLua
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
4.2
118 Ratings
57% below category average
Lua
-
Ratings
Task Management5.3117 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management4.198 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts3.040 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling4.193 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation3.168 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration4.6117 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology4.049 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology3.545 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management4.2109 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration4.396 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access4.595 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking3.444 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management3.655 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management7.139 Ratings00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
7.8
40 Ratings
5% above category average
Lua
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates8.329 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing6.925 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.034 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software7.927 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Lua
7.0
1 Ratings
13% below category average
Chat00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Notifications00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BasecampLua
Small Businesses
FunctionFox
FunctionFox
Score 8.3 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SAP Ruum
SAP Ruum
Score 9.0 out of 10
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BasecampLua
Likelihood to Recommend
6.5
(144 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(26 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(28 ratings)
5.0
(1 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
BasecampLua
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
Lua
I wouldn't recommend Lua because they were recently acquired by another company and will be shutting down. It was unfortunate that we were only given 2 months notice right after signing up for another 1-year term.
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.
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Lua
  • It is easy to communicate in real-time.
  • Easy to set up different groups.
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.
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Lua
  • The application for iPad is not optimized.
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.
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Lua
No answers on this topic
Usability
37 Signals
Basecamp is a little tricky to learn. I've used it for quite a while but I feel like there's still so much I don't know. It took me a while to learn but having used it in college definitely helped me integrate it into my work career.
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Lua
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.
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Lua
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.
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Lua
They are closing operations, so there's no support to rate
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)
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Lua
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.
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Lua
We chose Lua because of their price point and feature set compared to other tools.
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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.
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Lua
  • It has been great for communication and broadcasts, its a shame that they are closing down.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Lua Screenshots

Screenshot of A Group Conversation With Files and Photos (iPhone)Screenshot of A Dedicated Tab for All Your Ongoing Conversations Broadcasts (Android)Screenshot of An Interactive Directory Organized by Departments, Roles, and Custom Groups (iPhone)Screenshot of Two-touch Conference Calling, No Dial-ins, No Passcodes (iPhone)Screenshot of A Dedicated Repository for All Attachments (Android)Screenshot of Communication Analytics Dashboard (Web)