Basecamp vs. Slack

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Basecamp
Score 8.8 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
Slack
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Slack is a group messaging or team collaboration app that aims to simplify communication for businesses. Features include open discussions, private groups, and direct messaging, as well as deep contextual search and message archiving, and file sharing. Slack integrates with a number of other tools, such as MailChimp, Dropbox, and Google Drive. Slack was acquired by Salesforce in December 2020. The product is free to use, and also has paid plans with more features and greater controls. The…
$8.75
per month per user
Pricing
BasecampSlack
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Plus
$15
per month per user
Basecamp Pro Unlimited
$299
per month (billed annually)
Basecamp Free
Free
Limited Capabilities
Free
$0
Pro
$7.25*
per month per user
Business+
$12.50*
per month per user
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BasecampSlack
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details*Per active user, per month, when paying once a year. Pro is $8.75 USD per active user when paying month to month. Business+ is $15.00 USD per active user when paying month to month.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BasecampSlack
Considered Both Products
Basecamp
Chose Basecamp
We found Basecamp's features to be more better than Slack, especially for a bigger group of people.
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is simple to understand, easy to use, and does not come with the bloat and complications of a solution like Teams. It is certainly more organized and easy to follow than simply having a group chat on Slack and Viber. If you need to easily find information, it can be …
Chose Basecamp
We moved from Basecamp to monday.com. Monday is much better suited to an environment where most projects are similar to other projects you are currently working on or have already completed. Monday isn't as "social" or as "community building" as Basecamp, but we've always used S…
Chose Basecamp
Each platform has pros and cons. We ultimately switched away from Kantata (formerly Mavenlink) because our clients were more familiar with Basecamp.
Chose Basecamp
I like Trello too, but our organization prefers Basecamp so that's what I stick to
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is a feature-rich and user-friendly platform that outpaces other solutions we've explored. The vast number of integrations available, as well as the years of dedicated developers as well as the natively available mobile apps, really make Basecamp a leader in this …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp if far simpler than ClickUp. We use ClickUp to manage our internal task management, as it provides more customization, additional views and more room for extreme detail in tasks. We used Basecamp for clients because of its simplicity and ease-of-use. Basecamp requires …
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 a similar type of software but is on a totally different playing field than Monday. Basecamp is definitely a lot more bare bones, it is a task tracking software and that is all. Basecamp is more of a "To Do" list where as Monday is a full-on task scheduling, time …
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
All of them can be used regularly and we used them before. But we chose Basecamp because it's simple to use and setup. And our company is small sized organization and we don't have to use big software to track and manage our projects. I recommend Basecamp for an individual user …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is a very basic tool. There are pros and cons to this. I think other tools like Trello have much more to offer, and many more features. But this could be an issue for organizations looking for an easy-to-use tool. It really depends on the need of the company and the …
Chose Basecamp
Samepage and Slack are just a few steps ahead with its messenger and communication platforms and is leagues behind when it comes to integration with other systems. However, most systems can be redundant when attempting to accomplish something that caters to a non-technical …
Chose Basecamp
Slack has recently become our go-to task management and collaboration. Slack is gaining ground in this arena due to its more forward-thinking conversation structure. Basecamp is beginning to feel more like a forum while Slack feels agile and easy to move from conversations at a …
Slack
Chose Slack
This is the perfect middle ground - more organization and structure than Google Hangouts, but not so rigid as email. Definitely not as hard to navigate and slow to use as Basecamp. Love that it doesn't rely on email to notify users. Instead, it become the main communication app …
Chose Slack
I have used Basecamp in the past, but have not evaluated in the last 3 years. At the time I began using slack, Basecamp was overkill for my needs, and didn't provide as strong of a mobile experience.
Chose Slack
Slack combines all features of Basecamp and Asana but also offers private messages and integration with other platforms. However, Basecamp has the most simple interface out of the three, while Slack is very complex. For simple task management, Basecamp would be enough as a tool.
Chose Slack
For overall internal team collaboration, Slack can’t compete with Microsoft Teams and its integrations. But when it comes to easily collaborate with colleagues outside of your organization, Slack’s ease of use, organizational features and ability to let you connect to multiple …
Chose Slack
  • Easy UI
  • Easy file sharing
  • Option of one to one chat
Chose Slack
It was too email centric - you get too many emails telling you to go there, so it seemed inefficient.

There wasn't enough non-project functionality so it was never really "always open" for people the way Slack is, it just felt like an extra thing to do, rather than a tool that …
Chose Slack
Slack was so simple to start using--super easy integrations with Jira, Sharepoint/OneDrive, and our PM tools--that it was a no-brainer. The video was glitchy, especially for any users who had iffy upload speeds (which isn't Slack's fault entirely, but they did not have as many …
Chose Slack
In Slack, you can easily collab with your channels. You can upload videos and large files easily.
Chose Slack
Slack is a far superior product. Skype did not have enough features and the mobile app was garbage comparatively. Sametime was one of the worst messaging services I have used. Notifications were incredibly inconsistent.
Chose Slack
Much more customization and ability to organize by topic rather than just by project.
Chose Slack
Slack is an easy team messaging app that's fun to use, with features like the random gif generator. It's an easy way to consolidate multiple team message boards and contact individuals in the company. Although it's not exactly a work flow type app it is suppose to easily …
Chose Slack
Slack is a bit more simplistic than the other pieces of software, but creates more meaningful conversations. The other programs create more of a forum based platform, than a social network like Slack. Slack encourages everyone to get involved with the conversation as opposed to …
Features
BasecampSlack
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
8.7
124 Ratings
12% above category average
Slack
8.0
625 Ratings
4% above category average
Task Management9.3123 Ratings7.8428 Ratings
Resource Management9.0103 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts6.343 Ratings6.961 Ratings
Scheduling8.299 Ratings7.8361 Ratings
Workflow Automation8.272 Ratings8.1394 Ratings
Team Collaboration9.8123 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology9.051 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology8.648 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management9.7115 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration8.4101 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access9.0100 Ratings9.4598 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking9.348 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management9.458 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management8.242 Ratings00 Ratings
Search00 Ratings8.3605 Ratings
Visual planning tools00 Ratings7.4273 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
8.0
42 Ratings
4% above category average
Slack
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates10.030 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing10.026 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.034 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software4.028 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Slack
8.8
633 Ratings
10% above category average
Chat00 Ratings9.6632 Ratings
Notifications00 Ratings8.9629 Ratings
Discussions00 Ratings9.3617 Ratings
Surveys00 Ratings8.2410 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase00 Ratings7.8409 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting00 Ratings8.9110 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts00 Ratings8.7182 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook00 Ratings8.9120 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Slack
8.5
600 Ratings
6% above category average
Versioning00 Ratings8.2324 Ratings
Video files00 Ratings8.4538 Ratings
Audio files00 Ratings8.6525 Ratings
Document collaboration00 Ratings8.0426 Ratings
Access control00 Ratings8.3409 Ratings
Advanced security features00 Ratings8.3360 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive00 Ratings9.0211 Ratings
Device sync00 Ratings9.0452 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BasecampSlack
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 9.5 out of 10
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 9.5 out of 10
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BasecampSlack
Likelihood to Recommend
9.8
(150 ratings)
9.2
(631 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(26 ratings)
10.0
(25 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(20 ratings)
9.0
(248 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(4 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(28 ratings)
9.9
(68 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.7
(4 ratings)
8.8
(5 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.9
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Professional Services
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
BasecampSlack
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
Salesforce
Slack is great for tracking commits to new coding projects. You can take parts of code that still need to be implemented later and easily search through the history of comments if there is something that goes wrong with a code commitment. It can be difficult for people that only like Teams to adjust to a new platform if you are using both to communicate.
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
Salesforce
  • Huddles Run smoothly without any interferences.
  • Smooth individual calls quick and easy without any interruptions.
  • seamless notifications across multiple devices
  • The ability to easily tag a team member to urgently attend to a specific escalation.
  • Slack being user friendly and able to integrate easily with other platforms and apps.
  • How to easily open up different channels for different escalations and needs.
  • a safe direct messaging option.
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
Salesforce
  • Would love a better integration with GitHub. For example, notifications when your PR is updated, when review is requested, @-mention in comments, etc.
  • Improved "Later" tab, for example the ability to create to-do lists or making the "Later" tab into a more powerful to-do list (annotate items with notes)
  • More powerful integrations, e.g. Google Calendar could render a calendar view within Slack, rather than sending the daily schedule
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
Salesforce
To be more transparent, I give 10 because Slack serves our collaboration needs. It provide us a good platform for team communication relaying important update within the company, it has even mobile app where you can install in your phone to monitor any updates within that team that needs your immediate attention and intervention.
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
Salesforce
My rating was 7. Its intuitive interface and user-friendly features like channels, threads, and integrations make it excellent for team communication and onboarding. However, its usability is held back by the resource-intensive desktop app and cluttered feeling in large workspaces. The mobile app's performance and unreliable notifications have also been noted as weaknesses.
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
Salesforce
Yes, the app works 24/7. I don't even recall having any period that we could not use since the implementation. Even the maintenance periods are barely noticeable and our work is not impacted by it when it happens.
Read full review
Performance
37 Signals
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
Slack is a soft app, we don't have many issues with it. I recall one or two people complaining about something during our usage period, but I didn't have a bad experience. When the app is slow, usually the problem is with my computer or my internet. The app works just fine.
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
Salesforce
Whenever I've had to troubleshoot an issue with Slack (which, to be honest, has not happened very often), their online documentation has been easy to locate, easy to understand, and effective in resolving my issue. Slack's ever-growing popularity also means that there's a large community of practice out there that can be depended upon.
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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Salesforce
I was not part of the implementation team, but I recall being 100% happy and excited to learn and use a new tool. I'm still am to be honest.
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
Salesforce
I like Slack better than ClickUp, because I would spend 30-60 minutes a day updating my ClickUp tasks. The way ClickUp was used was very micromanaging. I billed by the hour, so I was willing to put in the time to alert the boss what tasks I was working on.
One of my jobs used Hive - I mostly just ran it in the background in case anyone messaged me. I did not use it often.
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
Salesforce
  • Slack has been incredibly helpful in connecting various tech apps and ecosystems, creating a more streamlined and responsive process.
  • Slack has made it significantly easier to communicate with our team members across multiple time zones, creating a more engaging environment for our all-remote team.
Read full review
ScreenShots