Basecamp vs. SmartSuite

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
SmartSuite
Score 2.9 out of 10
N/A
SmartSuite provides a collaborative Work Management platform that enables teams to plan, track and manage workflows - whether it be a project, an ongoing process or routine everyday tasks. SmartSuite helps coordinate people and work across all levels of an organization to ensure that team members have the information they need to accomplish the work that matters most. Team members can create a workflow, or choose from over 200 templates that can be tailored to their exact needs.
$10
per month per user
Pricing
BasecampSmartSuite
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Business
$99
Per Month [Unlimited Users]
Basecamp Personal
Free
Limited Capabilities
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BasecampSmartSuite
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
Community Pulse
BasecampSmartSuite
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BasecampSmartSuite
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
6.8
121 Ratings
11% below category average
SmartSuite
1.4
19 Ratings
138% below category average
Task Management8.3120 Ratings1.519 Ratings
Resource Management7.3101 Ratings1.518 Ratings
Gantt Charts1.941 Ratings1.415 Ratings
Scheduling6.096 Ratings1.417 Ratings
Workflow Automation6.371 Ratings1.518 Ratings
Team Collaboration8.7120 Ratings1.519 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology5.450 Ratings1.519 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology5.446 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Document Management8.6112 Ratings1.518 Ratings
Email integration6.598 Ratings1.518 Ratings
Mobile Access8.698 Ratings1.518 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking8.546 Ratings1.415 Ratings
Change request and Case Management6.756 Ratings1.417 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management7.040 Ratings1.416 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
SmartSuite
1.3
16 Ratings
141% below category average
Quotes/estimates8.329 Ratings1.415 Ratings
Invoicing6.925 Ratings1.01 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.034 Ratings1.415 Ratings
Integration with accounting software4.028 Ratings1.310 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BasecampSmartSuite
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.4 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Planview AgilePlace
Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.4 out of 10
Planview AgilePlace
Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Planview AgilePlace
Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.4 out of 10
Planview AgilePlace
Planview AgilePlace
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BasecampSmartSuite
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(147 ratings)
1.5
(19 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(26 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(17 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(28 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.7
(4 ratings)
1.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BasecampSmartSuite
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.
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SmartSuite
It is best suited to be a google alternative for a google drive due to its multiple functions. Can add action items, upload multiple types of files and assign people responsibilities and tasks. It combines resource platform abilities with project management functionality in order to unite all your needs in one area.
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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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SmartSuite
  • SmartSuite is a good collaboration tool
  • The capabilities of the platform are immense
  • The customization features allow users to set up the report type and view it exactly as they want
  • The choice of the fields to be used in the records and reports is really wide
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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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SmartSuite
  • A little better home screen, which is already in the works!
  • Better experience in the my work panel, which is also in the works already!
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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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SmartSuite
I have a great expereance
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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.
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SmartSuite
This is beta software without support. Nobody works at this company.
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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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SmartSuite
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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SmartSuite
They have a great tutorial and a lot of hits during the work process
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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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SmartSuite
That's easy. Just try
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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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SmartSuite
For our team, SmartSuite contains all features that we need. Before we use Asana, Trello and tried to use Airtable. But all of these management systems did not satisfy us. Then we started using SmartSuite, got to know all the possibilities and decided to switch to it
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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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SmartSuite
  • We have to spend less time on checking where the project is at
  • We can have less PM's in the business
  • Our clients are happier thus leading to more business
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ScreenShots

SmartSuite Screenshots

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