Basecamp vs. Trello

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
Trello
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Trello from Atlassian is a project management tool based on a Kanban framework. Trello is ideal for task-management in a to-do list format. It supports sharing boards and cards across users or teams. The product offers a free version, and paid versions add greater automation, collaboration, and administrative control.
$12.50
per user/per month
Pricing
BasecampTrello
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Business
$99
Per Month [Unlimited Users]
Basecamp Personal
Free
Limited Capabilities
Business Class
$12.50
per user/per month
Enterprise
$17.50
per user/per month
Free
Forever Free
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BasecampTrello
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BasecampTrello
Considered Both Products
Basecamp
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is better in terms of better project management, module development, and agile product development. JIRA would be better in time tracking and Agile. But, overall project development is better than all in Basecamp. Asana is a ticketing system only for task management. Tr…
Chose Basecamp
JIRA is a project management tool for IT developers built on the Agile principle, while Trello is built on a board style methodology. monday is a grid style project management tool that works great for visual project management. Basecamp on the other hand is all about team …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is more entry level and has a much easier set up than most of the competitors. I greatly prefer Trello, but when I am working with new marketers they always suggest Basecamp. Basecamp is good, but it is just so easy to get the multiple pieces of a project jumbled …
Chose Basecamp
I have made the switch to Trello - I prefer the templates and community aspect; my organization uses JIRA to manage the tasks and handoffs between the various stages of a client project; we are using BetterWorks to manage overall business goals and quarterly objectives.
Chose Basecamp
Workfront was way too robust for our team to manage, while Basecamp is very easy for any user to set up and does not require lengthy training sessions. Communication within Basecamp (at the project or company level) is much easier to facilitate than in Workfront or Trello. …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is probably towards the bottom of the totem pole here based on what our needs were. Trello lacks reporting as well, but there's much more customization with Trello. Asana has more reporting and integration capabilities. monday.com is my favorite so far. The amount of …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp works better than Trello because it keeps more efficient and powerful features and functions. It is completely organized product and also gives us easy to use and understand advanced interface.
Chose Basecamp
Asana has lots of features but no Gantt charts which is kind of the basis for a lot of work that we do. On the other hand, the campfire discussion here is an absolute innovation.

Trello is heavy on features but locks us to a certain view which may not be suitable for all the …
Chose Basecamp
I love both of these other products and would use them specifically for my own personal use or in other situations but hands down, I believe that Basecamp offers better flexibility and ease of use for an organization that has never used a project management tool before. …
Chose Basecamp
Trello is less expensive and the free version works pretty well. For the paid version, Trello is also a really great tool. Overall, I do like Basecamp better. It's a more simple layout and structure to the software. I like the communication threads better on Basecamp. Trello
Chose Basecamp
in my opinion, it is Inferior, clunky, ugly product as compared to the others. I only selected Basecamp on recommendations from someone else who was using it, and have moved on to ClickUp. This Basecamp app failed to notify myself, my teammates and the client so many times, …
Chose Basecamp
Although I favored the alternative products' price models, Basecamp is unrivaled in terms of user-friendliness.
Chose Basecamp
Both programs are good. We went with the one that most people on the team felt comfortable with so we would have the most buy-in. I also like the continual updates and feedback Basecamp takes to heart. Basecamp also has some functionality that met the needs of the organization …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is the best application we've found for our team to interface with external clients. It makes project management simple, and allows our clients visibility into their projects, which in turn builds trust, fosters open communication, and improves customer satisfaction. …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is clean, simple, and easy to use.
Chose Basecamp
We tried other software while selecting paid plans of Basecamp; its customer service is fast and very prompt in comparison to others. Interface and UI & UX is also very good, which is very good for team members. The team loves this product and they are very happy with it. We …
Chose Basecamp
There is a simplicity that basecamp offers where most other project management systems seem to miss. They've worked hard at keeping the right things in place and not adding so many of the extra features that just get in the way of getting work done. The thing I liked most …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is perfect for small-time collaboration. It's suited for projects that need organization but not granular detail. When you need more than a simple little bit of help, you'll be looking at other solutions at that point. Very straight forward and to the point but that is …
Chose Basecamp
Our team selected Basecamp because it has a simple design, is easy to use and has all the tools we need to follow up on our projects. Allowing our team to stay organized, communicate effectively and perform tasks from a single platform.
Chose Basecamp
Like I said, when I worked for a small company, it worked great, but now we are using HubSpot where it has its own project management tool for us to use, so it's just easier to have one platform for everything we do.
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp links all of the functionalities of a messenger feature (thanks to Pings) with task delegating and managing the project. Marketer's life became much easier with Basecamp.
Chose Basecamp
I have used both Asana and Basecamp and have liked both for different reasons. I like Asana for solo projects and to keep a running to do list. I think the layout and interface just works well for that. For client projects, I think Basecamp is better because it's a bit easier …
Chose Basecamp
It is an easy tool to use, organize your activities so that you can complete your projects, and allows you to do what is necessary to achieve it, unify your work team, assign tasks, reminders in a simple way, makes you more productive, you manage to plan in such a way that your …
Trello
Chose Trello
Google Docs is ok for sharing items/documents/files with your team, but the interface is clunky to me. It's hard to know right off which things are connected to what project and to each other. Also, assigning tasks to team members is not possible directly (not that I know of).
Ba…
Chose Trello
Trello was easier to use for some team members than Basecamp, and the feature set (save the Notes feature in Basecamp) was similar. More customization was required for some things in Trello, however, and it did not send out emails in the same way Basecamp did (where a thread of …
Chose Trello
I used JIRA, Basecamp and Redmine. JIRA is for big/huge projects, very technical ones. Redmine is fine and used by another team. It needs more rules for a good Agile use and you can do what you want (more than with Trello, too much). And the visual interface is not as useful as …
Chose Trello
Having used Basecamp for years, I was pleasantly surprised with Trello and how user-friendly it was. It was easier to introduce into current workflows and with users that had not used workflow tools previously. Basecamp is slightly more simple in its approach and integration …
Chose Trello
Basecamp has a broader set of functions and allows for client interaction. It has the task segment that Trello has but it also has many other options for collaboration and organization. Bigger product with a price tag that goes with it.
Chose Trello
Without a doubt, Trello is the easy one of the bunch to use. It is beautiful to look at and easy to interact with. It does for sure lack some features that other software has like Wrike, Basecamp, and Slack. But for simple smooth task management, it is the go-to.
Chose Trello
I would say Trello is very well suited for my team's needs as we are relatively small in size but frequently scale up based on the project's size and needs. We tend to use it at a basic level for organizing internal tasks and to-dos, but also develop large complicated boards …
Chose Trello
monday.com is by far my favorite project management tool out there. It's so powerful, customizable and the reporting is great. Trello works better for us currently because it's free. Asana is okay, but the overall UI is a bit confusing and boring. Airtable is good, but pales in …
Chose Trello
Trello provides precise goal setting, targets, and activity tracking with minimal human intervention, while Trello provides tags and tasks to add users and communicate visual task organization. Trello also offers real-time updates, team collaboration, and project progress …
Chose Trello
When it’s a project on the go, Trello gives you the easiest and fastest experience with assigning tasks and following up with each task and each member’s work progress.
Chose Trello
Trello is easier and quicker to get started with! You don't even need to train your team before you start, and the free version is awesome.
Chose Trello
Really never used another of the alternatives mentioned, but from surveying others tools, Trello has many advantages, and its greatest strength versus other project management tools is its simplicity and ease-of-use. You don't need any type of training or previous set up. You …
Chose Trello
Trello's greatest strength versus other project management tools is its simplicity and ease-of-use. You don't need any type of training or previous set up. You can literally start using it within seconds after setting up an account.
Chose Trello
For the price, value, and support, Trello has always been the standard. What it doesn't have native, you can usually find a workflow plugin. I find Trello already in use, at many jobs before I even get there.
Chose Trello
Based on the size and needs of our organization, the main reason we chose Trello of other alternatives simply comes down to cost. We use the free version and it meets our needs and then some. We've had team members use some alternatives and for the most part, the feature set of …
Chose Trello
Trello is a simple-to-use tool that makes organization and task management easier. It has a myriad of integrations and fits easily into my day-to-day. It feels as easy as moving post-its across a wall.
Chose Trello
Trello is by far the most advanced and integrated program out there in the task management sector. Trello does what Basecamp and dapulse do and way more. Trello is great for teams that don't work right next to each other in an office. It's the best for virtual teams and offices.
Chose Trello
Trello is better than the other two mentioned in my opinion because of its flexibility as a tool, as well as its price (or lack thereof). We used the other two tools for a while before Trello and left them because of pricing (having to pay per user or per project) and because …
Chose Trello
Trello is an all-in-one communication/file transfer/project management system. It's fresh, intuitive, easy to learn, and beautifully designed.
Chose Trello
Trello is by far the simplest platform, which we loved. It also had a free version so we decided to start there and switch platforms once we outgrew Trello. While our organization has switched over to a different system, I still use Trello for personal projects because I like …
Chose Trello

Trello is way more flexible than the other tools I've used. Workflows can be created in numerous ways. Usually, if Trello does not do what I want it to, I can find a way to make my idea work in their system. With other tools, it can be more limiting and too structured.

Trello …

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
BasecampTrello
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
4.2
118 Ratings
57% below category average
Trello
7.8
204 Ratings
4% above category average
Task Management5.3117 Ratings9.2204 Ratings
Resource Management4.198 Ratings8.1169 Ratings
Gantt Charts3.040 Ratings7.467 Ratings
Scheduling4.193 Ratings7.9155 Ratings
Workflow Automation3.168 Ratings7.9130 Ratings
Team Collaboration4.7117 Ratings8.7200 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology4.049 Ratings8.1138 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology3.545 Ratings8.0109 Ratings
Document Management4.2109 Ratings7.2147 Ratings
Email integration4.396 Ratings7.3135 Ratings
Mobile Access4.595 Ratings7.7178 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking3.444 Ratings7.382 Ratings
Change request and Case Management3.655 Ratings7.995 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management7.139 Ratings6.869 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
Trello
7.1
67 Ratings
5% below category average
Quotes/estimates8.329 Ratings6.947 Ratings
Invoicing6.925 Ratings7.540 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.034 Ratings6.653 Ratings
Integration with accounting software7.927 Ratings7.641 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BasecampTrello
Small Businesses
FunctionFox
FunctionFox
Score 8.3 out of 10
FunctionFox
FunctionFox
Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SAP Ruum
SAP Ruum
Score 9.0 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BasecampTrello
Likelihood to Recommend
6.5
(144 ratings)
9.0
(204 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(26 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(15 ratings)
8.0
(42 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(28 ratings)
8.0
(79 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.7
(4 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BasecampTrello
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
Atlassian
It is well suited to my job requirements as I bring employees in, and I help offboard them as well. This tool helps me when I need to make sure all items are completed by a certain time frame, so I would say it holds us accountable. Someone who doesn't manage a group of people may not find this as useful when dealing with others but could use it for their own accountability when needing to track their accomplishments.
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
Atlassian
  • It helps make various workspaces. Each workspace can be used for a different set of task management and can be shared with the people involved.
  • Creating task lists. We can create various task lists, the list title could be the status of the task, for example, In progress, approval, completed, etc. You can slide your task cards from one list title to another.
  • Trello cards have a huge set of features like adding the heading and description of the task, you can also attach certain associated links and documents to the cards as well.
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
Atlassian
  • Allow tables as content for comment or description in Cards
  • Assign priority to certain cards (easy for sorting)
  • Create an open invite link for others to join/view the Trello board, without edit rights (so people don't need to install/use Trello if they want a quick glance on what's going on)
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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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Atlassian
I am very likely to renew Trello, because it doesn't cost anything to do so. I am also very likely to use Trello's upgraded features in the future because a lot of my team's data is stored on there and they have already gotten used to the platform. Trello is very easy for new team members to pick up, making the onboarding and usability very streamlined.
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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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Atlassian
Overall, Trello is a great tool to use. It's very user-friendly, very powerful and we've set it up to work well for our team. I've recommended it to others who need something free or very cheap and it's worked well for them too. If you're wanting something with more muscle, then I'd suggest looking at either monday.com or Airtable.
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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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Atlassian
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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Atlassian
I haven't had much need to contact their support because the product is easy to use and pretty bug-free. I did reach out to them about swimlanes and I was able to find the information I needed very quickly and it was thorough and accurate information about current functionality. I love that they use their own product. That's always a good sign.
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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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Atlassian
For our small business, getting a few of us started well on Trello was the key, I think. As long as a couple of us were really comfortable with the interface, we could lead others and help them with any questions. From now on, anyone who works with us just naturally uses Trello for information sharing - it's just part of what we do.
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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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Atlassian
Trello is easy for a non-technical person to use. Other management systems, like MS Project, frighten away less computer-savvy users. I've found this to be instrumental in getting volunteers to agree to step in and get fully involved with projects--particularly those that might span the entire year or involve many different pieces to completion.
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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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Atlassian
  • Trello keeps me organized, focused, and on track. I could filter the Trello board to only see my issues and understand what I needed to work on and when.
  • Trello helped our team implement an agile structure. It's a very simple kanban method of viewing all of your team's tasks and statuses. You can completely customize the columns to your team's specific workflow and create tags relevant to your work.
  • Trello helps reduce unnecessary communications between teams. When I want to request translations, I simply create a card on the localization Trello board -- no need to directly message anyone on the team, and I can watch the status of the card change from "in progress" to "in review" to "translated," all without having to directly ask for updates.
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ScreenShots