Asana vs Basecamp 2023 Comparison: Features, Pricing & More!

Asana vs Basecamp pricing

When we compare Asana vs Basecamp in terms of pricing, we see these two apps are nothing alike. They come with two completely different pricing structures. 

Asana bases its pricing on a per user per month basis. Its cheapest paid plan, called Premium, stands at $10.99/user/month billed annually. So, let's say you have 10 people on your team. This means you'll be spending $109.9 per month. No more, no less.

Basecamp works differently. Instead of paying on a per user per month basis, you'll pay a $99 flat rate per month, regardless of your number of users. You can have as few as two or as many as 100. If we do the same math with 10 users, you'll be paying less than what you would with Asana. 

However, remember that Basecamp's pricing model works the best when you have more than 10 people on your team. For smaller startups of only a few users, paying the flat rate of $99 might not be cost-effective. In this case, Asana would be a better fit. 

With that out of the way, let's not forget Asana has three monthly plans. In addition to the Premium plan, there's also a Business plan that's priced at $24.99/user/month. The Enterprise plan is the highest-paid but doesn't come with public pricing.

Which is best for you?

As we mentioned earlier, Basecamp is the best pick if your team counts more than 10 users. For example, if you have 20 people on your team, the monthly price per user for Basecamp comes down to $4.95. Compared to Asana’s cheapest monthly plan of $10.99, Basecamp would be a cheap buy. But for five people, the monthly price jumps to $20, which is a lot more expensive than Asana. 

Basecamp 3 vs Asana free versions

Asana and Basecamp might have different pricing plans, but they have something in common: they both offer a free plan. 

Asana’s free plan comes with all the features you would need for basic project management. It lets you view your projects in three different ways (Kanban, Calendar, and List), but not in Timeline view. You can also upload as many files as you want, as long as they don’t exceed 100MB. Integrations are also available, letting you connect the app with 100+ third-party tools like Google Workspace, Slack, and Zoom. 

Basecamp's freemium version is called Basecamp Personal. It supports three projects, 20 users, and 1GB of storage space. If you're a student, freelancer, or solopreneur, this plan might be all you need for light use. 

Which is best for you?

Asana's free plan supports 15 team members, while Basecamp supports 20. Asana's free plan lacks some powerful features like Automation, Forms, Portfolios, and Workload. Basecamp's free plan also has its limitations. Some features that are absent from the free plan are unlimited projects, client access, project templates, and priority support.

Let's say this: if you're a solopreneur or freelancer, go with Basecamp's free plan. If you're a small business with a team of several people, choose Asana, as it has a more generous set of features. 

Customer support

Let’s start with Basecamp’s customer support service. You can contact support reps by email or chat, but there’s no phone support available. Customer support is available to help you 24/7, Monday through Friday, regardless of your subscription plan. During weekends, you can reach out to customer support from 9 am to 6 pm Central Time. 

Asana has email and chat support but doesn't offer phone support. Ticket response times are one business day. The 24/7 support is available only to users of the Enterprise plan. 

Which is best for you?

Both Asana and Basecamp offer chat and email support but lack phone support. Basecamp has a light lead as it also has 24/7 customer support available to all users Monday through Friday. Asana reserves its 24/7 customer support to Enterprise users. Basecamp also has faster response times. 

Knowledgebase & learning

Basecamp’s knowledge base contains how-to guides, podcasts, books, help articles, and video tutorials. There’s also a FAQ section where you can find quick answers to the most common questions. 

Asana has an extensive knowledge base, including resources like guides, blogs, and webinars. There's also the Asana Academy, a set of lessons to help you gain a deeper understanding of project management and how the Asana software works. Asana's community forum is very active; it’s a great place to ask questions and help fellow users.

Which is best for you?

Asana has a slight lead in this category, thanks to its Asana Academy and its community forum. Basecamp lacks a community forum, although its existing resources can be sufficient for the average user. 

Product limitations

Asana and Basecamp might be some of the leading players in the project management industry, but they're not without their flaws. 

Let's start with Asana's downsides. 

Asana is considered a midweight tool that's a great pick when you need to balance more complicated processes and ease of use. It can effectively manage ongoing projects like content calendars, design work, or product launches. 

However, if your project is more complex and has many moving parts, Asana may fall short. Another downside is that Asana lacks key project management features like resource management, budgeting, and time tracking. And the most common problem people seem to have with the app: you can't assign a task to more than one person. You may also be disappointed to hear that scrum workflow with sprint tracking is supported only via third-party tools.

Now let's talk about Basecamp's product limitations. 

We'll start with the most obvious downside: Basecamp doesn't have Kanban boards or Gantt charts. For people that prefer working in drag-and-drop Kanban boards and like to see their tasks in a Gantt chart, Basecamp might not be a good choice. Like Asana, Basecamp is a midweight tool, slightly more lightweight than Asana. 

As such, it falls short when it comes to managing complex projects. You better look elsewhere if you're a growing business or an established enterprise. There are no advanced features like resource management, budgeting, time tracking, and invoicing.

Another thing about Basecamp is that it can feel somewhat siloed. Basecamp organizes work into separate Projects and Teams. Each Project and Team has its own Space with basic features like a message board and automatic check-ins. It may become time-consuming to constantly jump from one Space to another.

Which is best for you?

There's no clear winner in this category as both tools come with their own limitations. Both Asana and Basecamp are considered midweight tools that are great for small to midsize companies but not for growing businesses or enterprises with more elaborate processes. 

Asana or Basecamp for ease of use?

Asana has a simple, colorful, and user-friendly interface. The navigation menu is on the left, the user options and help center is in the top-right corner, and your task management view is in the center of the screen. 

Asana also has one of the most easy-to-use Kanban boards. Dragging and dropping cards from one stage to another is a breeze. The Timeline view, similar to a Gantt chart, is very easy to read. You can drag and drop tasks, create task dependencies, add milestones to the timeline, and more.

Basecamp is also easy to learn. It has a user-friendly interface that's intuitive even for those unfamiliar with project management software. Onboarding new users shouldn't take more than a day or two. 

The Home page contains quick links to all of your Projects and Teams so that you can quickly jump from one Space to another. As we mentioned earlier, everything in Basecamp happens in Projects and Teams. All Projects and Teams have the same six features, but you can remove or add any feature as you see fit.

Which is best for you?

The thing about project management solutions is that they all come with a learning curve. The difference between one solution and another is whether that learning curve is “gentle” or steep. Both tools come with an initial learning curve, although Asana might be a bit more overwhelming at first as it comes with more complex functionality. 

Basecamp vs Asana features & functionality

Now that we’ve compared the two tools in terms of pricing, free plans, customer service, and ease of use, it’s time to see how they stack up against each other in features and functionality.  

Integrations

Integrations in Basecamp are called Doors. The idea is that you’re “opening a Door to another service.” The Doors feature lets you integrate Basecamp with 70+ third-party tools and apps. For example, you can add a video recording functionality, time tracking, Gantt charts, enhanced reporting capabilities, and more. Via the Zapier integration, you can integrate Basecamp with 4,000+ apps.

Asana is also generous with its integration options. You can connect the system with 200+ third-party apps like Google Calendar, Zoom, Slack, Jira, Gitlab, and more. Similar to Basecamp, the Zapier integration lets you connect to 5,000+ apps, no code required. 

Which is best for you?

Both platforms integrate with a range of other third-party apps and tools on their own or via Zapier. However, be aware that Asana reserves the more powerful integrations—like the integration with Tableau and Power BI—for users of the higher-priced plans. 

Mobile versions

Both Asana and Basecamp have mobile apps for Android and iOS you can use to access your projects and tasks from any location. The mobile apps are handy for managing simpler tasks but can't replace the desktop or web apps for performing more complex activities. The mobile apps have good offline capabilities.

Which is best for you?

There are no major differences between the two apps in terms of mobile apps. Both solutions have Android and iOS apps that are easy to use and convenient. However, keep in mind that the mobile apps can’t replace the desktop versions in terms of functionality; it’s just the limitation of mobile screens. 

Task management

Although Basecamp focuses more on team communication, it does come with a task management functionality. Each Project and Team has a to-do list inside. Task lists can have a name and description. 

Once you create a list, you can start adding tasks. Tasks can have assignees, due dates, description, attachments, and more. You can assign a task to multiple users; you can even make tasks recurring. 

Asana has more task management features than Basecamp. It lets you set up dependencies, add fields and tags, set assignees and collaborators, add comments and attachments, and make subtasks. There are task management templates as well.

Both Asana and Basecamp have client access. With this functionality, you can invite external users to view your projects and tasks. This functionality eliminates the need for long meetings and email chains.

Which is best for you?

Asana has the slight lead here as it comes with more task management features overall. One lead Basecamp has over Asana is that it lets you assign a task to more than one user, while Asana doesn’t have this option. 

Views 

Asana lets you view your tasks in six different ways. There are Kanban boards, Gantt charts, Calendar view, and List view. Goals and Portfolios are two additional ways of viewing how your projects are progressing and whether you’re on track to meet your goals. 

Basecamp shows your tasks in a basic list view. However, it has recently introduced Lineup, a new visual timeline view. It gives you a visual glimpse into what you worked on in the previous weeks, what you’re working on at the moment, and tasks that are due in the future. 

Which is best for you?

Asana is the winner in this category as it gives you multiple options for viewing your projects. Basecamp is more basic in this regard. 

Workflows and Automation 

Asana includes workflow features that automate many repetitive tasks when moving a project along. With Asana’s Rules feature, you can automate repetitive tasks by choosing a pre-made Rule from the Rules Gallery or creating your own with the custom rules builder. 

Asana lets you choose between 50+ pre-made project templates you can fine-tune to make them work for your specific workflows. Templates are categorized by departments like marketing, operations, design, product, sales, IT, HR, customer success, etc.

You can even create custom templates for workflows or processes you use all the time. Instead of recreating the processes from scratch, you can simply convert an existing project into a template and use it for multiple projects. 

Basecamp lacks pre-made templates, but it lets you create custom project templates from scratch and then start a new project using the templates you've created. Unfortunately, Basecamp doesn't come with native automation features. Automation can be added to the system via integration with a third-party app.

Which is best for you?

Asana wins in this category as it comes with more advanced workflow and automation features than Basecamp. Basecamp’s lack of native automation features may be a downside for some teams. 

Team communication 

Basecamp shines in team communication tools. It has a range of native communication features, including a Message Board that’s a place for sharing announcements, asking questions, or pitching ideas.

There's also the famous Campfire feature, a built-in chat where you can communicate with team members in real-time. Pings are another excellent chat feature that lets you chat with one person or a few. 

Asana's communication features are limited to comments on tasks. In its defense, it comes with more team collaboration features like unlimited guests. Guests can be invited to work on specific tasks or in specific projects or teams. Asana also has good permissions, and privacy controls access. 

Which is best for you?

Basecamp outshines Asana when it comes to team communication features. What it lacks in project management functionality, it makes up for in features like Pings, Campfire, and Message Board. 

Documents and file storage 

Every Basecamp Project and Team has a space where you can share docs, files, and images. The storage space is limited to 500GB. You can import files from your device or link to files in Airtable, Dropbox, Figma, Adobe Creative Cloud, Notion, and more. 

Asana has unlimited storage space, although it allows no more than 100MB per file. With Asana, you can easily add files from your computer, Dropbox or Google Drive.

Which is best for you?

Asana has a slight lead here as it offers unlimited storage, although Basecamp’s limit of 500GB is more than what a SMB needs. 

Reporting 

Asana comes with some native basic reporting capabilities. Free plan users don't get access to any substantial reports. Still, the Premium plan users can access report dashboards that cover many valuable project insights, such as task completion over time and budget projections.

You can see upcoming tasks by assignee, tasks by custom field, projects with the most completed tasks, and more. You can create custom charts on project metadata if you're on a Business or Enterprise plan.

Basecamp's reporting capabilities are more basic. You can see basic data like late tasks, who's responsible for which task, how overdue tasks are, what's coming up, etc. The Calendar shows you all to-dos, events, milestones, and deadlines. If it's got a date, and it's coming up, you'll see it there.

You can also see what each employee has on their plate to know if they're getting overworked. Additionally, you can also peek into each employee's activity to see what they've been working on.

Which is best for you?

Asana has the lead in this category as its reporting capabilities are just more powerful than Basecamp’s. 

Which is better, Basecamp or Asana? Final points

Let's get down to the main points:

Basecamp offers more straightforward pricing, communication features, and faster support. Asana takes the lead regarding project management features, reporting capabilities, and a free plan. When it comes to ease of use, both tools are simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate.

It all comes down to your project management needs and preferences. 

Basecamp is a smart choice if you're a medium-sized team of no less than ten people and need an all-in-one platform that supports project management, team communication, and collaboration.

Asana is the better option if you prefer working in Kanban boards and need a Gantt chart functionality. It’s also the ideal solution if you care about more advanced project management functionality like automated workflows, reporting, and Forms. 

You may want Basecamp, Asana or something else. If you’re considering alternatives and want to continue your research, we have an article offering a top CRM and project management tool comparison. There you’ll find other well-designed solutions that are on par with these two platforms, like Wrike, Monday.com, and Trello, with info on business applications. 

The important thing is not to get discouraged in your search. Remember: there is a project management tool out there for every type of business. It’s just waiting for you to discover it. 

Good luck!