Basecamp vs Microsoft Project comparison

37signals and Microsoft are both solutions in the Project Management Software category. 37signals is ranked #32, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.8. 37signals holds a 1.0% mindshare in PMS, compared to Microsoft’s 6.7% mindshare. Additionally, 66% of 37signals users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Basecamp

Read 3 Basecamp reviews

339 Views
251 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

Microsoft Project

Read 82 Microsoft Project reviews

3,010 Views
2,348 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Basecamp

Microsoft Project

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Basecamp and Microsoft Project are project management tools with distinct strengths. Microsoft Project is more feature-rich, suiting complex project requirements, whereas Basecamp offers simplicity for smaller team setups.

Features: Basecamp emphasizes ease of use, focusing on essential features like task lists, document storage, and communication channels that streamline team collaboration. Microsoft Project is equipped with Gantt charts, advanced scheduling, and detailed resource management, allowing it to handle sophisticated project management tasks.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Basecamp is cloud-based, allowing fast deployment with minimal onboarding, supported mainly by online resources. Microsoft Project has a more involved setup process but provides comprehensive customer support and integration options with other Microsoft services, reflecting its complexity.

Pricing and ROI: Basecamp is available at a flat rate of $99 per month, offering cost-efficient project management for teams needing basic tools and ensuring prompt ROI. Microsoft Project has several pricing tiers, starting at $10 per user per month for basic plans and up to $55 per user for premium services, justifying its higher upfront investment by providing substantial long-term benefits for larger projects.

To learn more, read our detailed Basecamp vs. Microsoft Project Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Basecamp vs. Microsoft Project

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Basecamp

Ranking in Project Management Software

32nd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Project

Ranking in Project Management Software

3rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Basecamp is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Project is 6.7%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Project Management Software

Featured Reviews

Abenazzer Tadesse

Chief Operations Officer at BeOnline ICT

An easy-to-use project management solution with good stability and scalability

The recent update on the solution has made it a little bit complex. For example, to create a team and a project, there is a separate button that you need to click. Recently they updated it with only one button making it difficult for us to create teams or supply teams other than a project. Hence the solution could be more user-friendly. Additionally, some additional features need to be integrated so it'll be easy for other companies or project managers to manage software projects.

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Nurul Asyikin Wahab

Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd

Efficient project management with robust data tracking and an easy setup

When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The ease of use is valuable."

"The ability to network informally is great for communicating with colleagues."

"The most valuable feature is the Auto resource leveling tool because it shows students that often, expert resources get over-scheduled, and that dealing with the issue by just using the auto-resource leveling tool would have a large impact on the delivery date."

"The most valuable features of this solution are dependency management, milestone progress, multiple resource rates, and RAG views."

"The tool helps us to check milestones. After doing tasks, our team updates them. Regarding functionalities in Microsoft Project, the number one feature is reminders. With so many projects, sometimes you forget; some projects might slip up or disappear. This feature is very useful."

"Technical support has been very helpful."

"The pricing is pretty good on the enterprise agreement we have."

"We value all the features. Previously, we used Jenkins for similar purposes, but Microsoft Projects works fine. We're looking to improve integration with different clusters on production and automate various aspects of software development. This includes integration for alerting, monitoring, and pricing purposes, among other things."

"The standard project planning features and charts are most valuable."

"Microsoft Project is easy to use and helps our teams visualize the evolution of our projects."

More Microsoft Project pros

Cons

"The solution could be more user-friendly."

"The product isn't easy to use. It's not very intuitive."

"The licensing cost is expensive and has room for improvement."

"The online version of Microsoft Project lacks some functionality compared to the on-premises version."

"The solution could offer waterfall options for agile and sprint planning."

"There have been some drawbacks with customization. Some users want it to be an automation tool."

"It is positioned at the more high end. Sometimes it's more complicated than we need."

"The setup and scalability can be somewhat difficult for new users until they gain knowledge."

"Project availability and speed could always be improved."

"I have no idea about the cost because it is a corporate decision."

More Microsoft Project cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It gets expensive when having to add all of the plugins and everything that you need."

"We purchase perpetual licenses due to the high cost of subscriptions, which are about 1,000 Australian dollars."

"We have to pay for a yearly license for Microsoft Project."

"The license fees for the professional version, which is estimated to be approximately $1,600, and the standard version, which is approximately $1,200, may be considered expensive by some users. This is something that could be improved to make the platform more accessible to a wider audience."

"I do not remember the exact cost we paid but usually, they charge per user per month."

"I rate Microsoft Project's pricing a five out of ten."

"I am not involved with this."

"The solution is expensive."

More Microsoft Project pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?

Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...

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What do you like most about Microsoft Project?

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?

I'm not aware of the price as we use organization-wide licenses.

See all answers

Comparisons

Smartsheet vs Basecamp

Compared 52% of the time

Jira vs Basecamp

Compared 48% of the time

More Basecamp Competitors

Jira vs Microsoft Project

Compared 18% of the time

Asana vs Microsoft Project

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Project Server vs Microsoft Project

Compared 8% of the time

monday.com for Enterprise vs Microsoft Project

Compared 8% of the time

Planisware vs Microsoft Project

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Project Management Software

August 2025

Download Basecamp product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project

August 2025

Download Microsoft Project product report

Also Known As

No data available

Project Pro, MS Project

Overview

Basecamp is a web-based project-management tool developed by Basecamp and launched in 2004, with a new version being launched in 2012. Basecamp offers to-do lists, wiki-style web-based text documents, milestone management, file sharing, time tracking, and a messaging system. Basecamp Classic also offers integration with Basecamp's own Campfire product, and features APIs that are used by a host of web and mobile apps. Basecamp Classic's interface is available in different languages (e.g. Spanish, French, Italian, German, Finnish and Japanese). The newer version of Basecamp currently only supports English as the interface language.

37signals

Microsoft Project helps you get started quickly and execute projects with ease. Built-in templates and familiar scheduling tools help project managers and teams stay productive.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Ashland Addison Florist Co., Victory Auto Wreckers, Ideal Box Co., Hollymatic Corp.

Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing

Buyer's Guide

Basecamp vs. Microsoft Project

July 2025

Free Report: Basecamp vs. Microsoft Project

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