Workflow

Asana vs. Basecamp

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There are many cloud-based project management software packages available, and Asana and Basecamp are two of the industry leaders. Asana keeps things simple while delivering powerful features. Basecamp tries to do it all for remote workers, and its pricing plan is ideal for large teams.

With Asana, customers can be up and running quickly. It features a clean, easy-to-navigate interface that simplifies the onboarding process. Yet it also continues to deliver the power and functionality that appeals to teams of all sizes. You can try Asana’s free tier to test the software before deciding whether to continue to use the free tier or upgrade to a paid tier.

Basecamp, meanwhile, focuses on giving remote workers all the tools they need to remain productive and connected. You can successfully manage your projects involving a far-flung team with Basecamp through group chats and team schedules. You can test either of Basecamp’s pricing tiers for a 30-day free trial.

Asana vs. Basecamp

Asana and Basecamp Compared to the Best Project Management Software Options

Because so many tools are available for managing projects, we researched them in depth to help you find the best one. We generated a list of the best project management software options that deliver strength in a variety of areas. We included Asana on our list, while Basecamp just missed making the list.

Monday.com is our favorite project management tool, as it simplifies tracking project campaigns and all of the related information from a single interface. You can try Monday.com for free by signing up for the always-free tier or by signing up for a 14-day free trial at one of the paid tiers.

For those who want highly rated software for collaboration on task management, our favorite selection is ClickUp, which also has a low starting price point. When you sign up for ClickUp, you can use the free-forever pricing tier, or you can take advantage of the software’s 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

If you typically rely on spreadsheets to track information related to your projects, Smartsheet takes the basic idea of a spreadsheet interface and makes it far more effective for small and large teams. Sign up for Smartsheet today and take advantage of the 30-day free trial period.

Asana Compared to Basecamp

Ultimately, you want project management software to solve your problems with keeping your projects on track. Asana is especially strong at helping if your team struggles with learning how to use new software. Basecamp, meanwhile, has so many collaboration features that it may solve communications problems you didn’t even know you were having.

Asana Highlights

If you need help to keep projects moving forward, Asana can automate many aspects of project management. This feature also prevents user errors from leaving projects stuck in neutral. For example, if team members routinely forget to assign tasks to the next person in line, Asana can automate this process.

For teams who lose track of key information by having to jump among various apps, Asana fixes this issue. It contains multiple collaboration and communication tools while also offering file sharing. No instructions or files become lost in another software package, as everyone can just stay in Asana to communicate.

Basecamp Highlights

As teams engage in remote work more frequently, keeping everyone on the team connected is a challenge. Basecamp built its interface and feature set around being a remote work platform, providing multiple tools for enabling conversations. You can take advantage of real-time communications through group chats and instant messages to make sure no one feels out of the loop.

If your team members spend too much time on status update phone calls, interrupting productivity, Basecamp has multiple solutions. Its automatic check-in process, for example, can replace status update phone calls by allowing team members to provide updates at a convenient time for them, which other members can read later.  

Asana vs. Basecamp: Pros and Cons

Figuring out which project management software tool will serve your needs can be easier when you consider the pros and cons that each one offers.

Where Asana Shines

Example of the Asana list interface

Versatile views and templates: Your team will be able to use Asana effectively almost immediately. One of the reasons Asana is so easy to use is that it offers multiple views of your projects, including a task list, calendar, timeline, and Kanban board. Other project management software struggles to match such a large number of project views. Your team can select the view that makes the most sense for the project at hand. Additionally, you receive more than 50 templates that you can customize. This gives you a time-saving starting point for arranging the information in a way that makes the most sense for you.

Automated tasks: As another means of simplifying using Asana, the software allows project managers to automate tasks. This prevents errors from team members, such as forgetting to make manual updates to the project. It also saves time by eliminating the need for people to perform repetitive tasks.

Easy collaboration: The most successful projects often occur when all team members are on the same page from start to finish. Communication among team members is possible in Asana through things like chat and messages. All this information remains as part of the project, so you can go back and refer to it at any point in the future. Additionally, Asana allows for sharing of multiple types of documents, again keeping a record as part of the Asana interface. With everything related to the project being part of the project management software, team members can quickly find the information they need.

Workload tracking: One difficult aspect of project management is understanding your team members’ workloads. You want to avoid giving individual team members too much work, leaving them unable to perform the tasks to the best of their ability. Asana delivers a graph showing the level of work each team member faces in the near future. When last-minute tasks come up for the project, you can see which team members can take on the extra work at a glance.

Great free plan: If you have any experience using cloud-based software, you know free tiers often have significant limitations. Asana is one of the exceptions to that rule, as it delivers reasonable features that some small businesses can use forever without needing to upgrade to a paid tier. Even if you find that the free tier doesn’t quite meet your needs, you at least will have a realistic feel for how Asana works in the paid tiers because of how well the free tier works. (Basecamp does not offer a free tier.)

Where Asana Needs Improvement

Example of the Asana Board interface

Less useful on mobile: Although Asana offers a mobile app, many users shy away from using it. There’s just something about seeing the entire project interface on a laptop screen or computer monitor that makes it easy to use Asana. Trying to view the information about the Asana project on the small smartphone screen while using the app just doesn’t work as well. The app works better for checking some information quickly, but it’s far less effective for doing actual work. (To be fair, Basecamp has some of the same struggles with its mobile app.)

Struggles with complex assignments: One major drawback to Asana is the inability to assign a task to more than one person. You would have to create subtasks and assign those to the other people to be able to tag all of them into a particular task. We mentioned earlier that one of Asana’s best features is that it is easy for team members to start using it almost immediately. However, if you need a complex project setup, such as with multiple team members on one task, Asana’s learning curve steepens quickly.

Higher cost for large teams: Although Asana has a strong free tier, the majority of large teams will eventually end up subscribing to one of the two paid tiers. Because both of these tiers charge you per person per month, the price tag can increase in a hurry. Basecamp’s upper pricing tier charges you a flat fee rather than charging you per user. If you have a significant number of users, Basecamp’s pricing model may give you a better value than Asana’s model.

Where Basecamp Shines

Example of the Basecamp user interface

Time-based tracking: For teams that like to track the tasks required for the project based on due dates, Basecamp delivers. Once certain tasks that are part of the project become overdue, everyone on the team instantly knows. Additionally, project managers can organize the project based on a timeline of when team members completed each task. They also can view tasks based on the closest upcoming due dates. An individual team member working on multiple projects can see tasks across all projects on a single screen. They then know which task for which project to prioritize based on the most pressing due date.

Strong focus on remote teams: Building on its strong communications features, Basecamp works hard to ensure that your remote team members remain closely connected. Basecamp developed its interface and many of its features with the idea of keeping remote workers in the loop at all times. The best way to keep remote team members engaged is through Basecamp’s built-in tools for constant communication. Additionally, it makes scheduling tasks for remote workers easier than many other project management software options.

Access for non-team members: When you are completing a project for a client, you may want to be able to show the client your progress in real-time. The best way to do that is to give that client temporary access to your Basecamp project board. Basecamp allows you to specify exactly what information the client can see, so you don’t have to deliver full access. You even can give the client some editing capabilities if this would help your project.

Excellent security and privacy: Basecamp provides strong encryption for the data you collect for your project. The data remains protected on the Basecamp AWS servers and is en route to your location. Asana also has a strong level of protection for your data. However, where Basecamp tends to offer better results in terms of privacy. When using the free tier of Basecamp, the software promises to protect your data and not share it. Asana reserves the right to sell your contact information to third-party entities when you are using its free tier.

Flat rate pricing: Most cloud-based software packages—including project management software or other software—charge you per month per user. However, Basecamp breaks away from this pricing model in its higher-priced tier. By giving you a fixed price per month, regardless of the number of users you have, you are able to grow quickly. Even when adding a bunch of new users in a batch, you do not have to worry about breaking the budget.

Where Basecamp Needs Improvement

Example of a Basecamp card table

Fewer third-party integrations: Although Basecamp has quite a few integrations available, it is missing some key ones. These apps and integrations help streamline how you work inside the project management software. Basecamp is missing key integrations with popular apps like Slack, Mailchimp, and Google Drive, while Asana integrates with these apps.

Fewer built-in project views: Basecamp offers a calendar view and a hill chart view. Both help with viewing the tasks you need to do for the project, based on the date when the team needs to finish them. However, if you would prefer some other views, like a Kanban board, Basecamp doesn’t natively provide these views. You would have to look for a third-party integration that generates these types of views in Basecamp. Asana offers many more views than Basecamp as part of the main software package, including Kanban boards.

Confusion over task priority: If you need to set up your project tasks based on the priority level, Basecamp is missing this feature. You only can determine the priority for your Basecamp project tasks based on the due date for the task. The lack of this feature may cause team members to focus on tasks that aren’t as vital to the overall project because they can only see priority based on the due date.

The Last Word on Asana Compared to Basecamp

When you need reliable project management software, Asana and Basecamp deserve to appear on any shortlist. They both successfully perform the basics of helping you manage items related to your projects.

Asana specializes in keeping its basic features easy to use, allowing your team to be up and running fast. Even with its simplicity, Asana still has powerful features that meet the needs of many teams. The basics of Basecamp are a bit more complex. However, we’re confident that your team will pick it up in a reasonable amount of time. It offers a wide range of tools designed to keep a remote workforce closely connected. 

Although we like Asana and Basecamp, we understand that some teams need different types of features than they offer. Take the time to check out the detailed reviews on our list of the best project management software tools.


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