Basecamp vs. Microsoft Project

Project management solutions ensure all planned projects and work are completed on time. Basecamp and Microsoft Project are two of the most trusted names in the project management field.

Basecamp has a high satisfaction rating and is a popular choice for organizations from the marketing and IT industries. Microsoft Project is a consistent project management software frontrunner trusted by countless businesses and organizations from different sectors, including healthcare and education.

In this article, we’ll compare the features of Basecamp and Microsoft Project to find the important contributions each software can add to your company.

You can check out more software options by using our Project Management Software Selection Tool. You’ll get a free list of up to five recommended project management solutions that suit your business’s needs.

An overview of Basecamp vs. Microsoft Project

Basecamp is an award-winning project management software used by world-renowned companies like Adidas, Twitter, and National Geographic. This software has features for documents and file management, message board, to-do list, scheduling, group chat, automatic check ins, and mobile application. Basecamp has a flat rate for all businesses, regardless of size. This flat rate can be quite expensive for freelancers and small businesses, making Basecamp better suited for mid-sized to large-scale companies.

Microsoft Project is a widely-used project management solution trusted by big names such as Aston Martin, Hitachi, and TGI Friday’s. It has features for portfolio management, communication, resource management, collaboration, reporting, and mobile application. Microsoft Project has high-end pricing and is best for mid-sized to large corporations.

Read also: Asana vs. Monday: Comparing Two Of The Biggest Names In Project Management

Features comparison

Both Basecamp and Microsoft Project have features for collaboration, scheduling, and mobile application:

Collaboration

Basecamp offers real-time chatting and message boards. Chat messages can be sent to groups or individuals for instant communication. Message boards can be used to post relevant messages and keep the entire conversation about a specific topic together on a single page. Additionally, you can embed images or files into your message, applaud messages and comments, and choose to share with everyone or select individuals.

The collaboration feature of Microsoft Project lets you share files with other team members to seamlessly work with them on projects. This software also has a team dashboard that provides an updated summary of the vital details about the project you’re working on. Also, Microsoft Project has native integration with Microsoft Teams. Once integrated, you can chat with other team members from within Microsoft Project.

Scheduling

Basecamp has a scheduling feature that allows to-dos and events related to a project to be displayed. Through this feature, you can add events with dates, and times. You can also incorporate your existing Google Calendar, iCal, or Outlook calendar with the scheduling feature. Discussions about events can be started on the schedule page itself. People may be added to the schedule and notified of important events.

Microsoft Project has a team calendar that keeps all team members on the same page while working on a project. Team members will be notified whenever there are upcoming meetings and events. Aside from being able to add events and organize your schedule, you can also use the scheduling feature to set task durations and start/finish dates for every assigned task. If a task wasn’t completed on time, you can reschedule incomplete work using this feature.

Mobile application

The mobile application for Basecamp helps you stay organized anywhere you are. It lets you view and access all the projects you’re working on. You can take notes, leave comments on posts within message boards, and chat with your teammates. Images and other file types can be shared using the mobile app, too. Basecamp’s mobile application is downloadable from the App Store and Google Play Store.

Microsoft Planner is the name of the mobile application for Microsoft Project. It allows you to organize your tasks and projects visually, collaborate with others, view all your tasks on a single location, and update your work on the go using a drag-and-drop interface. You can attach captured photos directly to conversations or tasks on Microsoft Planner. The mobile app is available from the App Store and Google Play Store as well.

Integrations

Basecamp has broad integration capabilities. It can be connected with applications and tools for event management, communication, task tracking, issue tracking, and accounting:

• Eventbrite
• Slack
• ClickUp
• Jira
• FreshBooks

Microsoft Project can integrate with most of Microsoft Products such as SharePoint, Excel, and Teams. Aside from these integrations, Microsoft Project integrates with software products and platforms for project management, automation, business intelligence, portfolio management, and time and expense tracking:

• Journyx
• Genius Project
• Project Insight
• DBxtra
• Intellect

Which one to choose?

Basecamp and Microsoft Project have rich features that have proven to help thousands of businesses everywhere. In choosing a project management software for your business, take important details into consideration.

Regarding pricing, Basecamp is the more logical choice if you have many team members — especially for its fixed rate no matter the number of users. Basecamp’s built-in chat feature is also useful if you want to talk with your team members in real-time. On the other hand, Microsoft Project has a better scheduling feature. It readily integrates with other Microsoft products, too.

If you want to look for additional recommended software products, use our PM Software Selection Tool to get a list of other project management solutions to consider.