Basecamp review: one page per project, plans without per-user fees

What Basecamp is

Basecamp organizes work by project. Every project gets its own page, and you add the tools that project needs: to-dos, a message board, chat, a calendar and card tables. You then invite co-workers, clients and, if you use them, AI agents into that project.

The model favors one shared page per project over a deep hierarchy of spaces, folders and custom views. It suits teams that run distinct projects and want the discussion, the task list and the files in the same place. The current version is Basecamp 5, which Basecamp describes as all new for 2026.

How work is organized

Inside a project, the main tools are:

• To-dos: lists with assignees, due dates, attachments and subtasks. Basecamp 5 added loose to-dos that sit above your lists, unattached, and can be dragged into a list later.
• Card Table: Basecamp's take on a kanban board, with columns for each stage of work.
• Calendar (listed as Scheduling on the pricing page): deadlines, milestones, events and meetings. A global calendar combines every project, and you can subscribe from Outlook, Google Calendar and other calendar apps.
• Docs & Files: documents, images, PDFs and links to cloud files from Figma, Google Docs and Dropbox.

Across projects, Everything views pull all items of one type, such as all files or all messages, onto one page. The Lineup plots every project on a timeline by its start and end dates. Each person also has My Bar, with their own tasks, events, bookmarks and personal notes.

Message boards, Campfire and check-ins

Message Boards hold announcements and discussions as posts, with replies attached below. Basecamp positions them as a replacement for internal email, so people who join later can read the history in one place.

Campfire is the project's group chat, for quick questions and file sharing. Pings are direct messages. Automatic Check-ins ask the team a question on a schedule, for example what everyone is working on this week, and keep the answers together.

Hill Charts and progress tracking

Hill Charts are Basecamp's own progress view. Each to-do list you choose to track appears as a dot on a hill. The uphill side means the approach is still being worked out; the downhill side means only execution is left. People drag the dots themselves, so the position reflects someone's judgment rather than a count of completed to-dos.

Every update is saved to the project's history and can be annotated or commented on. To start, open a to-do list and choose "Track this on the Hill Chart" from its options menu.

Basecamp's features and pricing pages do not list Gantt charts, task dependencies or workload planning. If your schedule depends on one task finishing before another starts, factor that in.

Working with clients

Client access is built in. Basecamp's help center says everything in a client project is private to your team by default, and you decide what to make visible. When you post, you choose whether the item is for your team only or visible to the client.

Within what they can see, clients can post messages, comments, to-dos and files, answer check-in questions they have been added to, and ping people they share a project with. They cannot administer the project: no renaming it, changing its tools, setting up webhooks or archiving it.

Some items inherit visibility from a parent, such as to-dos within a list and files inside a folder. Chat is all or nothing: you can share the whole Chat tool with a client, but not single messages.

Integrations and AI

Basecamp does not list a rules-based workflow automation builder. It connects to other tools through its API, third-party integrations and a command-line tool (CLI). Every plan, including Free, lists ChatGPT and Claude AI connectors with MCP support, plus CLI access and skills for AI agents you run on your own computer.

Basecamp has apps for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, works in a browser, and lets you reply to most Basecamp emails from your inbox.

Plans and what needs a paid tier

We do not publish prices because they change. Check Basecamp's pricing page for current numbers. The structure is what sets Basecamp apart: every paid plan lists "no per-user fees", and the plans differ mainly by how many projects can be active at once, how much storage you get, and a few features.

• Free: 1 project, 1 GB of storage and 5 users max. Project templates, more than one of the same tool per project (for example two message boards), time tracking and enhanced admin features are not included.
• Freelancer: up to 3 active projects, 5 GB and 20 users max, with the same exclusions as Free.
• Studio: up to 10 active projects, 25 GB, unlimited users, multiple copies of any tool per project, and project templates.
• Pro: up to 25 active projects and 100 GB, with Timesheet (time tracking) included.
• Unlimited Edition: unlimited projects, 1 TB of storage, enhanced admin features, priority support and personalized onboarding.

Basecamp's help center says Timesheet is included with Pro and Unlimited Edition, and that on other plans an account owner can add it as an upgrade through Adminland. Archived or deleted projects do not count toward the active limit. Clients and guests count as users, which matters on Free and Freelancer. You can move between paid plans if your usage fits, but Basecamp does not allow downgrading from a paid plan to Free.

Who Basecamp fits

Basecamp suits agencies, studios and small companies that run several distinct projects, often with clients, and want each project's conversation, to-dos, files and dates on one page. Because paid plans do not charge per user, it also suits teams that bring many occasional collaborators into projects, provided they fit the active project limit of their plan.

Who should look elsewhere

• If you need Gantt charts or task dependencies, Basecamp does not list them. Look at tools with a dependency-aware Gantt view, such as Zoho Projects or Teamwork.com.
• If you need time tracking, note that Timesheet is included only on Pro and Unlimited Edition; on other plans it is an upgrade you add to the account.
• If you want rules that move or assign work automatically, Basecamp does not list a workflow automation builder.
• If you need budgets, invoicing or resource planning, look at tools built for billable client work.

How to trial Basecamp

Paid plans come with a 30-day free trial, and Unlimited Edition with 45 days. Basecamp does not ask for a credit card for the Free account or any trial.

Run one real project through it. Add a to-do list, a Card Table and the calendar, invite one client with a few items made visible to them, and turn on a Hill Chart for your main lists. At the end, count how many projects you would need active at the same time, since that number decides your plan.