Basecamp is a software service from 37signals that was launched in 1999 and enjoyed great success due to it's simplicity and for being one of the first of it's kind.
However over the years a number of shortfalls in the Basecamp software have come to light and have been continually requested, by it's users. These shortfalls includean overall calendar, highlighting of upcoming tasks, regular software updates, multiple language support etc.
TeamworkPM launched in 2007 and comes with a more up-to-date user interface and a number of important features missing from Basecamp including a calendar facility to help see what your team are doing at any one time.
About.com wrote in their review of Teamwork Project Manager, More Features and Cheaper Than Basecamp - There are many upstart services trying to copy Basecamp. Teamwork PM is one of the better ones.. You can read the full review here
Top Reasons to use Teamwork Project Manager instead of Basecamp
We think Basecamp is good software that will serve a lot of businesses well but these are the top reasons we think you should consider using TeamworkPM instead of Basecamp.- TeamworkPM is less expensive. For the same price or less, Teamwork Project Manager gives more features than Basecamp.
- The cheapest Basecamp account is their Basic 24/month plan. We have a 12/month Personal Plan
- Time Tracking Time tracking on Basecamp is only available on the 49/month plan. We offer it on all our plans, even our FREE Plan
- Custom Domains & Transparent Branding Basecamp has now only one domain. BasecampHQ.com. There is quite some controversy over this Transition but we are not going to do this. We have 8 domains to choose from and if you don't like ours, why not use your own? You can get all the benefits of a hosted application but people access it from your company domain e.g: projects.mycompany.com We also remove any mention of TeamworkPM if that's what you want. Basecamp heavily brand their application.
- Better permissions. The project permissions in Basecamp are limited; you can only give project access to a user with 4 settings - No access, Messages & Files…plus To-dos…plus Milestones. TeamworkPM on the other hand has a powerful hierachical permission system with fine grained options that include Access Allowed. View Messages & Files , View Tasks & Milestones , View Time Log , View Notebooks , View Risk Register , Can access Invoice Tracking, Can add/edit milestones , Can add/edit task lists , Can add/edit messages , Can add/edit tasks , Can add/edit files , Can log time , Can add/edit notebooks. And our customers tell us that this is great but they want even more permissions(!) so we are looking at adding even more fine grained permissions which would be turned on only if required. Our permission architecture is a nice bit of database-driven software engineering that gives us flexibility going forward. All this said, you might think that managing permissions is difficult in TeamworkPM but give it a go and you'll see that we have made the interface really intuitive and easy to use.
- Flexible Payment Options - Don't want to use Paypal? Don't want to use a credit card? Want to pay for a year ahead and get a discount?We understand. Contact us on support@teamworkpm.net and we will arrange a payment method that suits you. Basecamp only accept credit card payments on a monthly basis.
- Calendar - TeamworkPM provides your company with a powerful calendar that can be used to track everything. Basecamp doesn't have this despite their customers repeatedly asking for this in their forums. So there is no way in Basecamp to plan your teams holidays on a visual calendar or to let people know that you are out at a meeting or remind people that they have an event tomorrow. The calendar we have also sends reminders via email and SMS text message (for free) to remind you that you have an event.
- A nicer interface. OK, this is a matter of user preferences but from the comments we are getting from ex-Basecamp customers (see below) we think it is safe to mention this. This incudes things like more ajax around the place for faster updates.
- 24 Languages. If your users or customers speak another language, TeamworkPM can probably display the entire interface in their language making it easier for them to use. Teamwork currently supports 24 langauges. We have volunteers around the world helping us fine-tune the language settings.
- Host-it-yourself. You can install TeamworkPM on your own server if you wish. This is great for companies that have security policies that prevent them from putting their critical or confidential data on external systems. More information about the host-it-yourself option is available.
- We listen to our customers. One of the key complaints is Basecamp does not believe in sharing their roadmap with the public. One disgrunted user even made a website about their attitude (we have absolutely nothing to do with that website). We consider our customers to be our business partners and listen to their needs. Send us an email and you'll see just how down to earth and friendly we are. At the moment, many users on twitter have messages saying how impressed they are with our responsiveness.
- Set percentage of task complete. In TeamworkPM, you can set how much of a given task you have completed.. just to let people know. Basecamp doesn't have this.
- Options. We actively listen to our customers and we know that businesses have different needs. So we offer options that can be turned on or off as you need or as your company's need grow. An example of this is the Enhanced Security option which prevents users using weak passwords. Another example is the ability to turn off the "Remember me" option on the login screen.
- A more generous free version. We give 5megs of file storage space and room for 2 projects with all free accounts. Basecamp don't give any storage space and only 1 project with their free account. We also allowTime tracking on our Free account.
- Nicer Customization. Instead of just the ability to change a few colors in the header section of your site, which Basecamp offers, Teamwork Project Manager allows you to customize colors that affect your entire screen layout. TeamworkPM also gives you a real time preview of how the colors will look as you change the colors. Basecamp just gives you a small sample as you change the colors. In addition if you upload a logo with a white background to Basecamp, it doesn't look great (even with their option to put it in a while box), especially on the login screen. In Teamwork, your logo is always presented nicely.
- Privacy - There are certain things you can't make private in Basecamp such as Milestones or Client Details etc We added this. You can hide client details from other clients if you want. Milestones too can be made private.
- Our Roadmap is public and driven by the community. Basecamp does not believe in sharing their roadmap with the public. We do. And our feature direction is driven by responses and comments from our users. Typically this is done through the Feedback feature within the project where any user can submit a bug report or a feature request. We try to listen to everyone, reply to everything and get essential items done as fast as possible. You can see the daily progress including new features and bug fixes on our roadmap page.
What has Basecamp got that Teamwork Project Manager doesn't
Basecamp has been around over 5 years and we are just over a year old so naturally they have some features that we don't yet. And we want to be completely honest with you. These are the features that Basecamp has that TeamworkPM doesn't (yet):
- An API. Basecamps API allows a lot of third party software to talk to it. An example of this are the several iPhone applications that are available for Basecamp. However we are currently knee-deep in the code for our own API and we plan to release this very soon - see roadmap.
- Publicity. The team at 37signals have done a great job promoting Basecamp. We are working hard on this and are continually developing our website. Will will also be releasing an affiliate program soon.
How to make the switch?
Just sign-up and then you can use our "Import from Basecamp" option that is available on your Site Settings page. It will pull in all your users, projects, milestones, tasks and time logs.
Not Convinced?
OK, don't just take our word for it - the latest testimonials we received that mentioned Basecamp are listed here.. (See all testimonials). Finally we invite you to just give us a try.
"This was exactly what I was looking for. I was searching for a simple easy to use project management system without losing its core functionality. I tried different systems including BasecampHQ, some are very complex and some that claim to be simple don't have the functionality I'm looking for. And some are way too expensive.
But after couple of days searching I finally found Teamwork PM, I absolutely love this system and it help is starting to streamline our business activities and process."
But after couple of days searching I finally found Teamwork PM, I absolutely love this system and it help is starting to streamline our business activities and process."
"Excellent!
I'm loving this. I tried Basecamp and TeamWork is better.
Sexier GUI."
I'm loving this. I tried Basecamp and TeamWork is better.
Sexier GUI."
"I had introduced Basecamp to the charity i am working with, but was feeling more and more despaired at its limitations, undermining my own credibility.
Finding TWPM was a blessing! Keeping the ease-of-use and simple design of Basecamp but adding essential features like due dates for tasks.
I am expecting a mass-migration soon (at least, encouraged other digruntled Basecamp customers to try TWPM)."
Finding TWPM was a blessing! Keeping the ease-of-use and simple design of Basecamp but adding essential features like due dates for tasks.
I am expecting a mass-migration soon (at least, encouraged other digruntled Basecamp customers to try TWPM)."
"ProWorkFlow's "complex" image made me research further. Their system looks beefy.. but yours has most of the same features. I prefer the look of yours MUCH better.. I trust that if I sent a login to a freelancer or client they would have NO trouble figuring out what to do. I also LOVE the "notebook" feature in your system and the tab labels are nice and self-explanatory. These are the finishing touches that set you apart from Basecamp.
I've spent 2 solid days sitting in this chair researching Project Management software applications. It is a tough choice and I think I am going a little crazy with all the options. I hope you keep growing your application because it is so friendly to use. I will definitely recommend your product."
I've spent 2 solid days sitting in this chair researching Project Management software applications. It is a tough choice and I think I am going a little crazy with all the options. I hope you keep growing your application because it is so friendly to use. I will definitely recommend your product."
"Basecamp is a fantastic project management solution that is well-deserved of the attention it gets, but at the end of the day, we use Teamwork PM in our company.
Full review of TeamworkPM at:
http://www.overmortal.com/blog/post/20-teamwork-pm-for-project-management"
Full review of TeamworkPM at:
http://www.overmortal.com/blog/post/20-teamwork-pm-for-project-management"
"When deciding on an online system to collaborate and manage my clients, who are applying to the top business schools in the world, I wanted a service that was easy to use and adopt.
I looked online for two days; I even started Basecamp only to cancel my account, until I settled upon Teamwork. Teamwork not only saves my time but also gives my service an added professionalism.
I look forward to utilizing Teamwork's capabilities in the future."
I looked online for two days; I even started Basecamp only to cancel my account, until I settled upon Teamwork. Teamwork not only saves my time but also gives my service an added professionalism.
I look forward to utilizing Teamwork's capabilities in the future."
"After being very dissatisfied with the limited features and what we saw as very uncaring customer service at Basecamp, we conducted an extensive search of other available project management software. We originally selected TeamworkPM because of its extensive features and competitive pricing… but soon discovered some substantial additional benefits. The software features many smart details but is still very easy to use. It also offers excellent summary views, very convenient Add Milestone and Add Task buttons, and a brilliant Summary Report that you can easily export or print. Best of all, the team at TeamworkPM is completely accessible and unbelievably responsive! We can’t thank Basecamp enough for having forced us to seek such a fantastic alternative!"