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Basecamp vs Microsoft Project comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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
25th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Project
Ranking in Project Management Software
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Basecamp is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Project is 2.2%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Project2.2%
Basecamp1.4%
Other96.4%
Project Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

Abenazzer Tadesse - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Jacob-George - PeerSpot reviewer
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Improved project scheduling has maximized resource utilization and has reduced delays
I think the licensing structure presents a significant area for improvement. The full features are not offered on the standard E4 license. This becomes problematic when distributing the project plan. I can export the plan as Excel and CSV files, but then I lose all the rich features, including dependency mapping. To recreate all that functionality without proper licensing is challenging. Microsoft Project offers a light version available for free, but when I try to distribute a project plan, it requires separate licensing. Microsoft Project Central used to be more of an enterprise product. Microsoft Project currently focuses on very low-level task management, and it could do much more. I do not see significant advancement happening because there is confusion about where Microsoft Project is heading. I believe Microsoft should bundle the license with Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This approach would result in more people using Microsoft Project. That is my opinion on how to improve adoption and the product offering.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to network informally is great for communicating with colleagues."
"The app functionality and ease of seeing the different functionalities parsed equally on the screen with consistent menu access to shift between areas."
"The ease of use is valuable."
"The ability to network informally is great for communicating with colleagues."
"The ability to break down project phases is most valuable. Being able to align the tasks and reporting with project milestones and progress is also valuable."
"Microsoft Project's integrated timeline is tied to the project plan almost seamlessly, and you add whatever action item or milestone you choose."
"They have moved from a paper to a project management tool, and then they started using Project Professional to run their project server, which is a huge change and a huge transition."
"The most valuable features are in the successor and predecessor determination and the tracking tools, such as obtaining data on the S curve financial curve."
"The reporting and national resource capacity planning are the most valuable features."
"The features I find the most valuable are scheduling and reporting."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"I have found that the chart reporting feature is very helpful for us currently."
 

Cons

"The product isn't easy to use. It's not very intuitive."
"The solution could be more user-friendly."
"The product isn't easy to use. It's not very intuitive."
"Formalized area to store contact information indexed in a way that can pre-populate other areas would be helpful."
"This solution needs more templates focused on types of projects to ease setup."
"The licensing cost is expensive and has room for improvement."
"The product or service could be more user-friendly, and forecasting could be better."
"We'd like to be able to see different timelines as a part of one task."
"I would like to have more access to templates and tools that could be used to teach project management best practices."
"Microsoft Project should include more visualization, queries to filter out data, and more reporting structures."
"This solution needs more templates focused on types of projects to ease setup."
"When you start getting into the more advanced features, it can become unstable. The more you use the advanced features, the more exposure you have to an unanticipated result. I think we need to add the Kanban Board capability to the product that would help them advance that board into the project management methodology that's being used in the industry today. Being able to depend on Scrum management is key."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution has a decent annual license subscription cost, which is not high."
"Licensing costs vary depending on the user volume. The pricing is good, I'd rate it four out of five."
"I am not involved with this."
"The solution is expensive."
"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 believe the licensing for the solution is based on an annual fee."
"Pricing-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten since I feel it is a bit costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
22%
Security Firm
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise42
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
I would say Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office price to increase adoption.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project?
I think the licensing structure presents a significant area for improvement. The full features are not offered on the standard E4 license. This becomes problematic when distributing the project pla...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Project Pro, MS Project
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Basecamp vs. Microsoft Project and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.