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Basecamp vs Microsoft Project comparison

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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
21st
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 November 2026, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Basecamp is 1.6%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Project is 2.0%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Project2.0%
Basecamp1.6%
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 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."
"I use Microsoft Project to manage project timelines."
"The solution is well established and runs very accurately."
"It is easy to define timelines with Microsoft Project, and you can get a clear picture of the model you want to create."
"The best features of Microsoft Project include the ability to cross-reference information, such as the cost for milestones or cross-information with different work packages."
"The tool has a simple and excellent approach."
"The reporting features are quite strong, and being able to do team reports and find out what work is pending and what work needs to be done are key in my day-to-day management of the team, while the earned value analysis capabilities and critical path capabilities inside the tool help me make sure that I'm keeping the projects on track."
"Microsoft Project's integrated timeline is tied to the project plan almost seamlessly, and you add whatever action item or milestone you choose. All you have to do is set up a column and click on the timeline. It will automatically put it in there and allow you to choose the type, whether it's a bar or if it's a milestone, just pointing out that single milestone"
"The setup is pretty simple."
 

Cons

"Formalized area to store contact information indexed in a way that can pre-populate other areas would be helpful."
"The product isn't easy to use. It's not very intuitive."
"The solution could be more user-friendly."
"Its user interface could be a little bit more intuitive. Not everybody has the luxury of going to training and understanding which button does what and the functionality. The user interface should be improved to make it a little bit more intuitive. It is not user-friendly. I've dealt with it for a number of years, so it is not hard for me to figure it out, but you would need a quick reference guide or something to say, "Here are the basics. This is how you do X.""
"The tool's deployment is complex. Integration and automation also need to be improved."
"I would like to see an entire baseline, like in JIRA."
"The solution is currently a bit slow and can be faster."
"The pricing is pretty high."
"I find that MS Project has limited control in comparison to other solutions in the same sphere."
"The full suite would be pretty expensive."
"The solution could be more flexible when it comes to integration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It was a three-year license deal that was reconciled on a quarterly basis. It is a reasonably priced product, and I consider that we got good value for money."
"I do not have personal experience with pricing or licensing of this product."
"I am not aware of any additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees of the solution."
"The cost for an on-premises-based license is a one-time fee, and the cloud-based is an annual payment plan."
"You do not have to invest much in terms of configuring this solution to suit your needs."
"Its price could be reduced a little."
"The solution is expensive."
"Licensing costs vary depending on the user volume. The pricing is good, I'd rate it four out of five."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Security Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise16
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 am not expert enough to explain areas of improvement for Microsoft Project because I have not explored it extensively or used it enough, so I am not the right person to comment on this. I have no...
 

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: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.