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Aug16

Why do people pay for BaseCamp?

37Signals has done a tremendous job building a project management application for the masses with BaseCamp. We use it religiously at Imulus; to communicate with our clientele on a regular basis. While there are several free alternatives available on the web (see list below), why do people continue to pay 37Signals for an application they can install for free?

1. Intuitive Interface
You are more apt to use a product which is intuitive and easy to interact with. Having used Microsoft Project for several years, I understand this well. Microsoft Project works well for project managers and other users with Microsoft Project, yet the PM is only a fraction of the development team. BaseCamp is accessible by all, including the customer. It gives one window into the project development which is seen by the entire team.

For it to be usable by everyone, including the client it must be intuitive. Not just geared for us tech heads or project managers.

2. No Setup Hassle
For a product to have mass appeal it must be easy to setup. These free applications usually require developers to install and configure. Whereas BaseCamp uses a simple wizard to move the customer through the setup process and instantly into a working environment in just a few minutes.

3. Free Upgrades for Life
The subscription business model has tremendous appeal for the non-technical customers. No need to re-install, re-license, or patch the software. Pay the monthly fee and keep using the service without headaches.

4. It Just Works
In the year we have been using BaseCamp we have had zero noticeable downtime and no errors. This makes for a pleasing user-experience.

Yet there are always those of us who would don’t love the idea of a monthly subscription, and for those people I offer these alternatives to BaseCamp.

posted in: project management, software

This post was published on Wednesday, August 16, 2006 at 12:40 pm

Leave a comment


Comments

1

Mark

August 16, 2006 at 8:21 pm

Would also add our software, Vertabase Pro http://www.vertabase.com for your consideration to your list of alternatives for project management software.

2

Alex

August 16, 2006 at 10:16 pm

I find it interseting that you say Tasks Pro is:

geared more for the project manager.

I actually get the opposite response from mnay of my customers. They tell me it works great for everyone on their team to manage day to day tasks and the things they need to do for projects, but that it doesn’t have enough reporting and “super-user” capabilities for the project managers (things I’m looking at addressing in future releases).

Thanks for the mention and the viewpoint, I’d be interested to hear any other feedback/thoughts you have on Tasks Pro.

3

Shaun Branden

August 19, 2006 at 2:46 am

Here is another nice alternative to basecamp. http://clockingit.com/

I am not associated in any way, but it is worth looking at.

shaun

4

Jason Zeldt

August 19, 2006 at 12:33 pm

Clockinit is an interesting tool. I’m not exactly sure how I would use it. Seem. It might be nice to use it to benchmark how long it takes to complete routine tasks. Nicely implemented anyhow.

5

Nes

April 13, 2007 at 9:18 am

I would just to put out there this new project/task management site that just launched a couple of days ago, it’s http://www.santexq.com so far it looks pretty good.

6

George

April 13, 2007 at 10:12 am

Awesome, we are actually developing a tool which is 80% similar to this. Not bad for beta, I’ll have to post a blog about our review of it.

7

Imulus Insights » Blog Archive » 24-Hours of SantexQ Project Beta

April 16, 2007 at 5:48 am

[...] a useful tool. I was introduced to SantexQ by one of the comments posted by a reader of our BaseCamp article. The comment couldn’t of come at a better time. We are currently working on our own [...]

8

Chris Burbridge

March 3, 2008 at 10:37 pm

My sense, from reading dozens of “alternatives to BaseCamp” posts over the last year or two, is that the vast majority of people just don’t get it–in the way 37Signals does. There’s a huge geek community out there who’s produced “feature rich” (read, confusing, and overwhelming to the average user) applications, that look cool.

It’s a shame, because I still chafe a little at paying that $24 every month, to be honest, although it is a very good system. I think it should be $12 a month. But … There it is! I think the problem is that there’s no real competition out there. Noone has taken Fried’s Getting Real approach seriously in terms of building a valid competitor. This philosophy involves spending a LONG time working to get a FEW things JUST right, so they all flow very smoothly. This is very different than the usual programmer’s “just hack it together” ethic, and it shows.

9

Trinity

March 20, 2008 at 5:01 pm

Another alternative – 5pm (www.5pmweb.com). It’s one of the newest on the market and it grows rapidly.

10

  BaseCamp or dotProject… by Andy’s IT

August 31, 2008 at 9:11 pm

[...] http://blog.imulus.com/george/software/why-do-people-pay-for-basecamp/ [...]

11

Project Manager Mikey

October 1, 2008 at 6:18 pm

I would also like to add another great (and free) competitor to basecamp: SantexQ

12

Andres

December 28, 2009 at 2:10 am

Hi George. Please update “activecollab” as it’s not free anymore (activeCollab http://www.activecollab.com/) see Pricing & Buy

13

Jason

January 12, 2010 at 6:36 am

I would say every Basecamp alternative you see online is either a copy of Basecamp with some add-on features or try to be a copy Basecamp’s way of working. I would recommend you to try ProofHub(www.proofhub.com). The latest and most advanced UI, multitasking, inbuilt chats and proofing tools.
Thanks for the post
Jason

14

Ally

January 12, 2010 at 6:41 am

Thanks for the recommending Proofhub Jason, I think its interface is the best one i have seen online. Pretty sleek and easy to use.
http://www.proofhub.com/

15

WIndy

March 18, 2010 at 5:39 am

What about KommandCore as an alternative to BaseCamp? Your estimation?

16

John

August 27, 2010 at 6:18 am

checkout http://www.proofhub.com/
It is a great project management software, easy to use and fast.