Basecamp vs. Zulip

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Basecamp
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Basecamp is a web-based project-management tool. Basecamp offers features standard to project management platforms, as well as mobile accessibility, unlimited users, and 3rd party integrations. Basecamp is priced by space requirements and concurrent projects.
$15
per month per user
Zulip
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Zulip is a team chat app that is designed for both live and asynchronous conversations. Zulip topics create a separate space for each discussion, so different conversations will never get in each other's way. Teams of all sizes can use Zulip, and Zulip is 100% open-source enterprise-grade software, self-hosted or in the cloud.
$0
per month per user
Pricing
BasecampZulip
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Plus
$15
per month per user
Basecamp Pro Unlimited
$299
per month (billed annually)
Basecamp Free
Free
Limited Capabilities
Zulip Cloud Free
$0
per month per user
Zulip Free
$0
per month per user
Zulip Basic
$3.50
per month per user
Zulip Cloud Standard
$8
per month per user
Zulip Business
$8
per month per user
Zulip Cloud Plus
$12
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BasecampZulip
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsDiscount available for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
BasecampZulip
Considered Both Products
Basecamp
Chose Basecamp
Each platform has pros and cons. We ultimately switched away from Kantata (formerly Mavenlink) because our clients were more familiar with Basecamp.
Chose Basecamp
I like Trello too, but our organization prefers Basecamp so that's what I stick to
Chose Basecamp
We still use all of the other products but basecamp is great for project management.
Chose Basecamp
in my opinion, it is Inferior, clunky, ugly product as compared to the others. I only selected Basecamp on recommendations from someone else who was using it, and have moved on to ClickUp. This Basecamp app failed to notify myself, my teammates and the client so many times, …
Chose Basecamp
I've also used ClickUp and Asana. My personal favorite is ClickUp although it is limited in how it integrates with Slack which caused me to switch to Asana. ClickUp has a ton of features, including on their free plan and in my opinion is much better than Basecamp. Asana is …
Chose Basecamp
Although I favored the alternative products' price models, Basecamp is unrivaled in terms of user-friendliness.
Chose Basecamp
Both programs are good. We went with the one that most people on the team felt comfortable with so we would have the most buy-in. I also like the continual updates and feedback Basecamp takes to heart. Basecamp also has some functionality that met the needs of the organization …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is clean, simple, and easy to use.
Chose Basecamp
We found that Basecamp worked better for our needs than these competitors. ML is a bit slow for our purposes, and it doesn't handle images/video in as nice of a way. Invision could potentially work alright for our needs but would require too many different screenshots being …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is more user friendly, has a better graphics design, easier to use for less experienced people... able to track progress better.
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is a feature-rich and user-friendly platform that outpaces other solutions we've explored. The vast number of integrations available, as well as the years of dedicated developers as well as the natively available mobile apps, really make Basecamp a leader in this …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is the best application we've found for our team to interface with external clients. It makes project management simple, and allows our clients visibility into their projects, which in turn builds trust, fosters open communication, and improves customer satisfaction. …
Chose Basecamp
Trello is less expensive and the free version works pretty well. For the paid version, Trello is also a really great tool. Overall, I do like Basecamp better. It's a more simple layout and structure to the software. I like the communication threads better on Basecamp. Trello …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is probably my least favorite. As a project manager, I'm always auditing our workflow and processes, so I try to run at least trials of project management software to get a feel for if they would help us do things more efficiently. I struggled the most with Basecamp.
Chose Basecamp
We tried other software while selecting paid plans of Basecamp; its customer service is fast and very prompt in comparison to others. Interface and UI & UX is also very good, which is very good for team members. The team loves this product and they are very happy with it. We …
Chose Basecamp
Asana has an expanded list of capabilities over Basecamp. If you're looking for a simple tool, Basecamp is your go-to. If you need something that makes it easy to schedule recurring tasks, dependencies, mass updates, seeing a project map, and capacity of your team, Asana is the …
Chose Basecamp
Trello, Gantify. We selected Basecamp because we liked the card system, even though it was lacking some of the other features we liked from other platforms.
Chose Basecamp
We moved from Basecamp to Monday.com. Monday is much better suited to an environment where most projects are similar to other projects you are currently working on or have already completed. Monday isn't as "social" or as "community building" as Basecamp, but we've always used …
Chose Basecamp
[Basecamp is] simpler to use less ramp-up. It's cheaper per user and allows for a better mobile experience.
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp if far simpler than ClickUp. We use Clickup to manage our internal task management, as it provides more customization, additional views and more room for extreme detail in tasks. We used Basecamp for clients because of its simplicity and ease-of-use. Basecamp requires …
Chose Basecamp
Unlike others, Basecamp has been easy for us to store information and move our projects forward efficiently.
Chose Basecamp
Pretty good, but [Basecamp] has its drawbacks. Honestly I find the interface non-intuitive and sometimes have trouble figuring out how to change the status of a task. Perhaps it has something to do with the way it was originally set up by the admin, but I'm not sure. I liked …
Chose Basecamp
Basecamp is simple to understand, easy to use, and does not come with the bloat and complications of a solution like Teams. It is certainly more organized and easy to follow than simply having a group chat on Slack and Viber. If you need to easily find information, it can be …
Chose Basecamp
We have not used any other project management software. We started with Basecamp and we've never felt the need to use another program.
Zulip
Chose Zulip
I did not have a say in my company choosing Zulip as their main communication channel, but I can understand why they chose Zulip over any other program. It does house different discussion topics better than Teams does in my opinion, and you're able to easily add subtopics …
Features
BasecampZulip
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
7.9
Ratings
3% above category average
Zulip
10.0
Ratings
26% above category average
Task Management9.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts2.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling6.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology6.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology6.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management9.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration7.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access9.60 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Search00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
6.8
Ratings
10% below category average
Zulip
-
Ratings
Quotes/estimates8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Invoicing6.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Project & financial reporting8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with accounting software4.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Zulip
10.0
Ratings
23% above category average
Chat00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Notifications00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Discussions00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Basecamp
-
Ratings
Zulip
10.0
Ratings
24% above category average
Video files00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Audio files00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Document collaboration00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
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User Ratings
BasecampZulip
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BasecampZulip
Likelihood to Recommend
Small to mid-size would be a great fit [for Basecamp]. It's simple to use and does not require a ton of ramp-up. Unlike other platforms that require you to learn their terminology in order to use the platform this works well for the non technical user whom just needs to put in simple task updates[.]
Read full review
Zulip is great at what it does, and I enjoy using this product every day, but to me it serves as an alternative to the bigger names in instant communication. If they had more features and offered a simpler profile layout that was easier to look at, my rating would be higher.
Read full review
Pros
  • Task management - It is very easy to add, organize and discuss tasks within Basecamp's interface.
  • The "Campfire" function is great for communicating when you just have a quick question for someone on the team.
  • Notifications - Basecamp lets you decide how often and about what you'd like to be notified. The ability to respond to messages in Basecamp directly via email saves a lot of time.
Read full review
  • Letting you send direct messages
  • Letting you customize each message like adding bullet points and hyperlinks
  • Keeping each thread organized
Read full review
Cons
  • High Learning Curve. It's true that it can be easy to use, but to use well and effectively takes some time to learn. It's recommended to have an agreed-upon system in your team of what tools to use and when.
  • Notification Overload. If people aren't careful they could send a notification to everyone when only a couple people were meant to be prompted. And since emails are sent by default, you could have your mailbox overloaded with unnecessary updates. This is where it takes a bit of training in your team to have an agreed-upon system.
  • Lack of organization with Archived Projects. I will often need to reference an archived project to make a new one, but there is only a list of archived projects in alphabetical order, with no way to organize by archive date, or even search.
Read full review
  • It would be nice to see a person's title under their name when you click their profile
  • It would be nice to see a person's direct report when you click their profile
  • Including more personalized information in the quick view of a profile would be nice
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
When I bring new people onto a project, it's immediately obvious how to use Basecamp. I don't have to worry about teaching them the features or walking them through it, it's just incredibly user-friendly. For this reason, I'll continue to renew my subscription even as new people are brought onto production jobs or the client changes.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
I would give it a ten but we have some very minor issues. Those have all been easy to work around and I still really like Basecamp. We also have trouble with some clients who can only handle email—but those are rare cases when technology is just not their thing.
Read full review
Again, I would like to see more personalized features pertaining to the quick view you get when you click on someone's profile within the software. I do like how it offers a desktop app as well as web browser support. I also like the customizing of notification sounds, there's a lot to choose from which is ideal.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
I've never experienced downtime while using Basecamp, or been unable to access it when I needed it. That's not to say they've never had downtime, but I've been lucky enough not to encounter any, and I work odd hours, including late nights when maintenance is often undertaken.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
For the many reasons I've given, Basecamp is a very strong program. There are a few features I can imagine that might make it even better, but I don't have a basis for comparison to be able to say that there is definitely a better one out there. I've noticed that Basecamp has evolved a bit from the time I started using it until now, so that makes me think that the producer of this program values it and believes in continuous improvement. If you could use the features offered by Basecamp, I would think you could use it with confidence.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Decide the process before implementation - i.e. when it's due 8/9 does that mean 8am, noon, 5pm, 11:59pm? Check your to-do list frequently Set-up templates - just not with the dates (they can be funky)
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Basecamp is the best application we've found for our team to interface with external clients. It makes project management simple, and allows our clients visibility into their projects, which in turn builds trust, fosters open communication, and improves customer satisfaction. It's easy to learn and use, and has just enough customizability to work for many different types of projects.
Read full review
I did not have a say in my company choosing Zulip as their main communication channel, but I can understand why they chose Zulip over any other program. It does house different discussion topics better than Teams does in my opinion, and you're able to easily add subtopics underneath them.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • It has helped keep every project organized, with all assets in one accessible place for everyone involved.
  • It has helped with scheduling and assigning tasks so that everyone knows what is expected of them.
  • It has helped keep all client correspondence in one place and within the project so that everything can be found immediately.
  • The search function is very helpful.
Read full review
  • I don't feel suited to answer this as I have been with my organization for less than 2 months.
Read full review
ScreenShots