By Paul Martinez
/ September 24, 2022 October 20, 2022
Table of Contents
Managing projects, deadlines, tasks, and teamwork is challenging. Luckily, we have various internet tools and project management software to help manage projects more efficiently. Slack and Basecamp are two such software systems that are the most popular because of their high-end features. However, both have different features and capabilities, which might make one of them a better choice for your requirements.
Businesses and teams of all sizes are considering these tools to improve communication and collaboration for virtual projects. To get your people to work, you must compare the two modern project management tools, Slack vs. Basecamp, and choose one. Let’s dive into their main features in this Slack vs. Basecamp analysis and see what works best for your team projects.
Slack vs Basecamp: Our Pick
Slack and Basecamp are both helpful management tools for remote projects and teamwork. These tools offer outstanding task management functionality, so it is difficult to say which one is better than the other. You can first determine your requirements to make it easier for you to decide. For instance, Slack is your option if you need a real-time platform for your team to interact, collaborate and discuss things. Slack allows you to create multiple channels and has lots of integrations. It also offers high-quality customer support with knowledgeable and friendly staff. Plus, there is live chat support to solve your queries instantly.
On the other hand, if you need to create a platform to assign tasks and manage complex projects more efficiently, you must go for Basecamp. Basecamp lacks voice and video call options but offers better file storage than Slack. With the video calls option, you can interact with other team members more efficiently and conduct interviews. Plus, task management is more organized and smooth with advanced project management features in Basecamp. You can take Slack as a communication hub and Basecamp as a task management tool.
You must ask yourself a few questions to help you decide better. For instance, do you want to make announcements, set due dates, hold meetings and discussions, and interact with team members? All these features are more straightforward and better with Slack. On the other hand, if you want to keep your to-dos managed and organized and share large files, you must consider Basecamp.
About Slack
Slack is an advanced communication tool that allows you to bring your project team to one point for improved collaboration. With this project management software, you get one central location where you can create multiple channels and communicate in a very organized way.
Slack features include improved functionality and an amazing user experience. It hit eight million daily active users in 2018 and is one of the most popular communication software.
Features
Multiple Channels: You can create rooms with numerous channels and add entire team members accordingly. The Slack channel feature allows you to create #general and #random rooms with all team members of a particular group or project. Besides that, the Slack mobile app allows you as many channels as you like.
Real-Time Messaging: The project management software system uses a time-based mechanism and shows the latest messages on your screen. If you want to see old messages in channels or direct messages sections, you can scroll up and look at the previous ones. The main goal of this communication tool is to keep all the team members in one place. The tool has made project management more straightforward as you don’t need to switch between various tools or check lots of emails daily.
Pros
Real-time interaction
Multiple channels
Live chat
Calls and videos
Over eight million daily active users
Cons
Mainly a communication hub
About Basecamp
Basecamp is a project-organizing tool that makes it easier for you to organize and track your to-do tasks. With this tool, you can bring multiple personal projects to a single location and then switch between the projects.
Multiple Features: It focuses more on task management and is equipped with direct messaging, a message board, to-do lists, and other features for a better workflow. The software also consists of numerous integrations which allow you to sync with other apps.
Storage: The main feature of Basecamp is that it has massive storage and allows you to handle multiple big tasks on the platform.
Report Feature: It also has a report feature that gives you timely updates so you can organize your tasks and complete them on time. With this project management tool, you can check recent updates to the projects and files. You can also view the activities and recent comments for all the boards. There are separate cards for all projects, which you can use to schedule and organize different tasks.
Pros
Allows tasks assignments and tracking
Massive storage
Separate cards for projects
Has a report feature
Allows syncs with other apps
Cons
Does not have a call or video feature
Communication isn't in real time
Similarities Between Slack and Basecamp
Though both management tools have different goals, they have a few similarities too. Let’s discuss these key features to understand better how Slack and Basecamp work.
Messaging Channels
Basecamp and Slack allow you to create specific channels or camps for better team communication tools and collaboration options. However, the way these features work in both tools is different. With Slack, you can have one platform where you can create multiple channels separated by team members, projects, departments, and clients. You can interact with your team members in real-time privately and publicly through these channels.
Basecamp also has a solid communication system, but it differs from Slack. Slack allows you to communicate through chats on channels. On the other hand, Basecamp has to-do lists and message boards on which you can comment and interact. Besides, it has a Campfire chat feature that allows you to send direct messages in real-time, but it is less advanced than Slack’s messaging system. Also, Basecamp has discussion threads for updates and feedback on current tasks. To sum up, Slack has a more communication-focused approach.
File Sharing
The file-sharing feature is beneficial when it comes to team management. Basecamp offers an easy way to share and attach files and store them for later use. You can add up to 2GB of files and share them with other team members using the ‘Docs & Files’ feature. Further, you can use various features in this section to make those files accessible to your team members and clients within the team. You can also organize your files according to specific color codes and put them there, making them easier to access later.
You can also share files through chats on Slack, but the maximum size you can share is 1GB. You can share files from your local PC, cloud storage, or anywhere with the team members on your channels or through direct messaging. To sum up, sharing files is accessible on both platforms, but Basecamp allows you to share large files with better organization.
Integration
Slack integrations allow you to sync with other apps and use them in your chats. You can use these apps in your conversations on channels to improve collaboration. For instance, you can integrate OneDrive, Google Suite, Dropbox, and Microsoft Office and use them with Slack. There are more than 2000 apps you can choose and sync with Slack for convenience and flexibility. The best thing is that Slack integrations also allow you to sync project management and Sales platforms, such as Trello and Asana.
Basecamp also allows you to integrate with Zapier and Automate.io. There are a total of 72 integrations as compared to Slack’s 2000. Plus, all the big names like GoogleDrive, OneDrive, and Dropbox can’t be integrated with Basecamp. Slack is the winner here as it offers multiple integration options, making communicating and managing tasks easier.
Differences Between Slack and Basecamp
Project Management
Basecamp and Slack have advanced project management systems that help you manage your projects and tasks more efficiently. The main point is whether you need to manage your team members or for managing tasks. If you need to bring your team members to one platform and seamlessly communicate with them, you must consider Slack. On the other hand, if you don’t think your project needs more communication features for the team members and just task management will do, Basecamp is for you.
Slack is more communication-based and doesn’t have all the features you need for storing projects or checking the status of various tasks. However, you can still assign tasks to your team members and interact with them directly by sending direct messages to manage these tasks.
On the other hand, Basecamp is more task-oriented and has a better approach to managing projects. The tool allows you to organize and manage tasks within a project, unlike Slack, which handles tasks within teams. Moreover, a pm tool includes permission and security settings to keep things private. The winner here is Basecamp, as it offers a more task-based approach and is an advanced project management tool.
Storage and Pricing
Slack offers 5 GB with the free version, which doubles when you buy the paid version. There are two packages, Standard and Plus, for which you get 10 GB and 20 GB storage, respectively. For enterprise users, Slack offers a 1 TB storage plan. Besides that, Slack pricing is a bit complicated; Slack’s free plan is for 30-days and for small teams only. Plus, previous messages are lost if they pass the limit of 10,000 messages.
Basecamp offers 500 GB of file storage, but there is no option to expand it. A single package option with flat-rate pricing allows you to share large files on its platform. The Basecamp Personal gives a free way to run the software and is perfect for students and freelancers. Moreover, with a flat monthly fee, Basecamp will enable you to have unlimited users and unlimited projects, and you can also invite unlimited clients. However, Slack charges per active monthly.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve understood the main features of both management tools, you can make an informed decision before choosing one. We suggest you use both as they are equally important for successfully running remote projects. Unfortunately, Slack and Basecamp don’t integrate. Still, in the future, if they get integrated, it would be the best workaround for those who find the features of both project management tools equally useful.
Paul Martinez is the founder of EcomSidekick.com. He is an expert in the areas of finance, real estate, eCommerce, traffic and conversion.
Join him on EcomSidekick.com to learn how to improve your financial life and excel in these areas. Before starting this media site, Paul built from scratch and managed two multi-million dollar companies. One in the real estate sector and one in the eCommerce sector.
