Basecamp

What it is for

Basecamp is a straightforward project HQ: you park to-dos, a message board, a schedule, and chat on one project page (Kiln & Clay Studio), and Personal is free forever (1 project). Use it when the job is one project board you start at a public $, not when you need Linear’s issue graph only.

Soft-note: Personal free + fixed-price Business packages (not per-seat). Distinct from Linear, Asana, and ClickUp.

What makes it unique: the cover is Basecamp’s official Kiln & Clay Studio board (Glaze Tests, Studio Chat, To-dos Order 200 lb of B-Mix clay / Fennel restaurant order, Message Board We're going with the oatmeal glaze, Studio Process wheel photos, Schedule March 2026 Glaze firing #7 / Collection photo shoot, Latest Activity Jane M. answered / Leila K. posted 4 files) from kiln-clay-studio-light.jpg — not a wordmark. The To-dos column itself is ops of the project.

Key features

• Project board — the six-tool home (cover still; basecamp.com). One desk. Cover Kiln & Clay Studio sits here.
• To-dos — Order 200 lb of B-Mix clay / Fennel restaurant order / Spring collection launch (cover). A list, not a Freelancer tile.
• Message Board — We're going with the oatmeal glaze (cover). A board, not a $29 meter.
• Schedule — March 2026 + Glaze firing #7 Fri, Mar 20 (cover). A calendar, not Pro.
• Studio Chat — the Campfire column (cover). Chat, not Pro Plus.
• Latest Activity — Jane M. answered What came out of the kiln today? (cover). A stream, not Unlimited.

The + tile on the cover is a CTA (not a seventh desk). Personal / Freelancer / Pro tiles stay in Pricing. ChatGPT / Claude connectors stay off Key features as AI extras.

Who it's for

Best fit: small teams who will stay on Personal (1 project, up to 3 people) at $0 while they open a first Kiln board, then Freelancer at $29/month when they need 3 projects / 5 users — not Pro $79 first unless they need 8 projects / templates, and not Pro Unlimited $199 unless they need unlimited users.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from basecamp.com/pricing. Soft-note: packages are account-priced, not per-seat. Higher / monthly Unlimited is printed.

• Personal — free forever. 1 project, up to 3 people. Limited, for personal use.
• Freelancer — $29/month. 3 projects, 10 GB, up to 5 users. No multiple tools per project / templates / time tracking.
• Pro — $79/month. 8 projects, 25 GB, up to 10 users. Multiple tools per project + templates.
• Pro Plus — $99/month. 12 projects, 100 GB, up to 15 users. Adds time tracking.
• Pro Unlimited — $199/month billed annually, or $329/month monthly. Unlimited projects / users, 1 TB, enhanced admin, priority support. Extra 1 TB $50/month.
• Discounts — 10% nonprofit; K-12 / class-work accounts can be $0 after email verify. Do not invent an Enterprise SKU — Unlimited is the top printed card.

Confirm checkout; taxes follow your location. No card for Free or the trial.

Limitations / costs

• Personal is one live project. A second concurrent project is Freelancer $29.
• Freelancer omits templates and extra tools per project. Those start at Pro $79.
• A project HQ, not Linear’s issue graph. For that tracker see Linear.
• The product is not OSS. We omit a GitHub CTA rather than invent a repo.

Alternatives

• Linear — issue reviews when you want Free $0 / Basic $10/user, not Basecamp’s Kiln & Clay Studio to-dos.
• Asana — a work graph when you want a list/timeline PM, not Glaze firing #7 on a Message Board.
• ClickUp — a multi-view workspace when you want a denser hierarchy, not six tools on one project page.

Official tutorial

Official 37signals channel video: How does Basecamp work? (oEmbed author: 37signals). First-party project / Message Board / to-dos / Schedule how-to; the Kiln & Clay Studio still is the cover. We searched @basecamp — that handle 404’d at check — and @37signals, which is the product channel.

Written path: basecamp.com/pricing plus the Kiln still.

Website

https://basecamp.com/

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Basecamp’s official Kiln & Clay Studio still (To-dos + Message Board + Schedule + Studio Chat + Latest Activity). Dollars checked on basecamp.com/pricing (Personal free; Freelancer $29; Pro $79; Pro Plus $99; Pro Unlimited $199 annual / $329 monthly). Tutorial oEmbed author: 37signals (@37signals; @basecamp 404).

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.