Basecamp vs Smartsheet comparison

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Basecamp

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Basecamp and Smartsheet compete in project management. Smartsheet has the upper hand due to its comprehensive features, which provide greater flexibility and automation for complex projects.

Features: Basecamp supports team communication with message boards, to-dos, and scheduling. Smartsheet includes project tracking, automation, data integration, and workflow customization, giving it an edge in handling diverse project needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Basecamp offers quick deployment and efficient customer service, focusing on simplicity. Smartsheet, though more complex to deploy due to its features, provides detailed support and resources, guiding users in managing intricate projects effectively.

Pricing and ROI: Basecamp's flat pricing is cost-effective and predictable. Smartsheet's tiered pricing can increase costs but matches its capabilities, offering a high ROI due to its advanced features, benefiting organizations needing sophisticated solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Basecamp vs. Smartsheet Report (Updated: April 2026).

Basecamp vs. Smartsheet

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Helped 892,943 peers since 2012

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

25th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Smartsheet

Ranking in Project Management Software

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Project Portfolio Management (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Basecamp is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smartsheet is 2.2%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Project Management Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Smartsheet	2.2%
Basecamp	1.4%
Other	96.4%

Project Management Software

Featured Reviews

Abenazzer Tadesse

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.

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DonatasSinkevicius

Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Automation simplifies manual tasks and facilitates team communication

There are many useful features in Smartsheet. One can easily share plans with the entire team, and it functions similarly to Microsoft Project. Creating dependencies across all tasks is smooth, and team members can make adjustments if necessary. Automation helps by simplifying some manual work, saving time and facilitating communication.

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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 ability to network informally is great for communicating with colleagues."

"The ease of use is valuable."

"The ability to network informally is great for communicating with colleagues."

"It's very user friendly."

"There are no limitations in Smartsheet, it is highly scalable."

"Smartsheet is scalable; we deployed it in 47 large distribution centers across the United States, and we had six projects running on it while the corporate office could view all of the projects at once because the program management option is terrific."

"I think Smartsheet would scale fine."

"The ability to have users without a license has helped us a lot, allowing stakeholders to access all the resources based only on my license and making it very useful compared to anything else that we had, any other solutions that we had."

"The dashboard and the layouts are quite good."

"It is my favorite project management tool; it is very flexible, much easier to use than Microsoft Project in terms of creating custom fields, and very similar to Excel, so people understand it, which makes it easier to use for most users."

"Smartsheet offers more than Project because it's similar to a table-based, database-type system. It's like a hybrid between Excel and project software. We were able to enter the formulas and do much of the automation. We added budgets to it and linked them to a vendor page. Smartsheet let us integrate the budget into the project seamlessly. With Project, we needed to open up Excel."

More Smartsheet pros

Cons

"The solution could be more user-friendly."

"The product isn't easy to use. It's not very intuitive."

"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."

"I want to improve baselines, predecessor-successor relationships, and the ability to use manual starts and stops while keeping relationships intact. Changing dates and durations can be convoluted, unlike in Microsoft Project. There are many things I'm used to in other software that don't happen in Smartsheet. It's offset by how easy it is to link sheets and pull data at higher levels, but figuring out why I can't change data sometimes can be frustrating."

"The main challenge with Smartsheet is that when you start putting components on the Smartsheet dashboard, they don't know about each other."

"Maybe the solution could be a little bit more flexible."

"A room for improvement I found in Smartsheet is the view, as it's currently row-wise. I should have the opportunity to view a full scale, top down list instead of just a column driven list."

"The dashboard is not user-friendly, it needs improvement."

"Smartsheet should continue to expand the spreadsheet-type functionality because it's limited currently."

"I think that the mobile interface needs to be improved. If you cannot access it through your laptop, I'd prefer to have that option on the mobile, but I don't think that it's user-friendly and easy to navigate."

"Smartsheet is a cloud-based tool similar to Google Sheets in that multiple stakeholders can work on a document simultaneously. However, unlike Google Sheets, which saves changes in real time, Smartsheet requires users to manually save their changes."

More Smartsheet cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"I pay $ 120 or $ 128 a month for two to three users."

"Smartsheet has many licensing models. You need to add the package that best suits your requirements. The license is paid per user and it is monthly. The cost was approximately $7 per PC, $15 for professional, and $33 for the enterprise plan."

"The solution is expensive."

"The solution is reasonably priced."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. I was responsible for negotiating the price with the Smartsheet team, but I don't remember what the price was. Its standard license probably was around 5,000 to 6,000 a year. The enterprise version is significantly more expensive."

"I would assume there is a licensing fee. I don't think that it is free."

"The solution is too expensive."

"There would be more extensive usage if the solution were cheaper. It's really expensive right now, and that's why we provide a few licenses for admins. The rest of them are just users without admin privileges."

More Smartsheet pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

22%

Security Firm

11%

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Financial Services Firm

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	22

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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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...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Smartsheet?

Licensing might be cheaper per user. I rate it as seven or eight due to its demanding nature. For personal use, I have a monthly subscription, while the company uses an annual basis.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Smartsheet?

Currently, I feel that Smartsheet fulfills all my needs. However, I need to investigate more about the product to identify specific areas for improvement.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Project Management Software

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Download Smartsheet product report

Overview

Basecamp is an agile project management tool designed for teams to efficiently organize and execute tasks. It caters to organized workflows and collaborative efforts, offering comprehensive task management solutions.

Basecamp provides teams with an intuitive platform for project management. Its interface supports seamless communication and planning, offering tools for task lists, file sharing, and progress tracking. This enables teams to coordinate workflows effectively, managing deadlines and responsibilities without hassle. Its capabilities ensure that projects remain on track with increased transparency and accountability.

What key features does Basecamp offer?

Task Management: Organize and assign tasks efficiently with due dates and project timelines.
Team Collaboration: Facilitate communication with messaging boards and chat options.
Document Sharing: Upload and share files directly within the platform.
Schedule Management: Keep track of important deadlines with an integrated calendar.
Project Oversight: Monitor progress and make adjustments as needed with interactive dashboards.

What benefits and ROI can be expected from using Basecamp?

Increased Productivity: Streamlined workflows enhance output efficiency.
Enhanced Communication: Centralized communication prevents miscommunication among team members.
Time Savings: Efficient task management reduces time waste on repetitive activities.
Scalability: Adjusts seamlessly to growing team sizes and project complexities.

Construction and retail industries benefit from Basecamp for structuring project timelines and coordinating team efforts. In marketing and tech, it facilitates campaign management and software development through collaborative tools and progress monitoring, helping to meet industry-specific demands.

37signals

Smartsheet offers a comprehensive platform for project management, featuring real-time sharing, cloud accessibility, and a user-friendly interface, which enhance workflow efficiency and project tracking capabilities.

Smartsheet stands out in the realm of project management by integrating robust tools like Gantt chart creation and seamless compatibility with products like Jira and Microsoft Teams. Its dashboards, intuitive design, and flexible customization options support efficient collaboration and centralized management. Enhancements such as real-time change visibility without refreshing, advanced automation capabilities, and improved integration with APIs address user needs. Sectors spanning from strategic initiatives to operational tasks benefit from this customizable, cloud-based platform.

What are the key features of Smartsheet?

Real-Time Sharing: Facilitates immediate collaboration across teams.
Cloud Accessibility: Work from anywhere with cloud-based tools.
User-Friendliness: Simplified project management through an intuitive interface.
Gantt Chart Creation: Offers dynamic timelines for project tracking.
Integrations: Seamless connectivity with Jira, Microsoft Teams, and more.

What benefits or ROI does Smartsheet provide?

Enhanced Efficiency: Streamline workflows for quicker project completion.
Improved Collaboration: Centralized tools support teamwork and communication.
Project Tracking: Real-time updates keep projects on schedule.
Customizable Solutions: Adaptable to meet diverse management needs.

In specific industries, Smartsheet is leveraged for creating project plans, managing tasks, and compiling statistics. Teams use dashboards for data visualization to monitor multiple projects efficiently. The platform supports resource management, approvals, and collaboration, integrating features like automation and data export for comprehensive project oversight.

Sample Customers

Ashland Addison Florist Co., Victory Auto Wreckers, Ideal Box Co., Hollymatic Corp.

Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix

Basecamp vs. Smartsheet