Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

ADP vs Basecamp

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting & Finance

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Basecamp logo

Basecamp

All industries

Project management & team collaboration software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Basecamp has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Basecamp the free tier allows one project and 1 GB of storage
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Basecamp covers Message boards.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Basecamp actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Basecamp differ
AttributeADPBasecamp
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
CategoryAccounting & FinanceAll industries
Founded19492004

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Basecamp

  • Message boards
  • To-do lists
  • Schedules
  • Documents & files
  • Group chat
  • Check-in questions
  • Hill Charts
  • Email forwards

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Basecamp
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Basecamp
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Basecamp
  • Benefits administrationnot Basecamp
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Basecamp

Basecamp

  • Project management for a small team in one placenot ADP
  • Message boards and chat alongside to-dosnot ADP
  • Client collaboration, since guests are not chargednot ADP
  • Flat-rate project management for a larger team on Pro Unlimitednot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Basecamp

  • The free tier allows one project and 1 GB of storage
  • Pro is $15 per user per month, so cost scales with headcount unlike the flat Pro Unlimited at $299 a month billed annually
  • Storage beyond the plan costs $50 a month per additional terabyte
  • Timesheet and the Admin Pro Pack are paid upgrades on Pro and only bundled with Pro Unlimited

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Basecamp

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Basecamp review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Basecamp if

  • You need message boards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want to-do lists.
Basecamp review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Basecamp better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Basecamp at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Basecamp?
Basecamp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for ADP and Free for Basecamp.
Does ADP or Basecamp run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Basecamp runs on Web.
Can I use Basecamp for free?
Yes. Basecamp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ADP starts at $29/month.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Basecamp is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Basecamp cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Basecamp covers Message boards, To-do lists, Schedules, Documents & files.
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Related pages

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