All industries · head to head
BambooHR vs Basecamp
Basecamp
All industries
Project management & team collaboration software
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Basecamp has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: BambooHR organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price; Basecamp the free tier allows one project and 1 GB of storage
- They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Basecamp covers Message boards.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Basecamp actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries).
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 BambooHR
- Employee database
- Time-off management
- Benefits tracking
- Performance reviews
- Onboarding
- Reporting & analytics
- Mobile access
- Document management
Only in Basecamp
- Message boards
- To-do lists
- Schedules
- Documents & files
- Group chat
- Check-in questions
- Hill Charts
- Email forwards
Both cover
- Slack
- SOC2
- GDPR
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
BambooHR
- HR system of record with employee data and documentsnot Basecamp
- Time off tracking and approvalsnot Basecamp
- Applicant tracking and onboardingnot Basecamp
- Performance reviews and 1:1s on the Pro tiernot Basecamp
- Compensation planning and benchmarking on Elitenot Basecamp
Basecamp
- Project management for a small team in one placenot BambooHR
- Message boards and chat alongside to-dosnot BambooHR
- Client collaboration, since guests are not chargednot BambooHR
- Flat-rate project management for a larger team on Pro Unlimitednot BambooHR
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
BambooHR
- Organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price
- Per-employee pricing starts at 26 employees, from $10 on Core
- Performance management, 360 reviews and recognition all require Pro at $17 per employee per month
- Compensation management, salary benchmarking and advanced analytics are Elite only at $25 per employee per month
- Compliance training is rationed by tier, at 1 course on Core against 300 on Elite
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
BambooHR
$10/month per employeeNo published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.
Basecamp
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Basecamp review.
Which should you pick?
Choose BambooHR if
- You need employee database.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want time-off management.
Choose Basecamp if
- You need message boards.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want to-do lists.
Questions people ask
- Is BambooHR or Basecamp better?
- Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Basecamp at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Basecamp?
- Basecamp has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/month per employee for BambooHR and Free for Basecamp.
- Does BambooHR or Basecamp run on more platforms?
- BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Basecamp runs on Web.
- Can I use Basecamp for free?
- Yes. Basecamp has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee.
- What is BambooHR best used for?
- BambooHR is most often used for hr system of record with employee data and documents, time off tracking and approvals, applicant tracking and onboarding, performance reviews and 1:1s on the pro tier. Of those, hr system of record with employee data and documents and time off tracking and approvals are not what Basecamp is typically brought in for.
- What can BambooHR do that Basecamp cannot?
- BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Basecamp covers Message boards, To-do lists, Schedules, Documents & files. Both handle Slack, SOC2, GDPR.