project management tool · head to head
Basecamp vs ClickUp
Comparison Summary
ClickUp scored 7.4 and Basecamp scored 5.6 on our project management tool test script.
ClickUp and Basecamp both have a free plan, but they aim at different work. ClickUp is a full task manager with fields, views, dependencies, automation and AI; Basecamp is a calm hub of to-do lists, messages, files and a calendar, with none of those.
In our tests Basecamp was far quicker and lighter on Windows, and its due dates and repeats behaved exactly as entered. ClickUp did much more of our script: it imported our CSV with every field, showed a board and Gantt chart from the same tasks, and ran rules and AI.
Choose ClickUp for structured project work. Choose Basecamp if your team mainly needs one quiet place to share to-dos and talk, especially with clients.
Key differences
Basecamp
ClickUp - Our 8 scripted tasks
- Basecamp:1 passed, 5 partial, 2 failed
- ClickUp:6 passed, 2 partial
- Free plan
- Basecamp:1 project, 3 people, 1 GB
- ClickUp:Unlimited tasks; list, board, calendar and Gantt
- Priorities and custom fields
- Basecamp:No
- ClickUp:Yes
- Dependencies and automation
- Basecamp:Neither
- ClickUp:Free, 100 actions a month
- Recurring tasks
- Basecamp:Yes
- ClickUp:Yes
- Import
- Basecamp:Markdown or text only; titles and done state
- ClickUp:CSV, 200 and 500 rows with all fields
- AI
- Basecamp:None in the app
- ClickUp:Chat trial: summary, subtasks, overdue
- Memory and cold start
- Basecamp:0.9–1.2 GB; about 3 s
- ClickUp:1.7–2.2 GB; about 14 s
- Paid plans from
- Basecamp:$29 a month flat
- ClickUp:$9 per user a month, billed yearly
- Export
- Basecamp:Browsable website; no CSV
- ClickUp:CSV
Editor's Verdict
Choose ClickUp if…
Best for: Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app.
- Every view we needed is free: list, board, calendar and Gantt, with no upgrade prompt
- Automation, dependency and recurring task all worked on the free plan
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line
Choose Basecamp if…
Best for: Small teams and client work that need one calm place for to-dos, messages, files and a calendar, without fields and charts.
- The fastest and lightest desktop app in our tests: about 3 seconds from a cold start and under 1.3 GB of memory
- Due dates stay as entered, weekends included, and recurring to-dos have clear repeat options
- Markdown import of 500 to-dos in under 40 seconds, with done to-dos ticked
Head to Head
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, Basecamp completed 1 and ClickUp completed 6.
| Task | Basecamp | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Partial≈ 15–20 min | Pass≈ 200 actions |
| P2 · Views | Partial≈ 5 min | Pass≈ 2 min |
| P3 · Rules | Partial≈ 5 min | Pass≈ 7 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Fail≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 12 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass≈ 2 min | Pass< 2 min import |
| P6 · Permissions | Partial≈ 3 min | Pass≈ 5 min |
| P7 · AI | Fail– | Pass≈ 1–1.5 min each |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 7 min |
Both ran on their free plans: ClickUp Free Forever and Basecamp's free plan for one project.
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | Basecamp | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Admin rights | No | Not needed |
| On disk | 527 MB | 643 MB |
| Starts with Windows | No | Yes, by default |
| 40-task project | ≈ 15–20 min | ≈ 200 actions |
| Views on the free plan | 2 / 4 | 4 / 4 |
| Cold start | ≈ 3 s | ≈ 14 s |
| Memory | 0.9 – 1.2 GB | 1.7 – 2.2 GB |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 120 MB | ≈ 275 MB |
Pros and cons
Basecamp
+ What works
- The fastest and lightest desktop app in our tests: about 3 seconds from a cold start and under 1.3 GB of memory
- Due dates stay as entered, weekends included, and recurring to-dos have clear repeat options
- Markdown import of 500 to-dos in under 40 seconds, with done to-dos ticked
- A free plan forever, and flat paid prices instead of per-user fees
- Complete export of every to-do and date as a browsable website
− What falls short
- No priority, status or custom fields, so our brief's priorities had nowhere to go
- No dependencies, no automation rules and no built-in AI assistant
- No Gantt chart or timeline; the Kanban Card Table is separate from to-dos
- No CSV import: only Markdown or text files, with titles and done state only
- Pasting a list makes one to-do, and dates can only be clicked in a calendar
- Free plan: one project, three people, 1 GB
ClickUp
+ What works
- Every view we needed is free: list, board, calendar and Gantt, with no upgrade prompt
- Automation, dependency and recurring task all worked on the free plan
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line
- 500-row CSV import in under two minutes, and the 500-task board opened in under a second
- Brain² summarised our project accurately, answered “what is overdue?” correctly and asked before adding subtasks
- Full CSV export in under a minute: all 771 tasks, with comments and subtasks
- Removing someone's access took effect immediately
− What falls short
- Heavy: about 14 seconds from launch to a usable list and 1.7–2.2 GB of memory
- The CSV import matched none of our seven columns automatically and needed status values mapped by hand
- The import offers to invite everyone whose email is in the file
- Starts with Windows by default and leaves about 275 MB and a broken startup entry after uninstalling
- Free AI chat is a one-off trial that does not reset
- The export drops dependencies and recurrence settings
- Busy setup: nine onboarding screens, a phone-number request, an invite nudge and an AI pop-up for every new list
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
Basecamp
Signed installer
The installer is signed by 37signals LLC with a valid certificate.
No background services
The app added no startup entry, services or listening ports.
Invite-only projects
New projects are visible only to people you add; outside collaborators and clients get limited access.
No AI by default
The app has no built-in AI assistant reading your projects.
ClickUp
Starts with Windows
The installer adds ClickUp to Windows startup without asking. It adds no services or scheduled tasks and only listens on the PC itself.
Contacts are pushed, not required
Setup asks for a phone number for promotional calls and messages, and the CSV import pre-fills the file's email addresses as invitations. Both can be skipped.
Full deletion is opt-in
Deleting a workspace keeps it recoverable unless you tick a separate box to delete it and its third-party data permanently.
Left after uninstalling
A 133 MB profile folder, a 143 MB updater cache, the clickup:// link handler and a startup entry pointing at the removed program.
Features & Pricing
| Basecamp | ClickUp | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | — | ✓ |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $29/mo | $9/mo |
Basecamp plans
- Free$0
- Freelancer$29/mo
- Pro$79/mo
- Pro Plus$99/mo
- Pro Unlimited$199/mo
From Basecamp's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
ClickUp plans
- Free Forever$0
- Core$9/user/mo
- Business$17/user/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From ClickUp's pricing page, checked Oct 29, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- Basecamp:37signals LLC
- ClickUp:ClickUp (Mango Technologies, Inc.)
- Headquarters
- Basecamp:Chicago, Illinois, USA
- ClickUp:San Diego, California, USA
- Founded
- Basecamp:1999
- ClickUp:2017
- Funding
- Basecamp:Privately held; run by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.
- ClickUp:$400 million Series C in October 2021 at a reported $4 billion valuation.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: Basecamp · ClickUp.
FAQ
Which is better, ClickUp or Basecamp?
ClickUp scored higher in our tests because it covers fields, views, dependencies, automation, import and AI. Basecamp is simpler and much faster, and suits teams who mainly share to-dos and messages.
Which has the better free plan?
ClickUp, for most teams: Basecamp's free plan is one project for three people, while ClickUp's covers unlimited tasks with board, calendar and Gantt views.
Which is cheaper for a larger team?
Basecamp's paid plans are flat monthly prices, so they can work out cheaper than ClickUp's per-user pricing as a team grows.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
Basecamp reviewSituational 5.6 Basecamp is calm and quick: the Windows app opened in about 3 seconds, used the least memory of any app we tested here, and kept due dates, weekend days and weekly repeats exactly as entered. But it is not a task manager in the usual sense. There are no priorities, custom fields, dependencies, automation rules, Gantt chart or built-in AI, it imports only Markdown or plain text, and the free plan is a single project. Read the full review → ClickUp reviewRecommended 7.4 ClickUp passed every step of our project-management test on the free plan: all the views, a working automation, dependencies, recurring tasks, a 500-row import and an AI that got the facts right and asked before changing anything. It is heavy, though: the Windows app needs about 14 seconds and up to 2 GB of memory, and the import and setup make you do more by hand than they should. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
Notion Situational Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup 6.9 Read reviewReview 
Airtable Situational Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out 6.8 Read reviewReview 
Asana Situational Teams ready to pay for Starter or Advanced who want a polished, fast-to-learn project tool with strong import and export 6.7 Read reviewReview 
