Post-it notes are just plain awesome. You can quickly jot things down and stick them pretty much anywhere. But things can get out of hand when your desk is buried in Post-it notes. Suddenly, you can’t find that date you wrote down or that note of what you needed to review.
If this sounds all too familiar, then you’re in dire need of a solution to organize your work. Basecamp and Jira are two of the more popular project management tools available (along with monday.com, wink wink). How are they different and which project management software is right for you?
Let’s find out.
What is Basecamp?
Basecamp is a project management tool that offers collaboration features in one shared workspace. Fun fact: Basecamp was originally founded in 1999 as a web design company before shifting gears in 2004 to what is now a web-based platform for teams.
What is Jira?
Jira is a bug and issues tracking tool that focuses on agile project management—an iterative approach to developing software. Software teams can manage projects using Scrum and Kanban boards. Another fun fact: the word “Jira” stems from the Japanese word “Gojira,” which translates to “Godzilla.”
Basecamp vs Jira: What are the differences?
TL;DR — Basecamp is better suited for collaborative projects that span multiple departments, while Jira offers a more robust solution for software development teams.
No two companies or teams are alike, so ask yourself the following questions when deciding on any project management tool:
- How big is my team?
- What is my budget?
- What will I use this tool for?
- How important are data visualization views?
- What kind of collaboration features do I need?
How you answer these questions will help you decide whether Basecamp or Jira (or another project management tool, like monday.com) is right for your project management needs.
Basecamp takes a more general approach to project management by offering a collaborative platform for agencies, freelancers, consultants, and remote workers to manage their work. But it lacks features like time tracking and multiple board views that may be critical for your needs.
Jira is designed for agile software teams, meaning it’s intended for bug tracking and sprint planning. Unlike Basecamp, Jira offers Kanban and Scrum boards out-of-the-box (as do we, just saying). You can use Jira to manage projects, but it may not have the features you need or want if you don’t run a team of developers.
If that doesn’t sound appealing and you want to jump right into your projects with ready-made templates and you want more view options and customization options, you’ll likely understand that monday.com is a better fit for you.
Basecamp features: see everything from one location
Basecamp’s biggest selling point is that everything is kept in one place—message boards, to-do’s, work schedules, documents, etc. That being said, customization is quite limited on the homepage, and you only get a basic overview of your projects.
If a plethora of views is important to you, then monday.com offers more options on that front.
With dashboards in monday.com, you can see the information that’s important to you at a glance—add a calendar to view your schedule, track your workload, and even rock out to Bohemian Rhapsody (or Call Me Maybe if that’s your jam) with the Spotify Widget.Here’s a peek at some of the widgets you can add to your dashboard in monday.com:
There’s dark mode too!
Jira features: built for software development teams
Software development teams that rely on agile methodologies to develop software may find that Jira meets their needs. Agile teams can track issues and deliver work using customizable Scrum and Kanban boards (we have these boards too, of course).
Roadmaps enable software teams to track their progress and even create multiple versions to plan for potential outcomes. In case you’re wondering, you can also build roadmaps in monday.com to get a high-level view of your projects.
Here’s a roadmap that Shachar Tal from Loginno uses for software development:
Check out this customer story to see how the team at Loginno uses this board and to get access to the template above.
Related: Jira Work management
So, which project management tool is right for you?
If you’re looking for a collaborative platform to track projects across multiple departments, then Basecamp may cover just what you need.
If you’re a software development team that relies on agile methodologies, then Jira likely suits your needs better. But it does require some tinkering if you want to use it outside of software development.
For a highly customizable platform that lets you get started in minutes, with plenty of integrations, views, automations, and high-level reporting capabilities, then monday.com is exactly what you’re looking for and more.
How much do Basecamp and Jira cost?
TL;DR — Basecamp offers a flat monthly rate, so it’ll be cheaper to use than Jira if you have a larger team.
Basecamp pricing and plans:
- Business: Basecamp Business costs $99 a month flat and includes access to all features plus unlimited projects, users, client access, and more.
Jira pricing and plans:
- Free: Jira offers a free plan for up to 10 users, but it has a 2 GB file storage limit
- Standard: The standard plan costs $7 a month per user and offers customer support during local business hours
- Premium: Premium costs $14 per user a month and includes additional features like advanced road maps, project archiving, unlimited storage, and more
- Enterprise: Jira doesn’t list pricing for its Enterprise plan, but it offers “organization-level billing” and 24/7 support
And if you’re considering monday.com, check out our blog post that looks at our pricing plans in more detail.
Basecamp customer service: limited to support tickets
If you need any help with Basecamp and you can’t find the answer in any of their tutorials or help guides, you can send a ticket with your question or issue. They have a response time of about 20 minutes and you can expect a reply from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Central Time on weekdays only.
Jira customer service: depends on your plan
Jira provides resources including documentation and even a community where you get help from other Atlassian users. The level of support you can expect depends on your plan.
For example, with their free plan you’re limited to community support. Support for their Standard plan is a little better, but response times for tickets are limited to local business hours. Jira offers phone support, but it’s only available to Enterprise customers.
Basecamp reviews: 4.1 / 5 on G2
Basecamp has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5 on review site G2 from over 4,500 reviews.
Jira reviews: 4.2 / 5 on G2
Jira has a slight edge on Basecamp with an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 on G2, but it has fewer customer reviews (3,695 to be exact).
Basecamp vs Jira: which one should you choose?
Still not sure whether to go with Basecamp or Jira? If you’re using multiple applications to track your to-do lists, communicate with team members, and manage schedules, then Basecamp is able to do as it these things.
If you’re looking for a solution that helps you implement the agile methodology for software development, then Jira is a better fit for you. But what if you’re looking for a more robust platform that lets you get started in minutes and offers even more ways to visualize your data?
Let us introduce ourselves…
monday.com: your Basecamp and Jira alternative
monday.com is a highly flexible work platform that makes it easy to plan and organize all your work from one location.
Here’s a look at what the platform offers:
- Hundreds of ready-made templates for different use cases
- 8 different data visualizations, including Kanban, Calendar, Gantt, and more
- 30+ customizable column types
- Real-time collaboration features
- Easily set up in automation workflows in minutes
And much more!
We’re confident that you’ll love monday.com. But don’t just take our word for it: monday.com has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 across popular review sites like G2, Capterra, and GetApp.
We know it’s important for businesses to find project management platforms that enhance their team’s productivity. And that’s why, if your software development team likes the technical issue tracking features of Jira, but your designers, HR department, and marketing division love the visual, customizable templates of monday.com, we’ve made it easy to integrate the two.
If you’re still unsure about which project management platform is best for you, sign your team up for a free 14-day trial today.
Start managing your work today with our Project Management Plan Template!
Related: Asana vs. Jira, Jira vs. Redmine, Jira vs. monday.com, Jira vs. Trello, Jira pricing
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