Basecamp vs Notion

Basecamp

• Agencies and studios that bring clients into projects
• Teams that prefer a flat monthly fee to per-user pricing
• Companies replacing separate chat, file and task tools

Notion

• Teams that want docs, a wiki and project tracking in one workspace
• Individuals who want a free personal workspace with unlimited pages
• Building custom trackers and dashboards from databases

Basecamp

• Paid plans are limited by active projects: 3 on Freelancer, 10 on Studio and 25 on Pro.
• The Free plan covers a single project with 1 GB of storage and 5 users.
• Every person added counts as a user, clients included, and Freelancer is capped at 20 users.
• Unlimited Edition is billed annually only, and a paid plan cannot be downgraded to the Free plan.

Notion

• Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes and Enterprise Search are only a limited trial on Free and Plus; full access starts at Business.
• The Free plan limits blocks once a second member joins, caps file uploads at 5 MB and keeps 7 days of page history.
• There is no Linux desktop app; Notion points Linux users to the browser version.
• Custom Agents run on Notion credits, an add-on for Business and Enterprise priced at $10 per 1,000 monthly credits.

Basecamp

Message Board

Announcements and discussions are kept as posts inside each project, intended as a replacement for internal email.

To-dos and Card Tables

To-do lists support assignees, due dates, attachments and subtasks. Card Tables are Basecamp's version of kanban boards.

Campfire chat

Group chat is built into Basecamp, so a team does not need a separate chat app alongside its projects.

Schedule and Lineup

A per-project calendar holds deadlines, milestones and events, and the Lineup plots every project on a timeline by start and end date.

Hill Charts and Automatic Check-ins

Hill Charts show where a piece of work stands, and Automatic Check-ins ask the team recurring questions on a set schedule.

Client mode

Clients can be brought into a project, with control over what they can and cannot see, project by project.

Notion

Docs and pages

Pages hold text, media and embeds. Several people can edit the same page, leave comments and @-mention each other.

Databases

Databases organize hundreds or thousands of items such as projects or tasks. Charts are limited to 1 on Free, and database automations start on Plus.

Wikis

A knowledge base keeps team documentation in one place. Private teamspaces for restricting access need the Business plan.

Notion Agent, Meeting Notes and Search

The AI agent, meeting transcription with summaries and search across connected apps are included from Business. Free and Plus get a limited trial.

Forms and Sites

Collect responses into a database and publish pages to the web. Custom forms start on Plus, conditional logic on Business, and custom domains are billed per domain.

Offline pages

The desktop and mobile apps can view, edit and create pages offline. Free users pick pages to download; paid plans also download recent and favorite pages automatically.

Basecamp

• Free$0

  One project for personal use, 1 GB of storage and up to 5 users.

• Freelancer$25

  per month, flat rate

  Up to 3 active projects, 5 GB of storage and up to 20 users, with no per-user fees.

• Studio$59

  per month, flat rate

  Up to 10 active projects, 25 GB of storage and unlimited users.

• Pro$99

  per month, flat rate

  Up to 25 active projects, 100 GB of storage and unlimited users.

• Unlimited Edition$299

  per month, billed annually

  Unlimited projects and users, 1,000 GB of storage, priority support and personalized onboarding.

Notion

• Free$0

  For individuals: unlimited pages and blocks for one person, 5 MB file uploads, 7-day page history, 10 guests and basic forms.

• Plus$10

  per member / month, billed yearly

  Unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history, unlimited guests, custom forms, unlimited charts and database automations.

• Business$20

  per member / month, billed yearly

  Everything in Plus, plus Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search (beta), SAML SSO, private teamspaces and 90-day page history.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Business, plus SCIM user provisioning, audit logs, advanced security controls and unlimited page history.

Basecamp

• Nonprofit

  10% off for registered nonprofits

  Basecamp's pricing FAQ gives registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits 10% off after verification.

• Education

  Free for classroom use

  Basecamp is free for K-12 schools, homeschoolers and universities as long as it is used for class work only.

Notion

• Annual discount

  Save up to 20% with yearly billing

  Notion's pricing page says paying yearly instead of monthly saves up to 20% on the Plus and Business plans.

• Education

  Free Education plan for students and educators

  Students and educators at accredited colleges and universities get a free one-member workspace with Plus features by signing up with a school email. K-12 is not eligible.

• Nonprofit

  50% off the Business plan for nonprofits

  Verified nonprofit organizations can apply for 50% off the Business plan on up to three workspaces. Verification takes 3 to 7 business days.

• Startups

  Up to 6 months of Business free for startups

  Startups under 100 employees that are not yet paying customers can apply for 1, 3 or 6 months of the Business plan free, depending on partner affiliation and company details.