Basecamp vs Rock

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

Rock

• Agencies and freelancers who bring clients into project spaces as guests
• Growing teams that want a flat bill instead of per-seat pricing
• Small teams replacing a separate chat app and task board

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.

Rock

• The Free plan stops at 3 group spaces, 5 members per space, and 50 tasks and 50 notes per space.
• Video and audio calls run through Zoom, Google Meet or Jitsi; Rock does not host calls itself.
• Sprints, recurring tasks, custom fields, time tracking, webhooks and Zapier are limited to the Unlimited plan.
• Rock does not offer refunds; a canceled plan stays active until the end of the billing period.

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.

Rock

Spaces for each project or client

A space is a project room with its own chat, tasks, notes, files and meetings. 1:1 spaces are unlimited on both plans; the Free plan allows 3 group spaces.

Messaging

Real-time chat in every space with threads, reactions, mentions, voice messages and polls. Scheduled messages and the pinboard are part of the Unlimited plan.

Tasks in board, list and calendar views

Tasks take assignees, due dates, labels and checklists. Sprints, recurring tasks, custom fields and the time tracker need the Unlimited plan.

Notes and files

Write briefs and meeting notes inside a space, and keep uploads next to linked folders from Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive. Free spaces hold 250 MB of uploads each.

Meetings through Zoom, Meet and Jitsi

Start a Zoom, Google Meet or Jitsi call from the message bar and the join link is posted to the space. All three integrations are included on the Free plan.

Rock MCP and custom API

An MCP server lets assistants such as Claude, Codex and Cursor read spaces and create tasks, notes and messages on both plans. The custom API, webhooks and Zapier need Unlimited.

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.

Rock

• Free$0

  Unlimited 1:1 spaces and messages, 3 group spaces, 5 members per space, 50 tasks and 50 notes per space, and 250 MB of storage per space.

• Unlimited$74.92

  per month flat, billed yearly at $899 ($89 billed monthly)

  One price for any number of users: unlimited group spaces, tasks, notes and storage, 500 members per space, 50 workspaces, sprints, time tracker and Zapier.

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.

Rock

• Annual discount

  Save 16% with yearly billing

  Unlimited is $899 billed yearly instead of $89 a month, which the pricing page puts at a 16% saving, or $169 a year.

• Education

  Discounts for students and educators

  Rock's pricing FAQ says it offers discounts to students and educators on request. The amount and the requirements are not published.

• Nonprofit

  Discounts for nonprofits

  The same pricing FAQ extends the discount program to nonprofits, on request by contacting Rock. The amount is not published.