6 Best Basecamp Alternatives for Agencies & Creative Teams

Basecamp is a popular project management solution for smaller teams juggling simple projects with straightforward workflows. It centralizes everything teams need for day-to-day project work — including to-do lists, group chats, file sharing, calendars, and message boards — into one easy-to-use hub (aka a “basecamp”). It’s super intuitive, user-friendly, and affordable, and many teams find the transition to Basecamp smooth.

But the thing is: Basecamp keeps everything pretty basic — on purpose — so agencies tackling bigger, more complex projects often find it doesn’t wholly support their workflows. It lacks several advanced features found in more specialized project management tools, like true Gantt charts, Kanban boards (though it recently added a simple version), task dependencies, subtasks, resource management, project analytics, budget tracking, and workflow automation tools.

That’s why so many growing creative teams and agencies end up looking at alternatives like Workamajig, Ravetree, Productive, Teamwork, RoboHead, or Scoro — as these tools offer the whole gamut of features to manage all their projects’ moving parts.

Our guide reviews each of these popular Basecamp alternatives so you can compare solutions and find your best fit. We kick off with a walkthrough of our solution, Workamajig — an all-in-one agency management software designed specifically for creative workflows.

To learn more about Workamajig, keep reading reading or request a free demo.

1. Workamajig

All-in-one project, resource, and financial management hub for agencies

Workamajig is a top Basecamp alternative because it fills its feature gaps and provides a more robust solution to manage all aspects of agency operations — your projects, people, and finances — no matter your stage of growth or how far you scale.

Our solution expands on Basecamp’s basics with:

• Detailed project planning tools, including task dependencies, subtasks, start and due dates, and time allocations.

• Resource management and staff scheduling dashboards that show team members’ availability and workload, helping prevent overbooking and improve resource allocation.

• Budgeting and automated estimating tools to build project budgets (incorporating all project costs), calculate overhead and contingencies, and track profitability through the project lifecycle.

• Strong client and vendor management, including support for assigning work to contractors and generating purchase orders — a must-have for agencies outsourcing work and managing media buys. Unlike Basecamp, Workamajig allows adding unlimited external users (clients, vendors) at no extra cost, keeping everyone in the loop without additional fees.

• Advanced, customizable project monitoring dashboards (with Gantt charts and Kanban boards) to provide real-time visibility on project health — across your entire portfolio — and proactive risk alerts to keep projects on course.

Simply put, Workamajig operates at a completely different level than Basecamp. It’s what agencies graduate to when they’ve outgrown basic project management and need a platform that can handle their full operations.

And since our software supports all of your agency’s moving parts, we provide onboarding (100% free) to ensure you know how to leverage each module correctly.

You’re assigned a dedicated account manager at sign-up who works with you to understand your processes, configure Workamajig to best support your teams and projects, and show you the ropes. They’re your partner for everything Workamajig. They’re around to answer questions any time you need, and they can help you adjust settings and optimize Workamajig to support you as you scale.

In the following sections, we’ll review our platform’s core features so you can get a sneak peek at what’s under the hood. If you’d like a more thorough walkthrough after reading, please request a free demo here.

Project Management Module

Our project management module supports intake, planning, real-time project monitoring, and seamless team collaboration. Let’s take a look.

New Project Intake

In Basecamp, you have to add new projects and input all of their details manually. Workamajig provides three straightforward ways to automate intake:

• Convert earned opportunities (from Workamajig CRM, more on that later) to new projects — our system saves all details from sales conversations, so project managers can pick up where sales teams leave off.

• Design intake forms (for all of your most popular projects and services) and make them available in user portals so others can easily submit new requests. You can even set routing rules so requests reach the right people for approval.

• Kick off projects with templates — you can also create templates for your most commonly requested work. Predefine workflows, tasks, timelines, and resources so project managers can see the standard approach, make the adjustments they need, and get rolling.

Read more: Best Project Intake Software for Creatives & Marketers

Project Planning Tools

Workamajig provides powerful task management tools to modify or build new project plans. When creating new tasks, Workamajig lets you set:

• Start and end dates
• Time allocations
• Subtasks
• Dependencies
• Milestones
• Resource requirements

In addition to our task management module, Workamajig assists project planning with:

• Vendor management: You can pull in all vendor costs (freelance costs, printing expenses, media buys, specialty tools to complete projects, etc.) as you build project plans, so you can incorporate those in estimates and get an accurate picture of the whole project.

• Automated estimating: This tool automatically calculates costs as you build plans (create tasks, assign resources, factor in outside expenses) and incorporates overhead and contingencies, making it easy for managers to share accurate, profit-saving estimates with clients.

Read more: 5 Steps to Creative Project Planning

Project Monitoring

Now here is where Workamajig really shines in comparison to Basecamp — advanced, customizable project monitoring that actually tells you when projects are at risk of delays, budget overruns, or otherwise going off schedule. Check it out below:

On the right-hand side, you see Gantt charts showing the status of all active projects. You can also color-code projects and phases within Gantt charts to easily visualize progress at a glance.

On the left, you see detailed status breakdowns and health monitors that show how much time you’ve spent on projects, the % complete, and whether projects are within planned budgets and timelines. We also provide clear icons here to show if projects are on course (green), at risk of overruns (yellow), or already exceeded budgets or timelines (red).

You can change up this dashboard to suit your preferences and projects: choose your preferred methodology and project view (Agile, Waterfall, or hybrid methods), and filter projects using a variety of preset and custom fields.

Workamajig’s risk alerts and visually friendly monitoring dashboard are key to managing more successful, profitable projects — nothing slips through the cracks, and managers can spot and address issues before they snowball into real problems.

Even more convenient? You can provide access to check project status and more for both internal and external users — your teams can see the projects they’re involved in and where they stand, and external users can view the progress of requested work, all without back-and-forth messages to project managers.

Team Collaboration

A lot of teams like Basecamp for its simple collaboration tools, but Workamajig isn’t missing any marks here.

Our platform rivals basic task lists with comprehensive role-based Today dashboards for every user — managers, accountants, designers, and all project team members. These dashboards outline exactly what to work on each day, also showing what’s ahead for the rest of the week.

For example, project managers' dashboards may include requests to review, invoices to approve, and project activities that require attention.

While a project team member, like a copywriter, developer, or designer, may see tasks to work on:

Then, Workamajig includes all of the expected tools (and more) so all project stakeholders — internal and external — can work together to complete tasks and keep projects moving. These include:

• Commenting
• File sharing
• Internal proofing
• Side-by-side file comparisons
• Version History
• Change management
• Feedback controls — where managers can restrict the number of feedback rounds to keep revisions focused, avoiding endless loops and scope creep

When inviting outside users to collaborate on projects, managers can set roles and permissions to control precisely what they can see and do, so you don’t have clients or contractors going rogue.

Resource Management Module

Workamajig’s resource management module provides clear, simple ways to keep track of staff schedules and optimize utilization.

Staff Scheduling Dashboard

For starters, our advanced staff scheduling dashboard gives you a bird’s-eye view of all team members’ schedules, providing a breakdown of:

• Staff members
• Total scheduled hours
• Percentage of time utilized
• Total remaining hours left to schedule
• Unassigned services — so you can catch anything leftover and make sure it’s covered
  
  

This makes it easy to visualize everybody’s workload, modify assignments to balance hours across available team members, and ensure you’re utilizing talent in the best way.

Project team members can also assist managers here by connecting their calendars to share when they’re out of office or unavailable; this prevents managers from accidentally assigning staff members to work during those periods. This keeps staff happy and prevents unintentional project delays.

Time Tracking

Next, Workamajig’s native time tracking lets managers see actual hours clocked and where employees spent their time.

We provide simple time tracking tools (timers, manual time inputs) on task cards so users can add time as they move between tasks, and hours are tied to actual tasks and project activities. Users can also add time from calendar events, like meetings, to ensure all project-related hours are clocked in Workamajig.

In addition, Workamajig provides advanced timesheets where managers can review, approve, edit, and contextualize employees’ tracked hours. Timesheets act as the final check before time is billed or reported, and you can set them up so that only certain people — or only specific projects — are allowed to have time charged to them. This means managers can control who can log hours on what, depending on the way each project is set up.

Productivity Reports

Then, to round out our resource management module, we provide comprehensive productivity reports where managers can analyze time spent over a variety of categories (by project, client, department, time period, and more), compare utilization vs. realization, and easily identify the projects, services, or clients that require the most resources.

Read more: 10 Steps to Optimize Resources in Agency Project Management

Workamajig Accounting & Financial Management Module

We've covered how Workamajig builds on what Basecamp offers, but here's where we truly differentiate ourselves: our comprehensive accounting system and financial management tools are unmatched in the project management space.

Workamajig Accounting Software

Workamajig includes full GL accounting software (to replace Xero, QuickBooks, or any other external accounting tool) so you can manage finances in the same system you manage projects and resources.

This inclusion is critical for agencies and creative teams because their projects and people are their most significant cost center — agencies must track all project and labor costs in real-time, as projects progress, to safeguard profits and improve accuracy in financial reporting.

Our accounting system supports all standard processes and is GAAP, GDPR, and HMRC compliant — but we’ve optimized our system specifically for creative projects and workflows, with specialized features like work in progress (WIP) billing and retainer management not available in generic accounting tools.

In addition, our accounting system includes:

• Chart of Accounts
• Credit card connectors to integrate spending accounts
• Automated invoicing
• Receipt management
• Expense reporting
• Reimbursement management
• Integrations with online payment solutions, like AvidXchange, Edenred Pay, and PayFlowPro / Authorize.net, to facilitate payment processing

Read more: 5 Best Media Accounting Software

Financial Reporting Dashboard

Speaking of improving accuracy in financial reporting, our system also covers you there. Workamajig includes a variety of preset reports — plus custom reporting tools — to analyze profitability and financial health in various ways.

Some of our most popular reports include:

• Profit & loss reports (across multiple categories — by project, campaign, client, etc.)
• General Ledger (GL) reports
• Cash projections
• Revenue forecasting
• Project budget drill-downs
• Billable summary reports
• Hourly realization rates
• Key metrics monitors
  
  

You can configure reports with filters and custom fields to hone in on the data most relevant to your projects and initiatives.

You can also “Star” your favorite reports to create a personalized dashboard and easily navigate to the data you’re interested in:

Read more: Best Creative Project Management Tools with Financial Tracking

Workamajig CRM & Client Management Tools

In addition to a complete accounting system, Workamajig also packs in a native CRM to manage your sales pipeline and new client intake.

Here’s how it works:

• Connect your site's contact form directly, or integrate your existing CRM via Zapier to pull in qualified leads.

• New leads automatically populate in the Leads dashboard, where sales teams can vet them further.

• After qualification, sales teams can convert leads to new opportunities — these appear in the Opportunities dashboard (our system also saves client and company details in your contact books).

• The Opportunities dashboard has customizable Kanban boards to drag and drop opportunities through each stage. You can configure this dashboard to match your typical sales process and workflows, as in our preview below.
• After you win opportunities, you can convert them to new projects so they automatically appear in your Projects dashboard. Our system transfers all details and attachments from sales conversations, so project managers have the full context to plan work.
  
  

We also provide a variety of sales reports so you can compare earned vs. lost leads, measure your close rates, see how individual reps perform, and review performance over various time frames. These reports come out of the box ready, but you can also create and save custom reports.

Read more: Best Agency CRM Software: Reviews & How to Choose

Workamajig Integrations

Workamajig integrates with email and calendar accounts to share details about project-related conversations or meetings between systems. In addition, Workamajig integrates with:

• Media buying software, like Strata/Freewheel, GaleForce Media, Mediaocean, and Bionic.
• File storage systems, like Box.com and Amazon S3 File Server.
• Reporting tools, like Excel Financials, Google Financials, and Google Sheets.

Packages & Pricing

We provide tailored solutions for both agencies and in-house creative teams. Choose the package that suits your teams and select your plan by team size.

Pricing is per user, as shown here:

We also provide custom enterprise packages to support even the largest organizations. Please contact us to learn more about packages with 100+ users.

Your Workamajig subscription includes:

• Full platform access
• Free onboarding and training
• A dedicated account manager and ongoing support — so Workamajig always works for you

Want to see more? Request a free demo to explore Workamajig further.

Below, we cover alternative project management tools for users moving away from Basecamp. While all of these solutions are more comprehensive than Basecamp, none check all of the boxes Workamajig does. For example, while all of these tools offer more advanced budgeting than Basecamp, none of them offer full-fledged accounting software like Workamajig.

2. Ravetree

Ravetree is a comprehensive project management platform built for teams and agencies, offering an advanced toolset to manage workflows, resources, finances, and client collaboration in a unified solution.

Users moving away from Basecamp like Ravetree for its:

• Robust project management features that support several project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, Kanban, Scrum), customizable Gantt charts, repeating tasks, and dependency management.

• Strong budget management tools and financial reporting, with reviewers highlighting the ability to set budgets for each project phase and roll them up to the project level, measure profitability at different levels, compare actuals vs. estimated, and accurately forecast future revenue.

• Flexible automation and customization options to define project workflows, add multi-step approvals, and automatically assign new tasks to the right team members.

Users say Ravetree is not as user-friendly and intuitive as Basecamp, but that Ravetree offers exceptional customer support to help you get onboarded without hurdles.

Find more Ravetree reviews here.

Features

• Project management module — including customizable request forms, templates, project calendars, advanced task management (with subtasks and dependencies), daily checklists, budget tracking, and portfolio management
• Resource planning and utilization tracking
• Time tracking
• Collaboration features — file sharing, document management, approvals, versioning, and Teams (where you can organize employees into groups and create custom workflows and Kanban boards, then plan sprints)
• Financial management tools like expense tracking
• Advanced billing tools — estimating, invoicing, vendor invoice management, and retainer management
• CRM
• Client portals
• Integrations with Google, Outlook, and QuickBooks

Pricing

Ravetree’s pricing is super straightforward. Instead of divvying features across packages, they include everything in one plan and let you choose how you want to pay:

• Monthly for $39/user/month
• Quarterly for $34/user/month
• Yearly for $29/user/month

Ravetree offers free onboarding, training, and support, and the platform supports unlimited projects.

3. Productive

Productive is another popular option for teams moving away from Basecamp because it offers an all-in-one platform with tools to support the entire agency workflow — from sales and client intake, to resource planning, project monitoring, time tracking, budgeting, and invoicing.

Users appreciate Productive for its:

• Comprehensive financial management tools, including real-time budget tracking, phase-based costing, and profitability analysis.

• Advanced resource planning that accounts for capacity, availability, and utilization to help teams improve scheduling, balance workloads, and optimize usage.

• Sales CRM that seamlessly converts earned deals into projects and keeps track of all client communications.

The potential downfall with Productive is poor usability. While the platform has a modern look and feel, users say it takes a while to learn the features and get comfortable with the software. Then, even after you’re trained, you’re still hit with occasional bugs and software hiccups that can disrupt project workflows and lead to delays.

Read more Productive reviews here.

Features

• Project intake and sales CRM
• Project management
• Resource management
• Time tracking and timesheets
• Documents (to create shared docs and enable team collaboration)
• Financial management
• Billing and invoicing
• Budget and expense management
• Real-time profitability tracking
• Reporting
• Integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, SAP, Justworks, ADP, Slack, HubSpot, Google, Microsoft, and Jira
• Open API
• Mobile app (for iOS & Android)

Pricing

Productive offers three packages and custom enterprise plans:

• Essential ($11/month/user): This provides access to basic versions of Productive’s core features.

• Professional ($28/month/user): The upgraded package provides access to more advanced versions of Productive’s core tools.

• Ultimate (request a quote): This grants access to all of Productive’s features and integrations.

Productive isn’t super clear on how these features differ from plan to plan, so if you’re interested in Productive’s platform, we suggest contacting the team for more information before choosing a package.

Read more: 8 Best Productive Alternatives for Agencies

4. Scoro

Scoro is another strong work management tool for teams wanting more than what Basecamp offers. It combines project management, resource scheduling, budgeting, and billing under one roof to unify and streamline agency workflows.

Users like Scoro for its robust project planning features, such as Gantt charts and task dependencies, and resource management tools that help teams balance workloads and track availability. Reviewers also mention Scoro’s advanced financial management functionalities, including budget monitoring and automated invoicing. And, unlike Basecamp, Scoro also includes powerful reporting dashboards to learn more about project outcomes, resource utilization, and profitability.

While Scoro offers plenty of benefits for users leaving Basecamp, teams often have a few hang-ups when comparing Scoro to other alternatives.

For one, it’s one of the most expensive agency management tools available — but it’s not as comprehensive as competitors like Workamajig (lacking certain critical features like project intake management), so it doesn’t offer the best value for money.

Some users also find its learning curve steep; agency-wide onboarding, especially with remote teams, can be challenging.

Find more Scoro reviews here.

Features

• Project management
• Resource planning
• Time tracking
• Collaboration tools
• Quoting & budgeting tools
• Invoicing
• Cost management
• Retainers
• Sales CRM
• Reporting

Pricing

Scoro offers three packages and custom enterprise solutions:

• Essential ($28/user/month): We don’t recommend this package because it lacks too many must-haves (like templates).

• Standard ($42/user/month): This plan still lacks in some areas (no timesheets, profitability forecasting, team performance metrics, etc.).

• Pro ($71/user/month): This is the only Scoro package we’d suggest — it’s also Scoro’s recommended plan. The top-tier plan provides enough tools to support all business areas, including project management, staff scheduling, time tracking, budget monitoring, and reporting.

Read more: Best Scoro Alternatives for Agencies

5. Teamwork

Now, Teamwork — and RoboHead below — are less comprehensive than the solutions above because they don’t include a CRM or tools to support sales and client intake processes. They may not be the best options for agency users, but they offer significant benefits for in-house teams leaving Basecamp.

Teamwork often appeals to creative teams seeking a Basecamp alternative because it offers advanced task management features like subtasks, dependencies, and Gantt charts to help keep more complex projects on track. It also has built-in time tracking and in-depth resource management tools so teams can improve resource allocations and optimize workloads when building (and adjusting) project plans.

In-house teams also like it for its:

• Workflow automation to reduce repetitive tasks and keep projects moving.
• Collaboration tools — with a simple chat feature, file sharing, and (free) client access.
• Extensive integrations to connect with the tools you use in day-to-day operations (like a CRM) and synchronize your tech stack.

However, as mentioned with Scoro above, Teamwork falls on the pricier side and can become quite expensive as you upgrade plans and add new users (so it might be better for small businesses vs. larger teams). Reviewers also note that it's not the most user-friendly, saying the interface can feel cluttered, and performance issues like slow load times can cause headaches.

Check out more Teamwork reviews here.

Features

• Project intake forms and project planning
• Project management
• Project monitoring
• Resource and workload management
• Time tracking
• Internal proofing and collaborative tools
• Workflow automation tools
• Client management
• Expense management
• Budget tracking
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Integrations and API
• Mobile apps (for iOS & Android)

Pricing

Teamwork offers a free trial, three packages, and custom solutions for enterprises.

• Deliver ($13.99/user/month, three-user minimum): We suggest skipping this plan as it’s too basic to support successful projects.

• Grow ($25.99/user/month, five-user minimum): This includes a few extra tools — like advanced budgeting, workload management, and custom reporting — though it is still lacking in many agency essentials.

• Scale ($69.99/user/month, five-user minimum): This is Teamwork’s recommended plan as it provides complete platform and feature access.

6. RoboHead

The last recommendation on our list, RoboHead, offers a nice upgrade from Basecamp as a feature-rich project management software.

RoboHead’s toolkit supports the complete project lifecycle with customizable intake forms, project planning tools like templates, task and dependency management, and team collaboration (for internal and external users). Reviewers also like its:

• Robust resource management to monitor schedules, forecast workloads, and improve utilization.

• Adobe XD plugin to streamline creative approvals — this unique integration makes RoboHead a valuable choice for designers and marketers.

• Workflow automation tools to create custom triggers and actions within projects — such as updating project statuses or tagging others in for feedback — to reduce manual coordination.

• Native reporting to dig into project and financial performance.

• Flexible integrations to connect with everyday tools.

However, RoboHead lacks strong financial management tools, reporting can be limited or difficult to learn, and onboarding can be difficult, as users say setting up integrations and learning RoboHead’s ropes presents an initial challenge.

Find more RoboHead reviews here.

Features

• Project request forms
• Project planning with templates
• Task management
• Project management & monitoring
• Team management with staff scheduling
• Time tracking
• Collaborative tools to support feedback discussions & revisioning
• Portfolio management
• Workflow automation tools
• Financial reports
• Integrations
• Adobe XD plugin

Pricing

RoboHead offers custom quotes per customer.

Read more: Best RoboHead Alternatives for Creatives & Marketers

Additional Basecamp Alternatives for Your Consideration

The above names are all of the most recommended options for agencies and creative teams because they include strong project, resource, and financial management tools that these users need to power their work.

However, you’ll also often see names like ClickUp, Monday.com, Asana, Jira, Trello, and SmartTask when comparing the best Basecamp alternatives because they’re all popular project management tools that serve a variety of industries and users.

We typically suggest agencies and creatives avoid these names as they lack the critical tools required for more advanced project and operational workflows. That said, if you’re interested in comparing more options, you can read about these names in our 10 Top-Rated Project Management Tools guide.

Getting Started with Workamajig

For agencies ready to upgrade from basic project management to complete operational oversight, Workamajig has got your back with an all-in-one work management system to support all of your agency’s moving pieces. See it for yourself by requesting a free demo.

Related reads:

• 10 Best Project Management Tools for Creative Agencies
• Best Enterprise Project Management (EPM) System
• Best Work Management Software for Agencies & Creative Teams

Originally published September 9, 2025.