Basecamp alternatives for client work: six options and where PLYNTUM fits

Basecamp charges per account, not per user. Freelancer costs $29 a month for up to 5 users and 3 active projects, Pro $79 for 10 users and 8 projects, and Pro Plus $99 for 15 users and 12 projects. Annual billing is listed only on Pro Unlimited: $199 a month billed annually, or $329 billed monthly, for unlimited users and projects. Basecamp Personal is free for one project and up to 3 people, and every paid package starts with a 30-day trial with no card (checked 25 October 2026). Teams that bill clients usually leave for one of these reasons.

• Time tracking starts on Pro Plus. Freelancer and Pro have none, and it cannot be added to them. Basecamp’s help describes entering hours by date and person and downloading the timesheet as CSV; it does not mention a timer, approval or billable rates.
• No invoices. Basecamp’s pricing and features pages list no invoices, budgets, rates or profit per project, so the hours go to another tool before anyone bills them.
• Clients count as users. Every person you add counts, clients and contractors included. If a team of 10 invites 6 client contacts, Pro Plus’s 15 users are no longer enough; the next step is Pro Unlimited.
• Active project limits. Below Pro Unlimited, 3, 8 or 12 projects can be active at once. Archived projects do not count, but an agency working for many clients at the same time can reach the limit.
• The language. Basecamp’s interface is in English only, though you can write in any language. PLYNTUM works in Georgian and English.

If your team mainly needs one place to discuss work with clients, and billing is handled elsewhere, Basecamp is probably still the right tool.

1. Must clients work inside the tool? In Basecamp, clients add messages, comments, to-dos and files in whatever you show them. Teamwork.com invites client users into projects from Basics, Productive invites clients to projects at no charge, ClickUp adds them as guests, and Bonsai has a client portal from Essentials. PLYNTUM’s client portal, from Core, is read-only.
2. Do you bill for time? Then the hours and the invoice should sit in one place. Teamwork.com Accelerate builds invoices from logged time; Productive, Paymo and Harvest have invoices on every plan, Bonsai from Essentials. ClickUp states no native client invoicing. PLYNTUM has invoices on every plan and drafts them from approved time from Core.
3. Does a manager approve the hours? Productive has time approvals from Professional, Paymo on Pro and PLYNTUM from Core; Teamwork.com, ClickUp and Harvest keep approval for higher plans. Basecamp’s help does not mention approval.
4. A flat price or per user? Basecamp charges per account and PLYNTUM per workspace, each with a user or member limit; the others charge per user, Productive with a 3-seat minimum and Teamwork.com Accelerate with 5. The table below does the arithmetic for 10 people.
5. Phone or browser? Basecamp has iOS, Android, Mac and Windows apps. PLYNTUM works in the mobile browser and has no native app.
6. What language does the team work in? Basecamp and Productive are in English only; check the others before you commit.

Prices in this text are the vendors’ own, in dollars as shown, excluding tax and on annual billing unless stated. Basecamp was checked on 25 October 2026 and the other tools on 24 October 2026. Nothing is ranked, and PLYNTUM, which we make, has its own section.

Teamwork.com

Teamwork.com is project software for client work, with time tracking and invoicing built in. The Free plan covers up to 5 users; Basics is $9.99 (3-user minimum) and Accelerate $24.99 (5-user minimum) per user a month billed yearly ($13.99 and $29.99 billed monthly), with a 14-day trial. Client users can be invited into projects from Basics. Time tracking is on every plan, timesheets start on Accelerate, and Accelerate builds client invoices from logged time; timesheet approval is on Optimize, priced on request (checked 24 October 2026).

Ten people on Accelerate cost $249.90 a month billed yearly, against $99 a month for Basecamp Pro Plus, with invoices included. PLYNTUM vs Teamwork.com · Teamwork.com alternatives

Best for: agencies that want client projects as in Basecamp, with time and invoices in the same tool.

ClickUp

ClickUp is one app for tasks, docs, goals and chat, for any kind of team. Its Free Forever plan has no limit on members. Core is $9 per user a month billed annually ($12 monthly) and includes time tracking; Business is $17 ($25 monthly) and adds timesheets. Timesheet approval is on Enterprise, priced on request; clients join as guests, and ClickUp states no native client invoicing (checked 24 October 2026).

Ten users cost $90 a month on Core or $170 on Business, billed annually. PLYNTUM vs ClickUp · ClickUp alternatives

Best for: teams that want many views and native time tracking at a low seat price, and invoice elsewhere.

Productive

Productive is agency software for resources, projects and finances, with deals and a sales pipeline on every plan. Essential is $10 and Professional $25 per user a month billed yearly ($12 and $29 monthly), with a 3-seat minimum and a 14-day trial; adding clients is free. Time tracking, budgets and invoices are on every plan; Professional adds billable time approvals, rate cards and client access to budgets. The interface is in English only (checked 24 October 2026).

Ten people on Professional cost $250 a month billed yearly. PLYNTUM vs Productive · Productive alternatives

Best for: agencies that want projects, budgets and invoices in one tool, with clients invited at no charge.

Paymo

Paymo is work management with time tracking and invoicing for small teams and freelancers. The free plan is for one user. Plus is $10.90 and Pro $16.90 per user a month billed annually; on monthly billing the same prices apply for the first three months under the current offer, then $15.90 and $23.90. Invoices are on every plan, recurring invoices and expenses from Plus, and timesheet approvals on Pro; the trial is 15 days (checked 24 October 2026).

Ten users on Plus cost $109 a month billed annually, or $159 at the standard monthly price. PLYNTUM vs Paymo

Best for: small teams that want tasks, time and invoices in one inexpensive app.

Bonsai

Bonsai is an all-in-one tool for small agencies and independents. Basic is $9, Essentials $19, Premium $29 and Elite $49 per user a month billed annually ($15, $25, $39 and $59 monthly); Elite needs at least 3 users, and the trial is 7 days. Basic includes time tracking, tasks and projects; Essentials adds invoices and online payments, proposals, contracts and a client portal; Premium adds timesheets, profit reports and QuickBooks and Xero integrations (checked 24 October 2026).

Ten people on Essentials cost $190 a month billed annually. PLYNTUM vs Bonsai · Bonsai alternatives

Best for: small teams that send proposals and contracts and want clients to pay online.

Harvest, next to Basecamp

Harvest is time tracking with invoicing, and Basecamp’s integrations page lists it for tracking time without leaving Basecamp. Teams starts at $9 and Enterprise at $14 per seat a month billed annually ($11 and $17.50 monthly); on both, extra invoices, projects, clients and tasks are billed by use at rates the pricing page does not show. The free plan covers one seat and two projects, and the trial is 30 days. Invoices are on every plan, with QuickBooks, Xero and Stripe integrations; timesheet approval is on Enterprise (checked 24 October 2026).

Basecamp Pro ($79) plus ten Harvest Teams seats ($90 billed annually) comes to $169 a month before usage fees, $70 more than Pro Plus with Basecamp’s own timesheet. PLYNTUM vs Harvest · Harvest alternatives

Best for: keeping Basecamp for projects and clients, and adding time and invoices next to it.

Ten users on the plan a client-service team would most likely compare, per month, tax excluded. It is arithmetic, not a quote: Basecamp prices the account and the others each user; usage fees are left out, and the plans differ in scope.

Basecamp Pro has the lowest price in this table, $79 a month, as long as your team and the clients you invite fit within 10 users and 8 active projects; Pro Plus costs $20 more and adds 5 users, 4 projects and the timesheet. Beyond 15 users, Pro Unlimited costs $2,388 a year billed annually, however many users you add.

PLYNTUM is business management software for agencies and service companies: projects and tasks, recorded time, invoices, expenses and receivables in one workspace, with CRM core on every plan. It is neither a message board nor a document editor.

• Projects and discussion. Tasks have an owner, a date, files and comments, and show as a list, a kanban board, a calendar, a week or a timeline; team chat is on every plan. Launch includes 20 projects and 10 active clients, Core 50 projects and 25 clients, and Scale has no limit. See work management in PLYNTUM.
• Hours. People record time with a timer or by hand on every plan. From Core, a manager approves each person’s week, which locks it, and billable rates and project profitability show what each client earns you. See time tracking in PLYNTUM.
• Money. Invoices in GEL, USD or EUR, expenses and receivables are on every plan, with recurring invoices from Core; your accountant gets CSV exports.
• Clients outside the member count. From Core, each client can get a private, read-only portal link to their projects, invoices, payments and balance. Clients open it without an account or password, so they do not become workspace members.
• Georgian and English on every plan.

Where it does not fit.

• Clients do not work inside it. The portal is read-only: clients cannot post messages, comment or upload files as they do in Basecamp, and they do not see tasks.
• Built around the work, not the conversation. Basecamp is built around message boards, chat and automatic check-ins. In PLYNTUM, discussion sits in task comments and team chat, and expanded chat and channels are still in development.
• No native apps. PLYNTUM works in the mobile browser; Basecamp has iOS, Android, Mac and Windows apps.
• Payments are recorded by hand. Clients cannot pay online through PLYNTUM, and invoices are drafted only from approved time, from Core. There is no QuickBooks or Xero integration today.
• No integrations and no Basecamp importer. PLYNTUM does not connect to other tools today, so it replaces Basecamp rather than syncing with it.
• It can cost more. For 10 people, Core is $120 a month billed annually, against $99 a month for Basecamp Pro Plus. For a large team, Basecamp Pro Unlimited has no user limit at $199 a month billed annually; PLYNTUM Scale is $360 a month billed annually for up to 25 members.

Core costs $150 a month for up to 10 members, or $120 a month billed annually. See PLYNTUM pricing.

• Clients work in the project with you. In Basecamp, clients add messages, comments, to-dos and files in what you show them, and the rest stays private. PLYNTUM’s portal only shows clients their projects, invoices and payments.
• You do not bill by the hour. If invoices are handled elsewhere and nobody needs timesheets, Basecamp Pro covers 10 users for $79 a month.
• Many people, one price. Pro Unlimited covers any number of users and projects for $199 a month billed annually.
• The team works from phones. Basecamp has native iOS and Android apps; PLYNTUM runs in the mobile browser.
• You only lack time and invoices. Keep Basecamp and add Harvest, which Basecamp lists among its integrations, or move up to Pro Plus for Basecamp’s own timesheet.

PLYNTUM has no Basecamp importer. A Basecamp account owner can download a full HTML copy of the account or of selected projects; PLYNTUM’s CSV import covers clients, employees and expenses, with a preview and an undo within 24 hours. Projects and open tasks are set up by hand, so move one client at a time.

1. Export first. Before you change anything, have an account owner download the projects you need; Basecamp advises letting the download finish before you cancel.
2. Bring in clients and people. Import clients and employees through the CSV import, then create each client’s active projects and open tasks.
3. Start with one client. Record time against that client’s tasks from day one and raise the next invoice in PLYNTUM. Keep the conversation with the client in Basecamp for now if you need to.
4. Send the portal link. On Core, the client checks project status and open invoices without an account.
5. Compare after a month: hours, invoice and margin for that client. Then decide on the rest.

Start on Launch’s 7-day trial, no card needed; timesheet approval, profitability, recurring invoices and the client portal need Core. For help planning the move, write to us.

Every price was checked on the vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown next to it. If something has changed, tell us at info@plyntum.com and we will correct it.

• Basecamp pricing (checked 25 October 2026)
• Teamwork.com pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• ClickUp pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Productive pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Paymo pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Bonsai pricing (checked 24 October 2026)
• Harvest pricing (checked 24 October 2026)

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