Short answer: Basecamp is the better choice if you want one calm place for a team's projects, announcements, chat and client work, from a company that has run it for decades. Jinear is the better choice if you need to self-host, or if you want a task-first tool with a real calendar and no limit on projects. I build Jinear, so read this with that in mind.
The short version
Of all the tools on this list, Basecamp is the closest to Jinear in spirit. Both charge a flat price with unlimited users, and both try to stay simple. Basecamp has been doing this much longer.
Basecamp is organized around projects. Each project gets a set of tools: message board, to-dos, card table (kanban), schedule, docs and files, a Campfire chat, and automatic check-ins. It is cloud only and closed source. 37signals does release some of its other apps as self-hostable open source (Campfire, Writebook and Fizzy, which run on its ONCE server), but Basecamp is not one of them.
Jinear is organized around teams and tasks. It has tasks, boards, a calendar, notes and files. If you want a Basecamp alternative that you can self-host, it is one option: open source (AGPL-3.0), and you can run all of it on your own server.
| Jinear | Basecamp | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Hosted, or self-hosted with Docker Compose | Cloud only |
| Source code | Open source, AGPL-3.0 | Closed source |
| Pricing model | Flat, unlimited users | Flat, unlimited users, priced by number of active projects and storage |
| Free plan | Up to 3 people, no project limit | 1 project, 1 GB of storage |
| Paid plans | Team: $24.90/mo, no project limit | Freelancer $25/mo (3 projects, 5 GB), Studio $59/mo (10 projects, 25 GB), Pro $99/mo (25 projects, 100 GB), Unlimited $299/mo billed yearly (1 TB) |
| Tasks | Assignee, collaborators, subtasks, repeating reminders, custom statuses, file attachments, comments | To-do lists with assignees and due dates; card tables for kanban |
| Calendar | Built in, two-way Google Calendar sync, iCal feed | Schedule per project, with calendar feeds |
| Team communication | Task comments only | Message boards, Campfire chat, Pings, automatic check-ins |
| Client access | None | Built-in client access to projects |
| Docs and files | Notebooks with nested notes; folders with access control | Docs and files in each project |
| AI assistants | MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT | Official Claude and ChatGPT connectors with MCP, and CLI access |
| Mobile | Installable web app (PWA) | Native iOS, Android, Mac and Windows apps |
Where Basecamp is better
- Communication. Message boards, Campfire chat, Pings and automatic check-ins replace a lot of email and Slack. Jinear has task comments and nothing more. I removed chat from Jinear on purpose, so this gap will stay.
- Client work. Basecamp has client access built into each project. If you are an agency that shares progress with clients, Basecamp fits that job well.
- Maturity and trust. Basecamp is a stable, profitable company with about three decades in business, a support team, and native apps on every platform. Jinear has been in development since November 2022 and has one maintainer: fewer hands than a company, but you talk directly to the person who writes the code.
- Reports and progress. Basecamp has reports, check-ins and hill charts for seeing how work is going. Jinear has no reporting.
Where Jinear is better
- Self-hosting. Basecamp is cloud only. Jinear runs on your own server with every feature included, which matters if your data cannot leave your infrastructure.
- No project limit. Basecamp prices by active projects: 3 on Freelancer, 10 on Studio, 25 on Pro. Jinear's Team plan has no limit on teams, boards or tasks.
- Task depth. Subtasks, collaborators next to the assignee, repeating reminders and workflow statuses you define per team.
- One calendar for everything. Jinear's calendar shows all your tasks across teams, with filters, drag to reschedule, and two-way Google Calendar sync. Basecamp's schedules live inside each project.
What it costs
Both are flat, so team size does not change the price. What changes it is how much you use:
- Basecamp Freelancer: $25 a month, up to 3 active projects and 5 GB
- Basecamp Studio: $59 a month, up to 10 active projects and 25 GB
- Basecamp Pro: $99 a month, up to 25 active projects and 100 GB
- Jinear Team (billed monthly): $24.90 a month, no project limit
- Jinear self-hosted: $0, plus the cost of your server
Which one should you pick?
Pick Basecamp if your team needs to talk as much as it needs to track tasks, you work with clients, you want native apps, and you value a long track record.
Pick Jinear if you need to self-host, you run many projects at once, or you want deeper task management and one calendar across all your work.
There is no Basecamp importer in Jinear. If you move, you move your to-dos by hand or through an AI assistant connected over MCP.