Beacon vs Basecamp
Basecamp is calm, opinionated, and refreshingly simple, and it is flat-priced, which we admire. What it deliberately leaves out is the money workflow. No estimates, no time tracking, no payouts. Beacon shares the opinionated simplicity and runs the billing side too.
Project management that runs the whole job. Plan, estimate, track time, watch the budget, and pay the team, built for agencies and dev shops that bill for their work.
Best for teams that want to communicate and organize without a lot of process. Flat pricing, a calm interface, and a deliberately small feature set.
Feature by feature
The short version. Both handle tasks and projects. Beacon adds the money side that Basecamp leaves out.
| Feature | Beacon | Basecamp |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks, boards & projects | ||
| Per-developer estimations with approvals | – | |
| Built-in time tracking | – | |
| Budget tracked against logged hours | – | |
| Developer payouts & contractor settlement | – | |
| Estimate & payment approvals | – | |
| Client directory | – | |
| Per-client data isolation | – | |
| Roles & permissions | Basic | |
| Activity & audit log | – | |
| Integrations & marketplace | Growing | Some |
Why teams switch from Basecamp to Beacon
Keep the calm, add the money loop
Basecamp keeps things simple by leaving billing out entirely. Beacon stays simple while covering estimates, time, budgets, and payouts.
Track hours where the work lives
Basecamp has no time tracking. Beacon has a native timer tied to tasks and estimates, so hours never live in a separate app.
Get the estimate approved, then get paid
Beacon adds a real estimate approval flow and contractor payouts that Basecamp does not attempt.
Still opinionated, on purpose
Like Basecamp, Beacon does a defined job rather than everything. The job just happens to include the money.
In fairness, where Basecamp shines
Basecamp's whole philosophy is doing less, on purpose, and its flat price and calm approach are great for teams that mostly need to communicate and organize. If you do not bill for time or pay contractors, Basecamp's restraint is a genuine feature, not a gap.
See the whole loop for yourself
Start free, invite a couple of people, and run one project from estimate to payout.