A Basecamp alternative for small studios
Basecamp is project management for teams that want fewer meetings and less noise. OIO is project management for small studios: projects, tasks, files, freelancers and the client in one place, with the quote and the invoice on the same project. If you run a studio of two to fifteen people and the money side lives in a separate app today, this is the comparison.
What Basecamp is good at
Basecamp, from 37signals, is one of the calmest project tools there is. Each project has a message board, to-dos, a schedule, docs and files, a card table for kanban-style tracking, and Campfire chat with Pings for direct messages. Time tracking is on every plan. Its plans are priced by the number of active projects, with no per-user fees, so adding people does not raise the bill, and the free plan covers one project.
Where it gets heavy for a small studio
- It does not invoice. Basecamp's pricing page lists no quotes or invoices, so what a job is worth and what the client has paid live in another tool.
- It starts at the project. Its pricing page lists no lead forms, proposals or e-signatures, so the enquiry, the quote and the signed agreement happen somewhere else.
- The plans step by active projects: three on Freelancer, ten on Studio, twenty-five on Pro, per its pricing page. A studio running many small jobs at once climbs those steps quickly.
What OIO does instead
OIO is project management for small studios. Each client job gets one project page with its tickets on a kanban or a timeline, the deadline, files, a whiteboard and team chat, and on paid plans recorded calls with transcripts. The budget, the hours and what has been paid sit on the same page.
A freelancer gets a link to a ticket. In a browser they read the brief and the feedback, upload the work and mark it done, with no account and no seat. The client gets a status link that shows where the project stands.
The quote and the invoice come from the same project, in any currency. Studio is $69 a month for five seats, and people who only view use no seat. The free plan covers 3 projects, no card.
More on how a studio runs on it: project management for studios with remote freelancers.
When Basecamp is the better fit
- If you want to add people without the price changing, Basecamp is the better fit: its plans have no per-user fees. OIO's Studio plan includes a set number of seats.
- If your team works mostly in long written posts on a message board, Basecamp is the better fit.
- If you track hours on the project and send invoices from your accounting tool anyway, Basecamp is the better fit. OIO has no time tracker.
Feature by feature
| What you actually need | OIO | Basecamp |
|---|---|---|
| A kanban board in the project | ||
| Team chat in the project | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Quotes and invoices on the project | ||
| No per-user fees | ||
| A free plan |
Has it Partly, or a paid add-on Does not
Basecamp's column was checked against basecamp.com/pricing on 17 October 2026. OIO's paid plans include a set number of seats; people who only view, and freelancers on a ticket link, use none. Prices are left out on purpose because they change. Sources: Basecamp pricing.
Questions
Is OIO a good Basecamp alternative?
For a small studio that wants the quote, the invoice and the freelancers on the same project as the work, yes. If you want a flat price with no per-user fees, a message board at the centre, or a built-in time tracker, Basecamp does that and OIO does not.
Does Basecamp do invoicing?
Not according to its pricing page. Basecamp runs the project and the conversation, and invoices happen in a separate tool. OIO issues quotes and invoices in any currency from the same project, and shows what is outstanding and what is paid.
Can freelancers work in OIO without a seat?
Yes. You send them a ticket link. They read the brief and the feedback, upload the work and mark it done in a browser, with no account. If they want to keep a history of their work, they can create a free account later.
Further reading
- Client onboarding checklist
- How to write a project kickoff email
- Project management for branding studios
Try it against your own work
Free plan, no card. Set up in under a minute, and you can keep using Basecamp alongside it while you decide.
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