Basecamp pricing in 2026: five fixed tiers, two caps and no per-user fee

Basecamp plans and prices as of October 2026

Each paid plan comes with a 30-day free trial, and Basecamp says no credit card is needed for the trial or the Free plan. Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits get 10% off, and K-12 schools, homeschoolers and universities get free accounts for class work.

The feature lists climb with the tiers. Pro adds multiple tools per project and templates. Pro Plus adds enhanced admin features. Pro Unlimited adds unlimited tools per project, priority support around the clock and personalised onboarding. The page lists AI agent access and ChatGPT and Claude connectors across its plans. One caution: the Freelancer description says templates, multiple tools per project and time tracking are not included, while the feature list beside it shows them. Ask Basecamp before you rely on those three on Freelancer.

What changed: from per-user Plus to fixed tiers

Until mid-2026, third-party pricing trackers recorded a different lineup: a free plan, Basecamp Plus at $15 per user per month, and Pro Unlimited at $299 a month billed yearly, with 5 TB of storage. One tracker, PricingSaaS, logged the switch to five fixed-price tiers in the week of 17 to 24 August 2026, along with the cut in Pro Unlimited's storage from 5 TB to 1 TB.

Three things to know about that history:

• We could not find a Basecamp or 37signals announcement with the date, so the August date comes from a tracker, not the vendor.
• The per-user Plus plan does not appear on the pricing page today. Every paid tier now says "no per-user fees".
• Other guides show other names. One October 2026 guide lists Freelancer at $25, a "Studio" tier at $59, Pro at $99 and Unlimited at $299. That is not what basecamp.com/pricing showed us on 27 October 2026, and the page does not name a Studio tier. Basecamp may test prices or vary them by market, so check the page from where you will buy.

If you are an existing customer on the old Plus plan, the pricing page says nothing about what happens to legacy plans. Check your billing settings or ask Basecamp support before you change anything.

Two caps, not one: active projects and people

Basecamp's tiers below Pro Unlimited limit two things at once, and the one you hit first decides your plan.

• People. Every person you add counts, including clients, contractors and guests. Basecamp's FAQ is direct about it: "every person you add is counted", except on Pro Unlimited.
• Active projects. Only active projects count. Basecamp says archived or deleted projects do not count against the total, so finishing and archiving work frees a slot.

Some examples of how that plays out:

The second row is the trap. A small team that runs more than three things at once skips Freelancer entirely, because the project cap bites before the people cap. The fourth row is the other trap: clients count as people, so an agency that invites clients to their projects fills its seats faster than its headcount suggests.

You cannot downgrade from a paid plan to Free. Basecamp's FAQ says you would need a new free account. Downgrading between paid plans is allowed as long as your usage fits the lower tier.

Cost per person at each tier

Spread across a full plan, Basecamp is cheap per person:

The figures only hold at the cap. A team of 6 on Pro pays $13.17 per person, and a team of 11 on Pro Plus pays $9. This is the general shape of flat and bundled pricing: the cost of one more person is zero until a step, and then the step is large. Our glossary entry on flat vs per-seat pricing works through the trade-off.

How to pick a Basecamp tier

1. Count everyone who will log in this year, including clients and contractors you invite.
2. Count the projects you run at the same time at your busiest point, not on average. Archived projects do not count.
3. Take the smallest tier that fits both numbers. If people put you on one tier and projects on another, the higher tier wins.
4. If you land on Pro Plus and expect to grow past 15 people within the year, price Pro Unlimited at the yearly rate ($199) instead of the monthly one ($329). Monthly billing on Pro Unlimited costs 65% more.
5. Add the tools Basecamp does not replace for you. Basecamp has message boards, to-dos, schedules, docs and files, and its Campfire chat; it does not have a CRM, a careers page or an applicant pipeline.

Basecamp vs Atrix pricing, frankly

We make Atrix AI, so here is the comparison with our own product, done as plainly as we can. Atrix sells bundled seats rather than project caps: Builder is $39 a month for 5 seats and 100 AI runs, and Studio is $149 a month for 15 seats and 500 runs, with unlimited projects on both and 20% off yearly ($374 and $1,430). There is no free plan, and the 7-day trial needs a card.

Where Basecamp is cheaper: small teams with few projects, and any team from 6 to 15 people whose project count fits Pro or Pro Plus. For a 10-person team that only needs projects, to-dos and messages, Basecamp Pro at $79 is the better buy, full stop. Basecamp is also the only one of the two with a free plan and a no-card trial, and Pro Unlimited is the better deal past 15 people. Atrix has no standard plan above 15 seats; only founding teams that subscribe before 31 December 2026 keep unlimited seats.

Where Atrix is cheaper: a small team that runs many projects at once, because there is no project cap, and 15 people with more than 12 live projects. It also covers more in the same bill: a CRM with a deal pipeline, hiring with a careers page, a calendar with booking links, docs with databases, and an AI agent with runs included. Whether that matters depends on what else you pay for today.

The Basecamp comparison goes feature by feature, and Basecamp alternatives covers other tools at this price. If you are deciding between Basecamp and a docs-first tool, Notion vs Basecamp covers that pairing.

Who Basecamp's 2026 pricing suits

• Freelancers and two- or three-person studios with a handful of live projects. Freelancer at $29 is hard to beat.
• Teams of 6 to 15 that run steady, long projects rather than many short ones. Pro and Pro Plus are cheaper per person than most per-seat tools.
• Companies past 15 people that want predictable costs. Pro Unlimited at $199 a month billed yearly does not change when you hire.

It suits less well an agency that invites many clients (every client is a person), a small team that juggles more than three active projects, and anyone who wants their sales pipeline and hiring in the same tool.

FAQ

How much does Basecamp cost in 2026?

As of October 2026, Basecamp's pricing page lists Free, Freelancer at $29 a month, Pro at $79, Pro Plus at $99, and Pro Unlimited at $199 a month billed yearly or $329 monthly. There are no per-user fees on any of them.

Did Basecamp stop charging per user?

Yes, on the current pricing page. Every paid tier says "no per-user fees". Third-party trackers recorded a $15 per user Plus plan until mid-2026; that plan no longer appears on basecamp.com/pricing.

Do clients count as users in Basecamp?

Yes. Basecamp's FAQ says every person you add is counted, including clients, contractors and guests, except on Pro Unlimited, which has no user cap.

Do archived projects count toward Basecamp's project limit?

No. Only active projects count. Archived or deleted projects do not count against your plan's total.

Is there a free version of Basecamp?

Yes. The Free plan allows one active project, 3 users and 1 GB of storage. You can delete the project to start another one, but you cannot hold more than one at a time.

Next step

Price your own team on both models: see Atrix pricing, then check the same team size on Basecamp's page.