Both project management websites offer similar options. Both have to-do lists (called task lists in Central Desktop) and Milestones. Both allow you to associate to-do items with Milestones. Both allow you to add due dates, reminders and assign members to Tasks and Milestones. Both allow you to use old Task Lists to populate new ones to save time. Both allow you to give different members different permissions. Both have search boxes and well-organized tab navigation. Both allow customization of the look and feel, including your company logo. Both project management software packages allow you to reply to discussion topics directly from your personal email account without logging into the system. Both of them have dashboard overview pages on log-in. Both allow multiple projects to be added to one account. Both project sharing systems allow members to subscribe to the project feed using RSS feed readers. Both have collaborative options (Whiteboards in Basecamp Vs Wikis in Central Desktop) and file sharing with simultaneous editing capabilities. Both offer 256bit encryption SLL security options for sensitive data.

That takes care of most of the things these two web-based project management software options. But what about the differences? First, let's look at price.

FREE VERSIONS: CentralDesktop has a free version (not a free trial, but an actual free version) and does not require your credit card number to use it. Basecamp has a free trial, but it only lasts 30 days, and they require your credit card information on signup for the trial. It is up to YOU to cancel the account before they charge your card. Basecamp also offers a free version, but you only get one project and no filesharing (you have to search for this option. It's a tiny text link on their pricing page). CentralDesktop's free version comes with two workspaces (multiple projects can exist in one Workspace) and it includes filesharing.

PAID VERSIONS: Although both project management and collaboration systems have several paid pricing options, we're going to look at the similar sized options for a medium-sized business, both priced at $99 per month. For this price you get the following on Basecamp: 100 projects, 30GB storage, unlimited users, time tracking and enhanced security (SSL). For the same price of $99 you get the following with Central Desktop: 25 Workspaces (called projects in BC, but you can have multiple projects in a workspace), 25 admins and 10 additional workspace members per workspace (absolute total of 275 users), 5GB storage, time tracking, audio conferencing, webinars, and enhanced security (SSL).

As you can see it's a tough choice. Both are excellent product management tools with outstanding reputations. Here's what I would advise: Try the free versions (not a free trial, but a free version) of each, but don't give either one your credit card information. See what you like best. If you want my opinion as someone who has used both, I'd have to go with Central Desktop. Out of the box it has more features, whereas Basecamp requires you to purchase their ad-ons (Highrise, Backpack, Campfire) to get some of these. The one that bothers me most is Campfire. By the time you buy Basecamp and Campfire (for screensharing, webinars, etc...) you end up paying significantly more than with CentralDesktop. However, if you have a lot of bif files to send back and forth that you want to keep online, Basecamp is the clear winner with six times as much storage for $99. I don't personally need that much online storage, but everyone's business requirements are different.