Basecamp might be the most commonly used platform for project management. However, since its inception, many other solutions have been created offering almost all the features available on Basecamp at a very low price or free at all in both hosted or self-hosted versions. From Gantt charts to iPhone apps to track your projects, these project managers have it all.
Active Collab
http://www.activecollab.com/
This project manager might be one of closest to Basecamp in terms of features. Once born as an open source clone of Basecamp, Active Collab is now developed under a close source model. AC offers 7 days of free trial extensible to 30 for $10. Active Collab is self hosted software and version 2 now features invoicing and Subversion integration.
Project Pier
http://www.projectpier.org/
Many developers were dissapointed when Active Collab went closed source, but a group forked the last open source of Active Collab and started Project Pier. It is self-hosted and you need MySQL with InnoDB support to run it.
Lighthouse
http://lighthouseapp.com/
This remotely hosted web application possesses a strong API which allows you to develop even desktop apps. Lighthouse pricing starts at $25/mo but you can try it for free.
Clocking IT
http://www.clockingit.com/
This application is available for free as a remotely hosted solution. However, the source is disclosed under a MIT/X11 license for you to set up your own self hosted application. Clocking IT is highly customizable and is available in a myriad of languages.
COMINDWORK
http://www.comindwork.com/
With an impressive list of features, including even wikis and project blog, COMINDWORK is available as a hosted or self hosted solution, offering plans for as low as $1 a day and even a free account for hosting one project.
Goalkeeper
http://www.goalkeeper.rs/
Goalkeeper is offered as a self hosted solutin and you can get a free account. The Dashboard can be easily customized whenever you need more information or when you want to keep things to a minimum.
Huddle
http://www.huddle.net/
This is one of the heavy contenders in this list, offering even an iPhone app to constantly keep track of your project, Huddle is a hosted solution. If you’re a charity foundation, you might get a free Huddle account given that you comply with a series of conditions.
5pm
http://www.5pmweb.com/
5pm is also hosted and features gadgets such as a desktop time tracker to submit time logs to 5pm or and iPhone app. The interface might be one of the best in this round up featuring interesting actions such as a interactive timeline following the Gantt style.
Redmine
http://www.redmine.org/
Written using Ruby on Rails, one of the most interesting features about Redmine is that it is cross-database and supports multiple databases as well. Redmine is self-hosted, free open source software and released under GPL 2. You can check their live demo site.
project-open
http://www.project-open.com/index.html
This project manager has been integrated within an enterprise resource planning system. The list of features is extremely extensive for an open source software, including document sharing based on permissions, invoicing, time logging, human resource management, integrated wiki and much more. Makes for a perfect solution for almost any project management requirements. The demo for ]project-open[ allows you to log in using different user roles.
So what do you think about these alternatives? do you know of any other that deserves to be featured?