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I'm looking for a good solution for a cloud-based project management software for startups.

I really like 37 Signals "Basecamp", but cannot justify the monthly fee at this moment with all the open-source alternatives.

I need this core functionality:

  • Time Tracking
  • Project/task management
  • Document uploads

Some nice to haves:

  • Instant messenger
  • Runs on open-source (mysql)
  • Ajax-y interface
  • Document editor

Anyone have suggestions? I have used Zoho in the past, but my business partners do not like that.

Any opensource alternatives would be great :)

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closed as not constructive by Zuly Gonzalez♦ Jun 28 '12 at 16:36

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7 Answers

up vote 0 down vote accepted

Collabtive (http://collabtive.o-dyn.de/index.php) is awesome software, if you can install it on your web server. It doesn't have a document editor, but every other feature you are looking for is included. I used it and I love it.

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up vote 1 down vote

Check this out:

www.getapp.com/project-management-software

http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/27/webware/10-web-based-project-management-software.html

www.project-drive.net

www.projectinsight.net

www.web-based-software.com

www.easyprojects.net

www.basecamphq.com

www.projectscenter.com

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Funny thing is: I just saw that link before I posted. I'm really not too impressed by the interfaces of any of them. Anything else – user9968 Jul 6 '11 at 14:06
up vote 0 down vote

You may find that you can justify the fee pretty quickly if nothing else does what you want :)

I currently use Redmine a bit; it's not quite as simple a basecamp but it does help for tracking more complex information.

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up vote 0 down vote

Redmine is a basecamp knock off and it's great. We used to use basecamp but needed more features and the ability to customize it.

http://www.redmine.org/

It rocks.

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up vote 0 down vote

Have you considered using Google Apps? I know it is not hype but it is probably all you need.

You can create spreadsheets the way you want to manage time tracking and tasks. You can upload any type of documents and you get live chat and online collaboration on documents.

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Google Apps is not open source, and using spreadsheets to manage projects won't scale. We sort of tried that, and ended up not using the system. For collaborative document editing, Google Apps is great though. – Dan Dascalescu Jan 23 '12 at 3:16
I don't think the OP really meant to search for open source but more for something free. – Aymeric Gaurat-Apelli Jan 25 '12 at 0:57
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Open Atrium is the best open source project management solution I have found.

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up vote 0 down vote

Teambox is open source, does exactly what you need (project management, time tracking, document uploads) and it looks much better than Collabtive. Their beta 4 looks even sleeker, faster, and with better UX, comparable to Wrike, but it's not open sourced yet.

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Watch their video of the beta, or try it out at https://beta.teambox.com after you create an account at http://teambox.com.

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