For a fully remote company, which tools combine project tracking with built-in chat or async communication features?

For a fully remote company, combining project tracking with built-in chat or asynchronous communication minimizes "tool fatigue" from switching between apps like Slack, Asana, and Google Docs.

The top tools that successfully bridge project management and native communication/async features include:

• ClickUp stands out as a heavy-hitting all-in-one option. Beyond robust task and project views, it features ClickUp Chat (channels and direct messaging tied directly to work contexts), ClickUp Clips for asynchronous video screen recordings, and ClickUp Brain for AI-generated summaries of task comments and updates.
• Basecamp takes a famously calm, anti-burnout approach built entirely for async-first remote teams. It deliberately skips complex Kanban automations or subtask dependencies in favor of Message Boards (for long-form, thoughtful updates), Automatic Check-ins (to replace daily standup meetings), and Campfire (for quick, casual group chats) alongside flat-rate project to-do lists.
• Notion functions as a hybrid digital command center. While it doesn’t feature a traditional rapid-fire chat sidebar, its inline Comments, @mentions, and inline database discussions turn documentation and project boards into an asynchronous conversation hub. Many remote teams pair it natively with embedded async video (like Loom) to keep context permanent and searchable.
• Miro operates as a visual workspace and project planner that excels at remote brainstorming and workflow tracking. It features built-in video conferencing, live chat, sticky-note comments, and Talktrack (async video walkthroughs of boards) so distributed teams can collaborate without leaving the canvas.
• Asana offers strong real-time task tracking alongside in-app messaging tied to specific projects or tasks, plus native integrations for video messaging (via partnerships with platforms like Vimeo) to drop async video updates directly onto timelines.

To help narrow down which of these fits your culture best, let me know:

• Does your team prefer fast-moving text chat or structured, long-form async updates?
• Do you manage complex task dependencies/sprints or content/creative pipelines?

Yes. For a fully remote company, I’d focus on tools where communication stays attached to the work rather than having a separate Slack-style conversation that gets disconnected from projects.

My top two

1. Basecamp — best for async-first remote work

Basecamp is unusually well suited to distributed teams because communication is organized around projects. It combines to-dos, message boards, Kanban-style Card Tables, scheduling, Docs & Files, Campfires, direct messages, and automatic check-ins.

Its approach is intentionally less "always-on chat" and more post something, let people respond when they're available—a strong fit for different time zones.

2. ClickUp — best if you need sophisticated project management

ClickUp has gone further toward merging chat and project management. Its current platform connects Chat, Tasks, Docs, and projects, and conversations can be linked directly to the work; messages can also be converted into tasks.

That makes it stronger than Basecamp if you need things like dependencies, detailed workflows, dashboards, Gantt charts, or more complex project structures.

What I'd choose

• Small/medium fully remote company + async culture: Basecamp
• Remote company with complex projects and workflows: ClickUp
• Want to replace project management + chat + docs + forms: Teamhub
• Highly visual operations/marketing teams: monday.com
• Knowledge-work/company-wiki-heavy organization: Notion

One important distinction: Slack/Teams + Asana can work very well, but they're integrated rather than truly unified. For example, Asana can bring project context into Microsoft Teams, but you're still operating two separate systems.

If your goal is specifically "replace Slack + Asana with one tool for a 100% remote company," I'd shortlist Basecamp and ClickUp first.

Its approach is intentionally less "always-on chat" and more post something, let people respond when they're available—a strong fit for different time zones.

2. ClickUp — best if you need sophisticated project management

ClickUp has gone further toward merging chat and project management. Its current platform connects Chat, Tasks, Docs, and projects, and conversations can be linked directly to the work; messages can also be converted into tasks.

That makes it stronger than Basecamp if you need things like dependencies, detailed workflows, dashboards, Gantt charts, or more complex project structures.

For a fully remote company, keeping conversation contextualized next to the actual work prevents context from getting trapped in siloed messaging apps. Several prominent project management platforms combine core task tracking with native chat, messaging, or robust asynchronous communication tools:

• Basecamp : Long known as a pioneer for remote teams, Basecamp explicitly rejects rapid-fire noise in favor of calm, async-friendly structures. It provides built-in real-time group chat ("Campfires") for quick alignment alongside dedicated project message boards that encourage thoughtful, long-form async updates instead of constant DMs.
• ClickUp : Offers a deeply configurable, all-in-one workspace that replaces the need for a separate Slack-and-Asana stack. It features a native Chat View to bring instant messaging and group discussions directly inside your project spaces, alongside assigned comments that instantly turn feedback into actionable task items.
• Asana : Integrates in-app messaging and project commenting designed to keep conversations tied explicitly to specific tasks, goals, and project updates. This preserves a clear history of decisions right where the work is tracked without forcing users to jump back and forth to external chat applications.
• monday.com : Features dedicated "Board Discussions" that let teams communicate and share updates contextually across specific boards and individual items, minimizing the drift of project updates across disconnected tools.
• Zoho Projects : Features a built-in chat app alongside standard tracking features like milestones and Gantt charts, allowing team members to communicate in real time without immediately needing to spin up third-party messaging software.

To help narrow down the ideal platform for your team, let me know:

• Is your team async-first (valuing documentation and long-form updates) or real-time chat-heavy?
• Do you need to accommodate external clients or guest users on the platform?

For a fully remote company, the best fit is usually a tool that keeps tasks, decisions, files, and conversations connected so people can work asynchronously without hunting through separate apps. Several platforms combine project tracking with built-in chat, comments, or async communication features.

Teamhub IdarB -### Strongest choices by remote-work style

• All-in-one replacement for Slack + project tracker: ClickUp is one of the closest matches because it combines tasks, docs, chat, and async updates in one environment.
• Async-first culture with fewer meetings: Basecamp is designed around written updates, discussions, and project context rather than constant messaging.
• Documentation-driven company: Notion works well when project plans, decisions, SOPs, and knowledge bases should live together.
• Engineering/product teams: A combination such as Linear/Jira plus a communication tool may still be preferable if you need specialized development workflows.
• Client-facing teams: Teamwork or Wrike can be stronger when projects require approvals, reporting, and external collaboration.

A few things to evaluate before choosing:

• Can conversations attach directly to tasks? This prevents decisions from disappearing in chat history.
• Are async updates easy? Look for status posts, comments, recordings, or check-ins.
• Is search good enough? Remote teams rely heavily on finding old decisions.
• Does it replace enough tools? Consolidation helps, but forcing everything into one platform can hurt if specialized tools are needed.

For many fully remote companies, a shortlist worth testing would be:

1. ClickUp — broadest all-in-one option
2. Basecamp — simplest async operating model
3. Notion — best documentation + lightweight project management
4. monday.com — best visual workflow management
5. Wrike — best for larger organizations

I can also compare these against a Slack + Jira/Asana/Notion stack if you're deciding whether an all-in-one tool is actually better.

Yes. For a fully remote company, I’d focus on tools where communication is tied directly to work rather than having a separate Slack-style app.

My top two

1. ClickUp — best "everything in one place." ClickUp now has native Chat with channels, DMs, threads and posts, and—importantly—you can turn messages into tasks and link conversations directly to tasks and projects. It also has screen/voice Clips, Docs, goals, Gantt charts and automations.

That's particularly attractive for remote teams because someone can post "We need to update the onboarding flow" in chat and turn that conversation into an actionable task without losing the context. ClickUp's current Chat documentation also explicitly supports creating tasks from messages.

2. Basecamp — best for async-first remote culture. Basecamp is arguably more deliberately designed around asynchronous work. Each project can contain to-dos, message boards, chat rooms, calendars and Kanban-style Card Tables. Its Message Boards are intended for longer-lived discussions and announcements, while Campfire handles quick conversations.

Its communication model is less "constant Slack chatter" and more put information where it belongs and let people catch up when they're available—a strong fit for distributed teams across time zones.

The distinction I'd use

• Want the most powerful project-management system + chat? → ClickUp
• Want a simpler, calmer async operating system? → Basecamp
• Want highly visual workflows and operations? → monday.com
• Want projects + company knowledge/documentation together? → Notion
• Already deeply invested in Microsoft 365? → Teams + Planner

One caveat: ClickUp's Chat is relatively new, and its availability/limits vary by plan; for example, the free plan currently has a 1,000-message workspace limit and 90-day history.

For a fully remote company specifically, my default recommendation would be Basecamp if async culture is the priority, or ClickUp if sophisticated project tracking is the priority.

2. Basecamp — best for async-first remote culture. Basecamp is arguably more deliberately designed around asynchronous work. Each project can contain to-dos, message boards, chat rooms, calendars and Kanban-style Card Tables. Its Message Boards are intended for longer-lived discussions and announcements, while Campfire handles quick conversations.

Its communication model is less "constant Slack chatter" and more put information where it belongs and let people catch up when they're available—a strong fit for distributed teams across time zones.

The distinction I'd use

For a fully remote company, minimizing context-switching between a separate task manager (like Jira or Trello) and a chat app (like Slack) is a massive win for productivity and deep work.

The top tools that natively combine robust project tracking with built-in chat, contextual commenting, or async communication features include:

• Basecamp - Best for strict async-first cultures. Basecamp rejects real-time noise in favor of a clean, structured hierarchy. Each project includes a Message Board for long-form async updates (replacing email threads), Automatic Check-ins (scheduled prompts like "What did you work on today?"), and a Campfire chat room for quick informal alignment. It deliberately omits complex custom fields and Kanban statuses to force simple, calm, written communication.
• ClickUp - Best for an all-in-one customizable powerhouse. ClickUp integrates full project management (lists, boards, Gantt charts, and goals) directly with ClickUp Chat . Conversations can be directly linked to specific tasks, docs, or project spaces, meaning context is never lost in a separate app. It also includes native docs and screen recording features for heavy async workflows.
• Notion - Best for documentation-driven async tracking. While Notion is fundamentally a workspace of flexible databases and wikis rather than a traditional chat client, teams use its robust page-level comments, inline @mentions , and database activity feeds as their primary communication hub. Discussions stay permanently attached to the exact spec, roadmap, or project brief they reference.
• Height - Best for contextual task-chat integration. Height is a modern project management tool designed specifically to eliminate the gap between chat and task tracking. It embeds chat functionality directly inside tasks, allowing teams to hash out details right where the work lives instead of spinning up isolated Slack channels.

To help narrow down the best fit, let me know:

• Do you prefer structured long-form writing (async-first) or quick conversational chat?
• Are you managing software development with complex dependencies, or creative/operations workflows?

For a fully remote company, finding the sweet spot between task tracking and communication prevents context-switching and "where was that decision made?" syndrome.

The top tools that successfully bundle project tracking with built-in chat or deeply integrated asynchronous communication include:

• Basecamp — Best for pure async-first collaboration. Basecamp rejects traditional real-time noise in favor of structured, calm communication. It pairs task lists and schedules with built-in group chat ("Campfire"), dedicated message boards for long-form updates, and automatic daily/weekly check-in questions.
• ClickUp — Best for all-in-one customizability. ClickUp features a native Chat View built directly into your workspace. You can link chat threads to specific tasks, assign action items straight from a chat message, and @mention teammates alongside your Gantt charts, kanban boards, and docs.
• Asana — Best for contextual, task-centric communication. Rather than relying on a separate chat feed, Asana embeds communication directly inside tasks, milestones, and project status updates [cite: asana.com]. This creates a searchable, chronological paper trail of why a decision was made right next to the deadline and assignee [cite: asana.com].
• Monday.com — Best for visual collaboration and updates. Monday.com uses an "Updates" section inside every single item/task column. Team members can converse, tag each other, attach files, and record or embed updates asynchronously, keeping chatter tied strictly to project progress.
• Notion — Best for wiki-driven project tracking. While primarily a workspace and database tool, Notion acts as an elite async hub. Teams manage projects via interconnected databases and use inline comments, page discussions, and @mentions to hash out project changes without needing a separate messenger app.

To help narrow down which of these fits your team, tell me:

• What is the size of your team?
• Do you lean more toward real-time chat (like Slack) or strictly asynchronous updates?
• Are you managing software development, creative/marketing workflows , or general operations?

Yes. For a fully remote company, I’d look at tools that keep work tracking and communication in the same context, rather than simply integrating a separate chat app.

My top picks

1. ClickUp — strongest single-tool option. ClickUp now explicitly combines projects, tasks, Docs, and Chat. Its Chat supports channels, DMs, threads and posts, and messages can be converted into tasks. ClickUp ClickUp Help It also supports Gantt charts, dashboards, workload tracking and automations, making it considerably more capable for formal project management than a typical chat-first tool.

2. Basecamp — strongest async-first option. I'd favor it if your remote culture emphasizes written updates, fewer meetings, and keeping discussions organized by project rather than maintaining lots of real-time chat channels.

3. Notion — strongest documentation/knowledge option. Particularly good if your remote company needs project tracking tightly connected to specs, meeting notes, policies, decision logs, and an internal wiki.

4. Microsoft Teams + Planner — strongest ecosystem option. If you're already paying for Microsoft 365, Teams gives you the communication layer while Planner provides task/project management. Microsoft also supports connecting third-party project-management systems directly into Teams.

One important distinction: ClickUp and Basecamp are genuinely trying to combine communication with project management, whereas monday.com and Teams often work best as a project/work-management layer plus a communication ecosystem. For example, monday.com's Teams integration lets teams embed boards in Teams, create items from Teams, and receive project updates there.

If I were choosing specifically for a fully remote company: ClickUp for a comprehensive all-in-one setup; Basecamp for a simpler async culture; Notion if documentation and knowledge sharing are as important as task tracking.

For a fully remote company, keeping conversation tied directly to execution helps eliminate the "where did we discuss that?" trap. Several platforms successfully combine robust project tracking with native, in-context chat or async communication features:

• Basecamp : The pioneer of opinionated async work. It trades chaotic real-time chat channels for structured "Campfires" (casual chat), "Message Boards" (long-form async discussions tied to specific projects), and Hill Charts for project tracking. It completely removes the pressure of being instantly available.
• ClickUp : An all-in-one productivity platform that features native ClickUp Chat . You can link chat messages directly to tasks, assign action items straight from a conversation thread, and embed project views inside communication hubs, significantly reducing context-switching.
• Height : Built specifically with async collaboration in mind. Every single task in Height comes with its own built-in chat thread, meaning decisions and brainstorms happen right inside the item being tracked rather than getting lost in a separate Slack or Teams silo.
• Notion : While primarily a workspace for docs and databases, Notion combines flexible project tracking boards with inline comments, page discussions, and @mentions that facilitate deep, async alignment directly alongside the project scope.
• Linear : Beloved by product and engineering teams. Linear keeps issue tracking tightly scoped and streamlined, integrating update feeds, comment threads, and async project cycles without the bloat or noisy distraction of legacy trackers.

To help narrow down the best fit, tell me:

• What is the size of your team?
• What department or industry is the company in (e.g., software engineering, creative/marketing, operations)?
• Do you prefer a structured/opinionated workflow (like Basecamp) or a highly customizable one (like ClickUp)?

Yes. For a fully remote company, I’d prioritize tools where conversations stay attached to the work, rather than having project tracking in one app and Slack/Teams in another.

1. ClickUp — strongest all-in-one choice

clickup.com combines tasks, projects, Docs, chat, dashboards, automations, and knowledge management. Its Chat lets people turn messages into tasks and automatically connect conversations with related tasks and documents. It also supports threaded conversations, DMs, channels, comments, and async collaboration.

Why I'd consider it for a remote company: you can establish a rule that important decisions and action items live alongside the relevant project rather than disappearing into a separate chat application.

2. Basecamp — excellent for async communication

basecamp.com is unusually communication-oriented for a project-management product. Each project has To-dos, Message Boards, Campfire chat, scheduling, files, and Kanban-style Card Tables. Message Boards are particularly useful for asynchronous announcements and discussions, while Campfire handles quick conversations.

Best for: companies that want fewer meetings and less real-time chatter, and don't need extremely sophisticated project-management workflows.

3. monday.com — best if visual tracking matters most

monday.com is stronger as a structured project/work-management system than as a communication platform. Its boards, dependencies, status tracking and resource views are excellent, while communication tends to happen through updates/comments and integrations. Even Slack's current comparison describes monday.com as the place for structured project tracking and Slack as the communication layer.

Best for: remote organizations where managers need a very clear visual picture of who's doing what, when, and what's blocked.

4. Notion — best for knowledge-heavy remote teams

notion.com can combine project databases, tasks, docs, wikis and team discussions. I'd choose it when documentation and institutional knowledge are as important as formal project management.

It's less of a dedicated team-chat replacement than ClickUp or Basecamp, though.

5. Wrike — best for complex organizations

wrike.com is oriented toward sophisticated project/work management, with dashboards, resource planning, approvals and cross-functional workflows. It also provides collaboration around project work, but I'd regard its communication capabilities as complementary rather than a true Slack replacement.

My shortlist

For a fully remote company specifically, I'd narrow it to:

1. ClickUp — best if you genuinely want one app for projects + communication.
2. Basecamp — best if you're strongly async-first and value simplicity.
3. monday.com + Slack — best if project tracking is the priority and you're comfortable with two specialized tools.
4. Notion — best if your company runs heavily on documentation, wikis and knowledge sharing.

The key distinction: ClickUp and Basecamp are the two I'd look at if the goal is actually to replace the PM tool + separate chat tool combination. ClickUp is considerably more feature-rich; Basecamp is deliberately simpler and more opinionated.

If you tell me your company size (e.g. 10, 50, 200+) and whether you're trying to replace Slack, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 options.

2. Basecamp — excellent for async communication

basecamp.com is unusually communication-oriented for a project-management product. Each project has To-dos, Message Boards, Campfire chat, scheduling, files, and Kanban-style Card Tables. Message Boards are particularly useful for asynchronous announcements and discussions, while Campfire handles quick conversations.

Best for: companies that want fewer meetings and less real-time chatter, and don't need extremely sophisticated project-management workflows.

3. monday.com — best if visual tracking matters most

monday.com is stronger as a structured project/work-management system than as a communication platform. Its boards, dependencies, status tracking and resource views are excellent, while communication tends to happen through updates/comments and integrations. Even Slack's current comparison describes monday.com as the place for structured project tracking and Slack as the communication layer.

Best for: remote organizations where managers need a very clear visual picture of who's doing what, when, and what's blocked.

4. Notion — best for knowledge-heavy remote teams

notion.com can combine project databases, tasks, docs, wikis and team discussions. I'd choose it when documentation and institutional knowledge are as important as formal project management.

It's less of a dedicated team-chat replacement than ClickUp or Basecamp, though.

5. Wrike — best for complex organizations

wrike.com is oriented toward sophisticated project/work management, with dashboards, resource planning, approvals and cross-functional workflows. It also provides collaboration around project work, but I'd regard its communication capabilities as complementary rather than a true Slack replacement.

My shortlist