Identifying, researching, and analyzing Jira alternatives is no piece of the cake. But we’ve simplified it by curating the top ten alternatives to Jira in this guide.
Some popular Jira competitors are DevRev, Basecamp, Asana, and Trello. But before we dive deep into this, let’s get through with the basics.
What Is Jira?#
With agile project management, the first tool that pops into our heads is Jira - the most popular project management software.
If you are a project manager, designer, or developer, raising, tracking, and managing tickets on Jira has been a staple in your diet. Multiple integration options make assigning issues and managing tickets more cohesive across channels.
It is a vast software with all the features you need, such as Kanban boards for a quick overview, adaptable scrub boards, multiple API integrations, and real-time assigning and reporting.
As we build more complex products, the complexity of tools increases with a demand for convenient features, and Jira might need more ease of use.
In the SaaS industry, recent tools are becoming competitive to stay above the rest by offering unique selling points like freemium models, cross-team collaborations, a knowledge base, and others.
Now is the time to analyze your business needs and determine the exact combination and proportion of features your organization requires.
With teams working remotely and clashing time zones, it’s challenging to manage, assign, or keep track of the work done without a management tool. Jira, being a pioneer in this space, is well-equipped. Some of its sought-after features are:
- Agile boards – Scrum and Kanban boards quickly overview completed and in-progress tasks for maximizing efficiency.
- Sprint-wise road maps – Keep teams aligned with the bigger picture while allowing for minor tweaks to stay on track.
- Reports and insights — Check and track progress through the dashboard
- Project flexibility — Customizable workflows allow for app integrations with autonomy and structure.
- Open DevOps — An open and diverse toolchain enabling you to plan instantly, code, and deploy solutions.
A project management tool keeps all stakeholders on board with even the tiniest tweaks made in the roadmap or plan, share chunks of relevant data across teams, and be resourceful when buying multiple tools.
Why Should You Look For Jira Alternatives?#
If you’re looking for a Jira alternative, you’re not alone. While Jira is a popular project management tool, it may not be the best fit for every team. There are several reasons why you might be searching for a Jira alternative, such as cost, complexity, or simply wanting to try something new.
To begin with, the tool has a deep learning curve; it altogether defeats the purpose of time management. Onboarding would then require a separate training period of its own.
Let’s say you spend a month or two to get your organization’s flow set on one tool. Meanwhile, the industry requirements shift, and you notice a competitive tool in the market serves your use case better. It’s a waste of time, resources, and money.
Attractive features aren’t the only determining factor in settling for a tool. Here is a list of Jira alternatives before locking down a management tool.
Here are some key reasons why you should look for alternatives to Jira:
- Complexity: Jira can be complex and overwhelming for users who are not familiar with its features and functionalities.
- Steep learning curve: Due to its complexity, Jira has a steep learning curve. Users may require significant time and effort to understand and master the tool's various concepts, workflows, and terminology.
- Customization challenges: Although Jira offers extensive customization options, configuring and customizing the tool to meet specific needs can be time-consuming and complex. Customization often requires technical expertise, and making changes without proper planning can lead to confusion and inefficiency.
- Expensive: Jira's pricing structure can be expensive, particularly for small teams or organizations on a tight budget. The cost increases as the number of users and desired features grow, making it less accessible for some teams or startups.
- Limited integration options: Although Jira provides integration capabilities with various third-party tools and plugins, it may not have native integrations with specific tools or platforms. This limitation can require additional effort and customization to connect Jira with other software systems.
Let’s look at the Jira alternatives explored in this article.
Top 10 Jira Alternatives To Consider In 2023#
1. DevRev#
Let’s start by telling you what we do. We are a product-led support tool that helps consumers of your product directly reach out to the product makers.
Cutting out the mediators in the process of an issue reaching a developer helps speed up working out a glitch, leading to higher customer satisfaction.
Features:
- Converged SoR The teams, leads, and customers keep each other up-to-date alike with tickets, feature requests, and development priorities.
- Airdrop Migrate and sync DevRev bi-directionally to developers and consumers across legacy applications to build and support your teams.
- Trails A system of records that helps you visually connect features used by customers to their services to track customer interaction and build roadmaps.
- Gain customer insight Extract insight with ticket clustering to create and plan enhancements
- Now, Next, Later Sprint methodology that brings customer-centricity to development
- Syncs with Jira Effortless engineering escalation with Jira integration
- GitHub integration Real-time updates to help you track status effortlessly
Pricing:
Get started with the starter plan of US $9.99/MAU and move to a pro plan of US $24.99 or the ultimate plan for complex organizations.
2. Basecamp#
It is a very quirky and easy-on-the-eyes management tool that allows you to grasp an overview with a look.
The board view and a timeline view of all the events help you catch up on missed conversations and collaboration in just one scroll, making it an efficient project management software.
What makes Basecamp one of the best Jira alternatives:
- Card Tables - Create projects and categorize each card on the x and y axis against different metrics. For example, you can use color coding for teams across and status along the line for projects.
- Doors - Integrate external apps in your Basecamp workflow with one click from the comprehensive list of apps.
- Hill Charts - Review tasks in progress from the uphill inclination on the line chart and features in production from downhill when they are updated daily.
Pros:
- Easy to use and user-friendly interface
- Centralized platform for project management, communication, and collaboration
- Provides a variety of features like task tracking, file sharing, and document management
- Allows for efficient organization and prioritization of tasks and projects
Cons:
- It may not be suitable for complex or large-scale projects requiring advanced project management features
- Lack of flexibility in customizing workflows and processes
- Limited reporting and analytics capabilities compared to specialized project management tools
Pricing:
A freemium model of US$0 and US $11/month/user for all features.
3. Asana#
This work management tool lets you have tight team collaboration and high productivity teams by allowing users to view their co-worker's tasks and collaborate at a convenient schedule for all.
There is significantly less requirement to jump to third-party software since you can keep all communications within the same tool through integrations, attachments, project workspaces, task syncing, tracking, and reports.
What makes Asana one of the best Jira alternatives:
- Workload — Give team members a quick task load analysis by assigning estimated task count, work hours, and points.
- Timeline — It’s easy to import spreadsheets and convert them to timelines that you can change and link to one another.
- Workflow Builder — Customize a workflow and create templates to reuse within a project of a similar task structure enabling better team collaboration
Pros:
- Robust and feature-rich project management tool with a wide range of capabilities.
- Intuitive and visually appealing interface, making it easy to navigate and use.
- Offers various views and customizable workflows to fit different project management styles.
- Provides comprehensive task management features, including task assignments, due dates, and dependencies.
- Facilitates effective team collaboration through comments, attachments, and real-time updates.
Cons:
- Pricing structure may be considered relatively higher for smaller teams or individual users
- Some users may find the abundance of features overwhelming, especially for simpler projects
- Customization options for task views and workflows may be limited for certain users
Pricing:
The pricing of this project management software starts at US$ 0 freemium model, a business model of US$10.99, and a premium model of US$24.99 billed annually.
4. Trello#
Trello and Jira, both these project management software are a part of the Atlassian suite, are powerful yet lightweight task-organizing tools. You can divide projects into boards, and you can detail tasks within projects using cards - making staying organized easier than ever on this project management software.
Even though you might not switch between a preferred view other than cards, its scope for categorization, drag-and-drop feature, plus status updates makes it a suitable alternative.
What makes Trello one of the best Jira alternatives:
- Views — Like Notion, give cards a unique display image to sort and switch between the board, timeline, calendar, spreadsheet, and maps.
- Butler — Create commands for the butler to automate tasks triggered by an action and reduce repetitive work. For example, trigger an action when the task approaches the due date, customize a button on cards, etc.
- Templates — Create or pick one from the library across project management, marketing, design, engineering, and more.
Pros:
- Simple and intuitive interface
- Visual and flexible approach to project management with the use of boards, lists, and cards
- Offers a clear and organized overview of tasks and their progress through customizable boards
- Facilitates easy collaboration and communication among team members through comments and attachments
Cons:
- Limited in terms of advanced project management features compared to specialized tools
- Lack of built-in time tracking and resource management capabilities
- May not be suitable for complex or large-scale projects with intricate workflows
- Limited reporting and analytics features compared to more robust project management tools
- Limited control over user permissions and access rights for boards and cards
Pricing:
The pricing of this project management software starts from a freemium of US $0, a standard of US $5, a premium of US $10, to an enterprise package of US $17.50 per month per user.
5. Notion#
Notion is a simplistic black-and-white tool that lets you focus on the content. It is a note-taking app that enables team collaboration and manage project access.
It is a note-taking app that enables team collaboration and manage project access.
It works on a page-to-page basis where you nest one page inside another, link pages across projects, create a table, modify formulas to match your team's needs and integrate with external apps.
What makes Notion one of the best Jira alternatives:
Text Editor — Jumpstart your workflow with a handy selection of visual bookmarks for links, tables and other integrations - just click the forward slash!
Hosting — You can make a page public by hosting it on the web. And you can control viewing and edit access for teams and external users.
Customization — It allows for heavy personalization of every management feature to match brand identity and organization needs
Pros:
- Highly customizable and versatile platform for project management, note-taking, and collaboration
- Offers a wide range of features, including task tracking, document organization, and database management
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface, allowing for easy navigation and organization of information
- Provides the ability to create and customize templates to fit specific project or team needs
Cons:
- Can be overwhelming for users unfamiliar with its extensive range of features and functionalities
- Steeper learning curve compared to simpler project management tools
- Lack of advanced project management capabilities found in dedicated project management software
Pricing:
Easy on the pocket with a freemium version of US $0, a personal pro of US $4, and a team plan of US $8 per user per month.
6.Linear#
A product-building tool that helps developers with issue tracking, running sprints, and aligning with product roadmaps in a single tool.
Like DevRev, you have an extensive issue-tracking dashboard that gives your teams a quick method to create, handle, track, delegate, and communicate around tickets.
What makes Linear one of the best Jira alternatives:
Plan — With roadmaps to predict the future, you can plan visuals for large projects with precision. Bolster your workflow and get on track faster by establishing tasks and cycles.
Progress — Advanced filters, git integration, and automated workflows work together to help you update and close issues faster.
Collaborate — Engineers, designers, PMs, and teams can use triage to build a workflow around bug reports and stay aligned across projects.
Pros:
- Focuses on simplicity and ease of use, making it quick to navigate and learn
- Provides a clean and visually appealing layout for organizing and tracking tasks
- Offers robust task management features, including customizable workflows and labels
- Facilitates seamless collaboration with team members through comments and attachments
Cons:
- Mobile app experience may be less feature-rich compared to the web version
- Limited integration options beyond the major tools and services
- Some users may find the pricing structure relatively higher for larger teams or organizations
- Occasional performance issues during peak usage periods
Pricing:
A freemium model of US $0, a standard US $8 per user per month model, and a plus model annually billed at US $14 per user.
7. GitLab#
GitLab is a DevOps and management tool that increases developer productivity, reduces cycle time, manages costs, and tracks issues.
The project management software is an open-source code repository and collaborative software development platform allowing continuous integration and delivery.
What makes GitLab one of the best Jira alternatives:
Portfolio Plan — It allows you to maintain end-to-end visibility and traceability of issues throughout the delivery lifecycle, from idea to production.
Automation — You can create and manage through custom views, advanced filters, and powerful branching tools to seamlessly deliver projects.
Metrics — Get insights on overall business performance with metrics and value stream insight to help teams manage and optimize the software delivery lifecycle.
Pros:
- Focuses on simplicity and ease of use, making it quick to navigate and learn
- Provides a clean and visually appealing layout for organizing and tracking tasks
- Offers robust task management features, including customizable workflows and labels
- Facilitates seamless collaboration with team members through comments and attachments
Cons:
- Mobile app experience may be less feature-rich compared to the web version
- Limited integration options beyond the major tools and services
- Some users may find the pricing structure relatively higher for larger teams or organizations
- Occasional performance issues during peak usage periods
Pricing:
A freemium model of US $0, a premium of US $19/month or $228/annum, and the ultimate model of US $99/month or US $1188/annum.
8. Monday#
Monday is a powerful platform that helps teams streamline their workflows and manage projects efficiently. Its vibrant interface offers an inviting introduction for new users, while integrations with popular services like Slack and HubSpot CRM make it easy to keep up-to-date.
With its extensive in-app knowledge base, existing customers can easily access the latest feature updates.
What makes Monday one of the best Jira alternatives:
Dashboards — Create a custom dashboard, track budgets, define resource capacity, assign and prioritize tasks and get the whole team synced to the same flow.
Products — Subscribe only to the products you need under the Monday tray, such as work management, marketing, sales CRM, and development.
Direct access — Integrate and connect Monday to your editing software to review briefs, update status, and upload assets while staying on the app.
Pros:
- A comprehensive platform that combines source code management, CI/CD, and project management
- Provides a single integrated solution for the entire software development lifecycle
- Offers powerful version control capabilities, allowing teams to manage code repositories effectively
- Built-in continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for automated testing and deployment
- Enables seamless collaboration and code review among team members
Cons:
- It can be complex and overwhelming for users new to version control or software development workflows
- Steeper learning curve compared to simpler project management tools
- Resource-intensive and may require more server resources for larger teams or complex projects
- Customization options for workflows and issue boards may be less flexible compared to specialized project management tools
Pricing:
Switch between the basic, standard, and pro levels at standard pricing of US $8, US $10, and US $16 per month, billed annually.
9. Hive#
Hive is a project management tool with extensive use cases ranging from business operations to education. Its comprehensive workflow covers resource management, client engagement, company goal-tracking, and project planning.
One exciting feature is its native email, which can keep conversations within the tool and convert any email into a task to pick up.
What makes Hive one of the best Jira alternatives:
Hierarchy — Switch between six views of project layouts to create parent projects with child projects, tasks, and sub-actions.
Links — You can visually link cards within a flow to show a relationship between two independent actions through Gantt charts.
Autopilot — Use templates from a library of workflows to initiate any chain of tasks with a click of a pre-formulated button.
Pros:
- User-friendly and intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate and use
- Provides customizable views and workflows to fit different project management styles and needs
- Offers integration options with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom
- Provides powerful analytics and reporting features for tracking project progress and team performance
- Offers automation capabilities to streamline repetitive tasks and workflows
- Provides mobile apps for easy access and management on the go
Cons:
- The mobile app experience may not be as fully featured or perform as well as the web version
- The pricing structure may be considered relatively higher for larger teams or organizations
- Dependency tracking and task dependencies may not be as robust as in dedicated project management tools
- Limited integration options with non-development tools or services
- Lack of built-in time tracking functionality, requiring integration with third-party apps
Pricing:
A free forever solo plan of US $0, a team plan of US $12 per month, and an enterprise plan with flexible charges.
10. nTask#
It is an intuitive task management tool that has a place for people in the education field. Its robust meeting features and integrations allow for seamless conversations on any medium.
It allows for to-do lists to track tasks as a checklist keeping the interface simple for teams of all industries.
What makes nTask one of the best Jira alternatives:
Two Clicks — Streamline a procedure for resource allocation and budget and financial summaries to access it within two clicks.
Public Links — You can easily share information and checklists with outside parties and restrict access when needed through the tool.
Risk Matrix — Analyze risk impact and probability through customizable matrices with any grid formation and visualize progress through graphs.
Pros:
- Provides powerful reporting and analytics features for tracking project progress and team performance
- Offers built-in meeting management features, including meeting agendas and minutes
- Provides mobile apps for convenient access and management on smartphones and tablets
- Offers a free version with basic features, making it accessible for small teams or individual users
Cons:
- Some users may find the interface less visually appealing compared to other project management tools
- Advanced project management features may be more limited compared to specialized tools
- Limited integration options with non-development tools or services
- Lack of built-in time tracking functionality, requiring integration with third-party apps
- Some users may experience occasional performance issues when working with large projects or teams
Pricing:
Starting at a meager price of US $3, you have the premium plan, a business plan of US $8, and a negotiable enterprise plan.
Choosing The Right Jira Alternative#
To ensure that you are making the right investment in software tools for your organization, take some time to become familiar with their features.
This process involves evaluating which of these capabilities would be most suitable and beneficial while also taking into account your existing workflows and available budget.
A comparative analysis can help identify any differences between them before testing out a free version of the one selected.
Finally, consider its cost relative to that of other alternatives as well as how it will add value over time – then make an informed decision!
