5 best Jira alternatives in 2024

5 best Jira alternatives

• ClickUp: Best for agile project management.
• Monday.com: Best for managing small business operations.
• Asana: Best for remote team management.
• Todoist: Best for freelancers and solopreneurs.
• Trello: Best for small creative teams.

Best for agile project management

ClickUp

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Via Clickup's website

Monthly fee

$10

Free version

Yes

24/7 customer support

Yes

What you should know

ClickUp is a project management and collaboration platform that helps remote teams get and stay on the same page. While Jira focuses on supporting software development and technical issue resolution teams, ClickUp caters to a broader range of businesses.

ClickUp offers ways similar to Jira to monitor project progress, such as timelines and boards. However, it provides more opportunities for team members to work together. Users can brainstorm on digital whiteboards or collaborative documents within the platform.

Regarding price, Jira and ClickUp are relatively evenly matched, with ClickUp being slightly more expensive. For example, Jira’s second-tier plan’s price is $8.15 per user per month, while ClickUp’s second-tier plan’s cost is $10 per user per month.

Both systems offer indefinitely free plans. However, Jira limits each free plan to 10 users. With ClickUp, you can have as many free users under the same plan as you want. In addition, ClickUp’s free trial for paid plans is double that of Jira’s, coming in at 14 days.

Reputation-wise, ClickUp is better-rated than Jira among Trustpilot reviewers. ClickUp has earned 3.3 out of five stars, compared with Jira’s 1.8 out of five stars.

ClickUp may be a better fit for your company if you want a system that doesn’t require too much customization to function as you need it. While you can use automations and integrations to enhance the software’s capabilities, it’s designed to be a complete solution from the moment you sign up.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Includes agile team management tools.
• Includes collaborative tools such as whiteboards and collaborative documents.
• Free plan available.
• Unlimited users in the free plan.

Cons

• Limited storage in the free plan.
• No custom fields in the free plan.
• Timelines only available in highest-tier plans.

Best for managing small business operations

Monday.com

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Via Monday.com's site

Monthly fee

$10

Free version

Yes

24/7 customer support

Yes

What you should know

Monday.com is similar to Jira in that it uses Kanban boards and timelines for project management. However, the system also allows you to track your work using a calendar, chart or timeline.

Like Jira, Monday.com is highly customizable, offering over 200 integrations with other business tools. It also includes more than 200 pre-built, no-code automations to speed up your work.

Jira’s free plan beats Monday.com’s. Jira allows you to have up to ten users on the free plan, while Monday.com only permits two. Jira’s no-cost plan also includes features Monday.com’s doesn’t, such as automations, integrations and unlimited project boards.

In terms of paid plans, the cost is similar. Jira’s first paid plan is slightly less expensive per user per month ($8.15) than Monday.com’s ($10). However, Monday.com’s second paid plan runs $12 per user per month, while Jira’s costs $16.

If you have any Monday.com plan, you can get live, 24/7 help, even the free plan. Only the top two plan tiers get that benefit with Jira.

Both project management systems could help you and your team become more organized and effective. However, Monday.com may be a better choice for your company if you need 24/7 support while on a budget.

Pros and cons

Pros

• 24/7 support even in the free plan.
• Customizable via integrations and automations.
• Native time tracking and dependency management.

Cons

• Only two users are permitted in the free plan.
• Only 5GB of storage in the first paid-tier plan.
• Integration and automation actions not available in free and first-tier plans.

Best for remote team management

Asana

Blueprint Rating

Monthly fee

$13.49

Free version

Yes

24/7 customer support

Yes

What you should know

Asana can help you visualize your project in several different ways, such as through a list, timeline, calendar, Kanban board or Gantt chart. While Jira also provides different project views, they’re not all native to the platform like they are with Asana. For example, you’ll need to add a separate Atlassian tool to the system to create a Gantt chart.

Both project management systems allow you to customize your experience through integrations. Asana offers over 200 integrations with popular business applications like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce and Dropbox. Through the Atlassian Marketplace, you can access more than 2,000 tools that connect with Jira. However, many of these integrations aren’t necessarily well-known outside Jira or Atlassian product users or software developers.

In terms of cost, Asana offers an indefinitely free plan to individuals and small businesses that want a basic project management solution. Asana also offers two paid plans, Premium and Business, priced at $13.49 per user per month and $30.49 per user per month, respectively. Asana is clearly more expensive than Jira.

However, Asana gives new users a 30-day free trial, meaning you have three more weeks to decide if it’s right for you than you would with Jira. Plus, Asana offers non-profit organizations a 50% discount on their subscriptions.

Asana could be a great fit for your needs if you run a charitable organization and want to access premium project management features, such as native time tracking or advanced reporting, at an affordable price. Asana may also be the right choice if you want a solution that plays nicely with other business applications you already use.

Read more: For a more in-depth comparison check out our Asana vs. Jira comparison.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Free plan available.
• Unlimited projects, tasks and file storage in the free plan.
• Discount available for nonprofit organizations.
• 30-day free trial.

Cons

• Free plan limits users to 10.
• Pricier than some alternatives, including Jira.
• 24/7 support only available in enterprise-level plans.

Best for freelancers and solopreneurs

Todoist

Blueprint Rating

Monthly fee

$5

Free version

Yes

24/7 customer support

Yes

What you should know

Todoist was designed for the to-do list enthusiast. You can add new tasks to your running list with a few clicks or through email. You can also establish due dates, set up automated system reminders and delegate tasks to others on your team. Tasks can be organized by status, priority level, assignee and other parameters.

Like Jira, you can view your ongoing projects on a Kanban-style board. But unlike Jira (and other software on this list), Todoist is meant to help you stay on top of your professional and personal commitments. When you sort your tasks by priority, you can see “call client” immediately above or below “go to the dentist.”

Todoist isn’t as fancy as Asana or ClickUp, but you can still customize it by integrating popular applications, such as Outlook, Gmail, Slack and Zapier. Plus, you can build your own integrations with the Todoist API.

Todoist could be a great option if you’re on a tight budget. Starting at just $5 per user per month, it’s the cheapest paid alternative to Jira on this list. The company does offer a free version, but the features are limited, so it may not be adequate if you want to use it for professional purposes.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Very affordable plans.
• Intuitive to-do list interface.
• Popular integrations available to customize functionality.

Cons

• Limited features in the free version.
• Security control access only available in the highest-tier.
• No phone support available, only ticket-system support.

Best for small creative teams

Trello

Blueprint Rating

Monthly fee

$6

Free version

Yes

24/7 customer support

No

What you should know

Jira is Atlassian’s project management solution for software developers and IT professionals. Trello is the firm’s project management offering for everyone else.

Since both options come from the same company, you can expect a bit of overlap in how they work. For example, each system offers some functionality right out of the box. However, you can customize the platforms to suit your needs.

Trello powerups are typically in-house tools that enhance the capabilities of your board. Integrations, on the other hand, increase overall system usefulness by connecting with a third-party service.

Like Jira, Trello offers no-code automations to help you get the work done faster and easier. However, with Trello, the Automation Butler will learn how you use the system and suggest automations to improve workflow.

Trello’s standard view is a Kanban board. With premium plans, you can also track project progress through a timeline, calendar and other methods. With Jira, you can manage the work through a Kanban board, Scrum board or timeline.

From a price perspective, Trello’s free plan is far more robust than Jira’s. It has more features, such as unlimited storage, and you can have an unlimited number of users (compared to ten with Jira). Trello’s second and third-tier plans are also slightly cheaper than Jira’s. Plus, Trello’s free trial is 14 days, seven days longer than Jira’s.

In terms of support, like Jira, Trello free plan users have to pose their questions in a community forum for advice. However, third-tier plan Trello customers only get 24/5 customer support versus 24/7 assistance from Jira.

Trello may be the project management system for you if you love using Kanban boards. It’s also a solid option if you want a feature-rich solution for your whole team at no cost.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Affordable.
• Robust free version with unlimited members and storage.
• Easily create custom fields for custom workflow needs.

Cons

• Only community support for free users.
• No 24/7 customer support available in any plans.

What is Jira?

Jira is a project management tool that specializes in managing the workflow of software development departments. It helps agile teams plan, track, release, report and automate the software development process to ship completed projects faster.

Using Jira, you can see each project’s status through a timeline, scrum board or Kanban board. The system makes it easy to keep bug-tracking tasks separate from feature development work, helping team members focus on their specialty or highest priority.

Team members can also access all of the developed code in a code repository, making it easier for one person to pick up where another left off. In addition, team leaders can run reports to gauge task backlogs and see team member time worked.

Pros and cons of Jira

If you want a no-frills, budget-friendly option, Jira will let you and up to nine team members use the system indefinitely at no cost. However, features are limited, and live support from Atlassian is unavailable at this level. If you want a more robust solution (and expert help when needed), you can try a paid plan on a seven-day free trial.

In addition, Jira can make managing your projects much easier and faster through no-code automations. You can establish automatic workflows based on your preferred triggers using a drag-and-drop automation builder. 

Customizable, pre-built templates help you start planning projects right away, rather than having to build an infrastructure first. Jira offers multiple templates, including scrum boards, Kanban boards, bug tracking and DevOps. 

The DevOps template lets you integrate other tools from the Atlassian Marketplace to enhance and centralize your workflow. These tools include but aren’t limited to GitHub, Microsoft Teams and Slack. 

If you have a large team, Jira can be quite costly. For instance, on the Premium plan, you’d pay $800 per month for 50 users. If you pay for the entire year upfront, it will run $8,000, saving you two months’ worth of payments.

Plus, if you want your Jira account to be extra secure through features like enforced two-factor authentication or an organization audit log, it will cost you extra (unless you have an Enterprise-level plan). Assuming your company has 50 users, you’ll pay an additional $200 per month for this protection.

Choosing the best project management system

Jira is a quality project management system, but there may be better solutions for your team. In this guide, we discuss how you can select the ideal software for your company and offer alternatives to Jira to consider.

Tiffany Grant, financial wellness curator and online entrepreneur, advises that you do some pre-work before comparing project management systems. “Having your processes documented beforehand is crucial to identify where software can assist and simplify tasks,” she said.

Once you know what you need and want the software to do, you can quickly rule out the options that won’t help your company. As you review potentially viable solutions, you should keep several considerations in mind, such as:

• Your company location.
• Your team size.
• The number of clients with whom you work.
• Your project management tracking methods.
• You collaboration requirements.
• Your ease-of-use requirements.
• Needed automations.
• Required integrations.
• The software’s onboarding and customer support.
• The software’s compliance tools.
• Your budget.

Company location

Not every project management system is available in every country. That means you must ensure that any solution you choose is accessible to all of your employees, team members and clients.

Team size and number of clients

You also need to factor in the number of users who will need to access the platform. Generally, the more users you have, the more you’ll pay for the system each month or year. If clients need to log in, your system of choice must allow for enough guest users to cover your entire client base.

Project management tracking

When you think about functionality, the way the project management system tracks ongoing projects should be near the top of your list. Each solution offers different ways to view projects’ progress, such as Gantt charts or Scrum boards. Review the features of each system you’re considering, and rule out those that don’t include your preferred project management tracking views.

Collaboration tools

Unless you’re a team of one, you’ll likely need to collaborate with others in your company. Project management systems generally feature internal collaboration tools like comment sections, document sharing and live chat functionality. You should check if the software you like supports your preferred digital collaboration methods.

Ease of use

Your team is busy enough without having to invest a lot of time learning how to use new software. The system is supposed to make their jobs easier — not complicate them. In some cases, a simple tool may offer the best results. For instance, small businesses may not need a solution with all the bells and whistles.

Automations and integrations

Along the same lines, ensure the system will do what you need from the start. If it requires custom coding to make it align with your business operations, it may not be the right choice (unless you have a software developer on staff with the bandwidth to handle the configuration). 

Melody Johnson, the founder of The Course Consultant, said, “Automatically assigning employees or contractors to specific tasks or creating templates of tasks or set projects can be a massive time saver, making operations more cost-effective.” If automated workflows are important to you, you should choose software that has the pre-built automations you need or allows you to create your own without using code.

Your company likely already uses other software for different professional tasks. If so, your ideal project management system should work well with your existing software stack. Check to make sure your favorite software integrates with the new system. Doing so could save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Onboarding and customer support

The best project management systems have an extensive knowledge base of articles and videos that explain how to use the tool and offer basic troubleshooting tips when you encounter a glitch. Software providers should also provide timely, expert support during implementation and when complex technical issues arise.

Compliance

If you do business in a regulated industry, such as healthcare, you must ensure the project management system you use complies with rules like HIPAA. Melanie Oates, CEO of Melden Tech and systems strategist, said, “The last thing you want is to potentially get audited and learn that you can no longer use the software.” Your entire company operation could get turned upside down in an instant.

Budget

Last but certainly not least, you need to consider price. Johnson said, “While larger companies can afford to invest in software like Jira, smaller companies might have less flexibility in choosing software. They may be inclined to consider month-to-month subscriptions versus a large financial investment up-front. [On the other hand], if a company has buying power, they may want to consider discounts for a large number of employees by purchasing an annual priced plan.” 

Picking a project management system can be complex. Alissa Nolan, COO of Up My Influence, said the decision-making process is exhausting and a bit unnerving. “There are so many options to choose from, and I need to think about how [the system] can grow with us into the future, especially with the AI impact on the workplace. The risks of getting it wrong can be substantial.”

Oates has a recommendation that may help you select a winner: “Join the software community group on Facebook or other free platforms. Once you join, take a look at what people are talking about. Look for the pain points or frustrations as well.”

Why you may choose Jira

There are several reasons you might want to purchase Jira. Here are a few:

• You do a lot of software development: Jira is designed especially for software development projects. The system even includes a code repository.
• You can try it for free: If you have basic project management needs and a small team, you can use Jira’s free plan forever. You can also explore other plans for free for seven days. 
• 24/7 support is available on Premium and Enterprise plans: If you invest a lot in Jira, you can receive customer and technical assistance anytime, day or night.

Why you may want an alternative

However, you may want to explore other options in certain circumstances, such as because:

• The cost is too steep for your budget: Jira’s first paid option (the Standard plan) costs $8.15 per user per month. The Premium plan runs $16 per user per month. If you have a large team, your bill can add up fast.
• Customer support is limited in the Free and Standard plans: As a free user, you’ll have to get support from the Jira community instead of an expert from Atlassian. Standard users can get professional help, but it’s limited to regular business hours.
• You’re concerned about the company’s reputation: Atlassian has a number of dissatisfied customers who have voiced their opinions online.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What is the Microsoft equivalent of Jira?

Microsoft Planner is similar to Jira in that it helps you plan projects and track their progress. You can also use it to assign tasks to others and set due dates.

Why is Jira so expensive?

Jira can be pricey – especially if you have a lot of users. However, the software’s cost is competitive in the market and, in some cases, lower than other options, like Asana.

Does Jira support Kanban and Scrum?

Jira does support Kanban and Scrum. In fact, the software offers templates in those styles.

Can I get Jira for free?

Jira offers a free, basic plan that you can use indefinitely. You can also try one of the paid plans for free for seven days to see if you like the added functionality.