Developer Tools
Jira
Dev project management.
What it is
Jira is the industry standard for professional software teams worldwide using Agile methodologies. Built by Atlassian, it flawlessly tracks every step of the software lifecycle (planning, coding, testing, release). It offers deep tools for Scrum and Kanban and goes further than most trackers in bug tracking and workflow customization. For a professional engineering team, Jira is not just an option—it is a necessity for managing complex builds.
Key features
Scrum & Kanban
World-class tools for sprint planning and backlog management.
Advanced Roadmaps
Plan future projects and team capacity over the long term.
JQL Querying
Search through thousands of tasks by writing your own custom queries.
Automation Engine
Trigger task updates based on developer actions like pushing code.
Strengths and trade-offs
What works well
- Dev Focused: Offers the exact workflows and terminology that engineers need.
- Infinite Customization: Define exactly what every button and status does in detail.
- Advanced Reporting: Burndown charts and velocity tracking come built in, not as add-ons.
- Ecosystem: Works as a unified system with Bitbucket, GitHub, and Confluence.
Where it falls short
- Difficult Setup: Configuring initial settings can require a dedicated 'Jira Admin.'
- Complex UI: Can be intimidating and confusing for non-technical team members.
- Speed: Page loads can be slow for massive enterprise-level projects.
Who it is for
Software Engineers, Product Owners, and QA Teams.
Pick it or skip it
Pick Jira if
- Teams of up to 10 people who need real project tracking for nothing: the Free plan covers unlimited goals, projects, tasks and forms with board, timeline, calendar and backlog views
- Growing teams on Standard at $7.91 per user/month — user roles and permissions, external collaboration, multi-region data residency, 250 GB storage and up to 100,000 users per site
- Organisations coordinating several teams: Premium at $14.54 per user/month adds cross-project planning and dependency management, unlimited storage and a 99.9% uptime SLA
Skip it if
- Automation is central to your workflow — Free gives only 150 steps per subscription per month, and even Standard is capped at 400 steps per user per month
- You need SSO, SCIM or Active Directory Sync below Enterprise: on Free, Standard and Premium those require a separate Atlassian Guard Standard subscription
- You run more than one site — Free, Standard and Premium are single-site; multiple sites (up to 150) start at Enterprise, which is annual-only and quote-based
Our verdict
The world's most powerful tool for managing professional software development processes.
Closest alternatives we track
Same category, ordered by verified starting price.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Jira cost per user?
- Jira's Free plan is $0 forever for up to 10 users. Standard is listed at $7.91 per user/month and Premium at $14.54 per user/month; Atlassian states annual billing saves up to 17% against monthly. Enterprise is billed annually only and its price is shown after switching the page to annual billing, otherwise it is contact sales. The per-user figures move with the team size selector on the pricing page, so the exact rate depends on your headcount.
- What does the free Jira plan actually limit?
- The Free plan caps you at 10 users on a single site with 2 GB of file storage, 100 emails per day and 150 automation steps per subscription per month — not per user. It includes unlimited goals, work items, spaces and forms, customizable workflows, all the views (backlog, list, board, timeline, calendar, summary), reports and dashboards, and the iOS and Android apps. Support is Atlassian Community only, and there is no uptime SLA.
- What is the difference between Jira Premium and Enterprise?
- Premium adds cross-project planning and dependency management, capacity management, scenario modeling, customizable approvals, unlimited storage, 750 automation steps per user per month, 24/7 support for critical issues and a 99.9% uptime SLA. Enterprise adds cross-product insights with Atlassian Analytics and Data Lake, advanced admin controls, enterprise-grade identity and access management with Atlassian Guard Standard included, 1,000 automation steps per user per month, up to 150 sites, 24/7 support for all issues and a 99.95% SLA. Enterprise is billed annually only.
- How much does Jira cost?
- Jira starts at $8/user/mo per user. We verified this against the vendor's pricing page; see "What we checked" below for the date.
- Who is Jira best for?
- Software Engineers, Product Owners, and QA Teams.
- What are the closest alternatives to Jira?
- In the same category we track Trello, Monday.com and Smartsheet. Each has its own review page with verified pricing, and the comparison links above show them side by side.
- What are the main drawbacks of Jira?
- The trade-offs we noted: Difficult Setup: Configuring initial settings can require a dedicated 'Jira Admin.'; Complex UI: Can be intimidating and confusing for non-technical team members.; Speed: Page loads can be slow for massive enterprise-level projects..
- When should you not use Jira?
- Skip Jira if: Automation is central to your workflow — Free gives only 150 steps per subscription per month, and even Standard is capped at 400 steps per user per month; You need SSO, SCIM or Active Directory Sync below Enterprise: on Free, Standard and Premium those require a separate Atlassian Guard Standard subscription; You run more than one site — Free, Standard and Premium are single-site; multiple sites (up to 150) start at Enterprise, which is annual-only and quote-based.
What we checked
- Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
- Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.Yes
- Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.No
- SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.Yes
“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.
Evidence and freshness
Status: Vendor pricing page verifiedReviewed: 2026-09-09
- Atlassian — Jira pricing ↗
Checked 2026-09-09 · Supports: Free $0 forever for up to 10 users: unlimited goals, projects, tasks and forms; backlog, list, board, timeline, calendar and summary views; reports and dashboards; 150 automation steps per subscription per month; 2 GB storage; 100 emails per day; Atlassian Community support; 1 site, Standard $7.91 per user/month: everything in Free plus Rovo Search, Chat and Agents, user roles and permissions, external collaboration, multi-region data residency, 400 automation steps per user per month, 250 GB storage, 9/5 regional support, up to 100,000 users per site, Premium $14.54 per user/month: everything in Standard plus cross-team planning and dependency management, customizable approvals, customizable onboarding, 750 automation steps per user per month, unlimited storage, 24/7 support for critical issues, 99.9% uptime SLA, Enterprise contact sales, billed annually only: Atlassian Analytics and Data Lake, advanced admin controls and security, enterprise-grade identity and access management, 1,000 automation steps per user per month, up to 150 sites, 24/7 support for all issues, 99.95% uptime SLA, Annual billing stated as saving up to 17% versus monthly, Atlassian Guard Standard (SSO, SCIM, Active Directory Sync) requires a separate subscription on Free, Standard and Premium; included on Enterprise, Rovo credits per user per month: 25 on Free, 70 on Standard, 150 on Premium, Data Center is the separate self-managed offering for strict regulatory or security requirements
Limit: Vendor pricing page was reviewed by an editor on this date; this record is not a ToolCompare benchmark. Prices and limits change. Per-user figures are produced by the page's team size selector and change with headcount; the quoted rates are those shown at the page's default selection. Enterprise pricing is only displayed after switching the page to annual billing and is otherwise contact sales; no Enterprise figure is quoted here.
Compare Jira with alternatives
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