Top 10 Jira Alternatives for Seamless Project Management

Jira is a power-packed project management tool with a large user-base.

Bug tracking, team management, tasks tracking, reports generation, team collaboration, and the list goes on for the endless features that Jira offers.

However, like any other tool, Jira is not the perfect solution for everyone, so many customers look for Jira alternatives.

Some people find Jira hard to use and look for a more user-friendly tool. Others are not happy with the price and try to look for a free or less expensive solution.

Well, there’s no dearth of options, and there are some surprising tools out there to offer you and your team quite efficient and user-friendly solutions.

In this blog guide, we will be discussing the best alternatives to Jira, their uses, pros and cons, and how they compare to Jira.

What is Jira?

Jira is a tool that is designed to help different teams in managing work. Initially, Jira was designed as an issue and bug tracker. But now, Jira has developed into a powerful project management tool with integrations and a kanban board, making it easier for technical support and development teams to get work done faster.

Why Look for a Jira Alternative?

Jira is surely a popular tool with a lot of features that are useful for any project management venture. But, eventually, you understand that it is too complicated for your projects and teams when compared to Jira competitors.

Furthermore, teams working on Jira are often confused because of the complex interface, which seems outdated. On the other hand, small and growing businesses surely can’t afford the plans, which can cost up to $12,000 yearly.

To sum it up, here’s why people look for tools similar to Jira:

• Obsolete Interface: A lot of inefficiencies in the program make it a complicated tool to work with. While teams think of boosting their productivity with Jira, a lot of time and effort is wasted in figuring out how to navigate through the interface efficiently.
• Hard to Learn: The learning curve is steep! The tool is clunky, and users get frustrated after using Jira on a daily basis. A lot of effort is required to learn the tool and then implement the project using it.
• Not for All Users: As the tool was designed mainly for the development team, it is fine for developers to use it easily. But when it comes to freelancers and users from other teams, it is an ineffective tool. Add the rocket-high prices to the ineffectiveness, and it won’t fit everyone’s budget and requirements.
• No Multiple Assignees: The tool doesn’t allow multiple assignees. So, when a task requires more than one user to work on it, it can’t be assigned with Jira. Other users can only provide their comments on the task while the assigned member works on it.

The Features Jira Alternatives Must Have

Jira is full of notable features, but it may not be the perfect project management tool for all businesses. This is what we learned above. Jira competitors are popular in the marketplace because they offer similar features at comparable or lower prices.

In general, project management tools are equipped with basic features. But as you are looking for a Jira alternative, make sure to look for the following features.

• Project planning, scheduling, shared team calendar, and task prioritization.
• Team collaboration for easy file sharing and communication. KPI dashboards and customer data center.
• Quick access to data with easy documentation and navigation.
• Customizable reports and dashboards for thorough analysis at critical milestones.
• Resource management feature to schedule the project resources for efficient resource planning.
• Time tracking, budget reports, billing, and automated invoicing to save time and complete the project effectively.
• Instant support from the service provider in case of bugs and issues.

#Fact Time: 66% of organizations using a project management software completed their project well within the budget as compared to 47% without working on a project management tool. That sums up how important it is to choose the right project management software!

Our Selection Criteria for Jira Alternatives

To help you find the best Jira alternative, we have tried different project management tools and have come up with some really good software solutions. The selection criteria that we followed to identify the best Jira alternatives are:

• Core Jira Features: The product has to offer core features like Scrum/Kanban dashboards, agile reporting, customizable workflows, and integrations.
• Comparable Pricing: We have included products that are priced similar to or less than Jira.
• Minimum 20 user reviews published on Getapp and Capterra in the last two years: Recent reviews tell us a lot about the pros and cons of the alternatives.
• High “Features and functionality” rating: The product should have a minimum rating of 4 out of 5 stars on Getapp and Capterra.
• High Recommendation Rating: The tool should have an average recommendation rating between 8 and 10 on a scale of 10 on Getapp and Capterra.

Best Jira Alternatives

1. ProProfs Project

ProProfs Project is an online project management software that allows project managers and teams to easily organize their projects, distribute the tasks, collaborate with teams, track progress, generate reports, and do a lot more. The tool is perfect for anyone from freelancers to small businesses and big enterprises to enhance their gameplan.

You can use ProProfs Project to:

• Plan projects and always deliver on time.
• Collaborate with teams for a delightful experience.
• Track time, progress, and prioritize projects with real-time notifications to the team.
• Generate accurate invoices and customize bills on the go.
• Create insightful reports and analytics with an intuitive interface.

Pricing

• Free – no charge freemium plan
• Essentials – $3/user/month
• Premium – $6/user/month

Pros	Cons
Manage projects smartly at affordable prices. Easy to use interface and all project info in a single place. Team communication is easy. Advanced tracking and reporting.	Idea management and portfolio management are missing. Lagging issues can be improved.

2. VersionOne

VersionOne is a great alternative software for Jira that makes project management easy. The cloud-based software aims to speed up high-value software development and delivery by improving quality and reducing the risk. The tool is best for any agile project management team, irrespective of their size.

You can use VersionOne to:

• Plan tasks, schedule team meetings, assign tasks, and track progress.
• Engage with team members in your entire organization.
• Customize boards, reports, and other fields according to project requirements.
• Integrate with other tools for portfolio management, customer idea management, product road mapping, and agile visualizations.

Pricing

• Enterprise – $29/user/month
• Ultimate – $39/user/month

Pros	Cons
Fantastic visual representation of projects. Easy creation of custom reports. Issue tracking is super easy. Task board to track team progress is useful.	Many advanced features with not much use. The support desk is not organized. Test management needs improvement. Good for agile projects, but not for traditional waterfall projects..

3. nTask

nTask is a good free alternative to Jira. It is one of the only tools online that offers everything you need to plan project tasks. From freelancers to students/teachers and project managers in small/big organizations, nTask works perfectly as per the needs and requirements. Combine all of these with really low prices, and you have hit the jackpot!

You can use nTask to:

• Easily share checklists and other project information to outside clients via public links.
• Monitor the time spent on each task for each team member with timesheets.
• Use Gantt charts for a 360-degree view of your complete project schedule.
• Identify the potential risks and their chances through pie charts and a risk matrix.

Pricing

• Basic – $0 (Free forever)
• Premium – $3.99/user/month
• Business – $11.99/user/month
• Enterprise – Custom quotes on request.

Pros	Cons
Beautiful and responsive design, perfect for new users. A ton of features at minimum cost. Assigning tasks and navigation is super easy. The risk assessment feature is a big plus.	No templates to get started. Limited third-party apps integration. Fewer customization options.

4. Pivotal Tracker

Pivotal Tracker is an agile project management tool that is easy to use and allows real-time collaboration. Each user can provide their input and insights on the project so that the manager can decide the path further. It is simple but transformative and powerful to make things faster. Startups and organizations looking for agile workflow can try this out.

You can use Pivotal Tracker to:

• Monitor the project deadlines and distribute the workload efficiently.
• Visualize projects in the form of stories or cards, making it easier to break down the project into small doable chunks.
• Predict project milestones and the estimated time of completion based on the team’s general pace of work.
• Increase functionality using a range of supported third-party plugins. 

Pricing

• Free – $0 for 1-5 users
• Startup – $10/month for 6-10 users
• Standard – $6.50/user/month
• Enterprise – Custom pricing as per the number of users

Pros	Cons
Good for small teams at reasonable prices. Perfect for collaborators with not much prior knowledge of project management. Tracking progress and defining tasks is easy. Built-in charts for easy reporting.	Needs improvement in UI for a better experience. Bugs and issues with long resolving time. Inadequate support from the customer service team.

5.  TargetProcess

TargetProcess is an agile project management tool that offers a holistic approach to managing a project portfolio. It adapts to your team’s management approach easily and gives you complete freedom to choose any agile approach like Kanban, Scrum, or any customized approach. It is an ideal tool for medium-sized and large companies to manage both IT and non-IT projects.

You can use TargetProcess to:

• Create different boards as it offers custom views, cards, and dashboards.
• Generate custom reports and easily track bugs.
• Track the project progress and handle multiple projects/teams.
• Visualize the project data in the form of charts and graphs.

Pricing

• Free trial available. For pricing, they offer custom quotes on request.

Pros	Cons
Perfect for companies operating without a dedicated IT staff. A well-designed user interface that updates regularly. Incredible customer support. Organized reports with an excellent dashboard view.	Roadmapping is a bit complex. Lack of commenting tools and no in-app notifications. Pricing is not reasonable for startups and small businesses.

6. Asana

Asana has become a quite popular project management tool over time. The software provides an engaging communication and collaboration platform between different teams working on the project. From multiple workspaces and activity feeds to easy assigning of tasks with attachments and customized calendars, it is a good tool for all businesses.

You can use Asana to:

• Assign tasks, set priorities, and deadlines all at a single place.
• Address the risks and create reports to update stakeholders.
• Visualize project plans to check different outcomes.
• Use board view for agile project management.
• Integrate 100+ tools for increased functionality and efficiency.

Pricing

• Basic – $0 (Free forever)
• Premium – $13.49/user/month
• Business – $30.49/user/month
• Enterprise – Custom quotes on request.

Pros	Cons
Users love the free plan as it is good for startups and small businesses. Variety of integrations to give projects a 360° view. Customizations of dashboards make it easy for project managers to track tasks. Advanced storage security to protect confidential data of companies.	Not user-friendly, and new users might require training. No time tracking feature as it requires a third party plug-in to do so. A single task can be assigned to one person only. Limited exporting functionality.

7. Celoxis

Celoxis is an all-in-one tool for work management and project portfolio. The software is used globally by big brands, and it is equipped with some powerful features like portfolio management, project accounting, critical path analysis, and resource management. With the reasonable price range that it offers, it seems to be best suited for medium and large enterprises.

You can use Celoxi to:

• Build practical and efficient project plans with interactive Gantt charts.
• Collaborate with teams and share files easily.
• Manage the teams working at different times.
• Track progress, issues, timesheets, and manage the project effectively.
• Get a complete overview of the project with detailed insights, analytics, and an intuitive dashboard.

Pricing

• Cloud – $25/user/month
• On-Premise – $450/user, one time (5 users minimum)

Pros	Cons
Easy to install and roll out to all the teams. Perfect for non-technical users to get on with it. Quick online support for easy resolution of bugs and issues. Customizable project management tool.	Missing Kanban board. Tasks in a project can’t be assigned to the clients. Limited app integrations or add-ons.

8. Aha!

Aha! is a popular product roadmap software that offers project managers and marketing teams to define and strategize various things about a product before actually building one. The tool helps in capturing ideas, generating reports, and sharing roadmaps with clients and stakeholders. The cloud-based software is fine for all small, medium, and large businesses.

You can use Aha! to:

• Create visual roadmaps related to products, technology, and marketing. (Gantt charts to display project status)
• Customize the layouts, navigation tab, and workflow to capture customer and user ideas in a single portal.
• View detailed reports that offer insights on performance and results.
• Build your own wiki-like knowledge base to store relevant information at a central place.

Pricing

• Startup – $29/user/month
• Premium – $74/user/month
• Enterprise – $124/user/month

Pros	Cons
Track all the project work in one place. Integration with third-party add-ons is easy. Support staff is always helpful. Lots of customizations and great UI.	A bit of a learning curve for new users and project managers. Not an ideal financial fit for startups and small businesses. Issues with the mobile applications.

9. Trello

Trello is a simpler version of Jira that creates a shared perspective for your project team in an engaging, flexible, and fun way. From marketing team to HR and operations to IT teams, Trello is perfect for everyone and can be customized to fit the unique needs and work styles. Simplicity is the core value that Trello follows, and that is why users love it.

You can use Trello to:

• Create a product roadmap using Trello’s intuitive board and share it with stakeholders.
• Create to-do lists, track time on tasks, and prioritize tasks according to the requirements.
• Easily manage the on-going projects by tracking the task status and getting updates on the issue with the help of tags and labels.
• Automate the board clean-up at the end of the project to organize the tool and be ready for the next assignment.

Pricing

• Free – $0/user
• Business – $12.50/user/month
• Enterprise – Starting from $17.50/user/month (more the users, less Pricing)

Pros	Cons
Visual boards like Pinterest to easily layout the project. User-friendly platform with real-time updates and notifications. Easy integration with third-party apps. Easy collaboration with different teams.	Limited views in Kanban boards. Report generation capabilities are lacking. Not ideal for large products as advanced features are missing.

10. Basecamp

Basecamp is a cloud-based collaborative project management software that lets project team members work together and communicate easily. The tool is excellent at what it does and allows project managers to efficiently manage and monitor the progress of projects. It is perfect for everyone, from freelancers to large companies, and is the right tool for large projects.

You can use Basecamp to:

• Set up a project, add team members, create to-do lists, and assign deadlines.
• Manage project calendar in a single view and track milestones.
• Communicate seamlessly with team members and clients using group chat and direct messages.
• Create a centralized hub for storing files and documents.
• Generate project task reports and analyze them.

Pricing

• Personal – $0 (3 projects, 20 users)
• Business – $99/month (unlimited)

Pros	Cons
An intuitive interface that is easy to configure for all users. Simple to manage team members and can add clients as well. A perfect platform to work and communicate for large teams. Supports various third-party integrations.	Lacks advanced features like Gantt charts and task interdependencies. No prioritization feature available for to-dos and tasks. Reports are basic and need improvement.

Comparison of Best Alternatives of Jira

Final Verdict: Which Jira Alternative Should You Go For?

Jira is a powerful project management tool that lets you:

• Manage project tasks and issues
• Choose and configure boards
• Plan stories
• Customize workflow
• Generate reports and analytics

Based on your business and project requirements, you may want to first consider some factors before choosing Jira’s best alternative.

• Essential features that you must want in a project management tool.
• How does your team communicate?
• Your preferred methodology for project management.

As Jira is complicated software, it is not perfect for everyone. ProProfs Project is worth giving a try as it is packed with features that would suit your business needs and project requirements. It has all the basic and advanced features, eases the communication between stakeholders, and offers beautiful insights related to the project. With an intuitive interface and organized system in place, it is the perfect fit for your project!