It’s not a secret that many teams are switching to agile project management. 71% of people who adopted agile methodologies in project management believe it has improved project delivery.
One of the most famous tools for agile project management is Jira – people choose it because it’s suitable for large teams, increases productivity, and integrates with many other tools.
But Jira is not perfect because it has a steep learning curve, a somewhat complicated user interface, and a price that is not accessible to everyone.
That's why we created a list of the top six best Jira alternatives to help you find the best one for your team.
Jira alternatives & competitors: Selection criteria
To choose the best agile project management software for your team, it's essential to know your individual and company-level needs and then select the most appropriate product based on those factors. Here are the criteria you should consider.
Features
Workflow automation
Team collaboration
Multiple boards and views
Task management
Customization
Agile methodology
Choose a tool that supports the methodology you’re using for agile project management or offers a combination of them, such as:
Scrum
Kanban
Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Lean Software Development (LSD)
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
Integrations
Some of the necessary integrations are:
Communication tools (such as Slack or Microsoft Teams)
Calendars
Other industry-specific tools
Pricing
Finding the right balance between features and cost is essential. Paid plans vary, depending on the size of your team and the features you need. Some of them offer free trials or even free subscription plans.
6 best Jira alternatives & competitors for agile teams
workstreams.ai
workstreams.ai is a comprehensive tool for agile project management, planning, time allocation, creation, and automation of workflows.
It has a variety of customizable workflows that will help you streamline and standardize your business processes.
We have specific project management workflows for different industries, such as:
According to the State of Agile report, 86% of software development teams have adopted agile practices and principles. This percentage is lower in other industries, but our goal was to create an agile project management tool with a user-friendly and intuitive interface that's accessible to everyone, whether they're tech-savvy or not.
Our tool is based on Kanban-style boards enriched with agile practices so they're more flexible than traditional ones. You can also switch to an in-app calendar if you want to visualize your tasks that way.
workstreams.ai could be the best alternative to Jira for task management due to the following advanced features:
Time allocation – With our tool, you can not only precisely track time, but also use this data to estimate how much time a particular task will take to allocate your resources more effectively.
Task enrichment – Our task templates have a lot of space for you to add details about a particular task, including subtasks, smart labels, checkable to-do lists, or any other custom field.
Frozen tasks – This feature reminds you of the tasks that have been inactive for a while, ensuring you don't forget anything important when the work gets busy.
We provide integrations with communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, allowing you to collaborate on unlimited projects in real time.
Other vital integrations include your calendar (you can connect your Gmail and Outlook to our in-app calendar) and Trello so that every change you make in Trello is reflected in our boards.
But there's more. With our Webhook integration, you can easily set up real-time connections between different apps and tools, pushing data from various sources into workstreams.ai, making it a good choice for an agile software development team that needs a lot of flexibility.
Features:
Time allocation
Workflow automation
In-app calendar
Advanced task details (smart labels, custom fields)
Webhook integration
Pricing:
Free plan: free, including all workstreams.ai features just like the Pro plan, but limited to three team members
Pro plan: $7.99 per user per month, unlimited workflows, unlimited automation, unlimited tasks
Enterprise plan: custom price available upon request
ClickUp
Image source: G2.com
ClickUp is a comprehensive and highly customizable tool you can use for various purposes: from assigning tasks and tracking goals to managing project documentation.
It's based on Kanban boards and comes with numerous templates.
You can also build your own dashboard by adding over 50 built-in widgets. Some of them include:
Progress tracking
Sprints
Calculations
Time tracking
Workload management
ClickUp boosts team collaboration and idea generation through its visual canvases, ideal for brainstorming and mapping but also for building your workflows together as a team. There's also built-in chat that your team can use without opening another app.
ClickUp’s mission was to create an app that would replace many other apps and reduce your digital clutter and that's why they've included so many different features.
But if you still need to use some other tool, don't worry, because there are over 1,000 integrations, from DropBox and Google Drive for document management to communication platforms like Slack and Zoom.
On the downside, ClickUp may not be the most suitable option for a very large project team. While the user interface is generally pretty good and intuitive, it becomes a bit cluttered and difficult to navigate when too many people are working on the same project. In this case, you may want to take a look at ClickUp alternatives.
Features:
Customizable dashboards
Team collaboration
Goal tracking
Document management
Pricing:
Free plan
Unlimited plan: $7 per month per user (best for small teams)
Business plan: $12 per month per user (best for mid-sized teams)
Enterprise plan: custom price upon request
Asana
Image source: G2.com
Asana was one of the first agile tools on the market and it's still very popular due to the broad spectrum of things teams can use it for.
You can use it in different modes:
Kanban style
To-do list
Calendar view
Gantt charts, and many more
Its workflow builder allows you to systemize your procedures and automate workflows. You can use existing workflow templates or template your own workflow and use it as a blueprint to create new ones.
Regarding task management, it's possible to set deadlines and due dates, add subtasks, and track milestones.
You can also use Asana for:
Cross-team collaboration on shared projects in real-time
Including external collaborators as guests
Managing multiple projects simultaneously
You can send messages, add comments, or create announcements. Another cool feature is the ability to record short videos, which is ideal for quick tutorials or giving feedback.
Many integrations are available, from communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams to ClockWise and Google Calendar.
While user feedback is positive overall, many users mentioned that tags and labels could be improved and that it would be nice to have some shortcuts due to numerous features. Make sure to check out other Asana alternatives and compare them.
Features:
Workflow automation
Different types of boards
Milestone tracking
External project members
Pricing:
Basic plan: free
Premium plan: $10.99 per user per month
Business plan: $24.99 per user per month
Enterprise plan: custom price upon request
Wrike
Image source: Capterra.com
Wrike is a project management software often used in the marketing sector. Research shows that high-growth marketing companies are much more likely to rely on advanced automation, which could be the secret to their fast growth and scaling.
Wrike takes workflow automation to the next level thanks to its Automation Engine that analyzes and synchronizes related tasks in the background, saving you a lot of time and providing custom workflow recommendations.
Other benefits include:
It's good for resource management and tracking costs, making it ideal for planning marketing campaigns.
It's based on Kanban boards that get updated in real time, so you can see the progress of every team member.
Its dashboard is also metric-related, allowing you to easily visualize cost and budget calculations, workload assessments, and planned revenue. These features can help you with resource planning and allocation.
Wrike integrates with over 400 tools: from Slack and Zoom for communication to Google Calendar and Miro boards.
The biggest downside is that the interface can be a bit clunky for non-technical users, especially those using it on a Mac or their phone. Check out Wrike alternatives if this bothers you.
Features:
Advanced automation
Revenue-related metrics
Resource planning
Marketing Insights
Pricing:
Free plan
Team plan: $9.80 per user per month (for startups and growing teams)
Business plan: $24.80 per user per month (for teams of up to 200 users)
Enterprise plan: custom price (for large teams, offering additional security and scalability)
Pinnacle plan: custom price (for complex project management, offering advanced analytics)
Monday.com
Image source: PCMag.com
Monday.com is a cloud-based collaboration software you can use to manage projects, create workflows, track progress, and assign tasks to your team members.
From the moment you sign up, it customizes your interface according to your industry or role. It offers a specialized project management functionality for each of the following teams:
Product development
Marketing
Sales
IT
HR
Operations
Monday.com has many templates and pre-made workflows specifically designed for the teams mentioned above.
It has a user-friendly interface, and you can choose from different views:
Kanban
Gantt
Timeline
Calendar view, etc.
When it comes to communication, unfortunately, there's no built-in chat, but you can add comments and notes. It also has a feature for sending quick questions to your manager and colleagues, which can reduce the need for meetings and calls.
Monday.com integrates with over 200 tools, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and others.
Some users stated that the learning curve could be simplified, especially when it comes to creating and automating workflows. There are also some minor integration issues, which can cause delays in conversations and data exports.
If you want to compare all the options, check out Monday.com alternatives.
Features:
Industry-specific workflows
Advanced automation
Different types of boards
Document and file management
Pricing:
Free plan
Basic plan: €8 per user per month
Standard plan: €10 per user per month
Pro plan: €19 per user per month
Enterprise plan: custom pricing available upon request
Airtable
Image source: Capterra.com
Airtable is more than a simple project management tool. It's so customizable that you can use it to build your own project management app with all the features you need.
The core part of the app is based on spreadsheet-like features similar to Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, but there’s more.
You can choose how you want to visualize your data:
Lists
Gantt charts
Timelines
Calendar view
Simply organizing it based on who owns the table
It offers advanced and precise workflow automation based on if-then statements, ideal for technical teams but maybe not that great for not tech-savvy people from other industries.
There are some integrations (Google Drive, email, even some social networks), but not nearly as many as most of the other project management tools on our list have.
That said, Airtable is a bit complicated and robust. It offers many features, but if you want to get the most out of them, you need to have a technical background and even some coding skills.
Also, there are not enough options for collaboration and communication. If you want something simpler and quicker, check out the Airtable alternatives.
Features:
Advanced automation
Spreadsheets and database
Different types of boards
Pricing:
Free plan: up to five users
Plus plan: $10 per user per month
Pro plan: $20 per user per month
Enterprise plan: custom price upon request
The best Jira alternatives & competitors: Comparison table
Platform | Key features | Pricing | Free trial | Best for |
Jira |
|
| Yes | Software development teams |
workstreams.ai |
|
| Yes | Workflow automation for SMEs accross different industries |
ClickUp |
|
| Yes | Task management |
Asana |
|
| Yes | Team collaboration |
Wrike |
|
| Yes | Marketing teams |
Monday.com |
|
| Yes | Marketing and sales teams |
Airtable |
|
| Yes | Tech-savvy teams that want to build their own management app |
Conclusion
An agile project management software is guaranteed to boost your productivity, but only if you choose the right one. Considering the most important factors (size of your team, industry, budget), ask yourself whether you need a robust tool or something more flexible and user-friendly.
If you're looking for a flexible project management tool that allows you to optimize workflows and collaborate in real time (even if you've never used a similar tool before), workstreams.ai is the right software for you.
Sign up today to streamline your workflows and start enjoying the benefits.
FAQs
What is better than Jira?
Choosing the best Jira alternative depends on many factors, like the size of your team and the features that are important to you. Good options could be workstreams.ai, Asana, ClickUp, or Monday.com.
Which Microsoft tool is like Jira?
Microsoft Azure DevOps has some features similar to Jira, but it can't completely replace Jira unless you combine it with some other team management software.
Is Jira the best agile tool?
Jira is a popular project management tool, in line with Asana and ClickUp, but it's hard to say which one is the best because it depends on your needs.
What are the disadvantages of Jira?
Jira has a steep learning curve and an interface that may not be suitable for beginners. It's also on the pricier side and the file size you can upload is limited.
