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Jira alternatives in 2026: switch tools, or add what Jira can't do
An honest look at 9 Jira alternatives for software teams, what each is best for, and a third option: keep Jira and add the part it doesn't do.
Short answer: The best Jira alternative depends on your team. Software teams that want speed usually look at Linear, Shortcut or GitHub Projects. Cross-functional teams look at ClickUp, Asana or monday dev. Teams that need to self-host look at Plane or OpenProject, and Microsoft shops at Azure DevOps Boards. There is also a third option: keep Jira for tickets and add a tool for the part Jira doesn't do, which is deciding what to build.
Why teams look for a Jira alternative
Jira is still the default issue tracker for many software teams. People who look for an alternative usually give one of four reasons:
- Setup and admin. Jira can be configured for almost any workflow, and someone has to configure and maintain it.
- Cost as the team grows. Jira's Free plan covers up to 10 users. After that, Standard is priced per user ($7.91 per user a month, billed monthly, on Atlassian's pricing page), so the bill grows with every person who needs access.
- Speed and focus. Smaller software teams often want a lighter tool built only for engineering work.
- Data Center end of life. Atlassian ended support for Server products on February 15, 2024. It stopped selling new Data Center subscriptions to new customers on March 30, 2026, and Data Center reaches end of life on March 28, 2029. Self-hosted teams have to choose between Jira Cloud and something else.
How to choose
Start with the question your team is actually trying to answer:
| If your team... | Look at |
|---|---|
| Is a software team that wants a fast, focused tracker | Linear, Shortcut, GitHub Projects |
| Plans work across product, engineering, design and marketing | ClickUp, Asana, monday dev |
| Must host its own data | Plane, OpenProject |
| Runs on Microsoft | Azure DevOps Boards |
| Has no problem with Jira's tracking, but struggles to decide what to build | Keep Jira and add Devplan (see below) |
9 Jira alternatives worth considering
1. Linear
An issue tracker built for software teams. Linear has a free plan (250 issues, 2 teams, unlimited members) and paid plans from $10 per user a month, billed yearly (pricing). It also has a two-way Jira sync, which its docs describe as a way to "run a pilot or work through a gradual transition" (Linear docs).
Best for: software teams that want speed and a clean, opinionated workflow. Watch out for: the free plan's 250-issue limit, which a working team reaches quickly.
2. GitHub Projects
A planning tool built into GitHub. In GitHub's words, a project is "an adaptable table, board, and roadmap that integrates with your issues and pull requests" (GitHub docs). Issues and Projects are included on GitHub's Free plan (pricing).
Best for: engineering teams that already live in GitHub and want planning next to the code. Watch out for: it's built around GitHub issues, so product and business teams outside GitHub get less from it.
3. Shortcut
A project management tool for software teams. Shortcut is free for up to 10 users, and its Team plan starts at $8.50 per user a month (pricing).
Best for: small and mid-sized software teams that want something between Jira and Linear. Watch out for: the free plan stops at 10 users.
4. ClickUp
An all-in-one work management tool. ClickUp has a Free Forever plan, and its Unlimited plan costs $7 per user a month billed annually, or $10 billed monthly (pricing).
Best for: companies that want one tool for engineering and the rest of the business. Watch out for: a broad tool means more setup to make it fit a software workflow.
5. monday dev
monday.com's product for product and development teams. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial. Plans start at $9 per seat a month, billed annually, with a minimum of 3 seats (pricing).
Best for: teams that already use monday.com and want development work in the same place. Watch out for: no free plan, and seats are sold in minimum bundles.
6. Asana
Work management for cross-functional teams. Asana's Personal plan is free for 2 users. Starter costs $10.99 per user a month billed annually, or $13.49 billed monthly (pricing).
Best for: planning that spans product, marketing and operations. Watch out for: it isn't built around code, sprints or pull requests the way engineering trackers are.
7. Plane
An open-source project management tool, licensed under the AGPL v3 (GitHub), that you can host yourself or use in the cloud. The cloud Free plan covers 12 users, and Pro costs $6 per user a month billed annually (pricing).
Best for: teams that want something close to Linear but need to self-host. Watch out for: self-hosting means your team runs and updates it.
8. OpenProject
Open-source project management with a free, self-hosted Community edition, plus paid plans on-premises or in the cloud (pricing). Paid plans are priced in euros, from €5.95 per user a month, with a 25-user minimum.
Best for: organisations that must keep data on their own servers, including teams leaving Jira Data Center. Watch out for: paid plans start at 25 users.
9. Azure DevOps Boards
Microsoft's work tracking, part of Azure DevOps. The Basic plan is free for the first 5 users, then $6 per user a month (pricing).
Best for: teams already on Microsoft and Azure. Watch out for: it fits best inside the wider Azure DevOps toolset.
Jira alternatives compared
Prices per user a month in US dollars (OpenProject in euros), from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Prices change, so check before you buy.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jira (for reference) | Configurable tracking at any scale | Up to 10 users | $7.91, billed monthly |
| Linear | Fast software teams | 250 issues, 2 teams | $10, billed yearly |
| GitHub Projects | Teams that live in GitHub | Included in GitHub Free | Part of GitHub plans |
| Shortcut | Small and mid-sized software teams | Up to 10 users | $8.50 |
| ClickUp | One tool for the whole company | Free Forever | $7 annual, $10 monthly |
| monday dev | Teams already on monday.com | No (14-day trial) | $9, billed annually, 3 seats minimum |
| Asana | Cross-functional planning | Up to 2 users | $10.99 annual, $13.49 monthly |
| Plane (open source, self-hostable) | Self-hosting, Linear-style | 12 users (cloud) | $6, billed annually |
| OpenProject (open source, self-hostable) | Self-hosting, larger organisations | Community edition | €5.95, 25 users minimum |
| Azure DevOps Boards | Microsoft teams | First 5 users | $6 |
The third option: keep Jira, and add what it doesn't do
Most of the tools above do the same job as Jira: track tickets once someone has decided what they should be. That decision is often where the real problem is.
Jira is good at tracking tickets. It was never built to tell you which tickets should exist. Someone still has to read the sales calls, the support tickets and the Slack threads, work out what customers keep asking for, and write it up. In ProductPlan's State of Product Management 2026, only 34% of product professionals said they regularly use customer insights to guide prioritization.
Devplan does that part. It reads customer feedback from your calls, tickets and Slack, groups what customers ask for and counts who asked, writes the spec, and creates the tickets in Jira. Status then comes back from the real work, so nobody has to chase it.
You can run Devplan on top of Jira and change nothing about how engineering works. Or you can move one project at a time into Devplan, which can plan and track the work itself, until you no longer need Jira. If your company depends on Jira for more than software work, such as Jira Service Management or heavily customised workflows, keep Jira and add Devplan on top. See Devplan vs Jira Product Discovery for a side-by-side comparison.
How to switch without a big-bang migration
Moving every project at once is where migrations go wrong. A safer path:
- Pick one team and one project to pilot the new tool.
- Keep the two tools in sync during the pilot, if the new tool supports it. Linear's Jira sync, for example, keeps Jira up to date while you trial.
- Agree on what success looks like before you start: fewer status meetings, faster cycle time, less admin.
- Move the next project only when the first one works, and retire Jira when nothing is left in it.
Frequently asked questions
Is Atlassian discontinuing Jira?
No. Jira Cloud continues. What Atlassian is retiring is self-hosting: Server products lost support on February 15, 2024, new customers could no longer buy Data Center from March 30, 2026, and Data Center reaches end of life on March 28, 2029.
Is Jira becoming obsolete?
Not as an issue tracker. It is still a standard tool for software teams. What is changing is the work around the tickets: as teams hand more of the coding to AI agents, the hard part moves to deciding what to build and writing it down clearly. That is where teams are adding new tools.
Is there a Microsoft equivalent to Jira?
Yes, Azure DevOps Boards. It's free for the first 5 users on the Basic plan, then $6 per user a month.
What's the best free Jira alternative?
For software teams on GitHub, GitHub Projects is included in GitHub Free. Plane's cloud plan is free for 12 users and the software is open source. Shortcut is free for up to 10 users, and ClickUp has a Free Forever plan. For self-hosting, OpenProject's Community edition is free.
Should we choose Linear or Jira?
Linear suits software teams that want speed and a fixed, simple workflow. Jira suits organisations that need deep configuration across many teams. For the full breakdown, read Linear vs Jira: how to choose. Our Devplan vs Linear comparison covers how Devplan works with both.
About the author. Chris Bee is the co-founder and CEO of Devplan.
Keep Jira, or don't. Either way, start with what customers asked for. Start free with $100 in credits, no credit card needed, or book a demo.