We’ll talk about that more in our next section. The first is that Jira unlocks most abilities in the free plan, while Asana guards its features jealously behind several tiers of payment. However, there are two things to keep in mind when comparing the features of Asana and Jira. This last one is ideal for project managers who are managing managers of their own (pretty sure we won a bet with that sentence). For example, there’s a built-in time-tracking app called Harvest as well as the portfolio view, which allows you to get a bird’s-eye view of several projects at once. Of course, these are only the most important features - there are plenty more.
Straight out the box, it’s no more than a scrum board or kanban board (any one project can only have one of these), plus a few supporting actors, like a code repository.Īsana’s workload view lets you see if anybody is working too hard or, alternatively, not pulling their weight. We’ll talk more about integrations a little further on in this round, so for now let’s look at the core functions of Jira.
Read our Jira vs Trello piece for more on this, as well as our guide on how to integrate Jira and Trello. We see much the same with Jira’s sibling Trello, where in some circumstances third-party integrations can end up making up more of the program than its core.
The second is that Atlassian likes to offer simple software that users can then customize to their own needs. There seems to be two reasons for this: the first is that the Agile philosophy Jira is based on is a very streamlined method that foregoes doodads for getting the work done. That’s not to say Jira is no good it’s just that its parent company, Atlassian, decided to go with a much more streamlined approach. Jira doesn’t stand a chance here as it’s just being used for target practice by the better contender. It’s one of the most feature-packed project management tools out there, even outdoing in a few key areas, which is why it’s a top alternative for Asana fans (check out our Asana vs article for that titanic battle). Our first round is an easy win for Asana. While Jira and Asana are definitely within striking distance of the crown, is still the undisputed king, and we recommend anybody looking for a great all-round tool check out our review.
However, before we get to any of that, we’re going to give a quick shout-out to the winner of our best project management software roundup,. That said, it’s not entirely a one-sided beat down and Jira puts up a gallant fight. As we explain in our Jira review, it’s a great project management tool, but it’s a lightweight when compared to Asana.
As you can read in our full Asana review, it has a ton of features, great ease of use and a wonderful knowledgebase. To make a long story short, the winner is Asana. As such, you’re going to have to think carefully if budget is a big concern for you.