12 Best Free Alternatives to Jira (2026)

Last checked October 2026 · 12 alternatives to Jira in our catalog

Jira paid plans start at $7.75/user/month, which is why people look for a free alternative. Below are 12 options with a free plan or no price at all - 4 are completely free, 5 are open source, 1 runs on Linux and 11 work in the browser.

Quick picks

Jira alternatives compared

Alternative	Price	Open source	Platforms	What it is
Asana	Freemium	No	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS	Work management for teams to plan and track projects.
Monday.com	Freemium	No	Web, iOS, Android	Visual work OS for teams and workflows.
Linear	Freemium	No	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS	Fast, opinionated issue tracking built for software teams.
ClickUp	Freemium	No	Web, Windows, Mac, iOS	All-in-one work platform: tasks, docs, goals, and more.
Basecamp	Freemium	No	Web, Windows, Mac, iOS	Calm, opinionated project management and team communication.
Trello	Freemium	No	Web, Mac, Windows, iOS	Simple, visual kanban boards for organizing anything.
Kanboard	Free	Yes (MIT)	Web	Free, self‑hosted Kanban board for small teams and individuals
OpenProject	Free	Yes (GPL-3.0)	Web	Free and open source project management software
plane	Free	Yes (AGPL-3.0)	Web	Open-source project management for issues, cycles, and roadmaps without admin overhead
GitLab	Freemium	Yes (MIT (Community Edition))	Web, Mac, Windows, Linux	The most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform
Mantis	Free	Yes (MIT)	iOS, Mac	A Swift image‑cropping library that mimics the iOS Photos app experience
Shortcut	Freemium	No	Web, iOS, Android	Simple, structured project management for software teams

Asana

FreemiumWebMacWindowsiOS

Work management for teams to plan and track projects.

Free plan includes: Up to 10 teammates · Unlimited tasks & projects · Basic workflows

Very flexible views for different work styles
Strong automation and workflow tools
Good for cross-functional, non-technical teams

Can feel overwhelming with many features enabled
Pricier at higher tiers for large orgs

Full details Jira vs Asana

Monday.com

FreemiumWebiOSAndroid

Visual work OS for teams and workflows.

Very visual and approachable
Flexible for many use cases
Good automations

Seat-based pricing adds up
Can get cluttered

Full details Jira vs Monday.com

Linear

FreemiumWebMacWindowsiOS

Fast, opinionated issue tracking built for software teams.

Free plan includes: 250 issues · Unlimited members · 2 teams

Blazing fast performance
Clean, opinionated UI reduces bikeshedding
Excellent Git integration

Less configurable than Jira for complex workflows
Limited reporting compared to enterprise tools

Full details Jira vs Linear

ClickUp

FreemiumWebWindowsMaciOS

All-in-one work platform: tasks, docs, goals, and more.

Free plan includes: Projects · Chat · AI Agents & Workflows · Sprints

Very feature-rich
Highly customizable
Generous free tier

Can feel overwhelming
Occasional performance issues

Full details

Basecamp

FreemiumWebWindowsMaciOS

Calm, opinionated project management and team communication.

Simple and calm
Flat pricing
Good for small teams

Less flexible than rivals
Fewer advanced PM features

Full details

Trello

FreemiumWebMacWindowsiOS

Simple, visual kanban boards for organizing anything.

Free plan includes: Unlimited cards · 10 boards per workspace · Butler automation (limited)

Extremely simple to learn
Generous free tier
Flexible for non-software use cases

Limited for complex, multi-team project tracking
Fewer reporting features than Asana or Jira

Full details

Kanboard

FreeOpen source · MITWeb

Free, self‑hosted Kanban board for small teams and individuals

Completely free and open source
Self‑hosted gives full data control
Simple, lightweight interface

No native third‑party integrations
Limited advanced reporting compared to paid tools

Full details

OpenProject

FreeOpen source · GPL-3.0Web

Free and open source project management software

Highly customizable and scalable
Supports a range of project management methodologies
Offers a range of features to support team collaboration

Can be complex to set up and configure
Limited support for mobile devices

Full details

plane

FreeOpen source · AGPL-3.0Web

Open-source project management for issues, cycles, and roadmaps without admin overhead

Open source and free to use
No admin overhead for hosted version
Rich text editor with file support

Limited native integrations listed
Advanced reporting may require custom setup

Full details

GitLab

FreemiumOpen source · MIT (Community Edition)WebMacWindowsLinux

The most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps platform

Free plan includes: 5 users per namespace · 400 CI/CD minutes/mo · Basic security scanning

All-in-one DevOps platform reduces tool sprawl
Mature, powerful CI/CD
Strong self-managed option

Smaller open-source community than GitHub
UI can be complex due to feature breadth

Full details

Mantis

FreeOpen source · MITiOSMac

A Swift image‑cropping library that mimics the iOS Photos app experience

Free and open‑source with no licensing fees
Seamless integration with both UIKit and SwiftUI
Rich feature set including rotation and perspective correction

Limited to iOS and Mac Catalyst platforms
No built‑in server‑side processing; all work is client‑side

Full details

Shortcut

FreemiumWebiOSAndroid

Simple, structured project management for software teams

Free plan includes: Kanban views · Roadmap view · Basic reports · Sprint planning

Intuitive UI with minimal learning curve
Strong support for agile methodologies
Rich integrations with popular dev tools

Limited advanced reporting compared to enterprise PM tools
No native self‑hosted option

Full details

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Jira?

Asana is the first free alternative we list for Jira. Others worth a look: Monday.com, Linear and ClickUp. Which one fits depends on what you use Jira for, so check the platform and free-plan details for each.

Is there a completely free alternative to Jira?

Yes. Kanboard, OpenProject, plane and Mantis have no paid tier. The rest of the list are freemium: a free plan with paid upgrades.

Is there an open-source alternative to Jira?

Yes: Kanboard, OpenProject, plane, GitLab and Mantis. Open-source options can usually be inspected, modified and self-hosted.

Does Jira have a free plan?

Yes. The free plan includes Up to 10 users, Kanban and Scrum boards, Backlog and agile reporting and Basic roadmaps. Paid plans start at $7.75/user/month.

How this list is built: alternatives come from our catalog's curated alternative relationships; price model, license and platforms come from each product's listing; order is fully-free first, then community votes.