Jira, made by Atlassian, is the dominant issue tracking and project management tool in software development. Originally built for bug tracking, it has expanded into a full agile platform supporting scrum boards, kanban boards, roadmaps, and backlog management.
The platform is highly configurable with custom issue types, fields, workflows, and permissions. Integration with GitHub, Bitbucket, Confluence, and other Atlassian products makes it the natural choice for teams in the Atlassian ecosystem.
Jira’s strength is depth of reporting and workflow control. Velocity charts, burndown charts, and cycle time metrics give engineering managers detailed visibility. Advanced Roadmaps on Premium adds cross-project dependency tracking.
The free plan supports up to 10 users with core scrum and kanban functionality. Standard at $7.91/user/month adds audit logs and user roles. Premium at $14.54/user/month adds Advanced Roadmaps and 24/7 support. Volume discounts kick in at 100 users.
The main weakness is complexity. New users face a steep learning curve and misconfigured workflows are a common pain point. Linear is a popular alternative for teams wanting simpler tooling.