Assembla vs Jira (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Jira: it is second in our ranking of project management tools, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Jira grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Assembla
Managed Git, SVN and Perforce hosting with project management
Jira
Issue and project tracking for software and business teams
Which one is for you
Pick Assembla if
- Fits if you still keep code in SVN and want tickets beside it
- Works for teams that want code hosting in several regions
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as only a 14-day trial exists
- Not for you if you want project management on Starter, as it begins at Growth
- Pricey if you need Perforce Cloud, which starts at $52.20 a user a month yearly
- Watch out: extra storage and 24x5 support are add-ons below Custom Cloud
Pick Jira if
- Fits if you're a software team tracking bugs and development work through set stages
- Works for teams of up to 10 that can stay within 2 GB on the Free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you only want a simple shared list, because Jira is built around workflows you set up
- Tight if your free team grows past 10 users, 2 GB of files or 150 automation steps for the whole subscription
- Pricey if you need sandboxes, release tracks, advanced planning or an uptime SLA, which are Premium at $19.60 a user a month
- Watch out: annual billing is sold in fixed tiers of 10, 15, 25, 50 or 100 users, so you pay for seats you may not fill
- Watch out: there's no desktop app, and Free gets community support only
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAssemblaFair | 3.2GPAJiraVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $12.50 a user a month on yearly billing, but project management needs Growth at $19, past the $15.95 where the dearer quarter starts. | CStandard is $9.70 a user a month billed monthly since October 13, 2026, above this category's $8 middle. Annual billing saves about 18% but is sold in fixed tiers of 10, 15, 25 or 50 users, so you pay for seats you may not fill. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day trial with no card is the only free part. There is no free plan. | BFree for up to 10 users with 2 GB of file storage and community support. The caps are real, though: 2 GB of files, and 150 automation steps for the whole subscription rather than per person. |
| Features | CGit and SVN hosting, code review, tickets, sprints, time tracking and wikis. Project management is not in Starter. | ABoards, lists, a timeline and a calendar, workflows each team shapes itself, bug tracking wired to Bitbucket and GitHub, rule-based automation, plans and goals and Rovo AI. The Marketplace lists over 3,000 integrations, the most in this category. Advanced planning needs Premium. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Repositories, permissions and integrations have to be set up. | A4.7 on the App Store from 40,574 ratings. Someone still has to sit down and decide your team's statuses and steps, because the workflows are yours to define. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Slack, Jira, GitHub, Travis CI, Zapier and TestRail links. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, and no desktop app, which is what keeps it off the top mark. It connects to Bitbucket, GitHub, Jenkins and Slack, to Copilot, Claude and Cursor, and there's an API behind the Marketplace. |
| Best for | Git or SVN hosting with ticketing on the side | software teams tracking bugs and releases |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Assembla and Jira. How we grade
Price against what you get
Assembla starts at $12.50 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Jira starts at $9.70 a month for each person and scores 3.7.
Jira scores higher and starts $2.80 a month lower. Of the other project management tools on the chart, 51 score higher than Assembla for less, and none scores higher than Jira for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Assembla also covers wiki and time tracking.
- Jira also covers tasks, kanban boards, Gantt & timelines and workflow automation.
At a glance
| Assembla | Jira | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12.50 per user / month, billed annually | $9.70 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users) |
| Free plan | None | Free plan for up to 10 users: 2 GB of file storage, 150 automation steps per subscription and community support. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | From the Free plan, Standard can be tried free for 14 days and Premium for 30 days. |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Assembla | Atlassian |
| Price read from | get.assembla.com | atlassian.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Assembla
- Project management is included only from Growth; Starter is code hosting.
- Storage beyond the included amount is an add-on, and premium 24x5 support is an add-on until Custom Cloud.
- Perforce Cloud is priced separately, from $52.20 per user / month billed annually ($58 month to month).
- The pricing page shows an annual-billing toggle with a 10% badge; the per-user prices here match its annual totals but the monthly-billing figures are not in the page text.
Jira
- List prices rose on October 13, 2026: Standard went to $9.70 and Premium to $19.60 per user / month on monthly billing.
- The Free plan stops at 10 users and 2 GB of file storage.
- Annual billing is sold in fixed user tiers such as 10, 15, 25, 50 and 100 users rather than per individual seat.
- Sandbox, release tracks, advanced planning and an uptime SLA are only on Premium and Enterprise.
Key features
Assembla
- Git and SVN hosting
- Unlimited repositories for Git and Apache Subversion, with Git LFS.
- Code review
- Merge requests, inline comments and multi-reviewer approvals.
- Ticketing and sprints
- Growth includes ticketing, backlog, milestones, a standup board and burndown charts.
- Time tracking
- Time tracking and reports are listed under project management.
- Wikis and message board
- Documentation and discussion live next to the code.
- Hosting regions
- EU, US and APAC regions are listed for Starter and Growth.
Jira
- Boards, lists, timeline and calendar
- Projects are broken down into work items that can be tracked on boards, in lists, on a timeline or on a calendar.
- Customizable workflows
- Each team can define its own workflow of statuses and steps and connect it to the other tools in its stack.
- Bug and issue tracking
- Teams log bugs as work items and follow them through to resolution, with connections to code hosts such as Bitbucket and GitHub.
- Automation
- Rule-based automation is metered in steps: 150 per subscription on Free, 400 per user a month on Standard and 750 on Premium.
- Plans and goals
- Plans connect work across several teams, and goals tie work items to wider priorities. Advanced planning is part of Premium and Enterprise.
- Rovo AI and Marketplace apps
- Rovo AI helps with reporting, automations and routine project work. The Atlassian Marketplace lists more than 3,000 integrations.
Plans
Assembla
Starter$12.50
per user / month, billed annually
Managed Git and SVN hosting with 10 GB of storage per user, wikis, code review and standard 12x5 support. Recommended for up to 5 users.
Growth$19
per user / month, billed annually
Adds project management (ticketing, agile sprints, backlog, time tracking), 50 GB of storage per user and more integrations. Recommended for up to 25 users.
Custom CloudCustom
12-month term, unlimited users, a single-tenant environment, 250 GB of storage and premium support included.
Jira
Free$0
Up to 10 users, 2 GB of file storage, 150 automation steps per subscription and community support.
Standard$9.70
per user / month, billed monthly (1 to 100 users)
250 GB of file storage, 400 automation steps per user a month and support during local business hours.
Premium$19.60
per user / month, billed monthly (1 to 100 users)
Unlimited storage, advanced planning, sandbox and release tracks, 750 automation steps per user a month and a 99.9% uptime SLA.
Enterprise$179,000
per year for 1,000 users, annual contract only
Up to 150 sites, a 99.95% uptime SLA, Atlassian Guard Standard included and 24/7 Enterprise support.
Ways to pay less
Assembla
- Annual discount
10% off with annual billing
The pricing page has a billing toggle with annual billing marked at 10% off.
Jira
- Annual discount
About 18% less on annual billing
Standard is listed at $950 a year for 10 users, against $9.70 per user / month on monthly billing. Annual plans are sold in fixed user tiers.
- Nonprofit
Free Jira for nonprofits with up to 25 users
Atlassian's nonprofit page offers eligible nonprofits 100% off Jira, Confluence and Loom for up to 25 users, and 50-100% off its apps more broadly.
- Education
50% off for academic institutions
Atlassian's licensing page lists academic licenses at 50% off Jira Standard, Premium and Enterprise, and classroom licenses for students and teachers at 75% off Standard and Premium.
- Other savings
Free Standard plan for open source projects
Atlassian's licensing page lists Jira Standard at 100% off for qualifying open source projects.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Assembla or Jira?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Jira is cheaper to start with: $9.70 a month for each person, against $12.50 a month for each person for Assembla. Assembla starts at $12.50 per user / month, billed annually, and Jira starts at $9.70 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users).
Which has a free plan, Assembla or Jira?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Jira has a free plan. Assembla does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Assembla and Jira run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Jira lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.