Codecks vs Jira
We give Codecks a 3.2 GPA and Jira a 3.8, out of 4.0. Jira grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Codecks
Card-based project management built for game development studios
Jira
Issue and project tracking for software and business teams
How we grade them
| 3.2GPACodecksVery good | 3.8GPAJiraExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPlus is €6 a user a month billed yearly, or €7 monthly, which is about typical for this category. It has unlimited users and projects, and read-only Observers are free. But due dates, time tracking and dependencies need Pro at €9. | BStandard is $9.05 a user a month on monthly billing, about typical for project tools, and it rises to $9.70 on October 13, 2026. Annual billing is about 17% less, but it's sold in fixed tiers like 10, 15 or 25 users, not seat by seat. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for up to 5 users and 3 projects, with cards, decks, milestones, runs and the Discord bot. Fine for a small indie team starting out. But there's 1 GB of storage between you, and no due dates, time tracking or dependencies. | AFree for up to 10 users, with 2 GB of file storage and community support. A small team could stay here for good. Automation is the thin part, at 150 steps for the whole subscription. |
| Features | AIt does one thing, game production, and does it fully. Hero Cards apply a pipeline of steps and checklists to each new asset, milestones and runs cover the planning, and the Discord bot and Unity and Unreal plugins bring in bug reports. Open Decks share a public roadmap. | ABoards, lists, a timeline and a calendar, workflows each team shapes itself, bug tracking tied to Bitbucket and GitHub, rule-based automation and Rovo AI. The Marketplace lists more than 3,000 integrations. Advanced planning needs Premium. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. It runs in a browser, and you define a production pipeline once, then it applies itself to each new asset. | A4.7 from about 40,600 App Store ratings, which earns the A. Someone does have to decide your team's statuses and steps, mind, because the workflows are yours to define. |
| Platforms and integrations | BIt's a web app, and that's the only place it runs. The integrations are aimed squarely at studios: Discord, Slack, Steam, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Unity and Unreal. There's a public API too. | AWeb, iPhone and Android. It connects to Bitbucket, GitHub, Jenkins and Slack, and to AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot, Claude and Cursor. There's an API too, and the Marketplace for everything else. |
| Best for | game studios running a production pipeline | 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: Codecks and Jira. How we grade
Where they differ
- Codecks starts at €6 per user / month, billed yearly (€7 billed monthly). Jira starts at $9.05 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users).
- Only Jira lists iOS and Android apps.
- Codecks is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Codecks also covers time tracking and reports.
- Jira also covers kanban boards, Gantt & timelines, issue tracking and workflow automation.
At a glance
| Codecks | Jira | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €6 per user / month, billed yearly (€7 billed monthly) | $9.05 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users) |
| Free plan | Up to 5 users and 3 projects with 1 GB of shared storage and 10 MB per file. No observers, time tracking, due dates or dependencies. | 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 Pro trial, started from the Billing tab by an owner or admin | From the Free plan, Standard can be tried free for 14 days and Premium for 30 days. |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Codecks GmbH | Atlassian |
| Price read from | codecks.io | atlassian.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Codecks
- Game studios that want a production pipeline modeled for each asset
- Small indie teams, since the free plan covers up to 5 users
- Studios collecting bug reports and ideas from a Discord community
Jira
- Software teams tracking bugs and development work
- Teams of up to 10 that can stay on the Free plan
- Organizations that already use other Atlassian tools
- Nonprofits and open source projects that qualify for free licenses
Worth knowing
Codecks
- Prices are listed in euros, both on the pricing page and in the vendor's manual.
- The Free plan stops at 5 users, 3 projects and 1 GB of shared storage.
- Time tracking, due dates, dependencies, guardians and capacity tracking need the Pro plan.
- Self-hosting is offered only on Enterprise, which has a 20-user minimum.
Jira
- New list prices take effect October 13, 2026: Standard rises 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
Codecks
- Cards, decks and projects
- Tasks are cards grouped into decks and projects, each with a workflow state, effort, priority, tags and an owner. Doc cards hold design documentation beside the tasks.
- Hero Cards and Journeys
- Define a production pipeline once, with steps, estimates and checklists, and apply it automatically whenever a new asset is created.
- Milestones and Runs
- Plan work against milestones and time-boxed runs. On Pro, Beast Mode marks cards that keep rolling from sprint to sprint without being finished.
- Dependencies and Guardians
- On Pro, cards can be linked as dependencies so the next person is notified when it is their turn, and guardians act as required reviewers for a deck.
- Community feedback
- Decky, the Discord bot, turns ideas and bug reports from a game's community into cards with upvotes and status updates. Unity and Unreal plugins send in-game reports.
- Open Decks
- Share a project's roadmap publicly so players can subscribe, follow progress and leave feedback that flows back into the workspace.
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
Codecks
Free€0
Up to 5 users and 3 projects with 1 GB of shared storage. Includes cards, decks, milestones, runs, hero cards, the Discord bot and Open Decks.
Plus€6
per user / month, billed yearly (€7 billed monthly)
Unlimited users and projects, 1 GB of storage per seat, files up to 250 MB, and read-only Observer users at no charge.
Pro€9
per user / month, billed yearly (€11 billed monthly)
10 GB per seat, plus time tracking, due dates, dependencies, guardians, capacity tracking, beast mode, the producer role and priority support.
Enterprise€15
per user / month, minimum 20 users
Unlimited storage, tailored onboarding and the option to self-host on your own infrastructure. Arranged by contacting the company.
Jira
Free$0
Up to 10 users, 2 GB of file storage, 150 automation steps per subscription and community support.
Standard$9.05
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$18.30
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$166,000
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
Codecks
- Annual discount
Save up to 18% with yearly billing
Pro is €9 per user a month billed yearly against €11 billed monthly, and Plus is €6 against €7. Enterprise is €15 on either basis.
- Education
Free Pro accounts for students and educators
Students and educators who sign up with a school email and fill out the vendor's form get a free Pro account once verified. Educational accounts can have up to 100 users.
- Nonprofit
50% off Plus and Pro for nonprofits
Nonprofits get 50% off the Plus and Pro plans after emailing the company with their account name and information about the organization.
- Other savings
Observer users are free
On Plus and Pro, any number of read-only Observer users can view cards and comment without taking a paid seat.
Jira
- Annual discount
About 17% less on annual billing
Standard is listed at $900 a year for 10 users, against $9.05 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.
