GitHub Issues vs YouTrack
We give GitHub Issues and YouTrack the same GPA: 3.8 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
GitHub Issues
Issue tracking and project planning built into GitHub
YouTrack
Issue tracker and project management tool from JetBrains
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAGitHub IssuesExcellent | 3.8GPAYouTrackExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIssues isn't sold on its own. It's part of every GitHub plan, and Team is $4 a user a month for the whole platform, about half what's typical here. Enterprise starts at $21, for single sign-on and the self-hosted server. | AFrom 11 users, Cloud is $4.50 per user a month billed annually, or $5.40 monthly, with every feature in it. That's the cheap end of this category, and the per-user price falls as the team grows. Helpdesk agents are extra on larger teams, at $5.50 each a month. |
| Free plan and trial | AGitHub Free includes Issues and Projects for individuals and organizations, with unlimited public and private repositories. Most teams could plan here and never pay. Support on Free is community only. | AFree for up to 10 users on Cloud or Server, with every feature except a custom logo. Cloud includes 30 GB of storage and 3 helpdesk agents. A small team could stay here for good, which is rare for a tool this full. |
| Features | AIssues with sub-issues, dependencies, labels and milestones. Projects adds table, board and roadmap views, custom fields, week-by-week iterations, built-in automations and charts, including a burn-up chart. A project stops at 50 fields. | AKanban, Scrum and mixed boards, an interactive Gantt chart with estimates and dependencies, time tracking with timesheets, a knowledge base, whiteboards and workflows that automate how tasks move. There's a ticket-based helpdesk with service-level agreements too. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. If you already work in GitHub there's nothing new to sign up for, and every mouse action has a keyboard shortcut or command. | BNo app rating on record, so a B is the ceiling. The Cloud version is hosted by JetBrains, so there's nothing to install, and the trial takes up to 100 users with no credit card. Server is the harder road: you run it yourself from a Docker image. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone and Android, plus the GitHub CLI if you'd rather stay in the terminal. There's a GraphQL API, and GitHub Actions for automating whatever the built-in workflows don't cover. | AWeb, iPhone and Android, with a Server version for your own infrastructure. It connects to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, TeamCity, Jenkins, Zendesk, Slack and Telegram, and apps add further integrations. The listing shows no desktop app. |
| Best for | teams whose code already lives on GitHub | issue tracking that's free for up to 10 users |
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: GitHub Issues and YouTrack. How we grade
Where they differ
- GitHub Issues starts at $4 per user / month (GitHub Team). YouTrack starts at $4.50 per user / month, billed annually (Cloud, 11 or more users).
- YouTrack is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- GitHub Issues also covers Markdown.
- YouTrack also covers wiki and time tracking.
At a glance
| GitHub Issues | YouTrack | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4 per user / month (GitHub Team) | $4.50 per user / month, billed annually (Cloud, 11 or more users) |
| Free plan | GitHub Free includes Issues and Projects for individuals and organizations, with unlimited public and private repositories and community support. | Free for up to 10 users on Cloud or Server, with every feature except a custom logo. Cloud includes 30 GB of storage and 3 helpdesk agents. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of GitHub Enterprise | 14-day Cloud trial with up to 100 users, no credit card required; 60-day trial for YouTrack Server |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | GitHub, Inc. | JetBrains |
| Price read from | github.com | jetbrains.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
GitHub Issues
- Software teams that already host their code on GitHub
- Open source projects taking bug reports and feature requests in public
- Developers who like to plan from the terminal or the keyboard
YouTrack
- Software teams that want issue tracking linked to their IDE and build server
- Teams of up to 10, who can use the Cloud or Server version free
- Organizations that need to keep project data on their own servers
Worth knowing
GitHub Issues
- Issues is not sold on its own: it is part of every GitHub plan, and paid plans are priced per user for the whole platform.
- Every issue lives in a repository, so planning across repositories and teams runs through GitHub Projects.
- A project is limited to 50 fields, counting built-in metadata and custom fields.
- SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning and self-hosted Enterprise Server need the Enterprise plan, from $21 per user / month.
YouTrack
- From 11 users every user is paid: Cloud starts at $4.50 per user / month billed annually, or $5.40 billed monthly.
- YouTrack Server is sold as an annual subscription in fixed user packs; licenses bought since June 23, 2026 are no longer perpetual.
- With 4 or more helpdesk agents, every agent is charged and each one also needs a user license.
- Cloud storage is tied to seats: 30 GB on the free plan and 3 GB per user on paid plans, with no way to buy more separately.
Key features
GitHub Issues
- Issues and sub-issues
- Issues track bugs, features and ideas. Sub-issues break larger work into a hierarchy with progress indicators, and dependencies mark which issues block others.
- Tables, boards and roadmaps
- GitHub Projects shows issues and pull requests as a table, a kanban board or a timeline-style roadmap, with saved views that filter, sort, slice and group.
- Custom fields and iterations
- A project takes up to 50 fields, including date, number, single-select and text fields and an iteration field for planning work week by week.
- Built-in automations
- Built-in workflows set fields, archive items and add issues from a repository automatically. The GraphQL API and GitHub Actions allow further automation.
- Insights and charts
- Current and historical charts are built from the items in a project, including a default burn-up chart that shows completed work against what is left.
- Mobile, CLI and keyboard access
- Issues can be created and managed in the iOS and Android apps and from the GitHub CLI, and every mouse action has a keyboard shortcut or command.
YouTrack
- Agile boards
- Boards support Kanban, Scrum and mixed approaches, for planning at any level from an individual backlog to an enterprise portfolio.
- Gantt charts and time tracking
- An interactive Gantt timeline schedules tasks with estimates and dependencies. Time is tracked automatically or by hand and reviewed on timesheets.
- Knowledge base and whiteboards
- Articles hold internal notes and plans or a public knowledge base. Whiteboards gather issues, tickets and notes that can be turned into tasks and articles.
- Workflows and apps
- Workflows are rules that automate the life cycle of tasks, such as deadline reminders, field updates and recurring tasks. Apps add further features and integrations.
- Helpdesk
- Helpdesk projects give support agents ticket handling with service-level agreements and unlimited reporters. 3 agents are free; on larger teams each costs $5.50 a month, billed annually.
- AI Assistant
- JetBrains AI summarizes tasks, articles and tickets, suggests replies and turns text into issues. Free credits, refilled weekly, come with Cloud and with paid Server subscriptions.
Plans
GitHub Issues
Free$0
GitHub plan for individuals and organizations. Includes Issues and Projects, unlimited public and private repositories and community support.
Team$4
per user / month
GitHub plan that adds repository rules, required reviewers, code owners, 3,000 CI/CD minutes a month and web-based support. Includes Issues and Projects.
Enterprise$21
per user / month, starting price
Adds SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, enterprise accounts, data residency and the self-hosted Enterprise Server option.
YouTrack
Cloud: 1–10 users$0
Hosted by JetBrains. All features except a custom logo, 30 GB of storage, 3 helpdesk agents and free AI Assistant credits.
Server: 10 users$0
Installed on your own server from a Linux or Windows Docker image. Free for up to 10 users and 3 agents, including updates.
Cloud: 11+ users$4.50
per user / month, billed annually ($5.40 billed monthly)
The per-user price falls as the team grows, down to $1.53 at 10,000 users on annual billing. 3 GB of storage per user and a custom logo.
Server: 15-user pack$900
per year, annual subscription
Self-hosted instance with a year of updates and technical support. Larger packs include 25 users for $1,500, 50 for $3,000 and 100 for $6,000.
Ways to pay less
GitHub Issues
- Nonprofit
Free Team plan for verified nonprofits
GitHub for Nonprofits gives verified 501(c)(3) or equivalent organizations a free GitHub Team plan with unlimited users, or 25% off GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
- Startups
$10,000 in credits for eligible startups
GitHub for Startups gives partner-affiliated startups with outside funding up to Series B, and new to GitHub Enterprise, $10,000 in credits valid for up to 12 months.
- Education
Free developer tools for students and teachers
GitHub's pricing page says students and teachers get free access to developer tools through GitHub Education, for the school year and beyond.
YouTrack
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual Cloud billing
Annual Cloud subscriptions start at $4.50 per user / month against $5.40 billed monthly, which JetBrains describes as saving 2 months' worth of costs.
- Startups
50% off for startup companies
Private software development companies in business for less than five years may qualify for 50% off up to 10 commercial licenses for JetBrains products, including YouTrack.
- Nonprofit
50% off for non-profit organizations
Registered non-profit organizations can apply for a 50% discount on commercial pricing, depending on their business model, by requesting a quote from sales.
- Education
50% off for universities, free for classrooms
Universities and accredited educational institutions can get 50% off commercial subscriptions for internal projects, and free classroom licenses for teaching.
- Other savings
Free licenses for open source projects
Non-commercial open source projects can qualify for free YouTrack licenses if they meet the requirements of JetBrains' support program.
- Other savings
25% off when migrating from another tool
Customers who currently hold a commercial license for a competing tool qualify for a 25% discount on commercial YouTrack subscriptions.
