GitLab 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 value for money, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
GitLab
DevSecOps platform with issue boards, epics and CI/CD built in
Jira
Issue and project tracking for software and business teams
Which one is for you
Pick GitLab if
- Fits if your team already keeps code and CI/CD on GitLab
- Works for organizations that need to host the tool themselves
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a simple task manager for non-technical people
- Pricey if you outgrow 5 users, as Premium is $29 per user a month
- Watch out: Ultimate has no published price
- Watch out: AI features need the GitLab Credits add-on beyond a limited-time promotional amount
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
| 2.2GPAGitLabFair | 3.2GPAJiraVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPremium is $29 per user a month on annual billing, about three times the category's middle of $9. Ultimate has no published price. | 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 | BFree plan: 5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes a month and 10 GiB, plus a 30-day Ultimate trial with no card. The 5-user cap is where you will stop. | 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 | CIssues, epics, boards, burndown charts and wikis tied to code. The listing says it is not a general task manager for non-technical teams. | 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. Planning, pipelines and permissions come as one big platform, so there is a learning curve. | 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 app with Jira, Slack, Jenkins and AWS CodePipeline integrations and an API. Self-managed and single-tenant versions exist; no desktop or phone apps. | 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 | software teams that want planning next to their code | 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: GitLab and Jira. How we grade
Price against what you get
GitLab starts at $29 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 $19.30 a month lower. Of the other project management tools on the chart, 60 score higher than GitLab 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
- GitLab is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Jira also covers tasks and Gantt & timelines.
At a glance
| GitLab | Jira | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per user / month, billed annually | $9.70 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users) |
| Free plan | Free plan on GitLab.com: 5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes a month and 10 GiB of storage. | Free plan for up to 10 users: 2 GB of file storage, 150 automation steps per subscription and community support. |
| Free trial | 30-day Ultimate 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 | GitLab | Atlassian |
| Price read from | about.gitlab.com | atlassian.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
GitLab
- The Free plan on GitLab.com is capped at 5 users per top-level group.
- Ultimate has no published price; it is quoted through sales.
- AI features need the GitLab Credits add-on beyond the included promotional credits, which the page says are available for a limited time.
- Project tracking is aimed at software delivery; it is not a general task manager for non-technical teams.
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
GitLab
- Issues, epics and boards
- Planning uses issues and epics, with issue boards that support Scrum and Kanban workflows and parent-child relationships between items.
- Planning next to code
- Work items live on the same platform as repositories and pipelines, so each item can be tied to the code and deployments behind it.
- Reports and dependency views
- Burnup and burndown charts, drill-down reports and the Value Streams Dashboard, plus a view of dependencies across issues, epics and roadmaps.
- Scaled agile frameworks
- The vendor says it supports SAFe, LeSS and Disciplined Agile with governance controls for larger organizations.
- Wikis and documentation
- Wikis and static websites can be written and published directly from GitLab, next to the code they describe.
- Duo Agent Platform
- AI features for planning and delivery are available through the GitLab Credits add-on, and each paid plan includes a promotional amount of credits.
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
GitLab
Free$0
5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes a month, source code management, CI/CD and static application security testing.
Premium$29
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited users, 10,000 compute minutes a month, advanced CI/CD, team project management, SLA management and priority support.
UltimateCustom
50,000 compute minutes a month, guest users, security testing, value stream management and strategic portfolio management.
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
GitLab
- Other savings
Ultimate free for qualifying open source projects
GitLab for Open Source gives qualifying open source projects Ultimate-tier features, including 50,000 compute minutes, at no cost.
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, GitLab or Jira?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Jira is cheaper to start with: $9.70 a month for each person, against $29 a month for each person for GitLab. GitLab starts at $29 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, GitLab or Jira?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both GitLab and Jira have a free plan.
Which platforms do GitLab 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.