Jira vs Orangescrum (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 2.4.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Jira grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. Orangescrum grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Jira
Issue and project tracking for software and business teams
Orangescrum
Project management with unlimited users on every paid plan
Which one is for you
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
Pick Orangescrum if
- Fits if you have a big or changing team and want to stop paying per seat
- Works for teams that want to host their own copy, from $1,500 a year for up to 25 users
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you are staying free: 1 user and 1 project
- Watch out: Basic is capped at 10 projects, and agile boards, timesheets and budgets are on Pro at $62
- Pricey if you need resource allocation or program management, which start on Premium at $297 a month
- Watch out: self-hosting starts at $1,500 a year for 25 users and needs your own server
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAJiraVery good | 2.4GPAOrangescrumFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BBasic is $26 a month billed yearly for unlimited users, about $5.20 each for a team of five, inside the cheapest quarter. But it caps at 10 projects, and the agile and time tools need Pro at $62 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CFree for 1 user and 1 project with 500 MB of storage, plus a 14-day trial of the paid cloud plans with no card needed. |
| Features | 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. | CKanban, Gantt, milestones, time and budgets, with self-hosting and an open source core. Agile boards and timesheets are Pro, and program management and resource allocation are Premium. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. A project tool with boards and workflows to set up, and a self-hosted option that needs a server. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, iOS and Android, with GitHub, GitLab, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and Jenkins links. No desktop app on record. |
| Best for | software teams tracking bugs and releases | teams that want one flat price however many people join |
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: Jira and Orangescrum. How we grade
Price against what you get
Jira starts at $9.70 a month for each person and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Orangescrum starts at $26 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Jira scores higher and starts $16.30 a month lower. Of the other project management tools on the chart, none scores higher than Jira for less, and 53 score higher than Orangescrum 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
- Orangescrum is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Jira also covers workflow automation.
- Orangescrum also covers time tracking.
At a glance
| Jira | Orangescrum | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.70 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users) | $26 per month for unlimited users, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free plan for up to 10 users: 2 GB of file storage, 150 automation steps per subscription and community support. | Free Forever: 1 user, 1 project, Kanban board and 500 MB storage. |
| Free trial | From the Free plan, Standard can be tried free for 14 days and Premium for 30 days. | 14-day free trial of the paid cloud plans, no credit card required. |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Atlassian | Orangescrum |
| Price read from | atlassian.com | orangescrum.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Orangescrum
- The free plan is limited to 1 user and 1 project.
- Basic is capped at 10 projects; agile boards, timesheets and budgets need Pro.
- Premium costs $297 a month billed yearly, a steep jump from Pro.
- Self-hosted pricing starts at $1,500 a year for up to 25 users.
Key features
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.
Orangescrum
- Flat pricing for unlimited users
- Each cloud plan has one monthly fee however many people use it.
- Kanban and Gantt
- Boards, Gantt charts with dependencies, milestones and a project calendar, with Gantt starting on the paid cloud plans.
- Agile tools
- Pro adds a sprint board, backlog, velocity and burndown charts.
- Time and budget
- Timer, weekly timesheets with approval, and project budgets from Pro; cost reports and invoices from Premium.
- Self-hosted and open source
- The vendor offers a self-hosted edition and an open-source Community Edition under AGPL.
- AI and MCP
- The vendor lists an AI assistant and an MCP server for connecting AI clients.
Plans
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.
Orangescrum
Free Forever$0
1 user, 1 project, Kanban board and 500 MB storage.
Basic Unlimited$26
per month for unlimited users, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly)
10 projects and 50 GB storage with tasks, Kanban, Gantt, milestones and a project calendar.
Pro Unlimited$62
per month for unlimited users, billed yearly ($69 billed monthly)
Unlimited projects and 100 GB; adds agile boards, custom workflows, automation, timesheets, workload and budgets.
Premium Unlimited$297
per month for unlimited users, billed yearly ($349 billed monthly)
500 GB; adds program management, critical path, resource allocation, invoices, advanced dashboards and APIs.
EnterpriseCustom
1 TB storage plus SSO and LDAP, two-factor sign-in, custom reports and dedicated support.
Self-Hosted Core$1,500
per year for up to 25 users, hosted on your own servers
Business is $2,250 a year for up to 50 users; Enterprise is by quote.
Ways to pay less
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.
Orangescrum
- Annual discount
Save about 10% with yearly billing
The page marks yearly billing as saving 10%; Basic is $26 a month billed yearly against $29 monthly.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit and education discount
10% off any plan plus a 60-day trial for nonprofit or education customers.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Jira or Orangescrum?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Jira is cheaper to start with: $9.70 a month for each person, against $26 a month for each person for Orangescrum. Jira starts at $9.70 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users), and Orangescrum starts at $26 per month for unlimited users, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Jira or Orangescrum?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Jira and Orangescrum have a free plan.
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.