Jira vs Shortcut

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

Shortcut

• Software teams that plan in stories, epics and sprints
• Teams of up to 10 that can stay on the Free plan
• Early-stage startups and nonprofits that qualify for free access

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.

Shortcut

• The Free plan is capped at 10 users, 1 team, 1 workflow and 5 GB of storage.
• SAML single sign-on and SCIM are paid add-ons on Business and are included only in Enterprise.
• Shortcut's FAQ says it does not offer an on-premises or self-hosted version.
• Shortcut's product and pricing pages list no desktop or mobile app, and the iOS app it announced in 2018 is no longer on the US App Store.

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.

Shortcut

Stories, epics and workflows

Work is tracked as stories grouped into epics. Stories move through workflows a team can customize: 1 on Free, up to 5 on Team and unlimited from Business.

Kanban boards and backlog

Spaces show stories on kanban boards with saved filters, and a backlog is used to sort and prioritize work before it enters a workflow. Work-in-progress limits start on Team.

Iterations

Iterations are time-boxed sprints for a set of stories. On paid plans, automations can create future iterations and move unfinished stories into the next one.

Roadmaps and objectives

Epics are laid out on a roadmap and grouped under objectives. Strategic objectives with key results are part of the Business plan.

Reports

Paid plans open a Reports page with velocity, cycle time and lead time, and cumulative flow charts. Business adds reports that reach back beyond 100 days.

Korey and AI agents

Korey is Shortcut's AI agent for turning rough notes into specs and tickets. An MCP server connects a workspace to coding tools such as Cursor and Claude Code.

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.

Shortcut

• Free$0

  Up to 10 users, 1 team, 1 workflow and 5 GB of storage, with kanban views, a roadmap, iterations, docs and GitHub, Slack and Figma integrations.

• Team$8.50

  per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly)

  Unlimited users, up to 5 teams and 5 workflows, 250 GB of storage, the full Reports page, work-in-progress limits, automations and all integrations.

• Business$12

  per user / month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly)

  Unlimited teams, workflows and workspaces, strategic objectives and key results, advanced custom fields and additional charts. SSO is a paid add-on.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Volume discounts, SAML SSO and SCIM included, premier support SLAs, custom terms and onboarding support.

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.

Shortcut

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  Team is $8.50 per user / month prepaid yearly against $10 billed monthly, and Business is $12 against $16. The pricing page describes this as saving up to 25%.

• Nonprofit

  Free for qualifying nonprofits

  The Shortcut Nonprofit Plan gives eligible organizations with valid charitable status a full membership at no cost, on application.

• Startups

  12 months of Business free for startups

  The Shortcut Startup Program gives approved startups the Business plan and SAML SSO free for 12 months. Applicants must be new customers with fewer than 50 employees.