Jira vs YouTrack

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.