GitLab is an integrated DevOps platform combining version control, CI/CD, and project management in one system, while Jira is a specialized issue tracking and project management tool that integrates with external repositories. GitLab offers a more unified workflow for development teams, whereas Jira provides deeper customization for complex issue tracking across non-technical teams.
GitLab vs Jira — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
DevOps platform providing Git hosting, CI/CD pipelines, and end-to-end software delivery tools.
Issue and project tracking platform purpose-built for agile software development teams.
Core Purpose. Built-in Version Control. CI/CD Pipelines. Issue Tracking Customization. Starting Price (Monthly). Team Size Adoption. Learning Curve
Choose GitLab if your team is primarily software developers needing a unified platform for code, pipelines, and planning—it eliminates tool fragmentation and context-switching. Choose Jira if you need advanced issue tracking customization for complex enterprise workflows, non-technical team collaboration, or have teams across multiple departments requiring deep workflow rules and reporting.
GitLab: 400 minutes with shared runners | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Community and Enterprise editions available | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Unlimited on all plans | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Built-in for all tiers | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Approximately 30 million users | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Yes, with 5GB storage limit | Jira: Yes, limited
Free Monthly CI/CD Minutes (Private Repos)
GitLab: Included in Ultimate ($99/month per user) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Issues, Epics, Roadmaps, advanced Boards, Milestones | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Requires separate account/platform | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 10 concurrent pipelines | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Yes (SAST, DAST, container, dependency) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Native Git (no external required) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Yes (issues, boards, wiki, milestones) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Unlimited (up to 5 users) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Yes (free Docker registry) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: $228/year ($19/month) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Third-party plugin required | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Yes (free Community Edition) | Jira: N/A
Maximum CI/CD Pipeline Minutes (free tier/month)
GitLab: Built-in full-featured system | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 3 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 5 (SAST, DAST, dependency, secret, container) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Forgejo, GitLab Community Edition | Jira: N/A
GitLab: $8.25 (Premium at $99/year) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 400 minutes (shared) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 10,000+ (with performance degradation) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Open-source Community Edition available | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Via third-party plugins/SAML | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Basic; limited test case tracking | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 400+ via marketplace | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Included in Free tier (SAST, DAST, Dependency, Container) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Community, Premium, and Ultimate editions | Jira: N/A
GitLab: Yes - includes 50,000 CI/CD minutes | Jira: Yes - up to 10 users
GitLab: Native GitLab CI/CD | Jira: Not included
GitLab: Integrated | Jira: Integration only
GitLab: 5-8 built-in | Jira: 100+ templates
GitLab: $99 (Premium Edition) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: GitLab CI/CD (native pipeline engine) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 2,500+ | Jira: 1000+ apps in Marketplace
GitLab: Merge Requests with code owner enforcement | Jira: N/A
GitLab: DORA metrics, advanced audit, compliance reporting (Premium+) | Jira: Advanced (SOC 2, HIPAA)
GitLab: $2,900 (Premium tier at $29/user) | Jira: $775 (Standard tier at $7.75/user)
GitLab: Unlimited public/private repos included | Jira: Requires external Git hosting integration
GitLab: 400+ templates included | Jira: 0 (requires Bamboo or third-party tool)
GitLab: ~20 standard field types | Jira: 100+ custom field types with plugins
GitLab: 12 million+ monthly active users | Jira: 180+ million monthly active users
GitLab: SAST, DAST, dependency scanning included in Premium | Jira: Security scanning via Atlassian plugins ($8-15/month extra)
GitLab: 2-4 hours for basic CI/CD pipeline with templates | Jira: 8-16 hours to configure workflow rules and custom fields for development team
GitLab: 500-1,000 per instance; sharding available | Jira: 5,000+ users per instance; proven at 50,000+ enterprise deployments
GitLab: $8.25/month (Premium) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: $9,900/year (Premium self-managed) | Jira: N/A
GitLab: 20% (estimated enterprise adoption) | Jira: 35%
GitLab: Manual webhook-based integration | Jira: N/A
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Full Scrum with sprints, backlogs, velocity tracking
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 10+ users, enterprise scale
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Highly customizable workflows and fields
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Advanced dashboards, burndowns, velocity charts
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Unlimited custom workflows and fields
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Enterprise-grade bug tracking
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Deep CI/CD & DevOps integration
GitLab: N/A | Jira: $14.54/month (Premium)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Full agile reporting suite included
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Built-in cycle time metrics
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Full cross-project and portfolio reporting
GitLab: N/A | Jira: External integration via webhooks and apps
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Available at Premium ($14.54/user/month)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 15-500+ with complex workflows
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Steeper learning curve, more heavyweight
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Steep (Advanced features require training)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Via marketplace add-ons
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Native with Confluence, Bitbucket, and 400+ apps
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Small (1-10) to Enterprise (1000+)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 60-80% of teams require professional services
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Project Management & Issue Tracking
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Full sprint planning with burndown charts and velocity tracking
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Limited to issue descriptions and project documentation
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Issue and project-level search capabilities
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Standard mobile interface for viewing and managing issues
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 10+ users for optimal use
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Seamless integration with Confluence for context and documentation
GitLab: N/A | Jira: iOS, Android, native apps
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Native GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket support
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Pages (limited collaboration)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Advanced with burndown charts
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Code-based scripting and automation
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Up to 10 (limited features)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Issue tracking, sprint planning, agile boards
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Requires third-party tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Data Center available (enterprise)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Full support (Scrum, Kanban, custom)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Deep two-way integration
GitLab: N/A | Jira: No (Bitbucket integration required)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Advanced (unlimited custom fields, swim lanes, automation)
Advanced Agile Features (Sprint Velocity Tracking)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Advanced with historical trending
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Limited offline access
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Native deep integration (GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, etc.)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Limited automation rules, requires plugin marketplace
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, Scrumban
GitLab: N/A | Jira: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 30+ (burndown, velocity, CFD, etc.)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Native sprint planning, capacity planning, scope management
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Free tier for up to 10 users
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 500+ apps via Marketplace
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Web app + Jira Mobile (limited)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: $7.16 (Standard) - $29 (Enterprise)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 40+ (burndown, velocity, CFD, sprint)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Unlimited with Jira Automation + Scripts
GitLab: N/A | Jira: 1000+ (higher tiers unlimited)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Unlimited in free tier
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Yes (burndown, velocity, retrospectives)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Native (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure Repos)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Board, list, timeline, calendar, dashboard (5 types)
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Advanced sprints, velocity, burndown, capacity planning
GitLab: N/A | Jira: Native bidirectional sync, commit linking
GitLab vs Jira — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for GitLab vs Jira. Contains 208 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
GitLab vs Jira — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for GitLab vs Jira.
Can GitLab replace Jira completely for project management?
GitLab can replace Jira for software development teams (basic epics, issues, milestones), but lacks Jira's advanced customization for complex workflows. GitLab works for Scrum/Kanban with 50-300 engineers; Jira is better for 1,000+ users across multiple departments or non-technical teams. GitLab's strength is unifying code + planning; Jira's is flexible issue tracking for any team.
Is Jira worth the extra cost compared to GitLab?
For pure development teams, likely no—GitLab's integrated CI/CD saves $120-200/user/year. For enterprises with non-technical teams (HR, support, sales) needing advanced workflows, Jira's ROI is positive due to reduced tool sprawl. Break-even is typically 200+ cross-functional users; below 100 engineers, GitLab is cheaper.
Can I use both GitLab and Jira together?
Yes. Many teams use GitLab for repositories/CI/CD and Jira for centralized issue tracking across departments. GitLab's Jira integration syncs commits to Jira issues. Workflow is less seamless than native GitLab, and requires $7.75-29/user for both tools. This 'best of both' approach costs 30-40% more than choosing one.
GitLab edges ahead for distributed development teams with async CI/CD logs and integrated code review, reducing back-and-forth meetings. Jira is better for remote cross-functional teams needing detailed asynchronous handoff workflows. Both support 100% remote work equally well; GitLab reduces tool complexity, Jira reduces miscommunication via detailed workflows.
What's the typical migration path from Jira to GitLab?
Migration takes 2-4 weeks for development teams. Export Jira issues as CSV, import into GitLab (Issues/Epics). Bulk of time is remapping custom fields and retraining on CI/CD. Most teams keep Jira running 1-3 months parallel during transition. 70% of migrating teams report improved developer productivity within 60 days; 30% cite lost reporting/customization.
Core Purpose: GitLab has Integrated DevOps platform with Git repos + CI/CD + project management, while Jira has Specialized issue tracking and project management tool.
Built-in Version Control: GitLab has Git repositories included natively, while Jira has Requires integration with external Git hosting.
CI/CD Pipelines: GitLab has Native GitLab CI/CD with 400+ templates, while Jira has Requires Bamboo or third-party CI/CD tools.
Issue Tracking Customization: GitLab has Basic issue types with moderate customization, while Jira has Advanced custom fields, workflows, and issue types for complex enterprises.
Starting Price (Monthly): GitLab has $0 free tier, Premium $29/user/month, while Jira has $0 free tier, Standard $7.75/user/month.
Team Size Adoption: GitLab has Best for 5-500 person development teams, while Jira has Scales to 5,000+ person enterprises across all departments.
Learning Curve: GitLab has Steep for non-technical users; Git knowledge required, while Jira has Accessible to business/non-technical users immediately.