Jira excels as a specialized project management and issue tracking tool with superior agile features and broader third-party integrations, while Azure DevOps provides an integrated end-to-end CI/CD pipeline with source control, testing, and deployment built-in, making it more cost-effective for teams already in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Jira vs Azure DevOps — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Enterprise project management platform with advanced agile workflows, reporting, and automation.
Microsoft's integrated platform offering version control, CI/CD pipelines, testing, and project management in one suite.
Pricing Model. Built-in CI/CD Pipelines. Third-Party Integrations Available. Agile Board Customization. Source Code Repository. Learning Curve (Weeks to Productivity). Market Share in DevOps Tools
Choose Jira if your team prioritizes flexible agile project management, needs extensive third-party integrations, or uses non-Microsoft tools—it's the industry standard for sprint planning and issue tracking. Choose Azure DevOps if you're invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (Windows, C#, SQL Server), need an all-in-one platform combining planning with built-in CI/CD, testing, and deployment, or want lower total cost of ownership with fewer tools to manage.
Jira: Full Scrum with sprints, backlogs, velocity tracking | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 10+ users, enterprise scale | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Highly customizable workflows and fields | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Advanced dashboards, burndowns, velocity charts | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Unlimited custom workflows and fields | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Advanced (SOC 2, HIPAA) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Good (Moderate) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Via Everhour API | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Native & advanced | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Enterprise-grade bug tracking | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Deep CI/CD & DevOps integration | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: $14.54/month (Premium) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Full agile reporting suite included | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Built-in cycle time metrics | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Full cross-project and portfolio reporting | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: External integration via webhooks and apps | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Available at Premium ($14.54/user/month) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 15-500+ with complex workflows | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Steeper learning curve, more heavyweight | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 1000+ apps in Marketplace | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Steep (Advanced features require training) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Via marketplace add-ons | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Native with Confluence, Bitbucket, and 400+ apps | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Small (1-10) to Enterprise (1000+) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 60-80% of teams require professional services | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Project Management & Issue Tracking | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Full sprint planning with burndown charts and velocity tracking | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Limited to issue descriptions and project documentation | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Issue and project-level search capabilities | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Standard mobile interface for viewing and managing issues | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 10+ users for optimal use | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Seamless integration with Confluence for context and documentation | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: iOS, Android, native apps | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Native GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket support | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Pages (limited collaboration) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Advanced with burndown charts | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Code-based scripting and automation | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Up to 10 (limited features) | Azure DevOps: Up to 5 (full features)
Jira: ~500 integrations | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Issue tracking, sprint planning, agile boards | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Requires third-party tools (Jenkins, GitHub Actions) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Data Center available (enterprise) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Full support (Scrum, Kanban, custom) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Deep two-way integration | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: $7-14 | Azure DevOps: $6 (or free tier)
Jira: No (requires external integration) | Azure DevOps: Yes (Azure Pipelines native)
Jira: 2-4 weeks | Azure DevOps: 1-2 weeks
Jira: No (Bitbucket integration required) | Azure DevOps: Yes (Git and TFVC included)
Jira: Advanced (unlimited custom fields, swim lanes, automation) | Azure DevOps: Standard (basic custom fields, limited automation)
Jira: Unlimited (1000+) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Advanced Agile Features (Sprint Velocity Tracking)
Jira: Advanced with historical trending | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Limited offline access | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Native deep integration (GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, etc.) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Automation through scripting only | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Yes - up to 10 users | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Integration only | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 100+ templates | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 20 requests/second | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, Scrumban | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 30+ (burndown, velocity, CFD, etc.) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Native sprint planning, capacity planning, scope management | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Free tier for up to 10 users | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 500+ apps via Marketplace | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 50+ to unlimited | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: ~3000 integrations | Azure DevOps: 800+
Jira: Varies by plan | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Web app + Jira Mobile (limited) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: $7.16 (Standard) - $29 (Enterprise) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 40+ (burndown, velocity, CFD, sprint) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Unlimited with Jira Automation + Scripts | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: 1000+ (higher tiers unlimited) | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: Unlimited in free tier | Azure DevOps: N/A
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Azure Boards (native)
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Branch policies, approval gates, build validation
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Unlimited (public), 1,800 (private)
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: $12.00 (Premium tier)
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: 1,800 minutes (Microsoft-hosted agents)
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: No, requires separate Azure Container Registry
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: 50,000+ (enterprise proven)
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Deprecated; Server edition EOL in 2024
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Native, deeply integrated
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Dedicated Test Plans with full lifecycle management
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: 600+ via marketplace and native Azure services
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: $6 per user/month
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Not public-facing
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: Branch policies with reviewer requirements
Jira: N/A | Azure DevOps: 2 (Git + TFVC)
How to choose between Jira and Azure DevOps
Jira vs Azure DevOps — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Jira vs Azure DevOps. Contains 145 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Jira vs Azure DevOps — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Jira vs Azure DevOps.
Which tool is cheaper for a 50-person engineering team?
Azure DevOps at $6/user/month = $300/month ($3,600/year). Jira at $10/user/month (average) = $500/month ($6,000/year). Azure DevOps saves approximately $2,400 annually for this team size. However, if you factor in the cost of adding separate CI/CD tools to Jira (Jenkins, GitLab Runner), the savings increase significantly in Azure DevOps's favor.
Can I use Jira with Azure DevOps repositories?
Yes, but not natively. You can integrate Jira with Azure Repos through third-party tools like Atlassian Marketplace integrations or webhook configurations. However, this adds complexity. Azure DevOps provides seamless integration between its planning tools and Git repos out-of-the-box.
Which platform is better for CI/CD automation?
Azure DevOps's native Azure Pipelines are superior for continuous integration and deployment. They're built into the platform with no additional tools needed. Jira requires external tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI. If CI/CD is critical, Azure DevOps eliminates a tool dependency.
Does Jira have better reporting than Azure DevOps?
Jira offers more agile-specific reports (velocity charts, burndown, cumulative flow diagrams, and customizable dashboards). Azure DevOps provides solid reporting but less granular agile metrics. For sprint analytics and forecasting, Jira has the edge. For deployment and build metrics, Azure DevOps is stronger.
Which is better if we use both GitHub and Azure?
Jira integrates seamlessly with GitHub through its Marketplace. Azure DevOps also works with GitHub (though Azure Repos is native). If you're committed to GitHub for source control, Jira may feel lighter-weight. If you're standardizing on Microsoft services, Azure DevOps keeps everything under one roof and reduces authentication complexity.
How to Choose Between Jira and Azure DevOps
Pricing Model: Jira has $7-14 per user/month (Cloud), while Azure DevOps has $6 per user/month (Basic) or free for 5 users.
Built-in CI/CD Pipelines: Jira has Requires integration with Jenkins, GitLab, GitHub Actions, or Bitbucket, while Azure DevOps has Native Azure Pipelines included.
Consider: Third-Party Integrations Available
Third-Party Integrations Available: Jira has 3,000+ apps in marketplace, while Azure DevOps has 800+ extensions in marketplace.
Agile Board Customization: Jira has Advanced custom fields, swim lanes, and automation rules, while Azure DevOps has Standard features with limited customization depth.
Source Code Repository: Jira has Requires external Git/Bitbucket integration, while Azure DevOps has Native Git repos and TFVC included.
Consider: Learning Curve (Weeks to Productivity)
Learning Curve (Weeks to Productivity): Jira has 2-4 weeks for basic proficiency, while Azure DevOps has 1-2 weeks for teams familiar with Azure ecosystem.
Market Share in DevOps Tools: Jira has 35% of enterprise agile teams (Gartner 2024), while Azure DevOps has 22% of enterprise DevOps platforms (Gartner 2024).