Jira vs Monday: Features, Pricing, and Best Use Cases Compared
When it comes to project management and team collaboration, the debate between Jira vs Monday is one that many businesses and teams face. Both platforms are widely used for tracking tasks and the time they take to complete (Monday time tracking is particularly useful for teams that need an intuitive way to log hours and monitor productivity), managing workflows, and improving team productivity, but they serve different needs. Jira is known for its advanced features suited for software development teams and complex Jira project management, while Monday offers a more visual and user-friendly interface that appeals to a broad range of industries. In this article, we’ll compare these two popular tools and help you decide which one is best for your team’s unique needs.
Comparison Table: Jira vs Monday.com
| Feature | Jira | Monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Software development, Agile teams | Task management, startups, SMBs |
| Ease of Use | Steeper learning curve | User-friendly, easy for beginners |
| Customization | Highly flexible with Agile workflows | Drag-and-drop workflow customization |
| Pricing | Free plan, paid starts at $7.53/user | Free plan, paid starts at $9/user |
| Best Use Cases | Software engineering, IT teams | Marketing, operations, freelancers |
What Is Jira: Features & Benefits
Jira is a powerful Agile project management tool, primarily designed for software development teams. If you know how to use Jira, it can help teams plan, track, and release software, providing a comprehensive solution for managing workflows, issues, and project timelines.
Key features
- Agile & Scrum board management: Jira provides intuitive Agile boards that allow teams to manage tasks using Scrum or Kanban methodologies, giving them flexibility in managing workflows.
- Issue & bug tracking: Easily track issues, bugs, and tasks throughout the development cycle. Jira provides detailed tracking and resolution workflows for each item.
- Sprint planning & backlog grooming: Jira enables teams to plan sprints, prioritize work, and keep backlogs well-organized to ensure smooth development cycles (learn how to make a spring in Jira here).
- DevOps & CI/CD integrations: Seamless integration with DevOps tools and CI/CD pipelines, making Jira ideal for teams practicing continuous integration and delivery.
- Advanced reporting & analytics: Provides powerful reporting tools to track team performance, project progress, and bottlenecks, helping to make data-driven decisions.
What Is Monday.com: Features & Benefits
Monday.com is a flexible task and workflow management tool designed to help teams organize and manage work visually and intuitively. It provides a simple, customizable platform to streamline project management, improve team collaboration, and automate repetitive tasks.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop automation: Easily automate workflows with drag-and-drop actions, reducing manual work and improving efficiency across teams.
- Kanban, Gantt, and calendar views: Offers multiple view options, such as Kanban for task management, Gantt charts for timeline tracking, and calendar views for scheduling tasks and events.
- Built-in CRM capabilities: Monday.com includes integrated Monday CRM features, allowing teams to manage customer relationships and sales processes seamlessly.
- Collaboration tools for teams: Facilitates team collaboration with features like comment threads, file sharing, and team notifications to keep everyone aligned.
- Custom dashboards: Custom Monday boards and dashboards are provided for tracking progress, team performance, and project health, ensuring teams have an overview of their work at a glance.
- Monday integrations: Monday.com connects with Slack, Google Drive, Jira, Everhour, Zapier, Trello, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and more, allowing teams to streamline their workflows and centralize information across platforms. The Monday time tracking integration with Everhour allows teams to log time directly within Monday.com, track project hours, and generate detailed reports to ensure accurate project management and budgeting.
Jira vs Monday: Key Differences
While both Jira and Monday.com are powerful project management tools, they serve different types of teams and workflows. Here’s how they compare:
- Jira is best for Agile development & IT teams. It excels in bug tracking, sprint planning, and DevOps integration, making it a top choice for software development teams that follow Agile and Scrum methodologies.
- Monday.com is better for simple project tracking & general workflows. With its visual interface, drag-and-drop automation, and customizable dashboards, it’s ideal for marketing, HR, sales, and startups that need a user-friendly project management solution.
Jira provides deep customization for engineering teams, while Monday focuses on ease of use and accessibility for a broader range of industries.
Jira vs Monday: Best Use Cases
Both Jira and Monday.com cater to different audiences, depending on the complexity of workflows and team needs. Here’s how they stack up in real-world scenarios:
✅ Use cases for Jira
- Agile software teams – Jira is built with Agile in mind, offering Scrum & Kanban boards, sprint planning, and backlog management, making it ideal for developers and engineering teams.
- IT & DevOps teams – With bug tracking, ticket management, and DevOps integrations, Jira is the go-to choice for IT support, system admins, and cloud engineers.
- Large-scale enterprises – Companies with complex workflows, version control needs, and automation-heavy processes benefit from Jira’s deep customization and powerful integrations.
✅ Use cases for Monday.com
- Small & medium businesses – Monday offers an intuitive, visual workspace that helps teams manage projects, tasks, and deadlines without a steep learning curve.
- Marketing & creative teams – With campaign tracking, content planning, and automation, Monday is widely used by marketing agencies, content teams, and social media managers.
- HR & operations teams – Onboarding new hires, tracking employee engagement, and managing team collaboration are made easy with Monday’s flexible workflow tools.
Jira is best for structured, Agile-driven teams handling software development and IT workflows, while Monday is ideal for businesses looking for an easy-to-use, customizable work management solution.
Jira vs Monday Pricing Comparison
| Plan | Monday.com | Jira |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (Up to 2 users) | $0 (Up to 10 users) |
| Basic | $9/seat per month | $7.53/user per month |
| Standard | $12/seat per month | – |
| Pro | $19/seat per month | $13.53/user per month |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Custom pricing |
Jira vs Monday for Agile Teams
While both Jira and Monday.com are strong project management tools, they cater to different types of workflows and team needs. Here’s a comparison:
- Jira is best for Agile development & IT teams as one of the best Agile PM tools out there. It excels in sprint planning, backlog organization, bug tracking, and integrations with DevOps tools. Jira’s Agile & Scrum boards, combined with its robust reporting features, make it the go-to choice for software development teams working with Agile methodologies.
- Monday.com is better suited for general business workflows. While it is not specifically designed for Agile development, it offers powerful project management features, like visual boards, drag-and-drop automation, and flexible customization.
Jira is a powerful solution for those in the software development and IT space, especially for teams using Agile frameworks. In contrast, Monday.com provides a more versatile platform for general team collaboration and task management in less technical settings.
Jira vs Monday for Project Management
Both Jira and Monday.com offer project management features but are best suited for different types of teams. Here’s a breakdown:
- Jira is designed specifically for software development and technical project management, offering features like detailed issue tracking, sprint planning, and integrations with development tools such as GitHub and Bitbucket. It is ideal for Agile teams that require robust tracking and workflow automation to manage complex development projects efficiently.
- Monday.com is better for non-technical teams. With its simple, user-friendly interface, Monday excels at helping teams in marketing, HR, operations, and sales manage projects without needing a deep technical understanding. Its visual boards, drag-and-drop automation, and customizable workflows make it an excellent choice for those looking for a general project management tool that is easy to set up and use.
Jira is tailored for technical, dev-heavy teams requiring deep customization, while Monday provides a more approachable solution for non-technical teams looking for simplicity and flexibility in managing projects.
Jira vs Monday: Customization & Automation
When it comes to customization and automation, both Jira and Monday.com offer strong features, but they cater to different types of users.
- Jira has powerful DevOps & automation features, making it ideal for technical teams that need deep customization. It integrates with CI/CD pipelines, supports advanced automation rules, and allows users to automate workflows, customize issue types, and create detailed reporting dashboards. These capabilities make Jira a top choice for Agile development and software engineering teams.
- Monday.com, on the other hand, is easier to customize for simple workflows. It features a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that enables quick workflow customization without requiring coding skills. Its automation tools are designed to streamline tasks efficiently but are better suited for non-technical workflows such as marketing campaigns, sales pipelines, and HR processes.
Jira provides extensive automation for tech-heavy teams, while Monday is more accessible for users looking for simpler, easy-to-implement customization and automation in their workflows.
Jira vs Monday: User Reviews & Ratings
User feedback from G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot highlights key differences between Monday.com and Jira. Here’s a breakdown of real user experiences, along with common praises and complaints.
Monday.com user reviews
🔹 McKenna G. (Marketing Director, Small Business)
McKenna describes Monday as “Innovative. Collaborative. Reliable.” She finds it essential for her company’s growth and appreciates the constant improvements through Monday’s annual conferences. However, she notes that the platform offers so many features that it can feel overwhelming to get started. She wishes the tutorial videos provided more hands-on coaching.
🔹 Adrian M. (Sales/Project Management, Small Business)
Adrian calls Monday “Excel on steroids” and praises its customization options, dashboards, and mobile accessibility. He finds it especially useful for tracking customer interactions in meetings. However, he has encountered integration issues, particularly with email automations, and struggles with implementing formulas due to limited official support.
📌 Key takeaways from Monday reviews:
✅ Easy to use & highly customizable – Many users love Monday’s drag-and-drop automation and visual project management tools.
✅ Great for collaboration – Teams find it useful for organizing projects and improving efficiency.
⚠️ Can be overwhelming – The abundance of features makes onboarding difficult for some users.
⚠️ Integration issues – Some automations, especially for emails, don’t always work reliably.
Jira user reviews
🔹 Vüqar (Software QA Engineer, Mid-Market)
Vüqar finds Jira “Easy to use, hard to master.” He loves that Jira centralizes everything in one place, making task tracking and responsibility clear. He also praises the Kanban and sprint boards and the automated workflows that save time. However, he finds Jira’s complexity overwhelming for new users and notes that some integrations require IT support to set up properly.
🔹 Nathan M. (Senior Product Solutions Analyst, Mid-Market)
Nathan uses Jira daily and appreciates its centralized approach to product lifecycle management, Agile development tools, and integrations with platforms like GitHub and Confluence. He also highlights Jira’s powerful reporting and analytics. However, he feels the onboarding experience could be improved and that Jira struggles with large data sets, leading to slow performance.
📌 Key takeaways from Jira reviews:
✅ Best for Agile teams – Users love Jira’s sprint planning, Kanban boards, and detailed issue tracking.
✅ Strong integrations & reporting – Works well with DevOps tools and provides advanced analytics.
⚠️ Complex & difficult to learn – Many users find Jira hard to master, especially for beginners.
⚠️ Performance issues – Large projects can slow down the platform.
Monday.com is favored by teams looking for a user-friendly and visually intuitive project management tool, while Jira is ideal for Agile teams that need deep customization, advanced tracking, and DevOps integrations.
Pros & Cons of Jira vs Monday
| Feature | Jira ✅ | Monday ✅ |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Agile teams, developers | Small teams, startups |
| Pricing | Affordable for large teams | Free plan available |
| Automation | DevOps & CI/CD | Drag-and-drop automation |
| Ease of Use | Steep learning curve | Beginner-friendly |
FAQ: Jira vs Monday.com
❓ Which is better for Agile teams: Jira or Monday?
Jira is better for Agile teams due to its advanced sprint planning, issue tracking, and Scrum board features.
❓ Which is better for startups: Jira or Monday?
Monday.com is better for startups as it offers a simple, user-friendly interface and is ideal for non-technical teams.
❓ Can Jira integrate with Monday.com?
Yes, Jira can integrate with Monday.com through tools like Zapier, allowing teams to sync tasks and automate workflows between the two platforms.
❓ Which is better for small teams: Jira or Monday?
Monday.com is a better option for small teams due to its simplicity and ease of use for general task management.
❓ Which is better for automation: Jira or Monday?
Jira offers more advanced automation for DevOps and CI/CD processes, while Monday.com provides drag-and-drop automation that’s easier for non-technical users to set up.
Final Verdict: Which Tool is Best for You?
🚀 Choose Jira for Agile & software teams. Its robust features for sprint planning, issue tracking, and DevOps integrations make it the top choice for development teams and those using Agile methodologies.
📈 Choose Monday for flexible project management. Monday.com is perfect for non-technical teams looking for an intuitive interface and versatile tools for task tracking, collaboration, and reporting.
For teams seeking efficient Monday or Jira time tracking alongside their project management, integrating Everhour with either Jira or Monday can help streamline timesheets, billing, and task management. With the help of a Monday.com time tracking integration or Jira time tracking integration of Everhour, you can never miss a minute of your work!
Maria
A dedicated content enthusiast with extensive experience in international teams and projects of all sizes. Maria thrives on creativity and attention to detail, fueled by a love for fantasy novels, music, classic black-and-white films, and always finding ways to make things better.