Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Jira VS Pivotal Tracker

Compare Jira VS Pivotal Tracker and see what are their differences

Jira logo Jira

The #1 software development tool used by agile teams. Jira Software is built for every member of your software team to plan, track, and release great software.

Pivotal Tracker logo Pivotal Tracker

Pivotal Tracker: The awesome, lightweight, agile project management tool for software teams. Get your 30-day Free Trial started today!
  • Jira Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-09
  • Pivotal Tracker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-07

Jira features and specs

  • Robust Feature Set
    Jira offers a comprehensive suite of tools for project management, including issue tracking, agile reporting, and workflow automation, which can handle both small and large projects effectively.
  • Customizability
    Organizations can customize Jira extensively, tailoring workflows, fields, and issues to meet their specific requirements, which enhances productivity and alignment with business processes.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Jira integrates seamlessly with other Atlassian products like Confluence, Bitbucket, and more, as well as third-party tools such as GitHub and Slack, ensuring a connected and efficient workflow.
  • Agile Methodologies Support
    With built-in support for Scrum, Kanban, and other agile frameworks, Jira helps teams to manage their agile processes efficiently, offering features like sprint planning, backlog grooming, and burndown charts.
  • Strong Community and Support
    Jira has a large, active user community and extensive documentation, along with professional support options, which can be invaluable in troubleshooting and optimizing its use.
  • Comprehensive Task Management
    Jira Core provides a robust set of features for managing tasks and projects, including customizable workflows, forms, and dashboards, which are beneficial for tracking progress and enhancing productivity.
  • Integration with Other Atlassian Products
    It integrates seamlessly with other Atlassian tools like Confluence, Bitbucket, and Trello, enabling streamlined collaboration and improved visibility across teams.
  • Customizable and Flexible
    Jira Core allows a high degree of customization for workflows, task types, and notifications, making it adaptable to various business processes and team needs.
  • Scalability
    It supports scalability, which makes it suitable for both small-scale teams and large enterprises, evolving as the organization grows.
  • Strong Reporting Capabilities
    The software offers comprehensive reporting tools to gain insights into project progress and team performance, helping in making informed decisions.

Possible disadvantages of Jira

  • Complexity
    Due to its extensive feature set and customizability, Jira can be overly complex for new users or small teams, requiring a steep learning curve and potentially making simple tasks time-consuming.
  • Cost
    While Jira provides robust features, it comes at a cost. Subscription fees can be high, especially for larger teams or organizations requiring advanced capabilities.
  • Performance Issues
    On occasion, users might experience performance issues, particularly with large datasets, causing slowness and reduced efficiency in managing tasks.
  • Overhead
    Maintaining and configuring Jira can require significant administrative overhead, needing dedicated resources to manage its setup, customization, and updates.
  • User Interface Complexity
    While powerful, Jira's user interface can be overwhelming and cluttered, which may hinder usability and speed for those not already familiar with the platform.
  • Complexity for New Users
    Jira Core's wide range of features and customization options can be overwhelming for new users, leading to a steep learning curve.
  • High Configuration Overheads
    Setting up and configuring the software to fit specific project needs can be time-consuming, especially for teams without dedicated administrative resources.
  • Cost Considerations
    For smaller teams or organizations with limited budgets, the costs associated with Jira Core licenses and potential add-ons might be a constraint.
  • Limited by Internet Connectivity
    As a primarily cloud-based solution, its functionality can suffer in environments with poor or inconsistent internet connectivity.

Pivotal Tracker features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Pivotal Tracker offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible for team members with varying levels of technical expertise.
  • Real-Time Collaboration
    This tool enables real-time collaboration, allowing team members to work simultaneously and view updates immediately, fostering better communication and coordination.
  • Focus on Agile Methodology
    Pivotal Tracker is designed with Agile teams in mind, offering features like backlogs, stories, and iterations that align well with Agile practices.
  • Prioritization and Organization
    The platform allows teams to easily prioritize tasks and organize them in a visual manner, making it easier to manage project workflows and deadlines.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Pivotal Tracker seamlessly integrates with a variety of other tools and services, such as Slack, GitHub, and JIRA, to streamline the development process.

Possible disadvantages of Pivotal Tracker

  • Steeper Learning Curve for Non-Agile Teams
    Teams unfamiliar with Agile methodology may find it challenging to adapt to Pivotal Tracker’s workflow, potentially leading to a steeper learning curve.
  • Limited Customization
    The platform offers limited customization options for workflows and statuses compared to some competitors, which can be a drawback for teams with unique processes.
  • Pricing
    While Pivotal Tracker offers a free tier, its pricing can become expensive for larger teams or those requiring more advanced features.
  • Complexity in Large Projects
    Managing very large projects can become cumbersome, as the interface doesn’t scale as effectively for complex, multi-layered projects.
  • Limited Reporting Features
    The reporting and analytics features are somewhat limited compared to other project management tools, which can hinder in-depth project performance analysis.

Analysis of Jira

Overall verdict

  • Jira is generally considered a strong choice for organizations seeking a comprehensive and flexible project management tool, especially those in software development. However, it can be complex and may have a steep learning curve for new users, which can be a drawback for some teams.

Why this product is good

  • Jira by Atlassian is highly regarded due to its robust set of features tailored for software development and project management. It offers extensive customization options, effective tracking capabilities, and seamless integration with other tools, particularly within the Atlassian suite. Its flexibility allows teams to adapt workflows to suit their processes, making it a versatile option for various project management needs.

Recommended for

    Jira is recommended for software development teams, agile project management enthusiasts, companies that require detailed workflow customization, and organizations already using other Atlassian products seeking seamless integration.

Analysis of Pivotal Tracker

Overall verdict

  • Pivotal Tracker is generally considered a good tool for teams that follow agile methodologies and need a robust, yet simple way to manage projects. Its emphasis on agile terminology and practices makes it particularly suitable for software development teams.

Why this product is good

  • Pivotal Tracker is a popular project management tool, especially among agile software development teams. It offers features like real-time collaboration, story prioritization, and iteration planning. The platform is known for its straightforward interface and automated workflow management, enabling teams to focus on development without getting bogged down by administration. It integrates well with other development tools, which helps in creating a cohesive environment for developers.

Recommended for

  • Agile software development teams
  • Project managers looking for a streamlined workflow
  • Teams that require real-time collaboration
  • Organizations that use integrations with other development tools
  • Startups and tech companies with a focus on iterative development

Jira videos

Jira Core Walkthrough and Review

More videos:

  • Review - (2018) The NEW Jira Begins Now - Modern Software Development
  • Review - JIRA Core: Business Team Use Cases
  • Demo - JIRA in a Nutshell demo video
  • Review - (Re)Discover JIRA Core: Tricks That Make a BIG Difference - Atlassian Summit 2016

Pivotal Tracker videos

Introduction to the Concepts of Pivotal Tracker

More videos:

  • Review - Pivotal Tracker 1: A cheap activity tracker you will actually want to wear
  • Review - Pivotal Tracker 1 Pivotal Living Fitness Band Review Pros and Cons

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Jira and Pivotal Tracker)
Project Management
90 90%
10% 10
Task Management
88 88%
12% 12
Productivity
92 92%
8% 8
Work Management
79 79%
21% 21

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Jira and Pivotal Tracker

Jira Reviews

  1. Luminous Valentine
    my experience

    Jira may be extremely sluggish and require a large amount of memory on the client side.

    👍 Pros:    Affordable price|Affordable
    👎 Cons:    Super simple|Scalable

10 Best Canny Alternatives and Competitors in 2025
Jira is an issue-tracking tool that flags and tracks bugs, creates product roadmaps, and collects user insights. Beloved by SaaS companies and startups, it’s a great tool for gathering and analyzing what your customers say about your products. Plus, it highlights areas for improvement to target pressing issues instantly. ✍️
Source: clickup.com
25 Best Asana Alternatives & Competitors for Project Management in 2024
Jira is a bug-tracking and project software. Compared to Asana, it’s geared towards agile teams and technical power users. With advanced reporting options, including user workload, average issue age, and recently created issues, project managers can make informed decisions to plan smarter sprints.
Source: clickup.com
The 10 best Asana alternatives in 2024
Unlike Asana, Jira was built specifically for teams that use Scrum and Agile workflows. When you sign up, you'll answer a few questions about your preferred methodologies, project types, and deadlines. Then, Jira will suggest a project template and methodology to fit your team's needs.
Source: zapier.com
16 Best Asana Alternatives of 2024 (Free + Paid)
Jira is a software product of Atlassian and is often used for tracking issues in software development. But Jira has grown to be used outside of the IT segment for tracking a range of issues, tasks and work items. What it might lack in features is made up on the Atlassian Marketplace where many plugins can be purchased to extend the tool’s features.
The Ultimate List of 20 Best AI Work Management Tools
Atlassian Intelligence (preregistration): Jira leverages artificial intelligence to automate various tasks, including summarizing meeting minutes, answering questions, converting natural language queries into JQL or SQL, and offering instant assistance through virtual agents in Slack and Microsoft Teams, accelerating work and enhancing user experience.
Source: ppm.express

Pivotal Tracker Reviews

20 Employee Monitoring Software [2022 Updated List]
Pivotal Tracker – This employee computer monitoring software also serves as a visual guide for tracking a project’s progress.
Source: traqq.com
35+ Of The Best CI/CD Tools: Organized By Category
Pivotal Tracker is an Agile management tool that has been around since 1989. Once again, it proves that some of Agile’s concepts still translate very well to CI/CD methodology. While the user interface may feel a little simplistic and outdated, Pivotal Tracker has the functionality to compete with the best of them.
12 Best JIRA Alternatives in 2019
Pivotal Tracker is agile project management tool. This tool fosters collaboration in software development teams. It is one of the best Jira Alternatives which provides a shared view of team priorities to analyze progress.
Source: www.guru99.com
5 Free Jira Alternatives That Are Just as Good
PivotalTracker isn’t a Jira clone, but it’s the closest thing to that compared to the other Jira alternatives on this list. PivotalTracker offers boards, projects, and tasks, but it begins the organization process by asking users to create “stories.” This might be a question about what users want on a website or maybe a task that needs completing by a certain deadline....
Blossom compared to Pivotal Tracker
Why choose Blossom? Reasons why Pivotal Tracker Users chose the intelligent Kanban Board. Continuous Delivery Learn more about going beyong time-boxed release cycles
Source: www.blossom.co

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Jira and Pivotal Tracker, you can also consider the following products

Asana - Asana project management is an effort to re-imagine how we work together, through modern productivity software. Fast and versatile, Asana helps individuals and groups get more done.

Trello - Infinitely flexible. Incredibly easy to use. Great mobile apps. It's free. Trello keeps track of everything, from the big picture to the minute details.

Redmine - Flexible project management web application

Basecamp - A simple and elegant project management system.

Wrike - Wrike is a flexible, scalable, and easy-to-use collaborative work management software that helps high-performance teams organize and accomplish their work. Try it now.

monday.com - The most intuitive platform to manage projects and teamwork