Jira vs Microsoft Project

Last Updated:

Our analysts compared Jira vs Microsoft Project based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Project Management Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Jira Software Tool

Product Basics

Jira is an all-in-one solution suite that helps organizations manage projects with agile methodologies, customization and collaboration. It helps teams track, plan and release projects and supports Kanban, Scrum or hybrid workflows. Managers can plan and prioritize their team’s assignments in a fully-visible environment that tracks performance as progress is made.

It’s supported by over 3,000 modules that can be customized to enhance user experience. It’s accessible via internet-connected mobile devices and helps manage projects on-the-go. It integrates with tools like Azure, GitHub and Bamboo while remaining scalable for operations of any size.

read more...
Microsoft Project is a robust project management software designed to assist professionals in planning, managing, and tracking projects effectively. It is particularly suitable for organizations that require detailed project planning, resource allocation, and progress monitoring. The software offers comprehensive features such as Gantt charts, task dependencies, resource leveling, and budget management.

Key benefits include improved project visibility, enhanced collaboration, streamlined task management, and efficient resource allocation. Its user-friendly interface and customizable templates make it accessible to users of all skill levels. Compared to similar products, Microsoft Project stands out with its advanced features, integration with other Microsoft applications, and extensive support resources.

Pricing varies depending on the specific version and licensing options. Microsoft Project offers flexible pricing plans, including subscription-based models and perpetual licenses, to cater to different business needs.

read more...
$10/User, Monthly
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
$10/User, Monthly
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Use Agile Project Management: Adopt the best of agile methodologies with a platform designed to optimize Kanban and Scrum boards along with mixed methodologies of your own. While their agile boards shine, we also liked that you’re not strictly bound by, say, using only Scrums with a board view and can use lists and custom fields to manage any type of project really, not just bug tracking or product development.
  • Optimize Sprint Planning: Race to the finish line one issue at a time with the Scrum feature. Set up sprints across projects with automations, custom boards and stories. Check out our dummy sprint below, but TLDR: we appreciated the drag-and-drop functionality to build sprints, advance sprint planning and the sprint report.
  • Build Custom Workspaces with Programming: Make your workspace fit the specific needs of teams and projects by adapting templates, building automations and modifying issues with code and logic-based modifications. It was quite simple to set up basic projects and create automations with our limited tech expertise even with some programming language thrown in here and there, but a full-fledged coder could really shine.
  • Customize Pre-Built Templates: Create projects suited to the task at hand (pardon the pun) with dozens of pre-built templates ranging from recruitment to customer service to web design and grant management. We checked out the different statuses for multiple templates and enjoyed how simple it was to customize issue types, workflows and automations when you’re not working from scratch.
read more...
  • Integrations: Integrates well with other products in the Office suite, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel. 
  • Capture Work Hours: Includes timesheets where team members can fill in hours worked by day and task. Has a simple approval process that lets managers add notes if they reject a submission. Timesheets give insight into project progress and help keep it within time and budget limits.  
  • View Multiple Timelines: Get the big picture of every facet of a project with a visual layout of tasks and milestones. Customize what information appears on timelines and share them with project stakeholders. 
  • Collaborate Efficiently: Integrates with Skype for Business, keeping your team connected via video calls and chat rooms. Direct access to Skype ensures users don’t have to switch between apps.  
  • Simplify Project Planning: Supports waterfall, agile, hybrid method, Gantt charts and pulldown menus to aid project planning. Lets users work in sprints using a Kanban layout. 
read more...
  • Agile Boards: Manage your tasks, or issues using Scrum and Kanban boards with custom statuses, fields and transitions. Create new issues using the button below each status. You can view projects using a list, board or timeline view.
  • Reports and Insights: Get insights into where your team is at throughout every stage of the project by generating custom reports like the average age report, created vs. resolved issues report and sprint report. Manage workloads with the time tracking report, user workload report and version workload report. Use the summary view to monitor activity, status overview, priority breakdown and related projects.
  • Collaboration Features: Communicate with team members and assignees directly on the issue card with comments and mentions. Attach files, view card activity and add descriptions for additional instructions. Integrate with Outlook, Slack and other communication tools.
  • Custom Automations: Build custom automation rules by setting a trigger with the option to add an action, a condition or a branch. Get a helping hand by searching for triggers related to what you want to automate and selecting recommended actions and conditions.
  • Sprint Management: Use the Scrum option to run sprints. Fill in project details like name, duration and scope and add tasks and drag and drop them to your sprint using the backlog. Complete your sprints and auto-add pending tasks to the backlog or to a new sprint and run a sprint report for insights.
  • Task Management: Manage tasks by creating customizable issue cards under each status or by importing issues from CSV files. Add assignees, due dates, time tracking, comments, descriptions, teams, labels, status and priority to issues. Move tasks from status to status using transitions and workflow automation.
  • Customizable Workflows: Create custom workflows for your tasks and subtasks by going to project settings and clicking on issue types. Set statuses based on the type of task you’re completing or from the project template you select. Automate actions by setting rules for transitions from one status to another.
read more...
  • Resource Management: Set up teams for success by requesting resources. Heat maps help identify overworked or underused resources. Lets managers project usage, monitor progress and address issues using analytics.  
  • Portfolio Optimization: Models different scenarios using tools like analysis scatter charts. Weigh project proposals against strategic business drivers with organizational cost and resource constraints in mind. 
  • Reports: Offers a number of reports that include a dashboard, progress and cost that provide insight into project metrics. Individual reports include burndowns, project overviews, critical tasks, cash flow, earned value, late tasks and more. Create a customized report from four template types: blank, chart, table and comparison.  
  • BI Capability: Connect with business intelligence apps like Power BI Pro to gain visibility across portfolios. Supports data aggregation to gain comprehensive insights. 
  • Proposal Evaluation: Gather project ideas, use standardized processes to evaluate them and funnel project charters and business cases to management for review and approval.
read more...

Product Ranking

#3

among all
Project Management Software

#6

among all
Project Management Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

76
72
86
57
90
97
75
0
Show More Show More
Platform Security
Dashboards and Reporting
Customizations
Task Management
Dashboards and Reporting
Project Planning and Scheduling
Project Tracking
Platform Security
Task Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Jira
Microsoft Project
+ Add Product + Add Product
Customizations Dashboards And Reporting Mobile Capabilities Platform Features Project Planning And Scheduling Project Tracking Task Management Team Collaboration Time Tracking And Management 86 90 75 64 78 63 85 77 54 57 97 0 74 97 95 85 47 81 0 25 50 75 100
86%
0%
14%
29%
43%
28%
80%
0%
20%
100%
0%
0%
57%
0%
43%
0%
0%
100%
46%
21%
33%
63%
13%
24%
67%
8%
25%
92%
0%
8%
43%
0%
57%
86%
0%
14%
75%
17%
8%
75%
8%
17%
58%
17%
25%
33%
25%
42%
29%
29%
42%
71%
14%
15%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

61%
0%
39%
61%
6%
33%
88%
0%
12%
88%
0%
12%

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 26427 reviews
Great User Sentiment 3873 reviews
87%
of users recommend this product

Jira has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 87% when considering 26427 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

84%
of users recommend this product

Microsoft Project has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 84% when considering 3873 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (32)
4.7 (21)
4.3 (5956)
4.0 (1577)
4.4 (14556)
4.4 (1289)
4.4 (2528)
4.4 (408)
4.1 (3355)
4.1 (578)

Awards

we're gathering data

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Microsoft Project and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Project Planning and Scheduling.

Project Planning and Scheduling Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Functionality: Users appreciated the ability to customize workflows, issue types and fields and the flexibility to navigate complex projects and problem-solve.
Collaborative: The system helps users collaborate with other teams, projects, and stakeholders and efficiently bridges gaps between remote teams, noted reviewers.
Integrations: Reviewers liked the extensive integrations with most third-party modules like Slack, Bitbucket and more to complete workflows and processes.
What Users Like
Customization: “We were able to tailor the workflow to fit our specific needs, which greatly enhanced our efficiency. For instance, we created custom issue types that aligned with our unique project phases, making it easier for team members to understand their tasks at a glance.” - Balázs Keszthelyi, Founder and CEO at TechnoLynx
Project Visualization: “[Jira’s robust roadmapping and dependency tracking capabilities are] invaluable for coordinating multiple product launches. Also, the premium version's Advanced Roadmaps feature lets us visualize our entire product pipeline so that's from sourcing to launch, but you've got to invest time in learning the system, and I think for smaller operations, it might be overkill.” - Dennis Sanders, Founder and CEO of Burning Daily
Task Management: “Jira has given us the structure to break down our complex workflows into clear, manageable steps, which was exactly what we needed as we expanded our customer base. With Jira, we can create specific 'boards' for each client’s SEO campaign, where every task is detailed and assigned to the right team member. Each board has phases, like keyword research, content writing, and on-page optimization, with clear deadlines. Having this setup has helped us catch any bottlenecks early. If the content team takes longer to deliver, for instance, we can adjust the timeline for the next steps right away instead of rushing it.” - Mushfiq Sarker, CEO of LaGrande Marketing
Show more
User Friendly: The platform’s functionalities are intuitive and easy to use, as noted by approximately 80% of users who mention the system’s usability.
Project Scheduling: Approximately 81% of the users find its project scheduling capabilities helpful.
Feature-Rich: Approximately 81% of the users who mentioned features said the system provides everything required for proper project handling. It can handle complex projects, create Gantt charts, project timelines and reports.
Customization: Nearly 61% of users who mentioned customization said its customization options were helpful. It integrates with ClearQuest seamlessly and 67% of users find its integrations helpful.
Support: Support is responsive, knowledgeable and helpful, as reported by 100% of reviewers who mention support.
Templates: Approximately 80% of users who mentioned templates find them to be helpful as they display data in an organized manner.
Show more
Lags: Reviewers noted that the system sometimes lags and takes time to load, especially for multiple projects and large data sets.
Learning Curve: Its UX can feel complex, and it takes time to set up, customize and use to its full ability. An internal Jira expert may be required, according to some users.
Administration: Users mentioned that the system is difficult to administer, and its back-end is hard to manage.
What Users Dislike
Slow Loading Time: “Its interface moves like molasses.” - Dennis Sanders, Founder and CEO of Burning Daily
Learning Curve: “We had some initial challenges with team members who were not familiar with the platform, which required additional training sessions to ensure everyone was on the same page. However, once they became accustomed to the interface, the benefits outweighed the initial hurdles.” - Balázs Keszthelyi, Founder and CEO at TechnoLynx
Show more
Learning Curve: Nearly 96% of the users that mentioned accessibility think that the software has a steep learning curve.
Efficiency: About 72% of users that mentioned efficiency said the software improved their process optimization.
Collaboration: Close to 83% of the users who mention collaboration said that Project does not facilitate collaborative processes well.
Cost: Approximately 94% of the users who mention cost think that its price is prohibitive and that the software is very expensive for the features it offers.
Show more

Jira is an agile-based project management platform that caters to a vast range of industries thanks to its all-in-one functionality, customization and flexibility. It allows users to fully customize workflows, issue types, fields and automations.After watching a few tutorials, I personally found it quite simple to create my own projects using the templates and modifying it to meet my needs. Although some of the automation actions and issues have some programming language involved, it’s not a huge roadblock and I created and tested multiple automations successfully.Task (or issue) management was on point, with multiple views, custom workflows, task assignment, in-card collaboration and time tracking and custom fields. It offered comprehensive (but not overly advanced) reports and a helpful summary dashboard.Sprints were intuitive and easy to execute, and I especially appreciated the drag-and-drop feature for planning. Some users mentioned a learning curve, and I would agree, as I relied on videos to guide me through some parts of the setup lest this test take weeks not days.Overall, Jira is a match made in heaven for agile enthusiasts and users who want a flexible, customizable project management platform and don’t mind getting into the weeds with learning courses and tutorials.

Show more

Microsoft Project remains a robust project management software, praised for its intuitive interface and comprehensive feature set. Users appreciate its Gantt charts, resource management capabilities, and integration with other Microsoft products. However, some find its advanced features overwhelming and its reporting capabilities limited compared to specialized project management tools. Project differentiates itself with its ease of use and integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. Its intuitive interface makes it accessible to users of all skill levels, while its integration with tools like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint streamlines collaboration. These strengths make it an excellent choice for teams heavily reliant on Microsoft products. Microsoft Project is best suited for small to medium-sized businesses and teams that prioritize ease of use and Microsoft integration. Its intuitive interface and comprehensive feature set make it a valuable tool for managing projects effectively, while its integration with other Microsoft products enhances collaboration and productivity.

Show more

Screenshots

Top Alternatives in Project Management Software


Airtable

Asana

Basecamp

ClickUp

LiquidPlanner

MeisterTask

Microsoft Project

monday.com

ProofHub

Smartsheet

TeamGantt

Teamwork

Wrike

Zoho Projects

Related Categories

Head-to-Head Comparison

WE DISTILL IT INTO REAL REQUIREMENTS, COMPARISON REPORTS, PRICE GUIDES and more...

Compare products
Comparison Report
Just drag this link to the bookmark bar.
?
Table settings