Monday.com vs Jira: A data-backed comparison

Explore Monday.com and Jira’s adoption trends, market share, features, pricing, and use cases to determine which platform best suits your workflow requirements and organizational structure.

Monday.com vs Jira at a glance

Both Monday.com and Jira are powerful project management solutions, but they differ in their approach. Monday.com is better for teams seeking a visual, flexible platform that works across departments without technical expertise. Jira is better for teams that need specialized agile tools with deep technical integrations.

Metrics

Monday

Jira

Relative cost

31% lower cost than category average

Adoption trend

11% QoQ adoption growth

8.07% QoQ adoption growth

Primary user segment

41% of users are SMB

39% of users are SMB

Best for

Teams that need powerful yet intuitive work management tools to coordinate projects across teams without the complexity of enterprise software.

Teams looking for ticketing solutions, software development support, and agile project management tools that can expand to meet the needs of growing organizations.

Monday.com overview

Monday.com is a flexible work operating system (Work OS) built around highly visual boards that can be adapted for virtually any workflow. Unlike traditional tools, it doesn't constrain users with rigid structures—instead, it offers customizable building blocks that teams reshape into anything from marketing campaigns to product roadmaps. Monday.com appeals to teams seeking visual clarity and customizable workflows.

Monday.com key features

Features

Description

Dashboard reporting

Aggregates data from multiple boards into customizable dashboards with visual widgets, including charts, timelines, calendars, and metrics that update in real-time.

Automation

Creates rule-based automations that trigger actions when specific conditions are met, such as status changes, date approaches, or assignments.

Forms

Creates customizable intake forms that feed directly into the boards, allowing external stakeholders to submit information that automatically populates as new items.

Integrations

Connects with over 200 external tools—including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Zoom, Salesforcento create a unified workspace.

Custom boards

Organizes work into customizable boards with items, columns, and automations that adapt to any workflow type—from simple task lists to complex project plans with dependencies and timelines.

Jira overview

Jira has evolved from its origins in software development to become a comprehensive project management solution for teams across many industries. While still offering powerful tools for Agile methodologies, Jira now provides flexible workflows for marketing teams, HR departments, operations, and more. Its adaptable framework allows organizations to customize processes, automate routine tasks, and track progress with sophisticated reporting. With robust integration capabilities and scalable features, Jira has expanded beyond its technical roots to support diverse business needs across the enterprise.

Jira key features

Features

Description

Agile boards

Customizable Scrum and Kanban boards for sprint planning and visualizing workflows.

Issue tracking

Tracks bugs, tasks, and stories with custom fields, filters, and audit trails.

Workflow engine

Custom issue workflows with conditional transitions and automated actions.

Roadmaps

Visual timeline tools for planning product features and releases.

Development tools integration

Connects with GitHub, Bitbucket, Jenkins, and Bamboo to link tasks with code activities.

JQL (Jira Query Language)

SQL-like query language for creating complex searches and custom reports.

Pros and cons

Tool

Pros

Cons

Monday

  • Intuitive, visual interface requires minimal training time
  • Strong mobile app functionality for on-the-go monitoring
  • Excellent dashboard visualization for metrics
  • High user satisfaction ratings for ease of use
  • Limited functionality in free version
  • Limited customization options for complex processes
  • Less robust time tracking capabilities for billable hour management
  • Limited number of native integrations

Jira

  • Comprehensive agile boards (Scrum, Kanban)
  • Powerful issue and bug tracking system
  • Customizable workflows for development processes
  • Advanced reporting and sprint planning
  • Extensive integration with developer tools
  • Overly complex for non-technical teams
  • Requires significant setup and configuration
  • Steep learning curve for new users
  • Can feel cluttered for simple projects
  • Expensive for small teams

Use case scenarios

When Monday.com is the better choice

Monday.com is ideal for organizations that prioritize visual clarity and an intuitive interface. Its user-friendly design allows for quick adoption with minimal training, making it accessible to teams with varying technical skills. When projects involve multiple stakeholders, Monday.com simplifies project visibility, ensuring everyone stays informed.

Teams with diverse workflows benefit from its flexible customization options, allowing each department to tailor processes to their specific needs. If visual collaboration is central to how your team operates, Monday.com provides an effective way to manage tasks, timelines, and communication.

When Jira takes the lead

Jira is a strong choice for organizations that need comprehensive workflow customization and structured project tracking. It is particularly suited for teams following methodologies like Agile or Scrum, where detailed issue tracking is essential. If your organization relies on deep integrations with business and technical systems, Jira’s ecosystem supports seamless connectivity across platforms.

For teams managing complex approval processes and workflow rules, Jira provides robust enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance. Additionally, its detailed reporting and metrics tracking make it a powerful tool for organizations that require in-depth data insights across departments.


Other project management tools

  • Asana: Good choice for teams seeking the perfect balance between usability and functionality
  • ClickUp: This is a good choice for organizations needing all-in-one functionality that combines docs, goals, chat, and tasks in a single platform with more affordable pricing tiers.
  • Trello: Ideal for small teams who find both Jira and Monday.com complex and prefer a simpler, card-based system that still offers powerful automation.
  • Notion: Notion combines project management with robust knowledge management, wikis, and collaborative documents in one unified workspace.
  • Airtable: Good alternative for teams that need database-like functionality with spreadsheet familiarity. It offers powerful data relationships and visualization options.

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