Jira Alternatives 2026: 7 Free and Open-Source Options
Jira alternatives after Atlassian's Oct 13, 2026 Cloud price rise: Plane, OpenProject, Redmine, Taiga, GitHub Projects, Linear, Trello, with official prices.
•4 min read•Project & Task Management
Verdict:If Jira's new prices are the trigger, the free paths are self-hosting Plane, OpenProject or Redmine (all open source), or GitHub Projects if your work already lives in GitHub. Plane has the most Jira-like workflow and a documented Jira importer; Redmine is the old reliable; Trello and Linear are the easy hosted options with free tiers.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plane | Free for up to 12 users; Pro $8 per user/month monthly or $6 annually; self-hosting available | Web browser, Self-hosted | Teams that want Jira-style work items, cycles (sprints) and modules, with a Jira importer | Docs only |
| OpenProject | Community edition free; Enterprise Basic from EUR 5.95 per user/month (25-user minimum) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Classic project management: work packages, Gantt and agile boards on your own server | Docs only |
| Redmine | Free (open source, GPL v2) | Self-hosted | Issue tracking with Gantt, wikis, time tracking and Git integration, no per-seat cost | Docs only |
| Taiga | See pricing page | Web browser, Self-hosted | Small agile teams that like a clean Scrum and Kanban interface | Docs only |
| GitHub Projects | Included in GitHub Free ($0); Team $4 per user/month for the first 12 months | Web browser | Software teams whose issues and pull requests already live on GitHub | Docs only |
| Linear | Free (unlimited members, 250 issues); Basic $10 per user/month billed yearly | Web browser | Small software teams that want a fast, opinionated issue tracker (hosted, free tier) | Docs only |
| Trello | Free (up to 10 collaborators per Workspace); Standard $5 per user/month billed annually | Web browser | Simple Kanban boards without sprints or heavy workflows | Docs only |
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Good fit if
- Your team pays for Jira mainly for issues, boards and sprints
- You can self-host or are happy on a free hosted tier
- You want open source or no per-seat price
Not ideal if
- You depend on Jira Marketplace apps or Atlassian-specific automation
- You need Confluence and Jira Service Management tied together
- Compliance rules require a vendor with enterprise certifications you have already approved
Short answer: if Atlassian's October 2026 price rise is why you are looking, pick by how much hosting you want to do. Self-host Plane for the most Jira-like experience, OpenProject for classic project management, or Redmine for a no-frills issue tracker. If you do not want a server, Trello (boards) and Linear (issues) have free tiers, and GitHub Projects is included in GitHub Free. We read official pages only; we did not run any of these tools.
How we ordered the tools: open-source options first (Plane, OpenProject, Redmine, Taiga), then hosted tools with free tiers (GitHub Projects, Linear, Trello). All are docs-only. None of these products is ours.
What changed at Jira
Atlassian's pricing FAQ says its new Cloud prices take effect on October 13, 2026 PT. They apply to new purchases, renewals and upgrades, and quotes generated before that date are honored at the old price until they expire. The Jira plans affected are Standard, Premium and Enterprise.
Atlassian's list-price tables show the size of the change at the smallest tier. For 1 to 100 users, Jira Standard goes from $9.05 to $9.70 per user per month, and Premium from $18.30 to $19.60. Larger tiers have lower per-user prices, so check the table for your seat count. We did not verify what the Jira Free plan includes, so check it on Atlassian's pricing page before planning around it.
Plane
What it replaces: Jira for teams that want work items, cycles and modules without Atlassian's complexity. Plane is open source under AGPL-3.0, with a hosted cloud and Docker and Kubernetes self-hosting. Its pricing page lists a free plan for up to 12 users and a Pro plan at $8 per user per month billed monthly or $6 billed annually.
Why it stands out for switchers: Plane's docs describe a Jira importer. Issues become work items with descriptions, comments, attachments and history; sprints become cycles and components become modules; statuses and priorities are mapped during import. Epics import as regular work item types, not as Plane Epics, and users from Jira Cloud need a user CSV or are skipped. The importer is available on Plane Cloud and on Commercial Edition plans when self-hosted.
What it lacks: the wiki, time tracking and integrations are paid features, per the pricing page. We did not run it.
OpenProject
What it replaces: Jira for planning-heavy teams. The pricing page lists a free Community plan with no minimum users and community support only. Paid Enterprise plans start at EUR 5.95 per user per month (Basic, 25-user minimum) and go up to EUR 15.95 (Premium, 100-user minimum). You can choose cloud or on-premises hosting.
What it lacks: it is oriented to project management more than to developer-style issue flow. We did not run it or look for a Jira importer in its docs.
Redmine
What it replaces: Jira for self-hosters who want a free tracker. Redmine's site lists multiple projects, role-based access, issue tracking, Gantt charts and calendars, wikis, time tracking, and Git and Subversion integration. It is released under GPL v2 and runs on Ruby on Rails.
What it lacks: it is self-hosted only, and you manage updates yourself. We did not run it.
Taiga
What it replaces: Jira boards and backlogs for small agile teams. We could not settle Taiga's current pricing: its deployment and pricing page lists Cloud Basic at a monthly or annual euro price with a storage cap, while other pages and listings describe a free tier. Rather than quote a number, check Taiga's pricing options before you commit.
What it lacks: the pricing page we read states no license, so confirm licensing before building a workflow around self-hosting it.
GitHub Projects
What it replaces: Jira for software teams already on GitHub. GitHub's pricing page lists a Free plan at $0 that includes issues and projects, and a Team plan at $4 per user per month for the first 12 months (the price after that is not stated on the page). GitHub's docs describe Projects as table, board and roadmap views over issues and pull requests, with custom fields and built-in automation.
What it lacks: it is built around repositories, so non-engineering teams may find it awkward. We did not test it.
Linear (hosted)
What it replaces: Jira for small software teams that want a faster interface. Linear's pricing page lists a Free plan with unlimited members and 250 issues, and Basic at $10 per user per month billed yearly. It is a hosted product, not open source.
What it lacks: the free issue cap is small for an active team.
Trello
What it replaces: Jira for simple board-based work. Trello's pricing page lists a free plan for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace with up to 10 boards, and Standard at $5 per user per month billed annually.
What it lacks: it is a board tool, so sprint planning and deep reporting are not what it is built for. We did not test it.
Before you move
- Take a backup first. Atlassian's docs describe a Cloud backup (Settings, System, Backup manager) that downloads a zip with issues, comments, board and sprint data and optional attachments. It excludes third-party apps and app data, and it is not a CSV ready to import.
- List your must-haves. Marketplace apps and Atlassian automation will not follow you.
- Pilot one project. Plane's importer can be re-run to re-sync, per its docs, so a trial import is low risk if you pick Plane.
- Pair tools if needed. If you also use Confluence, a separate wiki is your next decision.
Which one to pick
- Closest to Jira, open source: Plane.
- Project planning with Gantt on your server: OpenProject.
- Plain, proven, free tracker: Redmine.
- Issues next to your code: GitHub Projects.
- Hosted and tiny: Linear or Trello.
How we checked
Official pages read on 2026-10-21, with no accounts created. We tried to start Plane, OpenProject or Redmine from official Docker images on a Mac, but the local Docker VM could not reach Docker Hub, so no tool was run. Prices are the figures on each vendor's page that day; confirm before buying.
Sources
Limits of this review
Docs-only: no tool was run. We did not test any Jira import, board view or performance. Atlassian's Jira Free plan limits were not visible on the pages we could read, so we do not state them. Taiga's pricing differs between its pages, so we point to its pricing page instead of quoting a number.
FAQ
Did Jira's price go up?
Atlassian's pricing FAQ says new Cloud prices take effect October 13, 2026 PT for new purchases, renewals and upgrades, covering Jira Standard, Premium and Enterprise. Quotes generated before that date are honored at the old price until they expire. Its list-price tables show Jira Standard for 1 to 100 users moving from $9.05 to $9.70 per user per month and Premium from $18.30 to $19.60.
What is the best free Jira alternative?
For open source, Plane, OpenProject and Redmine are the options on this page. Plane is closest to Jira's sprint model and documents a Jira importer. If you want no hosting, Trello and Linear have free tiers, and GitHub Projects is included in GitHub Free.
Can I import Jira issues into another tool?
Plane's docs describe a Jira importer for Jira Cloud and Server or Data Center: issues, comments, attachments, statuses, sprints (as cycles) and components (as modules) come across, and it is available on Plane Cloud and Commercial Edition plans for self-hosted. We did not run it. For other tools, check their import docs first.
Can I take a backup out of Jira Cloud?
Atlassian's docs describe a Cloud backup from Settings, System, Backup manager that downloads a zip with issue data, comments, board and sprint data and optional attachments. It does not include third-party apps and app data or automation flows. It is a backup, not a ready-to-import CSV.
How do these tools handle my files and privacy?
Self-hosted tools (Plane, OpenProject, Redmine, Taiga) keep data on your own servers. Hosted tools (Linear, Trello, GitHub, Plane Cloud) store it with the vendor. We did not review any vendor's privacy terms for this page.
When was this page checked?
Official pages were read on October 21, 2026. No software was run for this page.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official docs and pricing pages checked 2026-10-21: Atlassian's Cloud pricing FAQ and future list-price tables, and the pricing or project pages of Plane, OpenProject, Redmine, Taiga, GitHub, Linear and Trello. We tried to run Plane, OpenProject or Redmine from official Docker images on a Mac, but the local Docker VM could not reach Docker Hub (no route to host), so nothing was installed or run. No accounts were created.