Jira vs Teamwork
Jira is enterprise project management and issue tracking for software development teams, while Teamwork is project management with time tracking, resource management, and client-facing features. Teamwork comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. Jira is built for large engineering teams that need customizable workflows and reporting, whereas Teamwork targets client-facing teams needing project + time tracking.
At a glance
|
Jira
|
Teamwork
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Large engineering teams that need customizable workflows and reporting | Client-facing teams needing project + time tracking |
| Starting price | $7.75/user/mo | $5.99/user/mo |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | — | — |
| Free tier available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | — | — |
| Budgets | — | ✓ |
| Client Access | — | ✓ |
| Custom Workflows | ✓ | — |
| Dashboards | ✓ | — |
| Marketplace | ✓ | — |
| Roadmaps | ✓ | — |
| Sprints | ✓ | — |
| Templates | — | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | — | ✓ |
Jira
Strengths
- Extremely customizable workflows and fields
- Advanced reporting and dashboards
- Massive marketplace of add-ons
- Handles complex enterprise requirements
Weaknesses
- Slow and bloated interface
- Overwhelming complexity for small teams
- Configuration often requires a dedicated admin
- Simple tasks take too many clicks
Teamwork
Strengths
- Native time tracking eliminates the need for a separate time-logging tool
- Includes Budgets as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows
- Free for 5 users — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
- Established product with 19+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem
Weaknesses
- Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
- Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
- Migrating existing projects from another tool can be time-consuming
- Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish
The bottom line
Pricing: Both tools offer free tiers, so you can test each before committing. Jira's free plan: Free for up to 10 users. Teamwork's free plan: Free for 5 users. When you outgrow the free tier, Teamwork is the cheaper option at $5.99/user/mo vs. $7.75/user/mo for Jira — roughly 29% less.
Feature gaps: Jira offers Custom Workflows, Dashboards and Marketplace that Teamwork lacks. Teamwork brings Budgets, Client Access and Templates that Jira does not have.
Team fit: Jira is geared toward enterprise teams, while Teamwork is aimed at mid-size teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.
Where each tool shines: Jira's biggest strengths are: extremely customizable workflows and fields. advanced reporting and dashboards. Teamwork's biggest strengths are: native time tracking eliminates the need for a separate time-logging tool. includes budgets as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows.
Watch out for: With Jira, users commonly note that slow and bloated interface. With Teamwork, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.
Choose Jira if...
- You need a tool built for large engineering teams that need customizable workflows and reporting
- You specifically need Custom Workflows and Dashboards
- You care about advanced reporting and dashboards
- Your team size fits the enterprise profile Jira is designed for
- The free tier works for you: free for up to 10 users
Choose Teamwork if...
- You need a tool built for client-facing teams needing project + time tracking
- You want to save on per-user costs — Teamwork is $1.76/user/mo cheaper
- You specifically need Budgets and Client Access
- You care about includes budgets as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows
- Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Teamwork is designed for
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