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Jira Align vs Polarion ALM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Jira Align
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
9th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Value Stream Management Software (1st)
Polarion ALM
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
6th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Jira Align is 1.5%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Polarion ALM is 8.2%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

Tonia Spight-Sokoya - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly with good documentation and the ability to integrate with other third arty vendors
I am really focused on identity access management and getting access to the vendors. Right now, I'm setting up vendor access through Azure. You can do that or with the IAM. Sometimes we have to create several different types of access because we have vaulted databases. We have the Unix databases, I have MySQL, and we have Mongo, where I get access to those user classes or to the databases in the host group. Those are all different access scenario forms that I submit after I do the configuration in the form with the security team. I need clarity on the IAM. I'm not clear on PAM eighter. Is there a form that they have to submit to get access to the internal cyber-risk teams to get their access for people to be able to use the tool on the Confluence side? Do they have to send some kind of form to the operation's security or enterprise security? To be able to get the access for privileged access, do they need to be working on projects that have vaulted databases? I still need to figure out how that works. Other companies that are competitors of Jira and Confluence, are able to create their active directories for the vendors that don't come in internally. They only do access through the cloud and through third-party, two-factor identification. That's something I was wondering if that was already implemented in the packages, the package for Confluence. It would be nice to have that right in the solution.
Dina Bindi - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides traceability and compliance with high flexibility
It's extremely flexible. Configuring items is straightforward and doesn't require involving the supplier each time. We find the requirement management, test management, documentation, and dashboards very effective. However, we don't use DevOps-related features, such as integration with tools like SVN or Git, because we use Azure DevOps. The aspects related to requirements, testing, changes, tasks, and agile methodology are excellent, which is why we've been using it for a long time.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"In my previous experience, the Portfolio and Structure feature in Jira is really valuable because it assists with forecasting for projects."
"The OKR experience is great."
"The most valuable features of Jira Align are its product roadmap and reporting."
"Defect tracking and dashboards are the most valuable features of Jira Align."
"The technical support team responds quickly and resolves issues effectively."
"I like the way the UI functions."
"The product has good visualization capabilities and helps to see the different dimensions of a plan."
"The most valuable feature is that engineers can access the Jira database and just search for the tasks that are assigned to them. They can then update the status on their own in those records that are assigned to them."
"The most valuable feature is the function of the ALM system."
"Polarion ALM's integration is very good and easy to use."
"It's extremely flexible. Configuring items is straightforward and doesn't require involving the supplier each time. We find the requirement management, test management, documentation, and dashboards very effective."
"The initial setup of this solution was straightforward, and there were not too many problems with it."
"We had a nice experience with technical support."
"I am impressed with the solution’s stability."
"The solution offers good integration."
"The technical support is quite good."
 

Cons

"AI is utilized worldwide; they could implement the functionality for notifications and other organizational operations in the product."
"For future releases of Jira Align, I would suggest making workflows simpler and more user-friendly."
"Jira Align fails to provide its users with a complete package in terms of portfolio management."
"Jira Align's setup process could be more straightforward, and they could make training and educational documentation more accessible."
"The framework could be better."
"One area where Jira Align could improve is in its licensing model. There was a significant change in the licensing module about six months ago, which resulted in increased costs for customers like us. This change wasn't communicated clearly, and it made it challenging for companies to adopt Jira Align without facing higher expenses. In terms of features, I would like to see improved workflows in the next release, as that would greatly benefit our organization."
"Jira Align can improve the visibility of executive teams."
"I've encountered limitations in using Jira Align for certain aspects, particularly in implementing OKRs. Jira Align's highest hierarchy is Epic, which may not always align perfectly for specific initiatives. Additionally, while Jira Align offers functionality for tracking OKRs and generating dashboards, I've found that it lacks in some areas. As a result, we've explored alternative solutions that better meet our needs in these areas. Its Kanban feature is also limited."
"The system’s technology is not the most current, leading to missing features that are common in web-based applications."
"As Polarion ALM is a development-oriented tool, easy support or easy access is provided by default, but if I want to use detailed features, I need to write the script, particularly the VM script, and this is its area for improvement. I want Polarion ALM to have a graphical user interface that doesn't need scripting. In the next release of the tool, I'd like for it to not require scripting and programming because needing to run script language is time-consuming."
"Based on my understanding, the tool's integration capabilities with multiple tools is an area of concern that Polarion needs to focus on more."
"Integration requires a lot of effort. You typically need to work with an implementation partner to get it done. Most connectors available for Polarion ALM are paid. Unlike other vendors offering several standard connectors for free, integrating third-party software with Polarion ALM involves discussing and coordinating with the third-party software providers, which requires effort."
"Technical support needs some improvement."
"The solution can be improved by making it more user-friendly, and a server-based application rather than client based."
"One of Polarion's shortcomings would be planning. It can handle plans, but the planning feature is very basic."
"The solution's editing capabilities need improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate this solution a nine out of ten for pricing. The price of the solution depends on the number of people using it and the projects you are working on."
"The tool is moderately expensive."
"Jira Align is an expensive solution."
"Jira Align has price packages for different purposes."
"Jira Align's pricing is reasonable."
"At our company, we were concerned about the cost of Jira Align, which is expensive"
"The software is very good, but the price is expensive. Our licensing costs are on a monthly basis, but there are no additional costs to the standard license fees."
"My company pays approximately 399 USD per month for the solution."
"The solution is expensive."
"The license model is okay for large companies but would be quite expensive for smaller enterprises."
"It is an expensive product."
"Our license for Polarion ALM is yearly. And it's not the cheapest tool that we've looked at. So if we had made our decision purely based on the licensing cost, we wouldn't have selected Polarion."
"Software for medical devices is always expensive."
"If the pricing would come down and it was more affordable then we wouldn't have to switch."
"You have to pay around 50-60 euros per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
23%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
26%
Computer Software Company
14%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Jira Align?
I joined the company because they had a large project, and as a startup company, they needed to scale up efficiently. My task was to review the current baseline, assess the team's capabilities, and...
What needs improvement with Jira Align?
The platform's communication features could be more robust for better team integration.
What is your primary use case for Jira Align?
We use Jira Align for business strategies, collaboration, and reporting. The solution allows us to manage the various products and features delivered on that platform.
What needs improvement with Polarion ALM?
Polarion ALM ( /categories/application-lifecycle-management-alm-suites ) could see improvements in performance and scalability. The system’s technology is not the most current, leading to missing f...
What is your primary use case for Polarion ALM?
Polarion ALM ( /products/polarion-alm-reviews ) is a tool that delivers both document views and table views simultaneously. It organizes configurations according to norms and standards, making it s...
 

Also Known As

AgileCraft
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Anthem, nielsen, Homeland Security, NCR, dimension data
Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, IBS AG, Zumtobel Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Jira Align vs. Polarion ALM and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.