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Jira Align vs Rally Software 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.0
Jira Align increased productivity and efficiency despite concerns over cost versus benefits and occasional negative return on investment.
Sentiment score
7.5
Users find Rally Software essential for cost-effectiveness, time-saving, 15X ROI, despite access challenges and customer journey imperfections.
The ROI is visible, as that's why we are investing in these tools and running our projects successfully through them, despite a few challenges such as role-based access being somewhat difficult.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Jira Align's customer service is responsive and knowledgeable, though some users note occasional delays due to internal processes.
Sentiment score
6.8
Users appreciate Rally Software's responsive customer service and effective technical support, despite some slow or non-intuitive processes.
They have a support knowledge base area on their website, and usually, they are very good at answering questions.
Technical Program Manager at Concentrix Catalyst
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Jira Align is praised for scalability, seamless Jira integration, flexible licensing, but may challenge non-technical users and non-Jira tool integration.
Sentiment score
7.2
Rally Software is scalable and adaptable, supporting diverse organizations globally, though reporting and peak performance could be improved.
If you have a huge database, it becomes difficult to process the data.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Jira Align is praised for stability, minimal downtime, and efficient performance, earning high ratings despite minor integration issues.
Sentiment score
7.4
Rally Software is stable but occasionally slow, with intermittent outages; users note improvements and call for enhanced performance.
 

Room For Improvement

Jira Align users seek better navigation, integration, customization, reporting, mobile access, clearer documentation, and more AI features.
Rally Software needs improved customization, performance, reporting, integration, Kanban features, UI, mobile friendliness, dependency management, and analytics.
It is probably better in almost all aspects over Jira; the dashboards are better, the filters or the queries are better, and it is more aligned to Scaled Agile.
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
At the time of my use, there was not an inbuilt capability to migrate applications from other third-party solutions to Rally Software.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
One area for improvement might be the rigidity in role and access configurations, which require many process changes to fit the tool.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Setup Cost

Jira Align's pricing is often deemed costly, especially for smaller enterprises, affecting adoption decisions despite fair assessments.
Rally Software offers valuable features for scaling agile, but its pricing is high compared to alternatives like JIRA.
It all depends on what sort of Microsoft licensing agreements the company has as to whether one is going to be better than the other.
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
The setup cost is expensive.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Rally Software is affordable because our customers also prefer it.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Valuable Features

Jira Align excels in user-friendly interface, customizable features, and reports, enhancing team collaboration and Agile integration.
Rally Software streamlines project management with features like resource scheduling, user stories, dashboards, and third-party integration for agile teams.
We export most of what is in Jira to Power BI so we can run better reports.
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Rally Software provides real-time dashboards for different kinds of stakeholders and governance, giving clear insights into project progress, team velocity, and potential risks.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
I can view configuration item details, such as what is being changed, and I can see any change requests attached to items or configuration items being moved to other locations.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
 

Categories and Ranking

Jira Align
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
14th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Value Stream Management Software (1st)
Rally Software
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
5th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
121
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Jira Align is 2.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rally Software is 5.2%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rally Software5.2%
Jira Align2.1%
Other92.7%
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2788377 - PeerSpot reviewer
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Long-term agile tracking has supported development but reporting has required workarounds
I know Jira as Jira; I have used the cloud and I have used on-premise. It is an issue tracker. My experience has been positive, as it is an okay tool, but I like Azure DevOps better. I assess the dependency management feature as okay, but again, Azure DevOps is better; it is more customizable. I find the scenario planning features are okay, but if you have a good Scrum Master or Agile coach, you can get a lot better insights just by looking at the data. We export most of what is in Jira to Power BI so we can run better reports.
Amit Anand - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Drilling into change lifecycles has given me clear end to end traceability for every item
Reporting is my main area of concern. Additionally, the migration activity and portability are important areas for improvement. If I needed to move from Jira to Rally Software, having built-in portability or migration utilities would be beneficial. At the time of my use, there was not an inbuilt capability to migrate applications from other third-party solutions to Rally Software. Currently, I am not using Rally Software.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Media Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Healthcare Company
7%
Marketing Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise113
 

Questions from the Community

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 advice do you have for others considering Jira Align?
Users have to understand their business objective before using the solution. Given the right training, it is easy for somebody to learn to use Jira Align for the first time. Overall, I rate the sol...
What do you like most about Rally Software?
Rally offers many features that help the management of activities, coordination, alignment and reports, which applies agility across the organization. If I were to highlight a particular feature, i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rally Software?
The setup cost is expensive. I was not responsible for the license part, but it was on a yearly basis.
What needs improvement with Rally Software?
Reporting is my main area of concern. Additionally, the migration activity and portability are important areas for improvement. If I needed to move from Jira to Rally Software, having built-in port...
 

Also Known As

AgileCraft
CA Agile Central, Rally Enterprise, CA Agile Training, CA Agile Coaching, CA Agile Academy, CA Agile Management , CA ALM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Anthem, nielsen, Homeland Security, NCR, dimension data
Physicians Mutual, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Editora Abril, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications, Seagate, TomTom, Philips, Hiscox, Physicians Mutual, MYOB
Find out what your peers are saying about Jira Align vs. Rally Software and other solutions. Updated: May 2026.
896,942 professionals have used our research since 2012.