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Jira vs Microsoft Project comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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
7.1
Organizations report enhanced efficiency and quick ROI from Jira, despite some dissatisfaction with recent changes and plugin support.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Project optimizes resource use and efficiency, enhancing project management, reducing costs, and improving transparency and completion timelines.
A return on investment has been seen with Jira, as a lot of time has been saved in arranging tasks, converting software features into epics, tasks, and milestones, making it easy to track progress and plan future roadmaps.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
It's always hard to measure ROI precisely, but overall, the development time usually pays off within a year through efficiency gains.
CEO at 2Help
If I can eliminate delays, I achieve good ROI because resources can be utilized to their maximum capacity.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Project does help save time and money due to its completeness as a project management solution.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Jira's customer service relies on documentation and forums, with varied satisfaction in email and technical support responsiveness.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Project support receives mixed reviews, with responsiveness varying by location, support type, and specific customer needs.
Jira's customer support is one of the best I have ever dealt with because they respond quickly.
CEO at 2Help
I did not face any issues with stability or upgrades.
Senior Director, Head of Information Systems Division at Israel Innovation Authority
Whenever there are issues, the internal Jira enterprise team is contacted directly.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Currently, there are more support personnel who speak English, and Microsoft has increased its Spanish language support compared to previous years.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
There is a website and a connection to AI for support.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
I would give somewhere around 10 for my overall experience with support.
Associate Director at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Jira scales well from small teams to thousands, offering customization and integration with other tools, despite potential cost increases.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Project is scalable and adaptable, integrating well with Microsoft tools but needing better external system integration.
Scalability for Jira is great, and it handles growth easily from 100 to thousands.
CEO at 2Help
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Jira is largely stable, experiencing occasional performance issues, with users valuing recent reliability improvements despite costly enhancements.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project is generally stable and reliable, with occasional issues in complex projects, rated 8-9 for stability.
In my experience, Jira is stable, with around 99% uptime.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Project is a stable tool, and when using it in different projects, it works perfectly.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
Microsoft Project is a stable product.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Project as an eight out of ten.
Project Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Jira users face customization challenges, inadequate search and integration, performance issues, and seek improved interface, reporting, and training.
Microsoft Project users seek improved usability, integration, real-time data, reporting, automation, collaboration features, and better pricing with Office apps.
Focus more on improving API integration and automation tools, not just the design.
CEO at 2Help
One feature that could improve Jira is the integration of AI capabilities, such as organizing Jira tasks autonomously with minimum human intervention and executing aggregations and clustering of these tasks.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
To improve Jira, maybe some AI features could be added.
Senior Director, Head of Information Systems Division at Israel Innovation Authority
The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
It would be beneficial to see enhanced reporting functionalities in future versions.
Project Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Project tends to become very unstable on large project plans with more than 400 lines.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
 

Setup Cost

Jira's pricing can be costly for larger teams due to user count and plugin dependencies, prompting alternatives exploration.
Microsoft Project offers varied pricing; value in bundles but standalone licenses may be costly, seen as competitive overall.
Even if only five people from your team use a financial plugin, you still pay for all 100 seats.
CEO at 2Help
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
I believe it's usually included in the Microsoft 365 package.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office price to increase adoption.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Jira is user-friendly with powerful integrations, customizable workflows, Agile support, and robust reporting for enhanced collaboration and productivity.
Microsoft Project offers intuitive scheduling, resource management, and integration with Office Suite for streamlined and efficient project planning.
You can build your own workflows and make it work exactly the way your team needs and integrate it with almost every third-party software.
CEO at 2Help
The main feature is the hierarchy, as features can be converted into epics and topics, allowing bigger tasks to be partitioned into smaller ones.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
This tool is the most accurate project management tool, allowing me to run a full set of project activities without having to switch between different tools for scheduling and other tasks.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
The collaboration features are valuable for controlling the project and transmitting information to other team members when working in a team.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
The most valuable features are in the successor and predecessor determination and the tracking tools, such as obtaining data on the S curve financial curve.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
 

Categories and Ranking

Jira
Ranking in Project Management Software
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
277
Ranking in other categories
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (1st), Application Requirements Management (2nd)
Microsoft Project
Ranking in Project Management Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Jira is 4.1%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Project is 3.1%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Jira4.1%
Microsoft Project3.1%
Other92.8%
Project Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

Akhil Viswam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Agile workflows have streamlined sprint planning and tracking for faster feature delivery
Jira has a very good interface and it is very easy to manage sprints, tasks, and epics. The main feature is the hierarchy, as features can be converted into epics and topics, allowing bigger tasks to be partitioned into smaller ones. The hierarchy feature in Jira helps the team significantly compared to other tools that have been used, such as Trello, which is mainly useful only for a waterfall model. For modern Agile practices, Jira is the most adapted tool in the industry. Another valuable feature is that Jira APIs have been used for data science projects to analyze tasks and get insights. This has also been very helpful in the project.
Nurul Asyikin Wahab - PeerSpot reviewer
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
Efficient project management with robust data tracking and an easy setup
When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business105
Midsize Enterprise56
Large Enterprise150
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise41
 

Questions from the Community

Is Jira better or would you go with Micro Focus ALM Octane?
Hi Netanya, Basically , it all depends on the use cases for your environment and the business needs. Hope the below data may be relevant to you for identifying your needs and deciding on the approp...
Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products and work logs. It is easy to implement and navigate, and it is stable and scalabl...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Jira?
Jira itself is fairly priced for the features it provides, but pricing is a bit higher than some alternatives, mostly because many plugins and add-ons are paid and licensed per user. So even if onl...
Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...
What do you like most about Microsoft Project?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
I would say Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office price to increase adoption.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Jira Software
Project Pro, MS Project
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Square, Nasa, eBay, Cisco, SalesForce, Adobe, BNP Paribas, BMW and LinkedIn, Pfizer, Citi.
Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing
Find out what your peers are saying about Jira vs. Microsoft Project and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.