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Jira vs Microsoft Project vs Planview PPM Pro comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
6.8
Jira offers increased productivity, efficiency, and task management, with flexibility and cost-effectiveness, despite some initial plugin support challenges.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Project optimizes resource use and efficiency, enhancing project management, reducing costs, and improving transparency and completion timelines.
Sentiment score
7.3
Organizations report significant financial gains and improved project management efficiency with Planview PPM Pro, despite ongoing optimization efforts.
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
6.6
Jira's customer service is appreciated for its documentation and forums, though support response can vary in effectiveness.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Project support receives mixed reviews, with responsiveness varying by location, support type, and specific customer needs.
Sentiment score
7.3
Planview PPM Pro's customer service is generally helpful, but experiences vary with responsiveness, offshore support, and complex issue resolution.
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 is praised for effective scalability and adaptability, though some face challenges with licenses, customization, and integration.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Project is scalable and adaptable, integrating well with Microsoft tools but needing better external system integration.
Sentiment score
7.0
Planview PPM Pro offers scalability, effective mostly for SMEs, but faces challenges with large organizations and real-time global usage.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Jira is stable and reliable, with rare issues often tied to server capacity, customization, or network challenges.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project is generally stable and reliable, with occasional issues in complex projects, rated 8-9 for stability.
Sentiment score
7.7
Planview PPM Pro is stable but faces occasional update disruptions, with most users praising its reliability and customer support.
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 needs improved customization, user interface, performance, integration, reporting, administration, and reduces dependency on third-party plugins.
Microsoft Project users seek improved usability, integration, real-time data, reporting, automation, collaboration features, and better pricing with Office apps.
Planview PPM Pro requires improvements in reporting, integration, interface, resource management, and lacks efficient "What If" planning capabilities.
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
A simpler user experience for new users is necessary.
Product Analyst at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
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 is reasonable for features but costly for larger enterprises due to tiered licensing and mandatory plugin fees.
Microsoft Project offers varied pricing; value in bundles but standalone licenses may be costly, seen as competitive overall.
Planview PPM Pro's flexible licensing offers value for large organizations, though costs can be high for smaller entities.
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 offers customizable project management with Agile support, integrations, and dashboards, enhancing collaboration, scalability, and productivity.
Microsoft Project offers intuitive scheduling, resource management, and integration with Office Suite for streamlined and efficient project planning.
Planview PPM Pro excels in reporting, customization, integration, and resource management, enhancing visibility, planning, and decision-making capabilities.
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
Agile boards give instant visibility into what is in progress, blocked, or completed. It provides clear status and ownership, which helps the team stay aligned without constant follow-ups.
Product Analyst at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
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
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Jira is 3.8%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Project is 2.9%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Planview PPM Pro is 1.2%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Jira3.8%
Microsoft Project2.9%
Planview PPM Pro1.2%
Other92.1%
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.
Jacob-George - PeerSpot reviewer
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Improved project scheduling has maximized resource utilization and has reduced delays
I think the licensing structure presents a significant area for improvement. The full features are not offered on the standard E4 license. This becomes problematic when distributing the project plan. I can export the plan as Excel and CSV files, but then I lose all the rich features, including dependency mapping. To recreate all that functionality without proper licensing is challenging. Microsoft Project offers a light version available for free, but when I try to distribute a project plan, it requires separate licensing. Microsoft Project Central used to be more of an enterprise product. Microsoft Project currently focuses on very low-level task management, and it could do much more. I do not see significant advancement happening because there is confusion about where Microsoft Project is heading. I believe Microsoft should bundle the license with Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This approach would result in more people using Microsoft Project. That is my opinion on how to improve adoption and the product offering.
VR
Project Manager at Taco Cabana, Inc.
Provides good visibility and clearly shows priorities; entering tasks needs an upgrade
The solution is valuable because it gives our executives a high level of understanding of what's going on. I like the portfolio aspect that shows all the projects and the budget and you can see the priorities and whether the project is on track or not. It has good visibility.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business106
Midsize Enterprise56
Large Enterprise150
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise41
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise24
 

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 d...
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 a...
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...
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 thei...
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 pric...
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Also Known As

Jira Software
Project Pro, MS Project
Innotas
 

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
The Weather Channel, corcs, Crayola, Scan Health Plan, Vermont, Bank of the West, North West Company, University of Southern Mississippi, Jeffries, Purdue University, Chesterfield County Virginia, City of Memphis
Find out what your peers are saying about Atlassian, monday.com, Microsoft and others in Project Management Software. Updated: January 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.