5 Open-Source Jira Alternatives for 2025

Jira is one of the most widely used platforms for IT teams on the market today. More specifically, it offers a highly advanced, ready-to-use solution for managing software projects.

However, it’s not necessarily suitable for all teams. Like all COTS solutions, it has its own target use cases and ideal customers. Outside of these, some teams may find that it lacks the flexibility for more fringe use cases or isn’t a cost-effective option for simpler ones.

Today, we’re looking at one way around this problem, by checking out some of the top open-source Jira alternatives.

Along the way, we’ll see some of the top players in this space, as well as the key decision-points that could crop up when choosing a platform.

We’ll also see how Budibase offers a different approach to managing IT workflows.

Let’s start with the basics.

What is Jira?

Part of the wider Atlassian ecosystem, Jira is a development-focused project management platform, although it’s also used by the wider IT team or even non technical departments.

It bills itself as the number one project management tool for Agile teams. As such, its functionality is closely aligned with the Agile methodology, including Kanban boards, Scrum features, collaboration and communication tools, user stories, and more.

Given its strong development focus, Jira is also highly suited to more granular types of task management, including handling feature requests, bugs, issues, and support requests.

On top of this, it offers strong integrations with related platforms for the likes of CI/CD, deployment, and version control.

Jira also offers more general workflow management capabilities, including a visual automation builder and extensive reporting and analysis tools.

It’s aimed at teams that need an easy-to-roll-out solution with ready-to-use templates for a range of technical and non-technical project management use cases.

So…

Why opt for an open-source Jira alternative?

We can think about this from two angles. The first is that some teams, especially large enterprises, often generally prefer open-source solutions. For example, if the ability to audit the source code of tools that interact with mission-critical systems is a firm requirement.

They might also want to avoid vendor lock-in for core business processes.

Alternatively, smaller teams might also prioritize open-source tools because they’re often more cost-effective than commercial equivalents.

More specifically to Jira, self-hosting is likely to be a key driver for teams to seek out open-source alternatives. Jira can be self-hosted, but only via a Jira Data Center license. Notably, this may be unaffordable for some teams, as it’s somewhat more enterprise-centric.

So, in cases with heightened security requirements, where self-hosting is a must-have, open-source alternatives may be a more viable option.

Open-source tools can also give us more flexibility as, depending on their specific license, they may be more customizable than their COTS equivalents.

You might also like our round-up of the top Jira Service Management alternatives .

5 open-source Jira alternatives for 2025

We’ve chosen five distinct open-source platforms from across the market for Jira alternatives, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

These are:

• GitLab
• OpenProject
• Redmine
• Odoo
• Taiga

Let’s check each one out in turn.

1. GitLab

GitLab is an open-source platform that offers repository management, CI/CD automations, issue tracking, and project management tools. This makes it a strong alternative to Jira if your core use case is highly DevOps-focused.

Pros

One huge selling point of GitLab is that all project management capabilities are directly linked to the software repo itself. In Jira, we’ll likely need to integrate with an external Git tool, but GitLab is better thought of as a repository manager with added project management functionality.

GitLab is also a strong offering for teams that need to align their project tools with Agile processes. For example, it offers a range of tools for adopting Kanban, Scrum, or requirement-based workflows within development processes.

It’s also a great option for security-focused teams, including custom approval rules based on security, legal, or compliance factors when pushing changes to code.

Cons

On the flip side, GitLab is not a dedicated project management tool. So, for the likes of issue tracking, some organizations might find it somewhat less comprehensive than the likes of Jira, especially for less development-heavy use cases.

Similarly, GitLab is a highly advanced solution for its target use case, but some teams might find this excessive. That is, if you need a simpler tool in the first place, it’s likely better to opt for a platform that offers less specialized capabilities.

Lastly, although GitLab is open-source and offers a community edition, some features are restricted to enterprise licenses, while others, including Agile Planning, are offered as separately priced add-ons.

Licensing

GitLab is available as both a cloud-based or self-hosted solution. The free cloud tier is limited to five users and 400 compute minutes for the month, but there are no limits on the free open-source product.

GitLab’s open-source platform is offered on the MIT license, offering scope for usage and modification, with minimal restrictions.

Premium licenses start from $29 per user per month for both hosting options. These also introduce additional features such as protected branches, approval rules, and team planning. Enterprise plans are also available.

You might also like our tutorial on building a GitHub metrics dashboard in Budibase.

2. OpenProject

OpenProject is a more traditional project management platform. Rather than being tightly focused on software development projects, it accommodates a wide range of methodologies, practices, and use cases.

Pros

OpenProject offers a wide suite of tools aimed at maximizing productivity within projects. So, in addition to the likes of Agile boards and Gantt charts, it also includes tools for handling time tracking, prioritizing tasks, knowledge management, and more.

It’s also a strong option for managing projects where security is a priority. OpenProject prioritizes data sovereignty, offering its open-source product without setting functional cookies and with minimal data processing.

OpenProject also benefits from a highly active community of developers. This means that new functionality and releases are regular and highly grounded in real-world user feedback.

Cons

Compared to Jira, one clear downside of OpenProject is a lack of more software-specific capabilities. So, it doesn’t natively support linking issues to code or linking to CI/CD workflows. As such, you may want to look elsewhere for a more developer-focused platform.

OpenProject may feel a little bit dated to some users. Others complain that the UX is a little bit overwhelming, especially for more simplistic use cases. Of course, this can also relate to individual preferences.

OpenProject also lags behind some of the other tools in this space for integration options, although there is also a decent choice of community contributions.

Licensing

The free version of OpenProject is offered under the GNU license. This means that it can be freely modified as long as any derivative works also comply with the GPLv3 terms. There are also no restrictions on usage.

However, many key project management tools, such as Kanban Boards, team planning, and even alerts for upcoming tasks, are paid extras.

It’s worth noting that all features are available across all pricing tiers, with the only real difference between these being support arrangements. This means that OpenPro has the potential to be a very cost-effective option.

3. Redmine

Redmine is one of the most popular open-source Jira alternatives, offering a web-based project management solution, built on the Ruby on Rails framework.

Pros

Of the platforms we’ve seen so far, Redmine is the first that offers all native functionality for free, without any paid tiers. As such, it has the potential to be a very attractive option for teams where pricing is a top concern.

It’s also a highly flexible platform, with custom user roles and issue data fields. There’s extensive scope to configure relationships and hierarchies across issues, making it a good option for more complex projects.

Redmine is highly extensible via plug-ins. So, we can easily add new functionality to our installation, either relying on community contributions or building our own plug-ins with Ruby on Rails.

Cons

Redmine’s main downsides are closely related to some of the potential benefits we just saw. For one thing, since there’s no commercial version of the platform, we’ll need to find a third-party arrangement if we need support.

Compared to some of the other tools we’ve seen, Redmine also lacks some important native functionality, meaning we’ll have to rely on plug-ins for things like full Agile support. As we’ll see in a moment, some plug-ins also introduce additional costs.

According to some reports, Redmine can be somewhat more difficult than some other open-source Jira alternatives to roll out. Installation is largely manual, although third-party bundles are also available.

Licensing

Like OpenProject, Redmine is offered with a GNU license for use and modification. This makes it a fairly unrestrictive option. Once again, there is no paid version available from the vendors themselves.

Despite this, there are several instances where we may end up needing to pay a third-party vendor to implement a solution.

Different companies offer paid support contracts, plug-ins, or even SaaS versions of Redmine. The cost of these will also need to be factored into any purchasing decision.

4. Odoo

Odoo is a broader open-source suite of business management tools, that includes a highly effective project management module. Once again, it’s an attractive offering for less technical use cases, but might struggle for development use cases as a direct Jira alternative.

Pros

As a wider, modular business management platform, one key benefit of Odoo is that projects can be closely integrated with other functions, including tools for accounting, helpdesk management, field service, ERP, and a CRM.

Additionally, it offers a no-code solution for building custom workflow applications, in the form of Odoo Studio. This is particularly effective for forms, project tracking, and document-generation use cases.

Odoo’s modular design also makes it a relatively scalable option, as we can be selective about which applications we roll out to our users.

Cons

Although it offers coverage of a wide range of use cases, many teams may find Odoo lacking as a Jira alternative. It can be an effective choice for certain IT workflows, including ticketing or knowledge management, but lacks more development-focused capabilities.

It’s also not as closely Agile-aligned as some other platforms straight out of the box, although we may be able to achieve similar functionality here either with third-party add-ons or custom workflows.

While Odoo offers strong integration between its own internal modules, it’s let down by its support for external platforms. Notably, we’ll need an Enterprise license to connect to external tools via APIs.

Licensing

Odoo’s open-source edition is offered on the LGPLv3 license, which is slightly more restrictive in terms of usage and modification compared to GNU or MIT. It’s also worth noting that the Community edition is relatively feature-restricted.

So, we’ll need an Enterprise license to access the full complement of features.

Notably, some important capabilities like external API support or the no-code Odoo Studio are reserved for the most expensive custom licensing option.

5. Taiga

Lastly, we have Taiga. This is perhaps one of the best options for teams that need a free and open-source Jira alternative with out-of-the-box Agile alignment.

Pros

Taiga is highly optimized for cross-functional teams that adhere to the Agile methodology, with native features for handling sprints, epics, Kanbans, and project backlogs. This makes it a great option if you need a Jira alternative that’s quick and easy to roll out.

Similarly, Taiga offers extensive capabilities for project reporting. We can easily create rundown charts and other visualizations for key Agile metrics, including spring velocity and story point estimation.

It’s also one of the stronger options we’ve seen from a user experience standpoint, offering a modern, intuitive interface. This could also make it comparatively easy to onboard new users. It also offers Git integrations, which many of the platforms we’ve seen so far do not.

Cons

Taiga’s strong focus on Agile might be a hindrance to some users. For instance, it does not offer native time-tracking capabilities or the ability to create more complex issue hierarchies with parent and sub-tasks, as we see in some other platforms.

Some users also complain that access control and permissions within Taiga are more restrictive, which might be problematic for more complex enterprise use cases.

Lastly, Taiga does not offer the extensive integration options that we see with some other platforms, although we can still use its API to connect to tools. Out-of-the-box integrations, including GitLab, GitHub, and Bitbucket, are mainly focused on repository management.

Pricing

Taiga is offered under the Mozilla Public License, meaning that it can be freely used, forked, and modified, provided that the users of any modified versions can access the source code.

Both the open-source version and the free cloud product offer unlimited users and projects. There’s also an affordable paid version of the cloud product, which introduces support arrangements.

Alternatively, enterprises are offered a paid self-hosted version of Taiga, with priority support, SLAs, installation support, and the ability to use the platform behind a VPN or firewall.

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