GitHub Projects alternatives

By Darko Bačić, founder of App Tube · 9 October 2026 · Facts checked 9 October 2026

Pick devBoard if you want a timer on each task and apps for your phone and Mac. It keeps the link to your GitHub code too. Pick Linear or Shortcut for sprints, YouTrack for free time tracking, and Jira for a team that will grow. We make devBoard. It is first on the list. We say where the others are better.

Why small teams leave GitHub Projects

GitHub Projects puts your GitHub issues on a board. It costs nothing, and your code is one click away.

The trouble starts as the list grows. One team wrote that it moved to Linear after a few hundred issues. Search had become slow. That was about Issues, not Projects. A user on the community forum found that Projects filters cannot show "mine or unassigned" at once. We also found no timer in its docs, and no desktop app.

The short list

devBoard

devBoard is a tracker for small dev teams and freelancers. It keeps the GitHub link through pull requests on the card. A pull request is a request to merge code changes. Put a task key like APP-42 in its title, and it shows on the task.

Work comes in three levels. An epic is a big piece of work split into smaller tasks. A subtask is a small step inside a task.

Pick it if

• You want a timer on each task. The total sits next to the estimate.
• You want apps. devBoard is on the App Store for iPhone and Mac, and on Google Play for Android.
• You ship in releases. A release is a named group of tasks with a target date.
• You work for clients. Each one gets a workspace. A guest can see it but cannot change anything or comment.

Skip it if

• You want a web version. There is none, on purpose.
• You want to bring your issues over. There is no importer.
• You want docs, chat or automations. devBoard has none of these.
• You are on Windows or Linux. Those apps are not out yet.

Linear

Linear is a fast tracker for software teams. It links to your Git work and asks for little setup.

Pick it if

• You want sprints. Linear calls them cycles.
• You want to bring your GitHub issues with you.
• You want native phone apps for iPhone and Android.

Skip it if

• You bill by the hour. Linear has no built-in time tracking.
• You use Linux. Linear lists no Linux app.

Shortcut

Shortcut is a tracker built for software teams. It used to be called Clubhouse. A story is its name for a task.

Pick it if

• You want stories, epics and sprints without a big setup.
• You want docs next to your stories, on every plan.

Skip it if

• You track time. Shortcut has no native time tracking.
• You work from your phone. We could not confirm a current phone app.

YouTrack

YouTrack is the JetBrains tracker for dev teams, with time tracking built in.

Pick it if

• You want time tracking without paying. It is on the free plan.
• You want to host it yourself. YouTrack Server runs on your own machine.
• You want to bring your GitHub issues with you.

Skip it if

• You want a desktop app. JetBrains lists web and phone apps only.
• You want few settings. YouTrack can be shaped many ways, and someone has to do it.

Jira

Jira is the Atlassian tracker for software teams. It fits ten people or more, with someone to run the setup.

Pick it if

• You expect to grow. Jira has workflows you can shape, sprints and reports.
• You want to bring your GitHub issues with you.

Skip it if

• You are a few people. A Capterra reviewer said it slows a five-person team.
• You want a timer. Timers usually come from paid add-ons such as Tempo.

Who should stay on GitHub Projects

GitHub Projects does these things better than the tools above:

• It is free. Issues and Projects are on GitHub's Free plan.
• Issues, pull requests and the board live in one place, next to the code.
• You can add your own fields for text, numbers, dates and iterations.
• It runs in any browser, and GitHub Mobile can edit project fields.

How we chose

We make devBoard, so we are biased, and we put it first. We picked trackers built for software work that add a timer, apps, sprints or releases. We read each pricing page on 9 October 2026, and left out what we could not confirm. MCP lets an AI assistant use other tools. Every tool here has an official MCP server, so that did not decide anything. Our other alternatives pages cover more tools.

Moving off GitHub Projects

Linear, Jira and YouTrack can import from GitHub. Shortcut lists no GitHub importer, but it takes CSV files.

devBoard has no importer, so you move the open work in by hand. Create epics, tasks and subtasks for what is in flight. Then link your GitHub pull requests so new ones land on the right task.