devBoard vs Jira

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

Pick Jira if you are a software team of ten or more and someone can run the setup. Pick devBoard if you are a small studio or a freelancer and want a board and a timer. Jira has sprints, reports and automations, and devBoard has none of these, on purpose. We make devBoard, so keep that in mind as you read. Where Jira is better, we say so.

The main difference: who runs the setup

Jira can be shaped to fit a big team's process. The catch is that someone has to own the setup. One 2026 review on Capterra says Jira pays off at scale, but slows a five-person team.

devBoard has almost nothing to set up. A new project starts with To do, In progress and Done. Work has three levels: epic, task and subtask. An epic is a big piece of work split into smaller tasks. A subtask is one small step inside a task.

An example: Luka, Mira and Ivan

Luka, Mira and Ivan are a three-person studio shipping a mobile app.

In Jira, one of them becomes the admin. Luka sets up the space, the board and the workflow. Time tracking stays off until an admin turns it on. Then they log work by hand. For a timer, they would add a paid app such as Tempo.

In devBoard, Luka makes a project and an epic called "Onboarding", with tasks under it. They put the tasks for the next version in a release instead of a sprint. A sprint is a fixed stretch of time for a set of work. A release is a named set of tasks with a target date. Each of them presses Start on the task they pick up. More on releases in devBoard.

Side by side

MCP is the open standard that lets an AI assistant use other tools. A token is a secret key that lets such a tool act as you.

What Jira does better

Sprints, backlogs and reports

Teams that run sprints get a backlog, a board, a timeline and a calendar on every plan. Reports and dashboards are there too. devBoard has no sprints.

Workflows, roles and automations

You can shape how work moves and who can do what. User roles and permissions come with the paid plans. Automations run on every plan, even Free, with a monthly limit. devBoard has fixed fields, four roles and no automations.

Room to grow

Premium can add levels above the epic. It also adds advanced planning and dependencies across spaces. devBoard is made for small teams and stays small.

What devBoard does better

Nothing to set up

Nobody has to own the setup. The board and the timer work from the first task, with no switch to turn on.

A timer on every task

Press Start on a task or subtask, and Stop when you are done. The total shows next to the estimate. In Jira, you log work by hand, and a timer usually means a paid app.

A Mac app

Atlassian ended its Mac app for Jira to focus on the web, as it said in a blog post. devBoard has a Mac app with a real menu bar and single-key shortcuts.

Your AI assistant can start the work

Say "start APP-42" to Claude Code or Cursor. devBoard assigns you, moves the card to In progress, starts your timer and gives you a branch name. A branch is a separate line of code changes. Jira's MCP server needs a paid plan.

What devBoard does not have

• Sprints. Small teams use releases instead.
• A web app.
• Windows and Linux apps, for now. They are coming.
• Custom fields, dependencies, checklists or recurring tasks.
• Timeline, calendar, Gantt or workload views.
• Automations, docs, a wiki or chat.
• Portfolios.
• An importer or an export.
• A timesheet screen. Your AI assistant makes the weekly table.
• Full-text search, email notifications, or links to tools besides GitHub.

Who should stay on Jira

• Teams of ten or more that plan in sprints and read reports.
• Teams with an admin who keeps the setup in shape.
• Companies that already use Confluence or other Atlassian tools.
• Anyone who needs a browser or dependencies across spaces.

If Jira is too big and devBoard is too small, see our list of Jira alternatives.

Who should try devBoard

• Small studios like Luka, Mira and Ivan, where nobody wants to run a tracker.
• Freelancers who want a timer on each task.
• People who want an app on Mac, iPhone or Android, not a tab.

Also read devBoard vs ClickUp and devBoard vs Linear, or see all our comparisons.

What it costs

Jira's price per user depends on team size. We set the pricing page to 10 users. Prices are as of October 2026.

Source: the pricing page.

For devBoard, the price is one line. Free while in early access; paid plans will be one plain number, posted here first.

Moving from Jira

devBoard has no importer, so you move open work by hand. Epics stay epics, and the current sprint can become a release. Leave closed work in Jira. Your AI assistant can do most of the typing. Our guide to moving from Jira shows the steps.