Jira vs SmartSuite Comparison
Compare Jira vs SmartSuite features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Jira
7.3/10
Atlassian's work and issue-tracking platform for planning, tracking, and shipping projects, with scrum and kanban boards built mainly for software and technical teams.
SmartSuite
7.3/10
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform that teams use to build project, process and operations solutions with views, automations and AI agents.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 7.3/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 9/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 9/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | $8/user/mo Standard | $20/user/mo Team |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Free Free | $200/mo Team |
| Features | ||
| App integrations | ||
| Collaboration tools | ||
| Dashboards | ||
| Kanban boards | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Task lists | ||
| Task management | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Timeline view | ||
| Workflow automation | ||
| Client collaboration | Not listed | |
| Databases | Not listed | |
| Docs | Not listed | |
| File sharing | Not listed | |
| Gantt charts | Not listed | |
| Scheduling | Not listed | |
| Spreadsheet interface | Not listed | |
| Team messaging | Not listed | |
| Whiteboards | Not listed | |
Jira vs SmartSuite cost by team size
Jira costs less from 5 users.
| Team size | Jira | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | FreeFree | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | FreeFree | $100/moTeam |
| 10 users | FreeFree | $200/moTeam |
| 25 users | $212/moStandard | $500/moTeam |
| 50 users | $424/moStandard | $1,000/moTeam |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Jira
- Has a free plan (SmartSuite does not)
- Lower estimated cost for 10 users: Free vs $200/mo
- Higher Integration score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Higher Scalability score (9/10 vs 7/10)
- Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 4/10)
Why choose SmartSuite
- Higher Ease of Use score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Higher Security score (9/10 vs 8/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (7/10 vs 5/10)
Pros & Cons
Jira
Pros
- The free plan supports up to 10 users and includes scrum and kanban boards.
- Reviewers highlight deep customization of workflows, boards, and fields.
- Sprint and agile management are strong, and Jira integrates with GitHub and Git tools.
- It links closely with Confluence and other Atlassian products, so tickets can be referenced across those apps.
- Time tracking is built into every plan, including Free.
Cons
- Reviewers report a steep learning curve and an interface that overwhelms non-technical users.
- Users report slow issue loading and laggy boards in large deployments.
- Paid Marketplace apps can add hidden costs for reporting, CRM, and helpdesk needs.
- The free plan is limited to 100 emails per day and community support only.
- Troubleshooting failed automation rules can be frustrating.
SmartSuite
Pros
- The same records can be shown as grid, Kanban, Gantt, timeline, calendar, map and dashboard views without duplicating data.
- Its compliance coverage is unusually strong for the category, with ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR audits plus a choice of US or EU data residency.
- Read-only users, commenters and form submitters are free, which lowers the cost of involving stakeholders.
- It ships more than 200 templates and an AI solution builder to speed up setup.
- Reviewers describe the support team as responsive.
Cons
- Team, Professional and Enterprise carry 3-, 5- and 25-seat minimums, and there is no free plan.
- The Team plan allows only 5,000 records per solution, and automation runs plus API calls are hard-capped each month.
- SAML SSO and SCIM are available only on Enterprise and Signature plans.
- There is no team chat or whiteboard, and external access is limited to read-only shared views.
- Reviewers say complex workflows and large data imports take real setup effort, and there are no native desktop apps.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Jira and SmartSuite both score 7.3/10 on our Project Management criteria. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 4/10 for Jira and 7/10 for SmartSuite.
Jira costs less for 10 users: free on its Free plan, against about $200/mo on its Team plan for SmartSuite, billed monthly.
Jira has a free plan; SmartSuite does not list one.
Jira is the better fit for startups: we rate it 8/10 for them, against 4/10 for SmartSuite.
