What are the 7 best alternatives to Jira?
3 Oct 2025
7 alternatives to Jira for effective project management in 2025
Jira is a benchmark for project management, but its cost, complexity, and learning curve deter many organisations. Fortunately, there are several alternatives suited to different needs, from SMEs to large enterprises. Here are 7 solutions to explore for better project management.
Why look for an alternative to Jira?
While Jira remains a reference, it also has limitations that justify the search for different solutions:
Complex to use and heavy setup for non-technical teams.
High licensing costs that increase rapidly with team size.
Not very intuitive, which slows down team onboarding
Current challenges in project management
Tools that have become essential for productivity
According to a study by McKinsey, employees spend an average of nearly 20 % of their time searching for internal information or looking for colleagues who can help with specific tasks. Project management software can significantly reduce these time losses.
Hybrid work accelerates the adoption of collaborative tools
Since the pandemic, hybrid work has become the norm. In 2023, 35 % of employees worked at least partially from home, compared to 25 % before the crisis (BLS). At the same time, the use of collaborative platforms surged by 44 % between 2019 and 2021, reaching nearly 80 % of employees (FutureCIO).
Data sovereignty and security as decisive criteria
Digital sovereignty is now one of the European priorities: it involves retaining control over one's data, infrastructure, and technologies. The GDPR, adopted in 2018, is one of the pillars of this approach, imposing strict rules for data processing and governance (Oodrive).
Tool | Main positioning | Major advantages | Main limitations | Ideal for… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jira | IT project management | Powerful for development teams, agile management (Scrum, Kanban), multiple integrations | High complexity, significant costs, not well-suited for creative teams | Large IT companies, software development teams |
Notion | Collaborative and customisable workspace | Simplicity, flexibility, and task management | Less robust on large multi-team projects | Freelancers, Startups, with few external collaborators |
Redmine | Open-source project management oriented | Free, highly customisable | Outdated interface, demanding technical configuration | Technical teams, autonomous with few external collaborators |
Smartsheet | Project management in an advanced spreadsheet style | Familiarity with Excel, powerful reporting, enterprise integrations | High cost, may seem rigid | Large enterprises, managers used to spreadsheets |
ClickUp | Versatile alternative | Multiple views, automations, competitive pricing | Complex tool, requires an adoption period | Technical teams in growing SMEs and mid-sized companies, multidisciplinary teams |
Basecamp | Simple and clean collaboration | Clear interface, integrated communication, no unnecessary complexity | Limited features for complex projects | Freelancers, SMEs, teams wanting to stick to the essentials |
Airtable | Collaborative and visual database | Flexibility, automations, numerous integrations | Less structured for project management as such | Cross-functional teams, content-oriented and data-driven projects |
Smartevo | Sovereign platform for multidisciplinary organisations | Centralisation, integrated AI (briefs, metadata, analysis), local support <15min, ideal for creative teams | / | Communication and marketing departments, brands, agencies, administrations, media |
Notion
Born as a simple note-taking tool, Notion has become an essential collaborative space. Startups and small teams love it for its simplicity, customisation, and ability to centralise documents, tasks, and databases all in one place.
However, as projects become complex and involve many stakeholders, Notion shows its limitations. Its project management functions remain basic and often require custom-made templates.
Redmine
Created as a free and open-source tool, Redmine has established itself over time as a reference open-source project management solution. Highly customisable thanks to a large library of plugins, it offers great flexibility and adapts to very specific needs.
However, its dated interface and high technical demands can be discouraging. Without solid administration skills, its deployment and maintenance can quickly become burdensome.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet has won over large enterprises with its familiar approach: an 'upgraded Excel' that integrates task management, reporting, and automations. Managers used to spreadsheets find it to be a powerful and reassuring tool.
But this power has a downside: the solution is expensive, and some users find it rigid or too similar to a classic spreadsheet, lacking the user-friendliness of a modern collaborative tool.
ClickUp
ClickUp has made a name for itself as a feature-rich tool, offering many views (list, calendar, Gantt, Kanban) and automations. Its competitive pricing attracts some SMEs and mid-sized companies.
However, this abundance of features can quickly backfire. The tool is often deemed too complex, heavy to set up, and difficult to adopt for teams looking for clarity and simplicity in their daily work.
Basecamp
Basecamp appeals to teams looking to get to the essentials: tasks, files, discussions, and calendar are grouped in a clean interface. For an SME or a freelancer, it's a way to work without getting lost in complex features.
However, this simplicity becomes a weakness on more ambitious projects. Basecamp lacks advanced reporting and management tools, making it less suitable for large organisations.
Airtable
Airtable has transformed the concept of spreadsheet into a modern collaborative tool. Its strength: flexibility. It can be used to manage content, marketing campaigns, or projects, with Kanban, calendar, or gallery views. Integrations and automations make it very powerful for varied uses.
But Airtable is still primarily a 'super spreadsheet.' For very structured projects, it sometimes lacks project management functionalities and requires the use of extensions. Additionally, its scalability can become complex for large organisations.
Smartevo
Founded in 2021 in France, Smartevo is designed for complex organisations, multi-brands and multi-teams. The platform centralises briefs, projects, content, and approvals while integrating AI to automate the generation of briefs, metadata, and reporting.
Unlike other tools, Smartevo is hosted in Europe, GDPR compliant and deployable in two hours. With local support and a promise of increased productivity (up to 30 %), it stands out as the sovereign and sustainable alternative to Jira.
Does this approach resonate with you? Visit our website or schedule an appointment for a free demo.
How to choose the best alternative to Jira?
What criteria for a company?
Adaptation to the needs of marketing and communication teams as well as security and governance of data are key points. Smartevo stands out with its sovereign hosting and its focus on brands, administrations, media, and agencies.
What solution for simple use?
Some platforms attract with their simplicity, but quickly show their limits when multiple teams are involved. Smartevo combines an intuitive interface with a real scalability capacity, making it suitable for both small and large organisations.
Free or paid alternative?
Free versions are enough to start, but lack robustness. Smartevo offers a quick return on investment, notably allowing:
The centralisation of all your marketing and communication projects
The solution is ready to use because it can be configured in just 2 hours.
Integrated AI: automatic generation of briefs and metadata, reducing coordination time by 30 %.
Local support: assistance based in France, compliant with GDPR, with an average response time of less than 15 minutes.
A combination that makes Smartevo a sustainable and high-performing alternative to Jira.
Jira remains a benchmark, but its limitations push teams to look for better options. Notion, Redmine, Smartsheet, ClickUp, Basecamp, and Airtable offer partial alternatives. SmartEvo, with its centralisation, integrated AI, and data sovereignty, stands as the most complete and sustainable solution.
