Wrike vs Jira Compared 2023: Is Jira or Wrike Best for You?

Project management is complex and requires fine-tuning. No project management software is perfect. But there are two tools that have been teams’ favorites for many years: Jira and Wrike.

But what happens when you compare Wrike vs. Jira? Which one of the two popular project management tools emerges as the more solid bet?

In this side-by-side comparison, we'll put the two giants against each other in different categories and see which is best for which application. 

What is the difference between Wrike and Jira?

The main difference between Jira and Wrike is that Jira works best in an agile environment, while Wrike is generally used by agencies, marketing teams, and professional service providers. Wrike is more of an all-around tool, while Jira is geared to agile project management and software developers.

If you need a catch-all platform that comes with powerful features like Kanban board, Gantt charts, automation, and time tracking, then Wrike is your best choice. 

Jira is targeted in its applications, and set up for scum management. Most any feature that isn’t focused on scrum or agile project management has been stripped out of the platform. 

In other words, Jira is a top-notch tool if you’re working with an agile methodology, but it’s useless if you need an all-around project management software. It integrates with tools engineering teams use, such as Github, and comes equipped with all the features teams need to manage releases and track issues. 

Wrike, on the other hand, is a fully-fledged project management platform that caters to medium and large businesses that embrace teamwork, run various projects, and manage multiple clients. It’s also a very versatile tool that you can tailor to your needs with custom workflows, fields, and reports. 

Another difference between the two solutions is that Jira has cheaper plans, but Wrike has more features. Even though it was built with marketing teams and agencies in mind, Wrike comes with a myriad of features that make the software a suitable project management solution for most teams and projects, as long as money isn’t an object. 

You may want to check out our Jira review for more details on that app. We also have a Wrike review on the books, so you can get a more in-depth look at both.

Wrike vs Jira comparison chart

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Wrike vs Jira pricing

Let's start with the similarities between the two platforms in terms of their pricing plans. For starters, both platforms offer several paid plans, plus a freemium version of their product. Both tools charge you on a per user per month basis. 

Now let's discuss the differences. With Jira, you pay for as many people as you have on your team. For example, let's say you have 13 users on the Standard plan. You'll be paying $97.50 per month. With Wrike, pricing works slightly differently. It’s somewhat more involved. 

Here's the deal: Wrike is sold in groups of users. 

For accounts of up to 30 users, subscriptions are sold in groups of 5. For accounts of 30 to 100 users, subscriptions are sold in groups of 10. For accounts with more than 100 users, subscriptions are sold in groups of 25. 

In other words, if you have a team of 11, you'll need to pay for 15 users—that’s four users extra. Instead of paying $108 per month, you'll be looking at $147 per month, which is an additional $480 annually. Smaller companies may be put off by this pricing structure.

With that said, Wrike is one of the pricier project management tools (by degrees). Jira's cheapest paid plan costs $7.50 per user per month, while Wrike's stands at $9.80. Jira's Premium plan costs $14.50, and Wrike's is priced at $24.80 per user per month. 

Also, many advanced Wrike features are offered as add-ons that contribute to your monthly billing. 

To get access to Wrike’s best features, you may want to consider subscribing to the Business plan—this is where Wrike shines. Although it's an expensive plan, it comes with some great features like custom workflows, real-time reports, request forms, time tracking, an automation engine, user and group permissions, and more. 

Jira's Premium plan is also a gem, offering a range of advanced features like advanced roadmaps, sandbox & release tracks, project archiving, guaranteed uptime SLA, unlimited storage, and 24/7 premium support. 

Jira also offers a self-managed solution, something that Wrike lacks. The self-managed solution starts at $42,000 per year for 500 users.

Wrike might lack a self-managed solution, but it has more plans. In addition to the four plans we just discussed, there are two more plans at your disposal that are geared toward specific teams: Wrike for Marketing Teams and Wrike for Professional Services Teams.

Which is best for you?

Wrike has more plans and its Business plan is a fantastic offering of features, but Jira is significantly cheaper than Wrike and comes with more convenient pricing. 

Wrike's tiered pricing on groups of users can put off businesses that don't want to pay extra for empty seats. Wrike add-ons can also contribute significantly to monthly billing. 

Wrike is a top-notch tool, but for businesses with bigger budgets. 

Jira vs Wrike free versions

If you're a small team of no more than ten people, then you'll be happy to hear that both Wrike and Jira have a generous free plan but with limited features. 

Let's start with Jira. Jira's free plan comes with all the basic features a small team of no more than ten people would need for managing a project. Some of those features include unlimited project boards, backlog and basic roadmaps, reporting and insights, customizable workflows, and basic dependency management. 

Wrike's free plan, although it doesn't impose a user limit, it's best suited for teams of 1-5 people. It comes equipped with all the features a small business needs for basic project management, such as task management and subtask management, custom work views (Kanban, Table view), and folder hierarchy. 

The downside is that the free plan lacks a Gantt chart view, the time-tracking functionality (only available with the Business plan and up), custom workflows, and real-time reports. 

Which is best for you?

Jira’s free plan gives you an almost-complete suite of features. If you're a team of less than ten people, the free plan comes with all the features for managing your software development project from start to finish. 

If your team never exceeds 10 team members, you would never have to upgrade to a paid Jira plan. 

Wrike's free plan is also suitable for teams of 1-5 members, but the point where you'll need to upgrade will probably come sooner than it will with Jira. Wrike's free plan also lacks some critical features like Gantt charts. 

Customer support

Both platforms offer some kind of customer support. But overall, people seem to prefer Wrike's customer support. One of the reasons why Wrike's is the preferred platform for customer support is that phone support is more easily accessible. Wrike's phone support number is easy to find, which can be critical when you have a time-sensitive issue. 

Jira also has phone support, but it's only available to users of the Enterprise plan. Users of the free plan only get access to the platform's community forum and knowledge base, while users of the Standard plan can reach out to support, but only during business hours. Premium users get 24/7 support. If you need help, you can fill out a ticket on Jira's website, but they do not guarantee how long it will take to get back to you.

Which is best for you?

Although both Jira and Wrike reserve phone support for their paying customers, Wrike's phone support is more easily accessible if you have a time-sensitive issue. 

The phone number is easily visible on their website, while Jira's phone support is only available if you're subscribed to the Enterprise plan. 

Knowledgebase & learning

Jira and Wrike have rich knowledge bases with many valuable resources. Jira's knowledge base contains troubleshooting and how-to articles for versions of Jira Software Server 7.0 and newer. 

Atlassian University contains many training courses designed by Atlassian experts where you can learn the best practices, key concepts, and product features of Jira. Some of these training videos are for free, and some are paid. 

Wrike’s knowledge base offers a range of resources, including interactive training where you learn how the software works step-by-step by using it, how-to videos, help articles, and monthly webinars. Additionally, there’s also a community forum where you can ask for help and help out other users. 

Which is best for you?

Both platforms offer the same type of knowledge bases that contain a vast collection of resources. You won’t find any substantive qualitative difference.

Jira vs Wrike features & functionality

In the following chapter, we'll compare Jira and Wrike in terms of features and functionality. 

Although the two platforms are the leading players in the project management realm, they cater to different audiences. Let's uncover their differences and announce the winner in each comparison category. 

Wrike or Jira for ease of use?

Let's get something out of the way first: almost all project management systems are challenging to adopt. Of course, some systems will be easier to grasp than others, but generally, all platforms come with a learning curve.

When assessing Jira and Wrike, Wrike seems to be slightly easier to use, set up, and administer. Wrike’s homepage is like a navigation center for all of your work; this is where you can quickly access the work important to you. 

You’ll find three panels: the left panel where you can see your latest notifications and assignments, the center panel that contains shortcuts to your work, and the right panel with quick links to smart folders and tools. 

Work gets done in four building blocks: Spaces, Folders, Projects, and Tasks. They're used for containing and organizing information, which is fairly easy once you get your head around how the system works.

Although Wrike can seem overwhelming at first as it has a number of features, navigating the system becomes a walk in the park the more often you use it. 

Now let's discuss Jira. Jira introduces its interface with a product tour that helps users get familiar with the system. 

That said, there is a long setup time. There's a large amount of customization required to fine-tune your processes and make the system work for you. 

It's always a plus if you have a professional on your team that knows how to set up the proper workflow for you. Alternatively, you can find plenty of training videos that help you learn the fundamentals of the software, which can make working with the system a lot easier.

Which is best for you?

Although both platforms have a learning curve, Jira’s learning curve is steeper than Wrike’s. It can be a powerful tool, but you need to have someone who can configure the software for your team. 

Many project managers fall into the trap of overcomplicating the system, and in return, software developers may feel uncomfortable using the software. The best way to use the software is to break things down to what you want from the tool. 

Once you know what you want, you can prioritize and make the key configurations. 

Integrations

Jira integrations work through the Atlassian Marketplace, where you can find 3,000+ integrations, apps, add-ons, and plugins that can be customized to fit any use case.

 For example, design teams will find integrations to tools like AdobeXD, Invision, and Figma. Software engineering teams will be glad to hear Jira integrates with tools like Github, Jenkins, and Bitbucket. Other integrations include Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, and Confluence. 

Wrike, on the other hand, is more restrictive. It only allows specific integrations based on your subscription plan. 

For instance, users of the free plan have access only to cloud storage platforms. To connect Wrike with a productivity app, you must be subscribed to the Professional plan or higher. The native Salesforce integration and Adobe Creative Cloud extension, for example, are only available to users of the Business plan and higher. 

In other words, if you want access to Salesforce, you'll have to cash out $24.80 per user per month.

The paid add-on Wrike Integrate unlocks 400+ custom integrations with apps such as Basecamp, Asana, Quickbooks, and Monday.com, but this comes at an additional cost. 

Which is best for you?

Jira is the winner in this round as it's much more open in terms of integrations. It has a massive library of native integrations for CRM, time tracking, reporting, code review, cloud storage, and more. 

Wrike is limited when compared to Jira. Wrike Integrate seems like a good solution for connecting Wrike with other tools and apps, but the add-on can be pricey for teams with tight budgets. 

A note on Wrike Jira integration

Users of the Business and Enterprise plan can integrate Wrike with Jira via the Project Syncs add-on. The Jira Wrike integration is a good option for teams that prefer Jira's scrum boards more than Wrike's views.

It's also a good option if you want to coordinate technical and non-technical teams–let's say software development with a marketing team. Setting up the integration is relatively easy, but it works only from Wrike. 

The Wrike and Jira sync allows for automatic updates between Wrike tasks and Jira issues and epics. Both two-way and one-way syncs are available.

Product limitations

We think project managers will agree when we say that no project management tool is perfect, they all have their downsides. Let's begin with Jira’s. 

Jira's user interface is fully customizable, but this flexibility can be overwhelming, especially for new users. Some users might feel the software is "bloated" and too intimidating. It can be a powerful tool, but only if you have a trained professional who can configure the software for your team. 

Jira is also more geared towards agile teams. So, unless you're a software development team, you might not need all the features this tool has, and you'll find yourself spending a great deal of time watching tutorials and reading help articles. 

Jira might also be overkill for smaller companies that aren't remote. It's more suitable for medium to large software teams. 

Now let's analyze Wrike's downfalls. For one, Wrike comes with a hefty price tag. The lowest-paid plan costs $9.80 per user per month and lacks critical features like custom fields, calendars, time tracking, and real-time reports. 

If you want to gain access to the software's most powerful features, you'll have to shell out $24.80 per user per month for the Business plan. If you're a team of 15, you're looking at $4,464 annually. 

Although Jira has a steeper learning curve, Wrike is not the most intuitive project management software out there. There is a definite learning curve, and people unfamiliar with project management software will need adequate training to utilize all of the software’s essential functions.

Wrike’s software is also more geared towards marketing teams and agencies. 

Which is best for you?

Both tools have their perks and their downsides. Wrike’s limitation is that it’s quite expensive and it’s not intuitive for beginners. 

It’s also geared toward marketing teams and agencies. Jira is a powerful tool for agile teams but it also has a steep learning curve. There’s a large amount of customization to fine-tune your processes and make the system work for you.

Mobile versions

Almost all project management tools have mobile apps for Android and iOS. Wrike and Jira are no exception. 

These apps are great for managing work on the go. You can't perform more complex tasks, but they're great for quickly adding or removing a detail while on the way from work. This has nothing to do with Jira or Wrike. Project management tools simply work better on a bigger screen. 

Wrike’s mobile apps work in offline mode and are available in multiple languages, including German, Spanish, French, and Japanese. 

Which is best for you?

Mobile apps can’t really replace working in your Mac or PC, but they’re good to have when you need to perform a basic action on-the-fly. Both vendors offer an equivalent experience in this respect.

Which is better, Jira or Wrike? Final points

Let's cut right to the chase: Which software is better, Jira or Wrike?

Truth be told, we wish we had a straightforward answer for you, but that would be a lie.

Project planning and management is a complex process, and choosing the right project management software is a pain in the neck. 

At the end of the day, the best software for you depends on factors like team size, organizational adoption, budget, and your workflows. 

If you need a more traditional project management software that comes with a bunch of features, Wrike is probably your best bet. However, if you’re focusing on scrum, then Jira is the best tool for you and your team.

Let’s make things easier for you! 

Go with Wrike if you want more features, need good customer service, and aren’t so concerned about budget. It’s a great choice if you’re a marketing team, an agency, or a professional service provider, or if you’re a large business that needs a PM tool to use across multiple departments.

Opt for Jira if you’re working with an agile methodology, if you’re a software development team, or if you’re a smaller tech team that needs a generous free plan.

If you're still unsure which one is best for you, we recommend you check out the free plans of each platform. A friendly reminder that the paid plans of both Jira and Wrike come with a 7- and 14-day free trial, respectively. 

You can also see how these two apps compare in our comparison of project management software, which reviews the two apps among a broader ensemble of competitors.

It’s also possible you’ll end up not going with either one of the tools. In that case, you can check out our best Wrike alternatives to see what other apps might suit you. We also have an article covering the best Jira alternatives, so you can get coverage from the other side too.

We wish you good luck with any project management software you end up using!