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Testing · head to head

BugHerd vs Xray Test Management

BugHerd logo

BugHerd

Testing

Visual feedback and bug tracking for websites

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Xray Test Management logo

Xray Test Management

Testing

Native test management for Jira, licensed per Jira user rather than per tester

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only BugHerd has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BugHerd additional team members cost $8/user/month or $6.60/user/year; Xray Test Management pricing follows total Jira user count, not Xray user count, so a large company with a small QA team pays for hundreds of seats it does not use for testing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BugHerd and Xray Test Management actually diverge.

Attributes where BugHerd and Xray Test Management differ
AttributeBugHerdXray Test Management
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer Jira user per month, tiered to total instance size
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Testing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BugHerd

Nothing recorded that Xray Test Management does not also cover.

Only in Xray Test Management

  • Native Jira issue types
  • Requirement traceability
  • BDD support
  • CI integration
  • Test repository and reuse
  • Data Center edition

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BugHerd

  • Website feedback collectionnot Xray Test Management
  • Design review collaborationnot Xray Test Management
  • Client feedback managementnot Xray Test Management

Xray Test Management

  • A QA team already standardised on Jira that wants traceability from requirement to test to defect without a second toolnot BugHerd
  • An organisation running Jira Data Center for compliance reasons that needs test management to matchnot BugHerd
  • A team doing BDD that wants Gherkin scenarios linked to Jira issues rather than kept in a separate repositorynot BugHerd
  • A company importing automated CI results into the same tracker developers already use for triagenot BugHerd

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BugHerd

  • Additional team members cost $8/user/month or $6.60/user/year
  • Premium plan required for custom branding and advanced integrations

Xray Test Management

  • Pricing follows total Jira user count, not Xray user count, so a large company with a small QA team pays for hundreds of seats it does not use for testing.
  • Since October 2025 billing is based on peak users within the period, so a temporary contractor surge or acquisition-driven headcount bump can push the account into a costlier tier retroactively.
  • It only exists as a Jira add-on, so a team that is not already on Jira gains nothing by evaluating it; there is no standalone product.
  • Cloud and Data Center are separately licensed and diverge in feature timing, so a company migrating from self-hosted Jira to Cloud has to re-evaluate the Xray purchase, not just move data.
  • Heavy customisation of test workflows inside Jira increases the risk that a Jira version upgrade or a Xray version upgrade breaks configured automation rules.

Pricing, plan by plan

BugHerd

Free
  • Standard$50/month
    • 5 included members
    • 10 GB storage
    • Unlimited projects and client users
  • Studio$80/month
    • 10 included members
    • 25 GB storage
    • Unlimited projects and client users
  • Premium$150/month
    • 25 included members
    • 50 GB storage
    • Custom branding, premium integrations
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • Custom member limit
    • Everything in Premium plus dedicated success manager
    • SSO, 99.9% SLA

Xray Test Management

On request
  • Xray Cloud Standard$10/month
    • Up to 10 Jira users
    • Manual and automated test management
    • Requirement traceability
  • Xray Cloud$undefined/month
    • Priced per Jira user, tier follows total instance headcount
    • Billed on peak user count within the billing period since October 2025
    • Rate per user declines at higher tiers but total spend still rises with headcount
  • Xray Data Center$undefined/year
    • Licensed against Jira Data Center tier
    • Separate purchase and upgrade cycle from Cloud

Which should you pick?

Choose BugHerd if

  • You want to start without paying.
BugHerd review

Choose Xray Test Management if

  • You need native jira issue types.
  • You also want requirement traceability.
Xray Test Management review

Questions people ask

Is BugHerd or Xray Test Management better?
Neither clearly leads. BugHerd starts at Free and Xray Test Management at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BugHerd or Xray Test Management?
BugHerd has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for BugHerd and On request for Xray Test Management.
Does BugHerd or Xray Test Management run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use BugHerd for free?
Yes. BugHerd has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Xray Test Management starts at On request.
What is BugHerd best used for?
BugHerd is most often used for website feedback collection, design review collaboration, client feedback management. Of those, website feedback collection and design review collaboration are not what Xray Test Management is typically brought in for.
What can BugHerd do that Xray Test Management cannot?
Xray Test Management covers Native Jira issue types, Requirement traceability, BDD support, CI integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BugHerd: How much does BugHerd cost?

Plans start at $50/month (Standard); Studio is $80/month; Premium is $150/month; Enterprise has custom pricing. Annual billing saves approximately 2 months' cost.

Source
Xray Test Management: Is Xray priced per tester?

No. It is priced per user on the Jira instance it is installed into, regardless of how many of those users actually work in Xray.

BugHerd: How many team members are included in each BugHerd plan?

Standard includes 5 members; Studio includes 10; Premium includes 25. Additional members cost $8/user/month or $6.60/user/year with annual billing.

Source
Xray Test Management: Who owns Xray?

Xblend, the company that grew out of the original XpandIT project, which Idera, Inc. acquired in 2021 along with the Xporter reporting tool.

BugHerd: What storage limits does BugHerd provide?

Standard includes 10 GB storage; Studio includes 25 GB; Premium includes 50 GB. All plans offer unlimited projects and unlimited client user access.

Source
Xray Test Management: Is there a free tier?

No published free tier exists for either Cloud or Data Center editions.

BugHerd: Does BugHerd offer a money-back guarantee?

Yes, 60-day money-back guarantee available on purchases. Free trial also available to test the platform.

Source
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