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Technology · head to head

GitHub vs Jira Service Management

GitHub logo

GitHub

Technology

Where the world builds software

From
Free
Rated
-
Jira Service Management logo

Jira Service Management

Customer Support

High-velocity service management

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: GitHub acquired by Microsoft in 2018, reducing pure independence despite operational autonomy; Jira Service Management the vendor's own pricing page as captured by the Internet Archive on 28 December 2021 named four tiers, Free, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise; the Free tier caps at 3 agents per site with one site, five major incidents per month, and unlimited alerts capped at 100 emails and 200 SMS per day, while Standard, Premium, and Enterprise each cap at 5,000 agents per site, with Enterprise adding unlimited sites and requiring a Confluence subscription for some features; per-figure dollar pricing was not shown on this capture, only per-agent pricing structure
  • They diverge on capability: GitHub covers Git repositories, Jira Service Management covers Incident management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GitHub and Jira Service Management actually diverge.

Attributes where GitHub and Jira Service Management differ
AttributeGitHubJira Service Management
PlatformsWeb, Desktop, MobileWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryTechnologyCustomer Support
Founded20082002

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (subscription), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 GitHub

  • Git repositories
  • Pull requests
  • Code review
  • Issues & projects
  • GitHub Actions CI/CD
  • GitHub Pages
  • Security scanning
  • Dependency management

Only in Jira Service Management

  • Incident management
  • Change management
  • Problem management
  • Asset management
  • Knowledge management
  • SLAs
  • Jira Software
  • Confluence

Both cover

  • Slack
  • SOC2
  • ISO27001

What people use each for

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

GitHub

  • Version controlnot Jira Service Management
  • Code collaborationnot Jira Service Management
  • CI/CD pipelinesnot Jira Service Management
  • Project managementnot Jira Service Management
  • Documentation hostingnot Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management

  • IT service managementnot GitHub
  • Incident responsenot GitHub
  • Change managementnot GitHub
  • Asset trackingnot GitHub

Where each one falls short

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

GitHub

  • Acquired by Microsoft in 2018, reducing pure independence despite operational autonomy
  • Primary focus on source control differs from purpose-built project management tools like Jira
  • Pricing for enterprise features and private repositories adds up compared to some self-hosted alternatives

Jira Service Management

  • The vendor's own pricing page as captured by the Internet Archive on 28 December 2021 named four tiers, Free, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise; the Free tier caps at 3 agents per site with one site, five major incidents per month, and unlimited alerts capped at 100 emails and 200 SMS per day, while Standard, Premium, and Enterprise each cap at 5,000 agents per site, with Enterprise adding unlimited sites and requiring a Confluence subscription for some features; per-figure dollar pricing was not shown on this capture, only per-agent pricing structure

Pricing, plan by plan

GitHub

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited public/private repos
    • 2,000 CI/CD minutes/month
    • 500MB package storage
  • Team$4/month
    • Everything in Free
    • 3,000 CI/CD minutes/month
    • 2GB package storage
  • Enterprise$21/month
    • Everything in Team
    • 50,000 CI/CD minutes/month
    • 50GB package storage

Jira Service Management

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 agents
    • Ticket management
    • Knowledge base
  • Standard$20/month
    • Unlimited customers
    • 250 agents
    • 20 GB storage
  • Premium$45/month
    • Advanced incident management
    • Asset management
    • Change management
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited sites
    • 24/7 support
    • Data residency

Which should you pick?

Choose GitHub if

  • You need git repositories.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want pull requests.

Choose Jira Service Management if

  • You need incident management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want change management.

Questions people ask

Is GitHub or Jira Service Management better?
Neither clearly leads. GitHub starts at Free and Jira Service Management at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GitHub or Jira Service Management?
GitHub starts at Free and Jira Service Management at Free.
Does GitHub or Jira Service Management run on more platforms?
GitHub runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile. Jira Service Management runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use GitHub for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is GitHub best used for?
GitHub is most often used for version control, code collaboration, ci/cd pipelines, project management. Of those, version control and code collaboration are not what Jira Service Management is typically brought in for.
What can GitHub do that Jira Service Management cannot?
GitHub covers Git repositories, Pull requests, Code review, Issues & projects. Jira Service Management covers Incident management, Change management, Problem management, Asset management. Both handle Slack, SOC2, ISO27001.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GitHub: What is a Git repository and how does GitHub use it?

A repository is the centralized database that stores the complete collection of files and folders for a codebase, along with the revision history. GitHub uses Git to provide distributed version control access to repositories with version tracking, branching, and collaboration features.

Source
GitHub: How does GitHub authentication work?

When you connect to a GitHub repository from Git, you need to authenticate with GitHub using either HTTPS or SSH. GitHub supports multiple authentication methods including passwords, personal access tokens, SSH keys, and GitHub Apps.

Source
GitHub: How long has GitHub been operating?

GitHub was founded in 2008 and launched publicly on April 10, 2008, making it the dominant git hosting platform for nearly two decades.

Source
GitHub: Who owns GitHub and when did the acquisition occur?

Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion USD, with the deal announced June 4, 2018 and completed October 26, 2018. GitHub operates as an independent subsidiary within Microsoft.

Source

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