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Technology · head to head

Jira vs OpsLevel

Jira logo

Jira

Technology

The #1 software development tool used by agile teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpsLevel logo

OpsLevel

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and production readiness

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Jira has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Jira free tier strictly limited to 10 users with only 2 GB storage; unsuitable for growing teams; OpsLevel opsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • They diverge on capability: Jira covers Scrum boards, OpsLevel covers Service catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Jira and OpsLevel actually diverge.

Attributes where Jira and OpsLevel differ
AttributeJiraOpsLevel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsCloud, WebWeb
CategoryTechnologyDeveloper Tools
Founded2002Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Jira

  • Scrum boards
  • Kanban boards
  • Roadmaps
  • Agile reporting
  • Custom workflows
  • Issue tracking
  • Sprint planning
  • DevOps integration

Only in OpsLevel

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards and rubric
  • Checks
  • Campaigns
  • Self-service actions
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • Catalogue auto-enrichment
  • Deployment on request

What people use each for

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

Jira

  • Software development teams leveraging AI-powered Rovo for trend analysis and bottleneck identificationnot OpsLevel
  • Organisations requiring integrated issue tracking, project planning, and team alignment toolsnot OpsLevel
  • Enterprises with 1,000+ users needing advanced analytics, security controls, and custom deployment optionsnot OpsLevel

OpsLevel

  • A platform team that needs to prove every production service has a named owner and an on-call rota before an auditnot Jira
  • Driving a fleet-wide migration such as a runtime upgrade across 400 services with a deadline and visible progressnot Jira
  • Giving developers a paved road to create a new service from a template without waiting on the platform teamnot Jira
  • An organisation where an incident took an hour to route because nobody could identify the owning teamnot Jira

Where each one falls short

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

Jira

  • Free tier strictly limited to 10 users with only 2 GB storage; unsuitable for growing teams
  • Per-seat pricing ($7.91–$14.54/user/month) accumulates significantly for large teams; 50-person team costs £3,955–7,270 monthly
  • Enterprise tier requires annual billing and sales contact; no transparent per-user pricing available
  • Premium features (cross-team planning, advanced automation) available only at $14.54/user/month tier or above

OpsLevel

  • OpsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • The Standard plan caps at 50 users, which is below the size at which service ownership becomes a real problem, so most genuine buyers land on Enterprise and its unpublished pricing.
  • Scores are only as honest as the metadata teams maintain; where ownership records go stale the rubric produces confident numbers about a catalogue that no longer reflects reality, and leadership acts on them.
  • It reports on quality rather than producing it, so it can generate friction between platform teams who set the rubric and product teams who see it as a scoreboard imposed on them without extra headcount to fix the findings.
  • As a hosted product it needs read access to source control, cloud accounts and observability tooling, which is a meaningful vendor review in regulated environments; on-premises exists but only on the Enterprise tier.

Pricing, plan by plan

Jira

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 users
    • 2 GB storage
    • 100 automation rule runs per month
  • Standard$7.91/user/month
    • Up to 100,000 users per site
    • 250 GB storage
    • 1,700 automation rule runs per month
  • Premium$14.54/user/month
    • Unlimited storage
    • 1,000 rule runs per month per paid user
    • 70 credits per user monthly for Rovo
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • 150 credits per user monthly for Rovo
    • Multiple sites (up to 150)
    • Unlimited automation rule runs

OpsLevel

On request
  • Standard$undefined/year
    • Up to 50 users
    • Unlimited catalogued components
    • Scorecards, campaigns and the global rubric
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom integrations
    • Customisable dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose Jira if

  • You need scrum boards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Web.
  • You also want kanban boards.
Jira review

Choose OpsLevel if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You also want scorecards and rubric.
OpsLevel review

Questions people ask

Is Jira or OpsLevel better?
Neither clearly leads. Jira starts at Free and OpsLevel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Jira or OpsLevel?
Jira has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Jira and On request for OpsLevel.
Does Jira or OpsLevel run on more platforms?
Jira runs on Cloud, Web. OpsLevel runs on Web.
Can I use Jira for free?
Yes. Jira has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OpsLevel starts at On request.
What is Jira best used for?
Jira is most often used for software development teams leveraging ai-powered rovo for trend analysis and bottleneck identification, organisations requiring integrated issue tracking, project planning, and team alignment tools, enterprises with 1,000+ users needing advanced analytics, security controls, and custom deployment options. Of those, software development teams leveraging ai-powered rovo for trend analysis and bottleneck identification and organisations requiring integrated issue tracking, project planning, and team alignment tools are not what OpsLevel is typically brought in for.
What can Jira do that OpsLevel cannot?
Jira covers Scrum boards, Kanban boards, Roadmaps, Agile reporting. OpsLevel covers Service catalogue, Scorecards and rubric, Checks, Campaigns.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Jira: What is Jira's free tier?

Jira's Free plan supports up to 10 users, includes 2 GB storage, allows 100 automation rule runs per month, and provides community support only. Ideal for small teams or evaluation.

Source
OpsLevel: How much does OpsLevel cost?

It does not publish pricing. Billing is per developer using the portal, with volume discounts, and a quote requires a sales conversation.

Jira: How much does Jira Standard cost?

Jira Standard costs $7.91 per user per month and includes 250 GB storage, 1,700 automation rule runs per month, Rovo Search/Chat/Agents, and 9/5 regional support with 2-hour response time for critical issues.

Source
OpsLevel: How does it compare with Backstage?

Backstage has no licence fee but you staff a team to build and run it. OpsLevel is hosted with checks, campaigns and scorecards out of the box, and you pay per developer instead.

Jira: What is included in Jira Premium?

Jira Premium costs $14.54 per user per month and includes unlimited storage, 1,000 rule runs per user per month, 70 monthly Rovo credits, 24/7 support with 1-hour critical response, and 99.9% uptime SLA.

Source
OpsLevel: Does it require writing catalogue YAML by hand?

No. It auto-discovers and enriches entries from connected systems, though teams still curate ownership and metadata.

Jira: Does Jira offer an Enterprise plan?

Yes, Jira Enterprise is available with custom pricing (contact sales). It includes up to 150 sites, 150 monthly Rovo credits per user, unlimited automation runs, 24/7 support with 30-minute critical response, and 99.95% uptime SLA.

Source
OpsLevel: Can it run on premises?

Yes, but only on the Enterprise plan.

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