Jira vs Todoist: Which Is Better in 2026?
Jira is Atlassian’s issue tracker and the default choice for software teams that work in sprints. Todoist is a to-do list that scales up to small teams. Jira’s strength is running agile software development: grooming a backlog, planning sprints and tracing an issue from report to release; Todoist’s is capturing and organizing tasks with almost no friction, for one person or a handful.
01Pricing
Jira: the Standard plan costs $7.91/user/mo, about $79 a month for a team of ten. Todoist: the Pro plan costs $5/user/mo, about $50 a month for a team of ten. At ten people Todoist is cheaper by about $29 a month, or $349 a year. Jira has a free plan (up to 10 users). Todoist has a free plan (5 personal projects with 5 people on each).
| Team size | Jira | Todoist |
|---|---|---|
| 5 users | $40 | $25 |
| 10 users | $79 | $50 |
| 25 users | $198 | $125 |
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Limits | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 10 users; 2 GB storage; 100 automation rule runs per month | |
| Standard † | n/a | $7.91/user | 250 GB storage; 1,700 automation rule runs per month | User roles and permissions; Audit logs; Rovo AI with monthly credits; Issue-level security |
| Premium † | n/a | $14.54/user | Unlimited storage; Per-user automation limits | Advanced Roadmaps cross-project planning; Larger Rovo AI allowance; Sandbox; 99.9% uptime SLA |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 801-seat minimum; Annual subscriptions only | Multi-site management; Atlassian Analytics; Unlimited automation; 99.95% uptime SLA |
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Limits | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 5 personal projects; 5 people per project; 5 MB file uploads; 3 filter views | |
| Pro † | $5/user | $7/user | 300 personal projects; 100 MB file uploads; 150 filter views | Calendar layout; Task duration; Custom reminders; Unlimited activity history |
| Business † | $8/user | $10/user | Up to 500 team projects; 250 people per team project; Up to 1,000 team members | Shared team workspace; Shared templates; Team activity logs; Team roles and permissions |
Prices are per month on annual billing, except Jira (monthly billing; no annual price published). † marks prices taken from the vendor’s documentation or page data instead of its visible pricing page. Jira pricing and Todoist pricing have the full detail.
02The Two Tools
Jira
Jira is Atlassian’s issue tracker and the default choice for software teams that work in sprints. Backlogs, scrum and kanban boards, release tracking and configurable workflows are its core, with tight links to code hosts and to Confluence. It can be bent to other kinds of work, but it was designed for engineers and reads that way.
- Best at
- Running agile software development: grooming a backlog, planning sprints and tracing an issue from report to release.
- Falls short
- Configuration is deep enough to need an owner, and non-technical colleagues tend to find it hostile.
Todoist
Todoist is a to-do list that scales up to small teams. Tasks are typed in plain language, sorted into projects, and filtered by labels, priorities and due dates, with boards and calendars as alternative views. It is quick and unobtrusive, and it does not pretend to be a full project manager.
- Best at
- Capturing and organizing tasks with almost no friction, for one person or a handful.
- Falls short
- There are no Gantt charts, dependencies or workload views, and reporting is minimal.
03Which Fits Your Situation
| If you are | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business | Todoist | Enough for a small team whose work is a shared list of tasks. |
| Enterprise | Jira | The standard for large engineering organizations, with the workflow control and audit trail they expect. |
| Freelancers | Todoist | A quick personal task list that costs little and needs no setup. |
| Startups | Jira | Free for small teams and familiar to most engineers, though heavier than an early company needs. |
| Remote Teams | Neither | Neither is a natural fit for remote teams. |
04Verdict
Choose Jira if you build software and want issue tracking that matches how engineering already works. Choose Todoist if you mostly need a shared task list, not a project-management system.
05FAQ
Is Jira or Todoist cheaper?
For a team of ten, Jira comes to about $79 a month and Todoist to about $50. Prices are per month on annual billing, except Jira (monthly billing; no annual price published).
Do Jira and Todoist have free plans?
Jira has a free plan (up to 10 users). Todoist has a free plan (5 personal projects with 5 people on each).
Which is easier to learn, Jira or Todoist?
Todoist is quick to set up; Jira is demanding to set up. Configuration is deep enough to need an owner, and non-technical colleagues tend to find it hostile.
Which is better for enterprise, Jira or Todoist?
Jira. The standard for large engineering organizations, with the workflow control and audit trail they expect.