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Adobe Workfront vs JIRA Portfolio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Adobe Workfront
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (6th), Digital Asset Management (1st)
JIRA Portfolio
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Graham Sprague - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized task management and simplified creative collaboration but interface is inconsistent
Adobe Workfront could improve its interface, which may benefit from an overhaul for better consistency between the web interface and the API. The current setup was not originally designed API-first, leading to some confusion and differences in available functions. Additionally, the low-code environment in Workfront Fusion is beneficial yet sometimes limiting, and it might be more powerful with enhancements.
Gary Craven - PeerSpot reviewer
Powerful, flexible solution with a bit of a learning curve
The weakness of the solution is that the interface is a little nonstandard, meaning it's very flexible. It's got a lot of power and gives the user the ability to combine different projects into the portfolio and move user stories between projects and link them. What I have found in a couple of organizations that I've used it with, is that the uptake tends to be a little slow because it's got a bit of a learning curve. It can dump data out to Excel and those programs, but it also has a big ecosystem of plugins and add-ons that you can get. I guess it has some strength in that regard, but if you're going to run it on-prem, you have to have people that are pretty well-versed in the program and have the time and capabilities to handle integration and make sure they're adding those modules correctly. Their interface is a little unique and I think that's partly because the core of the product has morphed into several sub-products, but the underlying architecture has stayed the same on all of them in that it was originally a help desk ticketing system. Now they are moving into these new use cases, including systems development, business projects, business processes, and redevelopment projects, but there is a problem with the nomenclature that they use, and some of the documentation is a little techy for moving it into those more business-focused use cases. It's a very tech-focused product and that's fair given its origins, but if they really want to expand their community of users, then they're going to have to move beyond that a little bit and polish it up.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Workfront is innovative and these were plenty of features that I found valuable while working at Logitech. Workfront had this feature of Project Schedule Templatization. This saves time and effort and even leads to the standardization of processes that are well-assorted. The Intelligent Graphical Interfaces of Workfront allow one to look at a specific type of resource and a specific phase for a specific family of products. You can get quite granular with the data and even zoom in or out of the timeline. It also categorizes projects according to classes and portfolios so that over time, you can more easily understand what are the various metrics involved in producing a specific portfolio Another important feature is Workfront allowing you to validate milestones and investigate the project. This also helped me to understand which projects are performing well and whether it was beneficial to invest in the same. The IT and the app configuration is quite secure and it is one of the benefits. One more valuable feature is the integration of communication systems inside Workfront. This helps you differentiate between normal business emails and project-specific conversations. This is also known as ‘queues’ and I absolutely find this feature extremely powerful."
"I can say it is a powerful tool. We have everything in-house in that tool, like, creating reports, dashboards, creating various workflows, and everything we have inside one application."
"I also like Workfront's integration. The solution integrates natively with other systems. It's easy to connect Workfront to any product that has a customer service database, such as a CRM or service ticket management solution."
"Feature-wise, I would say that its overall ability to be infinitely customizable is valuable...My experience with the support team has been amazing."
"The intake feature is the most valuable in Workfront."
"Monitoring the progress of projects and tasks is very effective."
"The tool is very user-friendly."
"Workfront centralizes the tasks, the assignment of tasks, and documents required to do the work, streamlining communication and information availability, thus improving organization and reducing dependency on decentralized methods like email or servers."
"Portfolio helps us increase the visibility of projects' status and management with remote workers who make up most of the company."
"We have found the solution to be stable."
"The way to manage cards as a KANBAN, is really easy but when you need to track hundreds of projects, you need to be very clear in which way the things must be completed."
"I use it to plan and schedule the things I take care of. I can create and share a document if I want to discuss new ideas with my team remotely."
"Having an option to view dependencies between projects and teams is great."
"Version management is the most valuable feature of JIRA Portfolio."
"The workflows are the most valuable feature of the solution, whether for tasks, bugs, or chain requests from the site. I also like the solution's GUI, which is easy to navigate for everyone."
"The most valuable features of the JIRA Portfolio are the ease of use, many developers are familiar with it."
 

Cons

"The solution's visualization feature could be user-friendly."
"Workfront's reporting capabilities must be improved."
"The interface can also be customized to fit and accept many tools for better performance and customer service improvement."
"I would say that the stability, honestly, has gone down since the Adobe acquisition, and the quality when they roll out their updates."
"We were having some difficulties creating different kinds of reports and dashboards."
"Our product and graphic designers are working with various Adobe products, but Workfront has a no-frills interface. It's a useful tool with everything we need, but it could be a little more attractive and present information in a polished way. It's a web interface, so it's accessible, but the appearance could be a little slicker."
"Sometimes there are glitches when we are reviewing an interactive proof."
"I have used the product and instantiated it, almost seven years back. The process was fairly complex, however, I don't know if they have changed the same now. But this is something I think, if not addressed can be improved. Another area that needs a little attention, is the change of implementation lead. Back when we had Workfront instantiated, we often had our timeline delayed due to the change in the implementation lead. Now Workfront is under Adobe and, in case, this issue, isn't fixed it should be given due attention. Also, Workfront is a universal tool, which can pose a difficulty for small businesses and companies, who don't have the required time, effort, and knowledge to configure it periodically."
"I think the solution can improve in graphs and the analysis part."
"The initial setup could use improvement."
"The data query language needs improvement."
"We are based in India; I would like the product to integrate local pricing. We earn in rupees but spend in dollars. Its pricing could also be lowered."
"It would be really nice if the solution provided a heads-up every time they enhance something or add new features."
"When using a scrum board, it only shows the current or open sprint. However, we also need to see past and future sprints, which is important for planning the next sprint. To solve this, we tried using a Kanban board instead, but since we follow the Scrum methodology, it's not the ideal solution."
"Portfolio is easy to scale, but we've had some difficulties with it regarding compliance and support."
"The query features should improve in JIRA Portfolio. For example, if I would have to create my own queries for looking into something such as what business features we have released last month, or the last three months, I don't know if I can do it. The solution requires a certain level of expertise."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Adobe purchased Workfront in the past year, and they're putting work into developing the platform, so I expect the price to rise. It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable for the value it provides. It isn't Monday.com where you pick a license with a set price, and you've got a project manager."
"We are partners with Adobe, so we get the licensing at a cheaper rate."
"Adobe Workfront is an expensive solution."
"Speaking about pricing, I wouldn't recommend it to a smaller company because I do think the price point is higher than other solutions that can work."
"The pricing is a barrier to implementation. It is expensive compared to other competitors. Speaking about licensing, they have a private manager license for $1000, which you can use for administration as well. Then they offer a worker license for $500, and then a reviewer or contributor license which is free."
"The pricing of Workfront is completely license based."
"The price is reasonable"
"I rate JIRA Portfolio a five out of ten for its pricing."
"The product is really not very expensive."
"The price could be improved."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a six."
"The pricing of the solution is expensive."
"The solution is offered at a high cost"
"Given the solution’s significant functionality, benefits, and value, you get more than you pay for."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
70%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
4%
Healthcare Company
3%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Workfront?
I can say it is a powerful tool. We have everything in-house in that tool, like, creating reports, dashboards, creating various workflows, and everything we have inside one application.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Workfront?
Workfront incurs around a hundred thousand plus dollars per year. Licensing is strict, particularly with free accounts, however, it offers flexibility in project access, which could be enhanced fur...
What needs improvement with Workfront?
Adobe Workfront could improve its interface, which may benefit from an overhaul for better consistency between the web interface and the API. The current setup was not originally designed API-first...
What do you like most about JIRA Portfolio?
The solution's tracking capabilities helped ensure we had full visibility into planned work and scheduled work.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JIRA Portfolio?
I am part of the delivery team and am not exposed to the commercial information. However, from what I understand, JIRA is competitively priced. It is not considered expensive in the market.
What needs improvement with JIRA Portfolio?
User experience should be more intuitive. Currently, it's not that intuitive. Additionally, a lot of querying and customization is needed for reporting. If there could be some templates out of the ...
 

Also Known As

AtTask, Workfront DAM
Portfolio for JIRA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advance Autoparts, Emerson, Covario, Cisco, Caroma, TREK, Sapient Nitro, ATB, LexisNexis, CarPhone Warehouse
Rosetta Stone, Sprint, UBS, Workday, Expedia, J.P. Morgan
Find out what your peers are saying about Adobe Workfront vs. JIRA Portfolio and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.