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Jira Align vs Rally Software comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.0
Jira Align increased productivity and efficiency despite concerns over cost versus benefits and occasional negative return on investment.
Sentiment score
7.5
Rally Software boosts efficiency by 10%, offers 15X ROI, saves time, and is cost-effective despite some user challenges.
The ROI is visible, as that's why we are investing in these tools and running our projects successfully through them, despite a few challenges such as role-based access being somewhat difficult.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Jira Align's customer service is responsive and knowledgeable, though some users note occasional delays due to internal processes.
Sentiment score
6.8
Rally Software's customer service is responsive, with quick, knowledgeable support and proactive communication, generally satisfying users despite occasional delays.
They have a support knowledge base area on their website, and usually, they are very good at answering questions.
Technical Program Manager at Concentrix Catalyst
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Jira Align is praised for scalability, seamless Jira integration, flexible licensing, but may challenge non-technical users and non-Jira tool integration.
Sentiment score
7.2
Rally Software offers strong scalability supporting large enterprises, despite occasional performance issues, effectively handling significant user volumes globally.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Jira Align is praised for stability, minimal downtime, and efficient performance, earning high ratings despite minor integration issues.
Sentiment score
7.4
Rally Software is generally stable and reliable, with occasional slowness and downtime, but users appreciate the responsive support.
 

Room For Improvement

Jira Align users seek better navigation, integration, customization, reporting, mobile access, clearer documentation, and more AI features.
Rally Software struggles with navigation, integration, user-friendliness, and requires improvements in reporting, customization, and workflow efficiency.
It is probably better in almost all aspects over Jira; the dashboards are better, the filters or the queries are better, and it is more aligned to Scaled Agile.
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
One area for improvement might be the rigidity in role and access configurations, which require many process changes to fit the tool.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Setup Cost

Jira Align's pricing is often deemed costly, especially for smaller enterprises, affecting adoption decisions despite fair assessments.
Enterprise users find Rally Software pricing high but valuable for large-scale agile projects, suggesting a more flexible model.
It all depends on what sort of Microsoft licensing agreements the company has as to whether one is going to be better than the other.
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Rally Software is affordable because our customers also prefer it.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Valuable Features

Jira Align excels in user-friendly interface, customizable features, and reports, enhancing team collaboration and Agile integration.
Rally Software offers user-friendly Agile project management with real-time dashboards, customizable reporting, and robust integration capabilities.
We export most of what is in Jira to Power BI so we can run better reports.
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Rally Software provides real-time dashboards for different kinds of stakeholders and governance, giving clear insights into project progress, team velocity, and potential risks.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
 

Categories and Ranking

Jira Align
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
7th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Value Stream Management Software (1st)
Rally Software
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
9th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
120
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Jira Align is 2.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rally Software is 5.3%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Jira Align2.0%
Rally Software5.3%
Other92.7%
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2788377 - PeerSpot reviewer
Agile Coach/SAFe Team Coach at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Long-term agile tracking has supported development but reporting has required workarounds
I know Jira as Jira; I have used the cloud and I have used on-premise. It is an issue tracker. My experience has been positive, as it is an okay tool, but I like Azure DevOps better. I assess the dependency management feature as okay, but again, Azure DevOps is better; it is more customizable. I find the scenario planning features are okay, but if you have a good Scrum Master or Agile coach, you can get a lot better insights just by looking at the data. We export most of what is in Jira to Power BI so we can run better reports.
Rakhee Srivastava - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
Real-time dashboards provide clear insights into project progress and team velocity
Rally Software is easy to use for Agile project methodology because it follows Scrum and Kanban, helping with sprint planning and backlog management. Rally Software provides real-time dashboards for different kinds of stakeholders and governance, giving clear insights into project progress, team velocity, and potential risks. Backlog management is present in the product, allowing prioritization of tasks. The dashboards provide all types of insights through analytics. Capacity planning helps optimize resource allocation, ensuring balanced workload and realistic sprint commitments for our projects. The solution integrates with GitHub, and we can also integrate with Excel and CI/CD pipelines.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Insurance Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise110
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Jira Align?
I joined the company because they had a large project, and as a startup company, they needed to scale up efficiently. My task was to review the current baseline, assess the team's capabilities, and...
What needs improvement with Jira Align?
The platform's communication features could be more robust for better team integration.
What is your primary use case for Jira Align?
We use Jira Align for business strategies, collaboration, and reporting. The solution allows us to manage the various products and features delivered on that platform.
What do you like most about Rally Software?
Rally offers many features that help the management of activities, coordination, alignment and reports, which applies agility across the organization. If I were to highlight a particular feature, i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rally Software?
Rally Software is affordable because our customers also prefer it, and I have never heard concerns about pricing preventing us from using this tool.
What needs improvement with Rally Software?
While I'm not heavily involved in project management tools, I am familiar with these tools. One area for improvement might be the rigidity in role and access configurations, which require many proc...
 

Also Known As

AgileCraft
CA Agile Central, Rally Enterprise, CA Agile Training, CA Agile Coaching, CA Agile Academy, CA Agile Management , CA ALM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Anthem, nielsen, Homeland Security, NCR, dimension data
Physicians Mutual, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Editora Abril, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications, Seagate, TomTom, Philips, Hiscox, Physicians Mutual, MYOB
Find out what your peers are saying about Jira Align vs. Rally Software and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.