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JIRA Portfolio vs Microsoft Project 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.3
JIRA Portfolio offers quick ROI with easy setup and effective project management features, enhancing execution and delivery times.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Project enhances resource utilization and ROI, despite some expertise challenges, leading organizations to prioritize license renewals.
Microsoft Project does help save time and money due to its completeness as a project management solution.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Users often find JIRA Portfolio support helpful but slow, preferring online forums for quicker, effective solutions.
Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Project support varies, with mixed reviews; users utilize in-house resources, partners, community, and online assistance.
The support was good with no challenges.
There is a website and a connection to AI for support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
JIRA Portfolio is highly scalable, integrates well with tools, but pricing and admin features may limit its potential.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Project is scalable for large projects, but server limitations, license issues, and integration challenges can affect performance.
In terms of scalability, I would give JIRA Portfolio a ten out of ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
JIRA Portfolio is highly reliable, praised for stability, efficient functionality, and smooth integration, with minimal issues reported.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project is stable for small to medium projects, with some issues on larger projects affecting performance and synchronization.
In comparison to Planisware, it is very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

JIRA Portfolio users request better integration, intuitive UI, faster performance, reduced pricing, customizable reports, automation, and improved documentation.
Microsoft Project needs improved integration, user interface, collaboration, scalability, and cost-effectiveness for better resource management and automation.
Making the report creation process faster and easier with drag-and-drop features would be beneficial.
The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing.
Microsoft Project tends to become very unstable on large project plans with more than 400 lines.
 

Setup Cost

JIRA Portfolio's pricing starts competitively but can increase with scale, add-ons, and infrastructure, impacting mid-sized firms' budgets.
Microsoft Project's pricing varies by user volume and features, ranging from affordable to expensive, often bundled with other solutions.
It is not considered expensive in the market.
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
 

Valuable Features

JIRA Portfolio offers integration, customizable workflows, and agile alignment with user-friendly features like scalability and collaboration for effective management.
Microsoft Project offers comprehensive task management, integration, visualization, and adaptability, making it ideal for diverse industry use.
The reporting feature is comprehensive and easy to use, which aids in planning and forecasting.
This tool is the most accurate project management tool, allowing me to run a full set of project activities without having to switch between different tools for scheduling and other tasks.
The most valuable features are in the successor and predecessor determination and the tracking tools, such as obtaining data on the S curve financial curve.
 

Categories and Ranking

JIRA Portfolio
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (4th)
Microsoft Project
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Nurul Asyikin Wahab - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project management with robust data tracking and an easy setup
When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
68%
Computer Software Company
4%
Government
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...
What do you like most about Microsoft Project?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
 

Also Known As

Portfolio for JIRA
Project Pro, MS Project
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Rosetta Stone, Sprint, UBS, Workday, Expedia, J.P. Morgan
Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing
Find out what your peers are saying about JIRA Portfolio vs. Microsoft Project and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.