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Polarion ALM 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Polarion ALM
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
8th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Rally Software
Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
6th
Ranking in Enterprise Agile Planning Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of Polarion ALM is 7.4%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rally Software is 7.0%, up from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
 

Featured Reviews

Dina Bindi - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides traceability and compliance with high flexibility
It's extremely flexible. Configuring items is straightforward and doesn't require involving the supplier each time. We find the requirement management, test management, documentation, and dashboards very effective. However, we don't use DevOps-related features, such as integration with tools like SVN or Git, because we use Azure DevOps. The aspects related to requirements, testing, changes, tasks, and agile methodology are excellent, which is why we've been using it for a long time.
Deep Maini - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps you collaborate on various effects and solutions from the top to the bottom of the organization
We use Rally Software extensively in our agile development processes. We have program boards set up where we write and break down stories. We assign story points and map dependencies between different stories, showing how stories from one team may depend on stories from another team. It integrates these functions well, especially compared to Jira, which has some limitations in this area. The tool keeps improving based on how teams actually work in Scaled Agile, continually upgrading their software versions to meet our needs. I find the whole Rally Software tool integrated very nicely. In Jira, we often go to Confluence for documentation using two separate tools. But in the product, it's not like that. The documentation is tightly integrated. I don't feel like switching to another tool, like going from Jira to Confluence. The tool is designed for collaboration. It shows your organization's view, showing different teams and verticals. It helps you collaborate on various effects and solutions from the top to the bottom of the organization. It has an ecosystem that supports this. All the dependencies between different teams can be easily mapped in Rally Software. They have a program board for that purpose.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"You can see the work ticket and you can circulate that within the teams. You can define your flows, customize according to your needs, and you can create dashboards and create the reports according to your needs."
"The initial setup of this solution was straightforward, and there were not too many problems with it."
"The solution offers good integration."
"The best feature of Polarion ALM to me is its traceability link."
"Polarion ALM has some valuable tools for managing our targets and requirements. I think that's its best feature."
"It is a very stable solution."
"I am impressed with the solution’s stability."
"Scalability is good...The integration is quite good."
"It's a good platform to keep track of all the user stories across all projects. So rather than having one off Excel spreadsheets with all of the requirements, it is a good place to have all of that."
"If teams are tracking correctly and entering their information correctly, it's really easy to see where you're at, within your release, and whether you're on track or not."
"It scales very well. It improves in technology constantly and gets up to speed with the latest and greatest."
"The most valuable features of Rally Software are the executive dashboards, ease of use, and many other features. They have encapsulated everything that a GI can do, such as monitoring, maintaining, and then releasing. It's continuous integration and development."
"I was able to create epics for our budgeting concerns and it helped me link everything together."
"When we went into Scaled Agile Framework, we could not have done it without the use of Agile Central. It allows us to scale our Scrum teams, and it also enables us when we do our remote big room plannings."
"Having that view into features and roadmap from product to delivery teams, and where they are going, then execute on."
"CA Agile Central helps the entire organization run like one powerful team."
 

Cons

"The configuration aspect of the solution is not easy. A person needs a lot of programming knowledge in order to successfully handle the job."
"I also recently suggested that CMS consider incorporating generative artificial intelligence into the system."
"Technical support needs some improvement."
"The interface for this solution needs to be made more user-friendly to provide a better user experience."
"Based on my understanding, the tool's integration capabilities with multiple tools is an area of concern that Polarion needs to focus on more."
"Integration requires a lot of effort. You typically need to work with an implementation partner to get it done. Most connectors available for Polarion ALM are paid. Unlike other vendors offering several standard connectors for free, integrating third-party software with Polarion ALM involves discussing and coordinating with the third-party software providers, which requires effort."
"One of Polarion's shortcomings would be planning. It can handle plans, but the planning feature is very basic."
"The solution needs to improve its user experience and graphics."
"I'd like to be able to color code timeboxes, so I have an easy visual way to track the success of sprints."
"A lot of the features that we would be looking to add, I am learning may not be within Agile Central, but part of another CA tool set."
"There are few customisation options. For instance, the workflow for story cards cannot be changed out of the box from the standard (Defined, In-Progress, Completed and Accepted)."
"There's a lot of support for Scrum and Agile, but it needs something for the Kanban side."
"It requires better scalability for the implementation of the whole suite. We do not use it in that fashion, and visibility is sometimes a problem."
"In Rally Software, the connection with GitLab and GitHub needs improvement."
"We did submit an enhancement request. I think a lot of teams that do very large scale products have the same issue. They just do not realize it would help them."
"As it is right now, it does not support automation of the quality assurance process. It just supports manual testing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You have to pay around 50-60 euros per user."
"It is an expensive product."
"If the pricing would come down and it was more affordable then we wouldn't have to switch."
"Software for medical devices is always expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
"Our license for Polarion ALM is yearly. And it's not the cheapest tool that we've looked at. So if we had made our decision purely based on the licensing cost, we wouldn't have selected Polarion."
"The license model is okay for large companies but would be quite expensive for smaller enterprises."
"I don't know the exact pricing, but I think the tool is priced high. They provide quality workmanship, good software, regular upgrades, and they're always attentive and listen to users. Everything comes with a price. I think it's an expensive solution compared to Jira or other competitors, but it's a complete package."
"It is expensive and may not be worthwhile for a small company."
"I understand it's a little more expensive. That is why many people prefer Jira."
"Rally Software costs $50 a month, and for a base account, that price is acceptable."
"From a price point, it's a cost effective solution for our needs."
"The license costs are fairly high as compared to some of the other solutions out there."
"We are always looking for a discount, if the solution was less expensive it would be a benefit."
"Frankly, pricing is expensive and needs to be carefully planned for when budgeting."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
25%
Computer Software Company
15%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Educational Organization
82%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Insurance Company
2%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Polarion ALM?
I also recently suggested that CMS consider incorporating generative artificial intelligence into the system. This could greatly enhance requirement checking, improve form, content, and clarity, an...
What is your primary use case for Polarion ALM?
We use Polarion ALM for software development, including requirements management, testing, change requests, and task tracking. We set up the environment by configuring items and reports based on use...
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?
I don't know the exact pricing, but I think the tool is priced high. They provide quality workmanship, good software, regular upgrades, and they're always attentive and listen to users. Everything ...
What needs improvement with Rally Software?
The product itself seems to have a lot of bugs. One issue is that it sometimes allows people to modify data inappropriately. For example, team members can change numbers at will. While we have a me...
 

Also Known As

No data available
CA Agile Central, Rally Enterprise, CA Agile Training, CA Agile Coaching, CA Agile Academy, CA Agile Management , CA ALM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, IBS AG, Zumtobel Group
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 Polarion ALM vs. Rally Software and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.