Stackr vs Jira
Jira earned its complexity at companies running 200-person sprints across a dozen products. If that's not you, every click is a tax. Stackr keeps the parts that matter — Kanban, Sprints, ticket links, REST API — and drops the workflow-engine ceremony.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Jira | Stackr |
|---|---|---|
| Steps to open a ticket | 5+ fields, pick issue type, run workflow | Press +, type title, Enter |
| Mobile UX | Slow app, laggy web | RWD, card opens in 2s on phone |
| Drag-and-drop board | ✓ (slow) | ✓ (instant) |
| Sprints | ✓ | ✓ |
| Markdown docs | Confluence (paid add-on) | ✓ Built into /docs |
| Whiteboard | ❌ | ✓ With ticket links |
| Claude Desktop integration | ❌ | ✓ 86 MCP tools |
| Built-in AI chat | ❌ (needs Atlassian Intelligence) | ✓ Free Groq Llama |
| Public REST API | ✓ (complex OAuth) | ✓ Bearer token |
| Free tier | 10 users, limited features | Unlimited |
| Traditional Chinese UI | Partial | Native |
When to stick with Jira
- Your org has SOX / FedRAMP / SOC2-mandated workflow audit trails.
- Multi-team dependencies span 5+ products and need Advanced Roadmaps.
- You depend on the Atlassian marketplace ecosystem (Tempo, ScriptRunner, etc.).
When Stackr wins
- Solo maker or team under 20 — Jira's overhead doesn't pay back.
- You want to capture thoughts on a phone, triage on a laptop, ask Claude on the desktop.
- You'd rather pay $0 than the per-user Jira fee that grows linearly with the team.
- You write documentation in Markdown, not Confluence rich-text purgatory.
Migrating from Jira
Export tickets to CSV from Jira (Issues → Export → CSV). Stackr's REST API at /api/v1/tickets accepts batch POST — a 30-line script gets you across. Boards become Stackr boards 1:1; statuses map to Stackr's customisable columns. Comments and attachments transfer via the same API.