Helpin vs Jira at a glance
Jira and Helpin both help teams plan and ship work, and both let AI agents pick up tasks. Jira is a widely used issue tracker with a large ecosystem. Helpin puts projects next to support, CRM, meetings and docs.
Atlassian sells the help desk, product feedback, docs and meeting notes as separate products: Jira Service Management inside Service Collection, Jira Product Discovery, Confluence and Loom. Its Rovo AI and coding agents work across them.
Helpin includes roadmaps, sprints and objectives alongside a support inbox, help center and CRM, so the request, the task, the pull request and the follow-up share one customer history. It’s open source and charges per workspace.
This guide compares Helpin and Jira feature by feature, with list prices checked in September 2026, so you can decide which fits the way your team works.
- Jira is built around the work item: planning and tracking work at any scale, with support and customer feedback in separate Atlassian products.
- Helpin is built around the customer: the request, the work it becomes and the follow-up, in one open-source product.
Here’s how the two compare across the capabilities teams ask about most. A check means included, a dash means partly or on some plans, and a cross means not available.
| Capability |  HelpinOpen source · Cloud or self-hosted | JiraProject management |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Price model | Per workspace | Per user: Standard $9.05, Premium $18.30 a month billed monthly, for up to 100 users |
| Free plan | Self-hosted Community edition | Up to 10 users |
| AI | AI usage allowance included in every Cloud plan | Rovo credits per user; extra usage billed from December 3, 2026 |
| Support inbox | Included | Service Collection: free for 3 agents, then $25 an agent a month for up to 15 |
| Open source and self-hosting | Free Community edition (AGPL-3.0, 0.2 beta) | Data Center closed to new customers |
| Planning | ||
| Roadmaps and sprints | Boards and sprints; advanced planning on Premium | |
| GitHub and GitLab | PR and MR linking | GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket |
| Coding agents | Opens GitHub PRs and GitLab MRs for review | Rovo, Jira Coding Agent, Claude, Cursor and GitHub Copilot |
| App marketplace | MCP connections and web SDKs | More than 4,000 Marketplace apps |
| Native mobile apps | iOS and Android | |
| Customers | ||
| Support inbox and live chat | Web chat and email | Service Collection, priced per agent |
| Help center | Custom domain, AI answers, API reference | Knowledge base with Service Collection and Confluence |
| CRM with deals | Contacts, companies, deals | |
| Meeting notes | Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex | Loom Business + AI, a separate product |
| MCP server | Hosted and self-hosted (beta) | Rovo MCP Server |
Comparison data verified September 2026.
Why teams look beyond Jira
Four common reasons teams give for looking elsewhere, and how Helpin handles each one.
- Service Collection
- Linked work item
Helpin- Support inbox
- Task
- Pull request
- Customer told
Support is a separate product
Jira points help-desk teams to Jira Service Management, which is now sold inside Atlassian’s Service Collection and priced per agent. In Helpin the support inbox, chat widget and help center are part of the product, so the conversation is already attached to the task, and the team can follow up in it when the work ships.
- Data Center
- Read-only in March 2029
Helpin- Helpin Cloud
- or your servers
Self-hosting is winding down
Atlassian stopped selling Data Center to new customers on March 30, 2026, and Data Center products become read-only on March 28, 2029. Helpin is open source under AGPL-3.0: use Helpin Cloud, or run the Community edition on your own servers with Docker Compose. Self-hosted, there’s no license fee at all.
- Per user
- + Rovo credits
Helpin- Workspace price
- AI usage included
AI is metered in credits
Paid Jira plans include Rovo credits per user each month: 25 on Standard, 70 on Premium and 150 on Enterprise. From December 3, 2026, extra usage is billed at $0.01 a credit by default, and Rovo Dev is a separate $20 per developer a month. Helpin charges one price per workspace, and each Cloud plan includes an AI usage allowance, with metered overage only if you turn it on.
- Jira
- Loom
- Your CRM
Helpin- Contacts
- Companies
- Deals
- Meetings
No CRM, and meeting notes cost extra
Atlassian doesn’t offer a CRM, and automatic meeting notes come with Loom’s Business + AI plan. Helpin includes contacts, companies, deals and pipelines, plus a meeting notetaker for Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex, on the same account as the work.
Core feature comparison
Feature names can sound alike across tools. What matters is how each product handles the work, and what your team does next.
Roadmaps, boards and sprints
Jira organizes work into projects, boards and sprints for Scrum and Kanban teams. Premium adds advanced planning, capacity management, approvals and sandboxes; Enterprise adds multiple sites and Atlassian Analytics.
HelpinHelpin Projects covers roadmaps, sprints, objectives, epics, dependencies, estimates and triage, with velocity and sprint reports. Tasks can carry the customer requests and conversations behind them.
The difference: For large programs of work, Jira’s planning goes further. Helpin’s planning keeps customer context on the work.
AI and coding agents
Paid Jira plans include Rovo agents and can assign work items to the Jira Coding Agent or to third-party coding agents such as Claude, Cursor and GitHub Copilot. They draw on Rovo credits: 25 per user on Standard, 70 on Premium and 150 on Enterprise, with extra usage billed from December 3, 2026. The Jira Coding Agent works with GitHub and Bitbucket repositories.
HelpinHelpin’s coding agents work from the task and the customer conversation behind it, and open a GitHub pull request or GitLab merge request for your team to review. On Cloud, usage comes from the AI allowance in your plan; self-hosted, they’re part of the free Community edition and use your own AI provider.
The difference: Jira offers a wider choice of agents. Helpin’s agents start with the customer context, and AI usage is part of the plan.
Customer requests and support
Jira can create work items from emails sent by licensed users, and Atlassian points help-desk teams to Jira Service Management. It’s now sold inside Service Collection and priced per agent, with portal, email and chat channels, and customer-service features on new sites live in its Customer Service Management app. Zendesk’s own app links tickets to Jira.
HelpinHelpin includes the support inbox, chat widget and help center, so requests start in the same product as the task. When the work ships, the team can follow up in the original conversation.
The difference: With Atlassian, support is another product and another bill. Helpin puts the conversation next to the work.
Customer records and meetings
Atlassian doesn’t offer a CRM, and expects its customer service tools to work alongside one. Loom’s Business + AI plan records Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls and writes notes to Confluence, and Rovo can suggest Jira updates from them.
HelpinHelpin includes a CRM with contacts, companies, deals and pipelines, and a meeting notetaker for Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex. Decisions and action items from calls stay on the same customer record as the conversations and tasks.
The difference: If account context matters to your roadmap, Helpin keeps deals and meetings next to the work.
Hosting and open source
Jira Cloud is hosted by Atlassian. Data Center, the self-managed edition, closed to new customers on March 30, 2026, and becomes read-only on March 28, 2029. Jira isn’t open source.
HelpinHelpin is open source under AGPL-3.0. Use Helpin Cloud, or run the Community edition (0.2 beta) on your own infrastructure with Docker Compose and your own AI provider. Nothing leaves your servers unless you connect it.
The difference: If you need to run on your own servers, Helpin is open source and self-hostable.
Git, API and integrations
Jira connects to GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket, offers a REST API and webhooks, native iOS and Android apps, the official Rovo MCP Server and more than 4,000 Marketplace apps.
HelpinHelpin links GitHub pull requests and GitLab merge requests to tasks and updates delivery status when work merges. It offers a Helpin MCP server (in beta), connections to external MCP servers, including Atlassian’s, and web SDKs for your product.
The difference: Jira’s ecosystem is far larger. Helpin can reach Jira through MCP, so the two can run side by side.
Pricing and value
Jira charges per user. Billed monthly, Standard is $9.05 and Premium $18.30 a user for up to 100 users; annual plans are priced by user tier, such as $9,050 a year for 100 users on Standard. The free plan covers up to 10 users, and Atlassian raises these prices on October 13, 2026. The help desk, product feedback, docs and meeting notes are priced separately.
HelpinHelpin charges one price per workspace, with unlimited teammates. Starter is $79 and Growth $239 a month billed annually ($99 and $299 billed monthly), and each includes an AI usage allowance. The self-hosted Community edition is free.
Estimate what your team would pay
Change the team size, plans and AI volume to match your team. The estimate uses list prices and says plainly when Jira costs less. See Helpin pricing.
Estimated at list prices · 20 people · billed annually
$151 a month
$1,810 a year
- 20 × Standard at $7.54
- $151
HelpinGrowth$239 a month
$2,868 a year
- Growth plan, one workspace
- $239
- 20 people
- Included
- AI usage allowance
- $239 included
Heavy AI use can go past the allowance; overage is metered.
Jira costs $1,058 less a year than Helpin.
Jira costs less up to 31 people. From 32 people, Helpin costs less.
- Jira prices annual plans by user tier; the annual rates shown are the 100-user tier. Atlassian raises these list prices on October 13, 2026.
- Jira doesn’t include a support inbox. Service Collection is free for 3 agents, then $25 an agent a month for up to 15; Loom and Confluence are priced separately too.
- Helpin measures AI usage in tokens, not resolutions. Paid plans can turn on metered overage beyond the allowance.
Cloud or open source
Helpin is the same product either way. Let us run it on Helpin Cloud, or self-host the open-source Community edition on your own servers.
Jira Cloud is hosted by Atlassian. New customers can no longer buy Data Center, the self-managed edition, and Data Center products become read-only on March 28, 2029. Jira isn’t open source.
HelpinHelpin is open source under AGPL-3.0. Use Helpin Cloud, or run the Community edition (0.2 beta) on your own infrastructure with Docker Compose and your own AI provider. Nothing leaves your servers unless you connect it.
Helpin Cloud
Hosted by Helpin- One price per workspace, unlimited teammates
- AI usage allowance included in every plan
- Your own AI keys on Enterprise
- Managed by Helpin, with support
Community edition
Open source · AGPL-3.0 · 0.2 beta- Free, with no plan limits or seat counts
- Every product, coding agents included
- Runs on your own AI provider and keys
- Docker Compose on your own servers
Switching and onboarding
Jira imports from CSV, Asana, monday, ClickUp, Trello, Linear, GitHub, GitLab and more, and exports work items as CSV, Excel or XML. Helpin doesn’t import from Jira yet, but its agents can use Jira’s tools through MCP, so you can run both during a move.
HelpinHelpin’s trial runs for 14 days on the Growth plan, with no card. Our team will help you plan the move: what to set up first, how to run both tools side by side, and when to cut over.
Moving from Jira.
You don’t have to move everything at once. Many teams start with support.
Take from Jira
- Work items, as CSV, Excel or XML
- Projects and sprints you want to plan in Helpin
- Confluence pages you want to keep as docs
Set up in Helpin
- GitHub or GitLab connection
- Roadmap, sprints and objectives
- Support inbox and help center
- Jira connection for agents, through MCP (beta)
- 01
Keep Jira, connect it through MCP
BetaHelpin’s agents can use Jira’s tools through Atlassian’s Rovo MCP Server, so engineering can stay in Jira while support runs in Helpin. Your Atlassian admin may need to allow Helpin’s domain.
- 02
Plan new work in Helpin Projects
Available nowRoadmaps, sprints and objectives, with the customer conversation attached to each task.
- 03
Import Jira work items
Not yetThere is no Jira importer yet. Jira exports work items as CSV, Excel or XML, and Helpin imports projects from Shortcut today.
Where Jira is stronger
Jira is a good product. These are the areas where it’s ahead of Helpin today.
Ecosystem.
More than 4,000 Marketplace apps, and close links to Confluence, Bitbucket, GitHub and GitLab.
Scale and controls.
Advanced planning, capacity management, approvals, sandboxes and uptime SLAs on Premium, and multiple sites and analytics on Enterprise.
Agent choice.
Rovo agents, the Jira Coding Agent and third-party coding agents such as Claude, Cursor and GitHub Copilot, plus an official MCP server.
Mobile and imports.
Native iOS and Android apps, and importers for Asana, monday, ClickUp, Trello, Linear, GitHub and more.
Which one fits your team?
Jira is built to plan and track work at any scale. Helpin is for teams that want customer requests, the work behind them and the follow-up in one product.
Choose Jira if…
- You run large engineering programs that need advanced planning, approvals and many sites.
- You depend on the Atlassian ecosystem: Confluence, Bitbucket and more than 4,000 Marketplace apps.
- You want Rovo and a wide choice of coding agents, including Claude, Cursor and GitHub Copilot.
- You have a small team: Jira’s free plan covers up to 10 users.
Choose Helpin if…
- Support questions become tasks with the customer conversation attached.
- You want support, CRM and meeting notes in the same product as your roadmap.
- You want to run on your own servers with an open-source product.
- You want one workspace price with AI usage included.
Questions about Helpin vs Jira
Is Helpin a Jira alternative?
For teams that want projects, support and CRM in one open-source product, yes. If you run large engineering programs that depend on advanced planning and the Atlassian ecosystem, Jira is a strong choice.
Can I still self-host Jira?
Atlassian stopped selling Data Center to new customers on March 30, 2026. Existing customers can buy until March 30, 2028, and Data Center products become read-only on March 28, 2029. Helpin’s Community edition is open source and runs on your own servers.
Does Jira include a help desk?
No. Atlassian points help-desk teams to Jira Service Management, now part of its Service Collection and priced per agent, with a free plan for 3 agents. Helpin includes the support inbox, chat widget and help center.
How does Jira bill for AI?
Paid Jira plans include Rovo credits per user each month: 25 on Standard, 70 on Premium and 150 on Enterprise. From December 3, 2026, extra usage is billed at $0.01 a credit, and that’s on by default. Rovo Dev is priced separately at $20 per developer a month.
Can Helpin import from Jira?
Not yet. Jira exports work items as CSV, Excel or XML, and Helpin’s agents can use Jira’s tools through MCP while you move.
How is AI billed in Helpin?
Every Cloud plan includes a monthly AI usage allowance, measured in tokens at published rates. On an active paid plan you can turn on metered overage if you need more. Self-hosted installs use your own AI provider and pay it directly.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The 14-day trial runs on the Growth plan, needs no card, and includes $140 of AI usage.
Can we self-host Helpin?
Yes. The Community edition is free and open source under AGPL-3.0, and runs with Docker Compose. It is a 0.2 beta and includes every product, coding agents too.
Will you help us switch?
Yes. Book a call and we’ll plan the move with you: what to set up first, how to run both tools side by side, and when to cut over.