Jira alternative
IT4S or Jira? A plain comparison.
IT4S is an issue tracker for software and IT teams that want to keep what matters in Jira and skip the setup – with a built-in MCP interface for AI agents and hosting in the EU. Here is what is different, what it costs and when Jira remains the better choice.
The biggest difference: what you have to set up
In Jira, someone picks templates, workflow and permission schemes, screens and field configurations for every project, and keeps them in shape. In IT4S a project takes a key, a name and its members: the workflow is the same everywhere (Backlog, To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done, plus Won’t Do), the roles are fixed, and one board shows all projects.
Compared to Jira
Less to configure. Less to click. More time for the work.
Jira can be set up for almost anything, and someone has to do that setup. IT4S makes the common choices for you, so a new project takes a key, a name and its members.
A new project in IT4S needs a key, a name and its members. Done.Each of them needs looking after – by someone with admin rights.
- 01Pick a project template
- 02Work type scheme
- 03Workflow scheme
- 04Workflow with transitions and conditions
- 05Screen scheme
- 06Work type screen scheme
- 07Field configuration
- 08Field configuration scheme
- 09Permission scheme
- 10Notification scheme
- 11Board filter in JQL
- 12Board column mapping
New projectExample of a company-managed project in Jira; which schemes you need depends on your instance.
One epic, twelve stories
The race.
On the left, one form per story. On the right, one sentence to your AI agent.
12 forms. Or one sentence.
| Typical Jira setup | IT4S | |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow | Workflow schemes per project, kept in shape by an admin | Backlog›To Do›In Progress›In Review›Done The same in every project, plus Won’t Do. |
| New project | Pick templates, schemes, screens and field configurations | Key, name, members. Ready. |
| Finding issues | JQL or, in the cloud, AI search with Rovo | Filter chips and a quick search with AND, OR and NOT that also searches comments, or ask an AI agent like Claude in plain words |
| Board | One board per project or filter | One board across all projects with a project filter |
| A batch of stories from a spec | One create form per story | One sentence to your AI agent with plan_epic; up to 50 issues per call |
| Keeping track | A notification per change, dashboard gadgets | “Since your last visit” on every issue, project briefing, daily digest |
| Connecting AI assistants | Official Rovo MCP server for Atlassian Cloud; not for Data Center | Built in on every plan, for any MCP-capable agent, run in the EU, traceable in the history (“via Claude”, “via Cursor”), with trash |
| Where your data lives | Atlassian Cloud or your own Data Center | Google Cloud in Frankfurt, run by Silvertip in Austria |
| Moving over | Your existing projects and history | Issues, comments, files, worklogs and field history from Jira, keys kept Available |
Left out on purpose
Every feature you skip is a setting nobody has to maintain. These are not in IT4S; sprints are the most likely to come next.
- Workflow schemes
- Permission schemes
- Custom field sprawl
- Query language
- Dashboard gadgets
- Sprints and burndown planned
When Jira fits better
IT4S leaves a lot out on purpose. Stay with Jira if you need:
- Custom workflows per team with conditions, validators and post functions
- Service desk and ITSM (Jira Service Management) in the same tool
- Sprints with burndown and velocity – planned in IT4S, not there yet
- Many apps from the Atlassian Marketplace and a close link to Confluence
- A query language like JQL and dashboards you build yourself
- Running it in your own data center (Data Center)
What it costs
Free costs nothing, for up to 3 users and 3 projects. Team costs €60 per user and year or €6 per month, excl. VAT; viewers don’t count. Every new workspace starts with 14 days of Team to try, no credit card.
Where your data lives
IT4S runs on Google Cloud in Frankfurt and is operated by Silvertip IT-Solutions in Innsbruck, Austria: contract, data processing agreement and support from Austria, nightly backups per workspace.
Moving without starting over
The Jira import takes issues, comments, files, worklogs and the field history; the issue keys stay the same. You can run it again until you switch.
Moving from Jira
Your keys stay.
Connect Jira, check the analysis, import. Issues, comments, worklogs, attachments and the field history come along – and WEB-12 is still WEB-12 afterwards. Links to Jira issues now open in IT4S.
How the import works →Example numbers from the demo workspace. By default the import creates a new project with the Jira key; with another key, WEB‑12 becomes HP‑12 for example – in titles, descriptions and comments too.