Short answer
Jira has the highest-ranked free plan among the issue tracking tools we rank (87/100): Free plan (10 users, 2 GB); paid-plan trials. 7 of the 7 tools in our issue tracking tools ranking list a free plan.
Every tool here comes from our main issue tracking tools ranking, which scores issue tracking tools on 6 weighted criteria. This page keeps only the tools whose pricing page lists a free plan (not just a time-limited trial), in the same order, and shows what each free plan includes and where paid plans start.
Free plans compared
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid plans from | Score |
|---|
| 1 |  Jira | Free plan (10 users, 2 GB); paid-plan trials | $9.70/user/mo
Standard, billed monthly for 1 to 100 users; annual $950/yr for 10 users; Premium $19.60 | 87/100 |
| 2 |  Linear | Free plan (unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues) | $10/user/mo
Basic, billed yearly; Business $16 | 86/100 |
| 3 |  YouTrack | Free plan (up to 10 users, full features) | $4.50/user/mo
Cloud, billed annually from 11 users ($5.40 monthly) | 85/100 |
| 4 |  GitHub Issues | Free plan (Issues and Projects included) | $4/user/mo
GitHub Team; Enterprise $21. Issues and Projects are on the Free plan | 84/100 |
| 5 |  Azure Boards | Free plan (first 5 users) | $6/user/mo
Azure DevOps Basic; first 5 users free | 83/100 |
| 6 |  Shortcut | Free plan (10 users); 14-day trial, no card | $8.50/user/mo
Team; Business $12; yearly billing saves up to 25% | 81/100 |
| 7 |  GitLab | Free plan (5 users per group); free trial of paid plans | $29/user/mo
Premium, billed annually; Ultimate by quote | 79/100 |
Starting prices are the cheapest paid plan on each vendor's pricing page on Nov 2, 2026. Jira's prices are Atlassian's list prices effective Oct 13, 2026 (monthly rate for 1 to 100 users; annual plans are priced by user tier). Linear's prices are billed yearly. YouTrack's $4.50 is the annual rate before volume discounts, for 11 or more users. Shortcut's page doesn't label its default billing period and says yearly billing saves up to 25%. GitLab Premium is billed annually. GitHub and Azure DevOps bill per user per month. G2 lists Azure DevOps's tracker as Azure Boards.
The free plans
Free plan: Free plan (10 users, 2 GB); paid-plan trials.
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $9.70/user/mo (Standard, billed monthly for 1 to 100 users; annual $950/yr for 10 users; Premium $19.60).
Jira is Atlassian's issue and project tracker for software teams. The free plan covers 10 users and 2 GB of storage; Standard ($9.70 per user monthly) adds 250 GB and 1,700 automation rule runs a month; Premium ($19.60) adds advanced planning, a sandbox, unlimited storage, a 99.9% uptime SLA and 24/7 support.
Strengths
- Free plan for 10 users
- Advanced planning, sandbox and 99.9% uptime SLA on Premium
- Annual pricing drops to $950 a year for 10 users on Standard
Watch-outs
- List prices rose on Oct 13, 2026 (Standard $9.05 to $9.70 per user monthly)
- Premium costs about twice Standard
- More configuration than lighter tools
Read our full Jira review →
Free plan: Free plan (unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues).
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $10/user/mo (Basic, billed yearly; Business $16).
Linear is an issue tracker built around cycles (1- to 8-week sprints where unfinished issues roll over automatically) and projects. Free covers 2 teams and 250 issues; Basic ($10 per user billed yearly) removes the issue limit and allows 5 teams; Business ($16) adds Insights, Linear Asks, guest accounts and triage rules.
Strengths
- Cycles roll unfinished issues over automatically
- Unlimited members on every plan, including Free
- Rated 4.6/5 on G2, the second highest here
Watch-outs
- Free plan stops at 250 issues
- Insights need Business ($16); dashboards, SAML and audit log need Enterprise
- Monthly prices aren't listed on the pricing page
Read our full Linear review →
Free plan: Free plan (up to 10 users, full features).
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $4.50/user/mo (Cloud, billed annually from 11 users ($5.40 monthly)).
YouTrack is JetBrains' issue tracker and project management tool, with agile boards, a knowledge base and a helpdesk. It's free for up to 10 users; paid Cloud plans start at $4.50 per user a month billed annually ($5.40 monthly), and every plan includes the full feature set and AI Assistance at no extra cost.
Strengths
- Full feature set on every plan, including free
- 25 users cost $1,350 a year billed annually
- Built-in helpdesk free for 3 agents
Watch-outs
- Paid plans start at 11 users
- Fewer third-party integrations than Jira or GitHub
- Smallest G2 review base here (60 reviews)
Read our full YouTrack review →
Free plan: Free plan (Issues and Projects included).
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $4/user/mo (GitHub Team; Enterprise $21. Issues and Projects are on the Free plan).
GitHub Issues and Projects are GitHub's built-in tracking tools, included on every plan. Projects offers table, board and roadmap layouts, iteration fields, built-in workflows and charts. GitHub Team ($4 per user a month) adds protected branches and required reviewers for private repositories; Enterprise ($21) adds SAML SSO and the audit log API.
Strengths
- Issues and Projects included on the Free plan
- Rated 4.7/5 on G2
- Roadmap layout and iteration fields in Projects
Watch-outs
- Fewer workflow and permission controls than Jira
- Projects allow up to 50 fields
- SAML SSO needs Enterprise ($21)
Read our full GitHub Issues review →
Free plan: Free plan (first 5 users).
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $6/user/mo (Azure DevOps Basic; first 5 users free).
Azure Boards is the work-tracking part of Azure DevOps Services, with backlogs, sprint planning, Kanban and scrum boards, and dashboards. The Basic plan is $6 per user a month with the first 5 users free, and it includes Azure Pipelines (1,800 free minutes a month on one Microsoft-hosted job) and Repos.
Strengths
- First 5 users free
- Backlogs, sprints and dashboards included
- Links GitHub commits and pull requests to work items
Watch-outs
- Interface is heavier than Linear or GitHub
- Basic + Test Plans is $52 per user a month
Read our full Azure Boards review →
Free plan: Free plan (10 users); 14-day trial, no card.
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $8.50/user/mo (Team; Business $12; yearly billing saves up to 25%).
Shortcut (formerly Clubhouse) is an issue tracker with stories, epics, iterations and docs. Free covers 10 users and 1 team; Team ($8.50 per user) allows up to 5 teams and adds automations; Business ($12) adds objectives and key results, the metrics dashboard and advanced custom fields, with SAML SSO as an add-on.
Strengths
- Free plan for 10 users with iterations and docs
- Free read-only Observer seats on paid plans
- 14-day trial without a card
Watch-outs
- Automations need Team; metrics dashboard needs Business
- SAML SSO is an add-on on Business
- No pro-rated refunds on cancellation
Read our full Shortcut review →
Free plan: Free plan (5 users per group); free trial of paid plans.
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $29/user/mo (Premium, billed annually; Ultimate by quote).
GitLab is a DevOps platform with source control, CI/CD and issue tracking in one app. Free covers 5 users per top-level group, 400 compute minutes and 10 GiB of storage; Premium ($29 per user billed annually) adds epics, 10,000 compute minutes and 500 GiB, plus 12 GitLab Duo AI credits per user a month for a limited time.
Strengths
- Issues, CI/CD and code in one platform
- 10,000 compute minutes on Premium
- Rated 4.5/5 on G2 across 902 reviews
Watch-outs
- Epics need Premium ($29 per user)
- Free plan caps a group at 5 users
- Most expensive entry price here if you only need tracking
Read our full GitLab review →
FAQ
What are the best free issue tracking tools?
Jira (Free plan (10 users, 2 GB); paid-plan trials) ranks highest among the issue tracking tools we rank that offer a free plan. Linear, YouTrack, GitHub Issues also have free plans.
Is there a completely free option?
Yes, each tool on this page lists a free plan on its pricing page. Free plans have limits, shown in the table above, and paid plans add more users, usage and features.
What do free plans usually leave out?
Free plans typically cap users, records or monthly usage and leave out advanced automation, reporting and admin controls. Check each tool's limits against your team size before you commit.
When should I move to a paid plan?
When you hit a limit in the free plan or need a feature it leaves out. The table shows where each tool's paid plans start; our full issue tracking tools ranking compares the paid tiers.
Vettlo Editorial TeamResearched and written by the Vettlo editorial team using our methodology. Prices and plan details come from each vendor's public pricing page.