Skip to content
vettlo
Review · Issue tracking

GitHub Issues Review (2026): Pricing, Pros and Cons

We may earn money when you click links on this page. Partner compensation may affect which products we include and where they appear. See how we make money.

Short answer

GitHub Issues ranks #4 of 7 in our issue tracking tools ranking (84/100). Best for teams whose code is already on GitHub. Paid plans start at $4/user/mo (GitHub Team; Enterprise $21. Issues and Projects are on the Free plan).

4

GitHub Issues

Best for teams whose code is already on GitHub
Visit website ↗
Starting price$4/user/moGitHub Team; Enterprise $21. Issues and Projects are on the Free plan
Free trial / planFree plan (Issues and Projects included)
Vettlo score84/100
G2 user rating4.7/52,418 reviews

What is GitHub Issues?

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.

Who it's best for

Engineering teams that already host code on GitHub and want issues linked to pull requests without a second tool.

Why we rank it

Issues sit next to the code at no extra cost, and it has the highest G2 rating among these seven.

Pros and cons

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)

Skip it if: Non-engineering teams will file and track most of the work.

GitHub Issues pricing

Paid plans start at $4/user/mo (GitHub Team; Enterprise $21. Issues and Projects are on the Free plan). Free plan or trial: Free plan (Issues and Projects included).

From GitHub Issues's pricing page, checked on the date at the top of this review. See how it compares on price in our issue tracking tools pricing overview.

How we scored GitHub Issues

Issue tracking score: 84/100

Issue tracking & workflows (25%)4/5
Agile planning (20%)3.5/5
Dev integrations & automation (15%)5/5
Reporting (10%)3/5
Ease of use (15%)4.5/5
Price & value (15%)5/5

Each criterion is rated 0 to 5 and weighted for the category. See our methodology.

How GitHub Issues compares

#ToolBest forStarting priceScore
1JiraBest overall for scaling engineering teams$9.70/user/mo87/100
2LinearFast-moving product teams$10/user/mo86/100
3YouTrackBest value, with every feature on every plan$4.50/user/mo85/100
4GitHub IssuesTeams whose code is already on GitHub$4/user/mo84/100
5Azure BoardsMicrosoft and Azure DevOps shops$6/user/mo83/100
6ShortcutSmall teams moving off a free plan$8.50/user/mo81/100

Alternatives and comparisons

GitHub Issues FAQ

How much does GitHub Issues cost?

Paid plans start at $4/user/mo (GitHub Team; Enterprise $21. Issues and Projects are on the Free plan). Free plan or trial: Free plan (Issues and Projects included).

Is GitHub Issues worth it?

GitHub Issues scores 84/100 in our issue tracking tools ranking, where it is best for teams whose code is already on GitHub. It's a weaker fit if: non-engineering teams will file and track most of the work.

Does GitHub Issues have a free plan or trial?

Free plan (Issues and Projects included).

What are the best GitHub Issues alternatives?

In our issue tracking tools ranking, the closest alternatives are Jira, Linear and YouTrack.

Vettlo Editorial Team

Researched and written by the Vettlo editorial team using our methodology. Prices and plan details come from each vendor's public pricing page.