Gantify vs Jira: project schedule and critical path, free
Jira is the standard for managing issues and sprints. When you need calculated dates, cross-team dependencies and a critical path, Gantify provides a complete Gantt chart, free of charge.
In this article
Jira is the reference tool for software development teams: backlogs, sprints, boards and issues tracked in every detail. Gantify has adopted an effective principle from Jira, unique task keys such as APP-42, but operates at a different level: the project schedule, with dates calculated from dependencies, calendars and constraints.
The comparison below is based on Jira’s official pricing page.
Who Jira and Gantify are for
Jira is designed for software and technical teams that work in issues and iterations; it includes free guest access and capacity planning[1].
Gantify is designed for those who need to deliver a project by a given date:
- PMOs and project managers coordinating development, marketing, legal and operations;
- construction, engineering, events and implementation projects, in which work is not organized in sprints;
- teams that exchange plans with clients who use Microsoft Project.
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Gantify | Jira |
|---|---|---|
| Opening .mpp files | Available.mpp/ | Not statedNot stated |
| Export | AvailableMicrosoft Project XML, CSV, print/ | Not statedNot stated |
| Dependencies (4 types, with lag) | AvailableFS, SS, FF and SF, with lag | Partialwithin a single project on Free and Standard; cross-project on Premium |
| Critical path | Availableon demand, with total float | Not statedNot stated |
| Baselines | Availablesaved automatically at first progress; slippage in days | Not statedNot stated |
| Calendars and holidays | Availableworking calendars with exceptions | Availablecalendar view |
| Date constraints | Availableconstraint dates and deadlines | Not statedNot stated |
| Resources and over-allocation | Availableproject members assigned to tasks, daily workload, over-allocation warnings | Availablecapacity management |
| Costs and budget | Partialfixed and baseline costs from imported files; no budget view | Not statedNot stated |
| Earned Value Management (EVM) | Not availableNot available | Not statedNot stated |
| Automatic resource levelling | Not availableapplies the leveling delay from .mpp files; does not calculate it | Not statedNot stated |
| Views | AvailableSummary, Gantt, list, board, calendar, workload | Availablebacklog, list, board, timeline, calendar, summary |
| Collaboration | Availableowner, editor and viewer roles; comments with @mentions | Availablefree guest access |
| Public sharing | Availableread-only public link | Not statedNot stated |
| Interface languages | Available10 | Not statedNot stated |
| Self-hosting | Not availablemanaged service, EU servers (Germany) | Not statedNot stated |
| Entry price | Availablefree, ad-supported | Not availableUSD 7.91 per user/ |
| Free plan | Availableall features, no seat limit | Available10 users, timeline view included |
The data is the same as in our full comparison. “Not stated” means that Jira does not list the feature on its pricing page, not that the feature is missing.
Scheduling
Jira offers the timeline view even on the free plan and manages dependencies: within a project on the Free and Standard plans, and across projects on the Premium plan[1]. Gantify is built around its scheduling engine:
- FS, SS, FF and SF dependencies with lead and lag;
- constraints, deadlines and calendars with holidays and exceptions, including per resource;
- a critical path recalculated with every change;
- baselines with the variance of each task, and a version history;
- multi-level subtasks created with Tab, as in MS Project.
Example: launching a new service
Launching a digital service involves developing the app, integrating payment systems, a legal review, a marketing campaign and training the support team. Development proceeds in sprints on a backlog; the launch is a project with dates. In Gantify, the campaign starts only after the legal review, support training ends before go-live, and go-live has a deadline. If development reports a two-week delay, updating a single task is enough: the engine shows the cascading effect on all the others, with the critical path highlighted.
Import, export and migration
Gantify reads .mpp, Microsoft Project XML and Primavera .xer files, with an import report, and exports to Microsoft Project XML, CSV for Excel and print/PDF. Jira’s pricing page does not list .mpp import[1].
Collaboration
Jira includes free guest access[1]. Gantify offers link invitations with roles (owner, editor, viewer) for anyone and at no cost, comments with mentions, Jira-style task keys, a detail panel with history and a read-only public link.
Pricing
Jira Standard costs USD 7.91 per user per month; the Plans feature is included in the Premium plan, at USD 14.54[1]. The free plan covers up to 10 users[1]. Gantify is free, supported by advertising, with no limit on the number of users.
Languages, data and AI assistant
Gantify is available in 10 languages and hosts data on servers in the European Union, in Germany. The AI assistant reads the plan, provides estimates and proposes changes for you to confirm, and generates a first version of a plan from a description. Through API keys and the MCP server, it integrates with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor and VS Code, tools already used by many development teams.
How to complement or replace Jira with Gantify
- Define the scope: it is often best to keep development in Jira and manage the overall schedule in Gantify.
- Export the issues from Jira to a spreadsheet, using the options available on your plan.
- Create a free Gantify account and paste the rows from Excel into the grid: names, durations and indentation become tasks and subtasks.
- Link the tasks with dependencies: the engine calculates the dates and the critical path.
- Save a baseline and share the plan through the read-only public link.
Try Gantify with your own plan
Create a free accountConclusion
Jira remains the best-suited tool for backlogs and sprints. Gantify answers a question that Jira does not put first: when will the project be completed, and which tasks are slowing it down? Dependencies, critical path and baselines, free of charge and available to everyone, including those who do not work in development.
Frequently asked questions
Does Jira’s free plan include a timeline?
Yes. The free plan, for up to 10 users, includes the timeline view[1].
Does Gantify replace Jira for software development?
No, that is not its purpose: Gantify does not manage sprints and backlogs. It is designed for the project schedule, and many teams use both tools.
Does Gantify assign task keys like Jira?
Yes. Each task has a unique key based on the project code, for example APP-42.
Does Gantify calculate the critical path?
Yes, automatically, for every user and with every change to the plan.
Sources
Every fact about the products mentioned comes from these official pages, checked in September 2026. Prices are list prices, in the currency and billing period shown by the vendor, and may change.
- Pricingatlassian.com
Try Gantify with your own plan
Create a free account, import your .mpp file or start from a template: within minutes you will see the Gantt chart with dependencies, calendars and the critical path.