Find the best Jira European alternative

With Jira Server or Jira Data Center end of life, explore reliable on-premises alternatives that keep your projects, teams, and data under full control. Find the best Jira self-hosted alternative.

Comparison of Jira on-prem alternatives

As Atlassian retired Jira Server and ends Atlassian Data Center support in 2029, EOL is getting a real thing; organisations are seeking a self-hosted Jira alternative. Get proper dive-in information to make the right decision for the replacement of the Jira on-premises.

Atlassian

Easy8

GitLab

OpenProject

Redmine

Tuleap

Jira Software 
Scrum boards
Kanban boards
Backlog management
Sprint planning
Gantt Charts
WBS (Mind maps)
Resource management
Agile reporting
Roadmaps
Confluence 
Wiki / Knowledge Base
Page templates
Rich text editor
Document versioning
Full-text search
Team spaces
Jira Service Management / Service Desk 
Ticket management
SLA tracking
Customer portal
Email-to-ticket
Queue management
Asset management (CMDB)
Platform and deployment
On-premises (permanent)
Cloud deployment
Git integration
AI features
On-premises AI
GDPR compliance
ISO 27001 certification

Why consider a Jira on-premises alternative?

Atlassian has announced the end of support. This means no more updates, security patches, or support for your self-hosted infrastructure.

On top of that, there are common Jira negatives:

  1. Complexity: Steep learning curve with overwhelming features that can be difficult for non-technical teams to adopt.
  2. Closed-source platform: Proprietary software with no open-source option, limiting transparency and community-driven development.
  3. Forced migration: Atlassian is pushing all users toward cloud-only subscriptions, removing the on-premises option entirely.
  4. Costs: On-premises Jira Server edition or cloud subscriptions are high long-term costs.

Why is Easy8 the #1 Jira on-premises alternative?

Agile tools
Knowledge Base
HelpDesk
GitLab
AI features & n8n integration

Agile & Waterfall project management in one platform

Easy8 Agile project management gives Jira users everything they’re used to—and even more with Waterfall features. Plan and track work on customizable Scrum and Kanban boards, manage backlogs and sprints, and link tasks with time tracking, resources, and reporting in just a few clicks. 

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Confluence self-hosted alternative

The Knowledge Base is a great alternative to Confluence. It centralises essential project, IT, and service information, making it easy for teams to access, share, and reuse know-how across all project phases, reducing duplication and speeding up issue resolution.

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Jira Service Desk alternative

The HelpDesk in Easy8 integrates with project and service management, enabling efficient ticket handling, SLA tracking and faster issue resolution.

This alternative to Jira Service Desk lets users submit tickets via email or an intuitive interface. It sends automatic notifications, monitors SLA performance, and provides complete visibility into your support operations.

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Software development with GitLab integration

While Jira integrates with Bitbucket, Easy8, Jira alternative, offers native GitLab integration. This brings repositories, merge requests, commits, and releases right into your project interface, giving your team complete visibility into development progress. All self-hosted, migration fully supported.

Setup is simple: name the repo, insert the URL and token, and then choose between automatic or manual syncing. This enables teams to link commit statuses and log time against tasks for better traceability and informed decision-making.

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Workflow Automations and AI agents powered by n8n

With n8n integration you can connect Easy8 to over 1,000 apps and build no‑code workflows that sync tasks, trigger actions and reduce manual effort. 

By embedding AI agents and automation workflows via n8n your team can get real‑time alerts on risks, automatically escalate issues and standardise processes without constant supervision.

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How to easily migrate Jira to Easy8


Choose between the cloud or server deployment. We recommend starting with the Easy8 free trial. Your team can migrate to on-premises at any time.


Our experts will migrate your data from Jira, Confluence, Jira Service Desk and Bitbucket. We replicate your workflows, configurations, and functions to ensure seamless continuity.


See for yourself, side-by-side, that all your projects, issues, and workflows have been accurately transferred and are fully functional in Easy8.

Use Easy8 as a Jira on-premises alternative solution

With expert guidance and a structured three‑step process: enumerations migration, interim configuration and customisation, followed by full data import, Easy8 makes switching from Jira far less stressful. 

Throughout the migration, you retain full visibility over your users, projects and tasks, and after migration, you run thorough user testing so everything works as expected in the new environment.

Download Jira migration PDF Contact sales

Case studies of Jira data migration

4/30/2023

Data migration from Jira to Easy8: Case study of Aspecta

Industry:

IT Consulting

Jira handled issue tracking. But Aspecta needed to see the whole picture. Manage resources, budgets, and portfolios in one place. Here's how they made the switch to Easy8.

Read more
12/15/2025

How a global IT company migrated data from on-premises Jira to Easy8 in just 2 weeks

Industry:

IT services and consulting

When a technology-focused company found itself stuck with an unsupported Jira setup, the need for a secure, reliable alternative became urgent. With support from the Easy8 team and its built-in migrator, they managed to migrate 80% of their data within two weeks, all without giving direct server access, thanks to guided screen sharing.  

The remaining 20%, including comments and attachments, which Jira could not export, and we could not import. Anyway, in just two weeks, their migration was almost fully complete, meeting both data protection and operational goals. 

Read more

Articles and tips about Jira recent news

3 minutes read
End of Jira Server: Find Jira on-premises alternatives

Atlassian is a market leader in the project management software industry, with a wide range of popular tools that are used by millions of people around the world. As a market leader, Atlassian has a strong position in the market and can often dictate the direction that its products take. This can include making changes to its tools that are unpopular with some users, such as moving from a Server model to a cloud-based model.

While moving to a cloud-based model can bring many benefits, it can also be disruptive for organizations that are used to the Server model. This can be especially true not only for larger organizations that have significant investments in on-premises infrastructure and processes but also for anyone with a smaller user base.

Read more
4 minutes read
Break free from Jira Server: Use on-premises alternative

Atlassian ended support for Jira Software Server in February 2024, cutting off updates, bug fixes, and security patches for self-hosted users. With Jira Data Center now the only on-premises option and not a permanent one, many teams are seeking alternatives built for long-term, secure project delivery on their own terms.

Read more
6 minutes read
The end of Jira on-premises: Atlassian Data Center terminates support

Atlassian is discontinuing Jira Data Center, and with it, the last on-premises option for Jira users. By 2029, support and updates will be gone entirely. The countdown has started: migrate to the cloud, plan a hybrid setup, or find a true on-premises alternative before the clock runs out. The first phase will be here by the end of March 2026.

Read more

Frequently asked questions

Is Jira Server going away?

Yes, Jira Server has already ended. Atlassian officially ended support for Jira Server on February 15, 2024, ceasing all technical support, security updates, bug fixes, and new features. This means existing installations receive no further updates, increasing security risks for on-premises users.


What is the difference between Jira Server vs Jira Cloud?

Jira Server and Jira Cloud differ primarily in hosting, management, and feature delivery, with Server being an on-premises solution now end-of-life and Cloud as Atlassian's hosted SaaS offering.

What are the best practices for migrating from Jira to Easy8?

Jira data migration is performed using the Jira Migrator that takes Jira Software data and imports it to Easy8. The full migration service includes data import, mappings, clean-up assistance, and additional configuration.

Companies can choose between two migration scope approaches:

  • Full migration: Recommended for smaller companies capable of executing a single "big bang" migration. Mostly limited by time.
  • Partial migration: Recommended for larger companies that prefer a phased, project-by-project approach.

Is Jira Server deprecated?

Yes, Jira Server is deprecated and reached end of life on February 15, 2024, with Atlassian ceasing all support, security updates, and bug fixes. Users can no longer purchase new licenses or renewals, forcing a shift to alternatives (ideally on-premises) amid Atlassian's cloud focus. 


Easy8 serves as a robust on-premises solution to replace Jira Server, offering seamless migration tools, customizable Agile workflows, and full self-hosting capabilities. It maintains data sovereignty and supports enterprise-scale deployments without vendor lock-in.

Can Jira be self-hosted?

Jira can be self-hosted through its Data Center edition, but Atlassian ended support for Jira Server on February 15, 2024, ceasing security updates, bug fixes, and technical support. Data Center, the remaining on-premises option, faces end of life by March 28, 2029, after which it becomes read-only with no new features or renewals past March 30, 2028. 

Organizations seeking a self-hosted replacement should consider tools like Easy8, which offers full on-premises deployment with Jira-compatible migration tools, customizable workflows, and ongoing support. 


What is the difference between Jira Server and Jira Data Center?

Jira Server and Jira Data Center both offered self-hosted deployments, but Server was designed for smaller teams with single-node setups and limited scalability, while Data Center provided enterprise-grade clustering, high availability, and support for thousands of users across multiple nodes. 

However, Jira Data Center has reached end of life as of March 2029, with no new licenses or renewals after March 2028, leaving organizations without ongoing Atlassian support or updates. 

For teams needing high-level security in a self-hosted environment, Easy8 stands out as a suitable replacement, featuring robust encryption, role-based access controls, GDPR compliance, and seamless Jira data migration for on-premises control.



Can Jira be installed on-premises?

Jira Data Center remains the only Atlassian-supported option for on-premises installation, deployable on your own physical hardware, virtual machines, or Kubernetes clusters. However, it faces end of life by March 2029, with no new licenses or renewals after March 2028, after which it becomes unsupported and read-only. 

Jira Server, the original self-hosted edition, ended support on February 15, 2024, and is no longer available for new deployments. 

For organizations requiring high-level security in a self-managed environment, Easy8 provides a robust on-premises alternative with enterprise-grade encryption, role-based access controls, GDPR compliance, and seamless Jira data migration tools. This ensures continued data sovereignty and ongoing updates without Atlassian's impending EOL constraints.

How do I migrate Jira data to a new server?

Migrating Jira data to a new server requires backing up the database, home directory, and installation files from the old server, then installing a fresh Jira instance on the new server and restoring the data. Perform this in a test environment first to verify compatibility and avoid production issues, especially given your prior Jira migration planning.

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