What we switched to after Jira got too painful

At some point, every remote dev team asks the same question:

“Do we really need to keep using Jira?”

For us, that moment came when our sprint planning started feeling more like a team-building exercise in frustration. The interface was slow. The workflows felt like they were designed for someone else’s team. And the cost? It kept creeping up with every new teammate we added.

So we took a step back and looked for alternatives. But we didn’t just want any tool. We wanted something that:

Felt light and fast
Didn’t charge per user
Played well with remote workflows
Was open-source or easy to self-host
Let us actually enjoy task tracking again

If you’re in the same boat, here’s what we found after trying everything from the old legends to the newer kids on the block.

1. Plane.so: Notion meets Jira, but open-source

Plane was our surprise favorite. Imagine if Notion and Jira had a baby and then made it open-source and free for everyone.

We loved:

The clean, minimal UI
Built-in sprint and backlog views
Easy GitHub integration
The fact that we didn’t have to pay more as our team grew

Self-hosting was also a breeze. We used Kuberns for one-click deployment. no DevOps headaches, SSL handled, backups done, and auto-scaling out of the box.

It felt like… freedom.

2. Taiga: For when you just want clean agile boards

Taiga has been around for a while, but in 2025, it still holds up. It’s agile-focused (Scrum, Kanban) without the Jira-level complexity.

What worked well:

Clean sprint planning
Backlog management that made sense
Git integration that just worked
A UI that didn’t fight us

If you want an open-source agile tool that respects your time, this one’s worth trying.

3. OpenProject: When your PM wants roadmaps and Gantt charts

OpenProject isn’t the lightest tool on this list, but it’s powerful. Think Jira-level functionality, but with more transparency and self-hosting options.

What stood out:

Gantt charts, timelines, cost tracking
Roles and permissions that didn’t break our brains
A surprisingly usable UI for something this full-featured

For product teams that need more than just task boards, it’s a solid pick.

4. Redmine: The old guard that still holds up

Redmine’s been around forever, and yeah, the interface feels like it. But the power under the hood? Still legit.

Why it’s still on this list:

It handles multiple projects effortlessly
You can tweak it endlessly with plugins
It’s reliable, stable, and works

Would we use it for a brand-new startup in 2025? Maybe not. But for teams that want a proven system with total control, it still delivers.

5. Focalboard: For when you just want Kanban, nothing else

Sometimes, all you need is a board. No sprints, no epics, just a place to drag tasks from “To Do” to “Done.”

That’s where Focalboard shines.

Open-source and minimal
Easy to self-host
Built by the Mattermost team
Great for async remote teams

If your team outgrew Trello but isn’t ready for a full-on Jira replacement, this is a sweet middle ground.

Bonus: We didn’t want to manage servers, so we used Kuberns

All of these tools are open-source. That’s great. But installing, securing, and maintaining them?

Not so fun.

That’s why we ended up using Kuberns. It’s basically a DevOps autopilot that lets you:

Deploy open-source tools in one click
Skip the server setup and config
Get built-in backups, SSL, and monitoring
Scale your infra as your team grows

It’s like Heroku, but for serious dev tools — and way cheaper.

Don’t settle for bloated tools

Remote teams work differently. We communicate asynchronously, we value speed and clarity, and we don’t want to spend half our sprint managing the sprint tool.

If Jira works for you, that’s awesome.

But if you’ve ever thought “there has to be something better” — there is.

Actually, there are a bunch of better tools now. And most of them are open-source, remote-first, and ready to use.

Just don’t let the setup stop you. Use something like Kuberns to deploy in minutes and take the ops off your plate.

👉 Curious what stack other teams are using in 2025?

Drop a comment or better yet, tell us what you replaced Jira with.

Best Jira Alternatives for Remote Dev Teams in 2025?