Let’s face it, Jira isn’t the best for making reporting simple.

Jira reporting is notoriously rigid and opaque.

No surprise, then, that there are dozens of tools on the market that aim to make reporting for Jira better.

But this is also a minefield – businesses routinely make the wrong tool choices for their business needs. I’ve worked at a start-up that chose Tableau for creating Jira dashboards – it was far too heavyweight and required too many specialist skills. Likewise, a large enterprise might choose a tool that is too lightweight and not customisable enough, and need to switch.

So I’ve compiled a list of some of the best Jira extensions and plugins for reporting and dashboards available for Jira software through the Atlassian marketplace, suitable for various business sizes and use cases.

1. Stepsize AI

The first Jira plugin on this list is specifically designed for modern product development teams. Traditionally, we’ve had to accept the trade-off between the usefulness of our reports, and the time and resource we have to burn to create what we need.

Today, we no longer need to accept this trade-off.

It observes everything happening in the relevant Jira board, and uses AI to develop context, understanding of sprint goals, and form connections between tasks and activities.

It uses this to generate automatic dashboards and reports with the data visualisation – the charts and metrics – you need, alongside accurate, concise commentary that ensures any stakeholder can understand what they need to take away.

‍Best features:

• Zero-setup – Accurate dashboards and reports with the right amount of detail, without lifting a finger.
• Context and commentary – metrics are meaningless without commentary. Understand what’s under the surface without chasing people for updates.
• Project summary – Uses your epic structures and AI-generated themes to group projects and help you work out what’s going on.
• Security-first – Your data’s safe, and is never used to train AI.

‍Ease of integration and setup: The Stepsize AI integration and setup is the most straightforward on this list, taking just a few clicks. You don’t need technical expertise to do either – the AI handles all the heavy lifting.

Pricing: $29 per Jira board per month

Verdict: Ideal for product development teams, especially at roughly 50-1000 companies. The Stepsize AI team are evangelists for the view that, today, product development teams no longer need to invest huge amounts of effort and money into the perfect reporting process. Manual reporting and manual alignment (and setting it all up) wastes time. Stepsize AI lets you get aligned without really doing anything at all.

Check out Stepsize AI here – you can get your first update based on your own team’s Jira data for free with no credit card required, and there’s a 2-week free trial.

2. eazyBI

eazyBI lets you create custom reports directly in Jira. You decide what you need to see, and use its report builder to handle the data crunching.

This “BI for Jira” tool gives Jira users access to custom charts, dashboards and calculations. Users say that to get the most out of the tool, you’ll need to spend some time working with it, but they have a support team available. Beginners can make some things work, but you might need experts in-house to really get it moving.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop report builder
• Integration with data sources, including SQL, Google Sheets, and Excel
• Advanced calculations and multi-dimensional analysis

Ease of integration and setup: Integrating with Jira is straightforward, and offers compatibility with various data sources and Jira apps. You’ll need some technical expertise to get the most out of your setup. They have a support team with a great reputation.

Pricing: Starts at $100/year for up to 10 users, ranging up to approximately $42,000 for up to 20,000 users.

Verdict: Ideal for organisations that are heavily invested in the Jira ecosystem and need detailed, custom reporting capabilities within the same environment. It takes effort and some skill to get the most out of it, which makes it better-suited to larger businesses with complex reporting needs.

Check out eazyBI here

3. Power BI

Power BI by Microsoft is hot for teams that are heavily invested in Microsoft products. It differs from others in its seamless compatibility with Microsoft ecosystems.

Power BI allows Jira reporting through advanced analytics capabilities. It's ideal for users familiar with Microsoft products, offering a smooth transition from Excel-based data management to more complex BI tasks.

Key features:

• Seamless integration with Microsoft Office suite
• Advanced data analytics and visualisation capabilities
• Real-time data processing and insights

Ease of integration and setup: Connect Jira through third-party add-ons. Setup is considered reasonably straightforward, but there are some challenges involved – particularly, you may need to master Data Analysis Expressions (DAX).

Pricing: Power BI offers competitive pricing, starting at $10 per user/month.

Verdict: Power BI is ideal for organisations already using Microsoft products, offering a familiar interface and easy integration. It might not be the first choice for companies looking for more advanced AI-driven analytics.

Learn more about Power BI from Microsoft.

4. BigQuery

BigQuery by Google is a serverless data warehouse solution, distinct for its ability to handle massive datasets and complex queries. It stands apart in its scalability and high-speed analytics.

It’s great for large-scale data with high efficiency and low operational overhead. It's suitable for teams with SQL expertise and requires more technical knowledge than some other tools.

Key features:

• High-speed analytics on large datasets
• Serverless architecture reducing management overhead
• Integration with Google Cloud's AI and ML tools

Ease of integration and setup: Integrating BigQuery with Jira can be technically challenging but is streamlined through third-party connectors. You’ll need technical expertise to set it up properly.

Pricing: BigQuery's pricing is usage-based, which can be economical for large-scale data operations. The cost varies based on data storage and query complexity.

Verdict: BigQuery is ideal for enterprises dealing with massive data sets and requiring quick analytics. It may be more suitable for smaller teams with the necessary technical expertise.

Learn more about BigQuery

5. Tableau

Tableau, now part of Salesforce, is known for its powerful data visualisation capabilities and intuitive user interface. It differs from others in its strong focus on interactive, visually appealing data presentations.

Tableau offers a range of tools for creating detailed, easy-to-understand visual representations of Jira data. Beginners can create simple dashboards, but getting the most out of the features or using advanced features requires technical skill.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop interface for creating visualisations
• Wide variety of visualisation options
• Ability to handle multiple data sources effectively

Ease of integration and setup: Tableau integrates with Jira through data warehouse connections or third-party tools. Some initial technical outlay is required, and further expertise to get set up properly.

Pricing: Users building dashboards will need a Tableau Creator license at $75/month. Users who just want to view and interact with dashboards could use an Explorer ($42/month) or Viewer ($15/month) license.

Verdict: Like others, Tableau has quite a learning curve, but is ideal for teams that prioritise data visualisation and have a varied skill set. It might not be the best fit for small teams without specialised skills, and, like others, might be overkill for small and medium teams.

Try Tableau here

6. Keypup

Keypup offers capabilities tailored explicitly for software teams using Jira. It can provide intelligent analytics and monitoring across multiple Jira sites.

Team members can build their ideal dashboard using pre-built metrics templates, customisable dashboards, and the ability to create unique metrics. 

‍Key features:

- Pre-built metrics templates and customisable dashboards

- Advanced data modelling for unified data analysis across multiple platforms

Ease of integration and setup: Keypup offers reasonably straightforward integration with multiple data sources.

Pricing: Try Keypup from $9/month for one Jira project or board, or for multiple projects, $800/month for 100 Jira projects or boards.

Verdict: Keypup is a choice for software development teams seeking a DIY solution that integrates with Jira. It’s relatively easy to use compared to others on this list, making it suitable for a wide range of software teams, from small startups to large enterprises, but you’ll still have to invest time and effort into setting up your dashboard.

Learn more about Keypup

7. Oracle Analytics

Oracle Analytics combines advanced analytics capabilities with machine learning to provide insights. It stands out for its AI-driven data analysis and comprehensive feature set.

This tool offers a robust platform for data analysis, integrating machine learning for predictive insights and natural language processing for ease of use.

‍Key features:

• AI-driven analytics and predictive modelling
• Integration with Oracle's extensive software ecosystem
• Natural language processing for easier data querying

Ease of integration and setup: Oracle Analytics integrates with Jira through direct methods or third-party connectors, accommodating both technical and less technical users. You’ll need technical expertise to get set up properly.

Pricing: Oracle offers a tiered pricing model, starting at $80 per user/month for the enterprise edition

Verdict: Oracle Analytics is well-suited for large enterprises seeking comprehensive, AI-powered data insights. Smaller businesses or those without Oracle's ecosystem might find it less appealing.

Try Oracle Analytics