If you’ve been a Scrum Master for a while, you’ve probably used Jira at some point. It’s the industry standard. But after using both and running over 100+ sprints, I prefer Zenhub all day everyday.
Here’s why 👇
Jira: The Heavyweight 🏋️
Jira is powerful, no doubt. You can customize everything: workflows, issue types, automations, integrations…
But here’s the catch:
- Customization comes with complexity
- Teams often need an admin just to manage workflows
- It’s slower to get non-technical teammates onboard
- And honestly? Jira fatigue is real — too many clicks, too many fields
If your organization is huge and needs strict reporting, Jira works. But for a lean Scrum team, it’s often overkill.
Zenhub: The Lightweight 🪶
Zenhub, on the other hand, sits inside GitHub. That’s the magic.
What I loved right away:
- No extra tool: everything happens in GitHub (where devs already live)
- Boards and Epics are simple, fast, and intuitive
- Great for smaller to mid-sized teams who don’t want Jira’s overhead
- Sprint Planning, Roadmaps, and Reporting are all built-in
It’s not as customizable as Jira — but that’s the point. The simplicity forces focus, especially for teams that use GitHub.
Why I Switched ⚡
After 100+ sprints the features we actually used could be done in Zenhub — without the bloat.
With Zenhub:
- Planning was faster — backlog refinement felt lighter
- The direct integration with GitHub issues meant that we had one source of truth
- The reports are really good without drowning us in settings
- The team spent less time updating tickets, more time shipping code
And for me as a Scrum Master? Less time configuring workflows, more time facilitating and coaching.
Should You Switch? 🤔
If your team is already deep in Jira, switching isn’t always realistic. But if:
- You’re starting a new team
- You’re already on GitHub
- You want to reduce tool fatigue
…then Zenhub is absolutely worth trying.
Wrapping Up 🎯
Jira is powerful but heavy. Zenhub is lighter, faster, and — for many Scrum teams — more practical.
That’s why I chose Zenhub. It gave me back time, energy, and focus on what really matters: helping my team deliver.
💡 If you’re a Scrum Master using Zenhub, I built a Zenhub Agile Toolkit — including checklists, guides, and templates I’ve refined across 100+ sprints. It’s in PDF format, ready to use.
👉 Zenhub Agile Toolkit for Scrum Masters
What’s your take — are you Team Jira, Team Zenhub, or somewhere in between? Let me know in the comments 👇
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