Choose Kendis if
- You need PI Planning, dependencies, objectives and risks working this quarter.
- You want to pay per planner and see the price before talking to sales.
- You want to trial with real data for two PIs before any purchase.
- Your data has to stay in the EU with a European hosting provider.
- Your teams are split between Jira and Azure DevOps.
Choose Jira Align if
- You need portfolio funding, budgets and forecast against actual spend in the same tool.
- You are standardising strategy, workforce planning and delivery on Atlassian Cloud.
- You run several scaling frameworks and want one enterprise model above them.
- You already hold Jira Cloud Premium and an enterprise agreement with Atlassian.
What is the best Jira Align alternative for PI Planning?
Kendis is a strong Jira Align alternative when the goal is PI Planning and program-level tracking. It offers a program board, dependencies, PI Objectives, ROAM risks and a confidence vote on top of Jira or Azure DevOps, from $14 per user per month, with six months free. Jira Align is the better fit when portfolio financials and enterprise strategy are the main requirement.
The two products are built for different jobs. Atlassian describes Jira Align as a way to "connect enterprise strategy to team-level delivery" across "portfolios, programs, and value streams."[1] It is shown as "Align" in the Atlassian Strategy Collection. Kendis is a planning and tracking layer for Agile Release Trains and Solution Trains. Many organisations that look for an alternative do so because they want the program layer first and do not need the portfolio platform around it yet.
Kendis vs Jira Align at a glance
| Kendis | Jira Align | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | PI Planning and tracking for ARTs and Solution Trains | Enterprise portfolio, program and value stream planning[1] |
| Pricing | $14 per user per month billed annually, $16 monthly. You license the people who plan, not every Jira user. Pricing | Sold as part of the Strategy Collection with Focus and Talent. Published tier: $77,400 per year for 1 to 50 users. Larger tiers through sales.[2] |
| Free trial | 6 months free, no credit card | No. "Strategy Collection does not offer a free trial."[2] |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Annual only[2] |
| Prerequisites | A Jira or Azure DevOps backlog | Jira Cloud Premium is the minimum requirement for the Strategy Collection[2] |
| Deployment | Cloud or self-hosted on your own infrastructure | Strategy Collection is cloud only.[2] A self-hosted Jira Align is documented separately.[3] |
| Hosting region | Your choice at signup: EU (OVHcloud, Frankfurt) or US (AWS) | Current regions are not listed in the Atlassian pages we reviewed. Ask Atlassian. |
| ALM integration | Jira Cloud, Jira Data Center, Azure DevOps and TFS, two-way | Jira Cloud and Data Center[4], Azure DevOps[5] |
| Security | ISO/IEC 27001 certified, GDPR compliant, DORA Schedule available | Listed among the products on Atlassian's ISO/IEC 27001 page[6] |
How do Kendis and Jira Align compare on PI Planning features?
Both tools cover the core of PI Planning: a program board, dependencies, PI Objectives, ROAM risks, capacity and predictability. Jira Align adds portfolio budgeting and financials. Kendis adds a built-in confidence vote and a six-month trial that makes the comparison easy to run yourself.
| Feature | Kendis | Jira Align |
|---|---|---|
| Program board | Yes. Program board with team rows and iteration columns | Yes. Shows "features, dependencies, objectives and milestones"[7] |
| Dependency management | Yes. Lines on the board, list view, dependency wheel, due dates and alerts | Yes. Dependency links on the program board[7] |
| PI Objectives with business value | Yes. Planned and actual business value, linked to features and stories | Yes. Planned and delivered value by objective[8] |
| ROAM risks | Yes. ROAM risk register linked to features | Yes. Risk ROAM report[9] |
| Confidence vote | Yes. Per team and for the whole PI | Not documented |
| Capacity and load | Yes. Capacity per team per iteration against planned load | Yes. Capacity in member weeks or points[10] |
| Predictability reporting | Yes. Predictability and performance reports | Yes. Program predictability report[11] |
| Inspect and Adapt | Yes. Inspect and Adapt module with PI comparisons | Yes[12] |
| Solution Train / multi-ART | Yes. Solution board across ARTs, mixing Jira and Azure DevOps boards | Yes. Portfolios, solutions, programs and teams[13] |
| OKRs | Yes. OKRs and strategic themes | Yes[14] |
| Portfolio budgets and financials | No. Roadmaps, strategic themes and OKRs, without budgets or financials | Yes. Budget allocation to strategic themes in the portfolio room[15] |
When is Jira Align the better choice?
Choose Jira Align when the problem you are solving is at portfolio level: allocating budget to strategic themes, tracking forecast against actual spend, and reporting on strategy across many programs in one model.
- Portfolio financials. Jira Align documents budget allocation to strategic and investment themes in its portfolio room.[15] Kendis does not do budgeting.
- Framework breadth. Atlassian positions it for SAFe, Scrum@Scale, LeSS, Disciplined Agile, Spotify, custom and hybrid models.[1]
- The Atlassian strategy stack. It is bundled with Focus for strategic planning and Talent for workforce planning, with seats shared across all three.[2]
- A stable on-premise path. Jira Align Data Center is excluded from Atlassian's Data Center end of life.[16]
If those are your requirements, Jira Align is designed for them and Kendis is not a like-for-like replacement.
Why do teams choose Kendis instead of Jira Align?
Teams choose Kendis when they want PI Planning running quickly, at a cost they can see up front, without a platform programme. The usual reasons are price transparency, the six-month trial, per-planner licensing and EU hosting.
You can see the price and start today
Kendis publishes its price: $14 per user per month on annual billing, or $16 monthly. The only public Jira Align figure is $77,400 per year for the 1 to 50 user tier of the Strategy Collection, billed annually, with no free trial and Jira Cloud Premium as a prerequisite.[2] With Kendis there is no implementation project and no setup fee. You connect Jira or Azure DevOps and plan.
You license planners, not the organisation
A 100-person ART typically needs 15 to 25 Kendis users: the RTE, product management, Scrum Masters, architects and a representative per team. At 25 users on annual billing that is $4,200 per year. Everyone else keeps working in Jira or Azure DevOps and their work still appears on the board.
Two full PIs before you decide
The Kendis trial lasts six months, which covers two planning events and the execution between them. That is enough to judge the tool on predictability and scope change, the things that only show after a PI closes.
EU hosting with a European provider
Kendis lets you choose the European Cloud at signup: OVHcloud in Frankfurt, with project data stored and processed in the EEA and no US cloud provider in the hosting chain. It costs the same as US hosting. See security and compliance for ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR and the DORA Schedule.
How do you try Kendis alongside Jira Align?
You do not need to replace anything to evaluate Kendis. It reads from and writes to the Jira or Azure DevOps backlog you already have, so you can run it next to Jira Align for a PI and compare the two on real work.
- Sign up for the six-month free trial and pick EU or US hosting. No credit card is asked for.
- Connect Jira or Azure DevOps and choose the boards or projects for one Agile Release Train.
- Load the features for the next PI with a JQL filter or Azure DevOps query. Linked stories come in with them.
- Run PI Planning on the board: capacity, dependencies, objectives, ROAM and the confidence vote.
- Track the PI against the planning baseline, then decide with two PIs of evidence.
If you already run Jira Align for portfolio work, Kendis can cover the program layer for the trains that need it, since both read the same Jira or Azure DevOps data.
Try Kendis free for 6 months
Kendis is a PI Planning and tracking platform that sits on top of Jira and Azure DevOps. The free trial runs for six months, long enough to plan and track two full PIs with your real backlog before anyone has to approve a budget.
- 6 months free, no credit card
- Choose EU hosting (OVHcloud, Frankfurt) or US hosting (AWS)
- Planning board, dependencies, PI objectives, ROAM risks, solution boards
- Two-way sync with Jira Cloud, Jira Data Center and Azure DevOps
- ISO/IEC 27001 certified, GDPR compliant, DORA Schedule available
- No user caps and no setup costs during the trial
One trial per organisation that has not used Kendis in the last twelve months. After the trial, Premium Cloud is $14 per user per month billed annually, or $16 monthly, and you license only the people who plan. SSO, Kendis AI and premium support are part of paid plans. See pricing and the free trial terms.
Compare Kendis with other PI Planning tools
New to the topic? Read the PI Planning guide or the scaling agile guide.
Kendis vs Jira Align: frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Jira Align?
For PI Planning and program-level tracking, Kendis is a direct alternative: program board, dependencies, PI Objectives, ROAM risks and confidence vote on top of Jira or Azure DevOps. For portfolio budgeting and financials, Jira Align remains the more complete tool.
How much does Jira Align cost compared with Kendis?
Atlassian sells Jira Align as part of its Strategy Collection. The published tier is $77,400 per year for 1 to 50 users, billed annually, with larger tiers through sales. Kendis Premium Cloud is $14 per user per month on annual billing or $16 monthly, and you license only the people who plan.
Does Jira Align have a free trial?
No. Atlassian states that the Strategy Collection, which includes Jira Align, does not offer a free trial. Kendis is free for six months with no credit card required.
Can I buy Jira Align on its own?
For new purchases, Atlassian says Strategy Collection seats are bought at the collection level and include Focus, Talent and Jira Align. Jira Cloud Premium is the minimum requirement.
Is Jira Align affected by the Atlassian Data Center end of life?
No. Atlassian states that Jira Align Data Center is not included in the Data Center end of life. Jira Software Data Center is included, with subscriptions expiring on 28 March 2029.
Does Kendis work with Jira the way Jira Align does?
Yes. Kendis syncs two-way with Jira Cloud and Jira Data Center, and also with Azure DevOps. Features and stories planned on the Kendis board are written to Jira, and changes in Jira appear on the board.
Is there a Jira Align alternative hosted in the EU?
Yes. Kendis offers a European Cloud on OVHcloud in Frankfurt, Germany, with project data stored and processed in the EEA. You choose it at signup and it costs the same as US hosting.
Does Kendis replace Jira Align for portfolio management?
Not for financials. Kendis covers roadmaps, strategic themes and OKRs in its ORG Views plan, but it does not do budgeting or spend tracking. Organisations that need those keep Jira Align or another portfolio tool.
Sources
Every external claim in this guide links to the primary source below. All links were checked on 12 October 2026.
- Atlassian. Jira Align product page.
- Atlassian. Strategy Collection pricing.
- Atlassian. Jira Align Self-Hosted Guide overview.
- Atlassian. Jira integration prerequisites (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Jira Align and Azure DevOps integration overview.
- Atlassian. ISO/IEC 27001 compliance.
- Atlassian. Program board (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Progress by objective (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Risk ROAM report (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Capacity planning in Jira Align.
- Atlassian. Program predictability (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Inspect and adapt for SAFe (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Manage Jira multi-program features (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Objectives and key results overview (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Portfolio room (Jira Align).
- Atlassian. Data Center end of life.
How this comparison was made: statements about Jira Align come from the vendor's own website, documentation and marketplace listing, linked above and checked on 12 October 2026. Statements about Kendis come from Kendis. Products change, so if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it. All product names are trademarks of their respective owners.