Best Issue Tracking Software

Redmine is a free and open source, web-based project management and issue tracking application built on Ruby on Rails and released under the GNU General Public License v2. It supports multiple projects with role-based access control, a flexible issue tracker, Gantt charts and calendars, per-project wikis and forums, time tracking, and custom fields for issues, projects, and users.

Redmine integrates with version control systems including Git, Subversion, CVS, Mercurial, and Bazaar, and supports issue creation by email, LDAP authentication, and user self-registration. Since it is open source, there is no license cost; teams download and self-host it, and functionality can be extended with over 1,000 community plugins covering everything from Kanban boards to invoicing and CRM.

MantisBT, also known as Mantis Bug Tracker, is a free and open source web-based issue tracking system written in PHP and released under the GNU General Public License. It is commonly used to track software defects but is flexible enough to serve as a general purpose issue tracker, with role-based access control, customizable workflows, full bug history tracking, and a plugin system for extending functionality.

Because MantisBT is open source, there is no license fee; teams self-host it on their own Linux, Windows, or macOS server running PHP with MySQL, MS SQL, or PostgreSQL. It supports an interface in around 50 languages and sends configurable email notifications, making it a long standing choice for technical teams that want full control over their bug tracker. Managed hosting is also offered by third parties as an alternative to self-hosting.

Linear is a project and issue tracking application built for software teams that value speed and a minimal, keyboard-driven interface. Work is organized around Issues, time-boxed Cycles for sprint style planning, longer-running Projects, and cross-team Roadmaps, with native GitHub and GitLab integration that links commits and pull requests to issues automatically.

Linear offers a free plan with unlimited members, two teams, and 250 issues, alongside paid Basic and Business plans billed per user per month on annual billing, plus a custom Enterprise plan with SAML, SCIM, and dedicated support. Registered non-profits receive a 75 percent discount and eligible students get discounted access through Linear's education program.

Shortcut is a project management and issue tracking platform built specifically for software development teams. Work is organized into Stories, Epics, and Iterations, with Kanban boards, sprint planning, roadmaps, and reporting to help engineering and product teams plan and ship software, and it includes AI-assisted story creation and point estimation based on historical velocity.

The platform offers a free plan for teams of up to ten users alongside paid Team and Business tiers billed per user per month, with discounts for annual billing. Shortcut integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Slack, and Figma, and its Enterprise tier adds SSO, SCIM, premier support with SLAs, and volume discounts for larger organizations.

GitLab Issues is the issue tracking and planning feature built into the GitLab DevSecOps platform, used to propose features, report bugs, and organize tasks alongside GitLab's source code management and CI/CD pipelines. Issues support labels, milestones, iterations, weight, health status, and issue boards for Kanban and Scrum style workflows.

GitLab is priced across Free, Premium, and Ultimate tiers, available as GitLab.com SaaS, GitLab Dedicated single-tenant hosting, or self-managed installation. Core issue tracking and issue boards are available on the Free tier, while Premium and Ultimate unlock advanced planning features like epics, multiple issue boards, and portfolio-level value stream management.

ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity platform that combines task management, documents, whiteboards, goals, and time tracking in a single workspace. It offers more than fifteen ways to view work including List, Board, Gantt, Calendar, and Mind Map, along with automations, custom fields, and native chat, aiming to replace multiple separate tools with one connected system.

ClickUp is used by individuals, startups, and large enterprises alike, with a Free Forever plan and paid Unlimited, Business, and Enterprise tiers priced per user per month. It connects with more than a thousand third-party tools including Slack, Google Workspace, and GitHub, and offers optional AI add-ons for writing, automation, and workspace-wide search on top of any plan.

Backlog is a project management and collaboration platform built by Nulab that combines task tracking, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and version control in one workspace. Teams use it to plan projects, assign issues, track bugs, and manage code with built in Git and Subversion repositories, all under a single flat-rate subscription rather than per-user pricing.

The platform suits software teams, marketing groups, and cross-functional organizations that want project management and issue tracking together. Paid plans add Gantt and burndown charts, custom fields, subtasks, and an AI assistant, while an Enterprise tier adds SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, audit logs, and self-hosted deployment for organizations with stricter security requirements.

Bugzilla is a free, open source, web-based bug and issue tracking system originally developed by Netscape and released by the Mozilla project in 1998. It is used by large open source projects including Mozilla, LibreOffice, Apache, and the Linux kernel to manage defect reports, with powerful Boolean search charts, product and component management, milestones, and time tracking.

Because Bugzilla is fully open source, there is no vendor license fee; teams download and self-host it on their own infrastructure at no cost. The project is independently funded through community sponsorship. Its interface is dated compared to modern trackers, but it remains valued for its search power, email integration, and long track record on large scale software projects.

Zoho BugTracker is a cloud-based issue tracking tool designed to help software teams record, prioritize, and resolve bugs. It lets teams create custom workflows, set business rules and SLA automation, log time against issues, and generate reports on bug status, and it connects with GitHub, Bitbucket, and other Zoho apps such as Zoho Invoice and Zoho CRM.

Built for small teams as well as growing organizations, Zoho BugTracker offers a free plan for up to three users alongside paid Standard and Premium tiers priced per user per month billed annually. Higher tiers unlock custom fields, custom roles, webhooks, custom functions, and personalized email intake, with mobile apps available for iOS and Android.

GitHub Issues is the built-in issue tracking and lightweight project management feature of GitHub, used to track bugs, feature requests, and tasks directly alongside a repository's code. Issues can be organized into tables, boards, and roadmap views through GitHub Projects, with custom fields, sub-issues, labels, and milestones, and automated using GitHub Actions.

GitHub Issues and Projects are included free with every GitHub account, including free public and private repositories. GitHub itself is priced across Free, Team, and Enterprise tiers based mainly on repository features like code owners, required reviewers, and SSO rather than issue tracking specifically, since core issue tracking is available at every tier.