All comparisons

BetterBoard vs Team-managed Jira boards

Jira's built-in board gets you started. BetterBoard gets you where you actually want to be — without leaving Jira or changing a thing.

BetterBoard board view Jira team-managed board Jira Board BetterBoard

Built-in Jira board

Team-managed board

The built-in Kanban or Scrum board for team-managed software spaces. The upgraded experience adds card customisation, local view controls, and saved admin defaults.

  • Advantage: No installation needed
  • Limitation: Columns locked to status only
  • Advantage: Expanded card fields and supported custom fields on upgraded boards
  • Limitation: Board controls use a supported set of fields rather than every custom field
  • Limitation: One board per space

Forge app · one-click install

BetterBoard

A Forge-native board inside your existing Jira space — same work items, same permissions, no migration required.

  • Advantage: Group columns by any field, not just status
  • Advantage: Configurable card fields, inline editable
  • Advantage: Bulk edit fields across multiple work items at once
  • Advantage: 25+ filter operators across every field
  • Advantage: Unlimited boards per space
  • Advantage: Real-time sync — changes appear instantly
  • Advantage: Keyboard-first, full command palette

Everything side by side.

A complete breakdown of what each board supports — from basic columns to advanced power features. Hover any row to see details.

Supported Limited Not available

Supported means the capability is available, including through the named plan or integration. Limited indicates a specific constraint described in the row. These are capability labels, not product scores.

Feature Team-managed board Built-in Jira BetterBoard Jira board app
Board basics
Multiple boards per space Create more than one board view in the same space
Not available: Can use one board per space.
Supported: Can create unlimited boards, each with its own settings.
Work from several spaces Pull work items from several spaces onto one board
Not available: Can only show work from one space.
Supported: Can show work from multiple spaces on one board.
Private boards Boards visible only to you
Not available: Shares the board with the space by default.
Supported: Can make each board private or shared.
Live updates Board reflects Jira changes instantly across all open boards
Limited: Checks for changes about every 30 seconds, but you must click to refresh.
Supported: Can show changes live without refreshing.
Columns & grouping
Column grouping field Choose which field creates the board columns
Not available: Can only create columns from statuses.
Supported: Can create columns from status, assignee, priority, sprint, or custom fields.
Map multiple values to one column Combine several statuses in one column
Supported: Can combine several statuses in one column.
Supported: Can combine several field values in one column.
Reorder columns Drag columns into your preferred order
Supported: Supported
Supported: Can drag columns into any order.
Cards & fields
Choose fields on cards Control which fields appear on each card face
Supported: Can show standard fields and supported date, dropdown, number, short-text, and timestamp fields on upgraded boards.
Supported: Can show most standard and custom fields.
Edit fields on cards Update a field without opening the work item
Limited: Can edit selected built-in fields on upgraded boards, but custom-field editing is more limited.
Supported: Can edit most fields directly on a card.
Bulk edit multiple work items Apply field changes to several cards at once
Limited: Cannot select cards for bulk editing on upgraded boards. Use Jira search bulk editing where available.
Supported: Can select several cards and edit them together.
Time in status See how long each work item has been in its current status
Not available: Not available
Supported: Can show this on each card.
Sorting & ordering
Sort cards within columns Control work item order inside each column
Limited: Can sort by manual rank only; the board’s base filter cannot be changed.
Supported: Can sort by any field and add further sorting rules.
Drag to reorder cards Reorder work items within a column by dragging
Supported: Supported
Supported: Can drag cards to reorder them and save that order in Jira.
Filtering
Filter work items on the board Show only matching tasks without changing board settings
Limited: Can filter by assignee, epic, label, type, status, and priority.
Supported: Can filter by any field with over 25 matching rules, such as equals or contains.
Saved filters per board Keep filters when you return to the board
Supported: Can save an admin default and make personal view changes on upgraded software boards, but cannot save these as multiple boards.
Limited: Can save different views as separate boards.
Shortcuts and tools
Keyboard shortcuts Navigate and update work items without a mouse
Limited: Can use basic navigation shortcuts only.
Supported: Can navigate the board by keyboard and find actions with the ⌘K menu.
Setup and hosting
Works without installation
Supported: Included in Jira; no installation needed.
Limited: Requires a Marketplace app installation.
Data stays in your Jira environment
Supported: Runs on Atlassian hosting.
Supported: Runs on Atlassian Forge within your Jira environment.

Boards & columns

The built-in board locks your columns to workflow status. BetterBoard lets you group by priority, assignee, sprint, component, or any custom option field. Drag an work item between columns and the field updates on it automatically in Jira.

Unlimited boards per space

One board per team, per workflow, per stakeholder — each with its own column setup, card fields, filters, and sort order. The built-in board gives you one.

Combine work items from multiple Jira spaces on a single board. Useful for cross-functional teams spanning software, service management, and product discovery.

Status mapping

When grouping by status, merge multiple statuses into one column — combine In Review and Waiting for Feedback so your board stays readable.

Cards & editing

Select multiple work items and update a field across all of them at once — reassign work, move to a sprint, change priority. What used to mean opening work items one by one now takes a single action.

Configurable card fields

Choose exactly which fields appear on every card — assignee, priority, labels, story points, due date, or any custom field your team uses.

Edit supported field chips on a card in place, including status, assignee, priority, labels, and supported custom fields, without opening the work item drawer.

Drag to update

Drag an work item to a different column and the underlying field updates automatically in Jira. No extra clicks, no confirmation dialogs.

Filters & sorting

The built-in board filters by assignee, label, and epic. BetterBoard gives you 25+ operators — date ranges, sprint membership, contains, empty/non-empty — across every field your space uses. Every filter is saved to the board automatically.

A board per view

Create a separate board for each filter configuration or team view. Each board keeps its own column setup, fields, and filters — so different workflows get their own dedicated space.

Time in status

See how long each work item has sat in its current status. Spot bottlenecks and ageing work at a glance — without leaving the board or running a separate report.

Order work items within columns by due date, priority, story points, or any custom field. Stack multiple sort levels to get exactly the order your workflow needs.

Sources and verification

Documentation reviewed September 12, 2026. Documentation research informs this comparison. Product editions, permissions, and rollout availability can affect the experience.

Your Jira space, exactly as it is. BetterBoard is just a better window into it.

No migration. No duplicate data. No new process to learn. Your work items, your fields, your workflows — shown the way you want them.

Ready to see the difference?

Free for teams up to 10 users. Includes a 30-day free trial. Install in one click from the Atlassian Marketplace.

Install BetterBoard free