Moving from Jira to Redmine: Jira's core objects have clean Redmine equivalents; Jira's automation layer and Atlassian-ecosystem dependencies do not, and those are the parts that need planning rather than scripting. Here is what maps, what doesn't, and how to think about the cost.
This page is about moving from Jira to Redmine — a direction worth saying out loud, because search results for this phrase are full of pages selling the opposite move. Most Jira-to-Redmine migrations happen for one of two reasons: the per-seat bill stopped making sense as the team grew, or Server end-of-life forced a decision that turned into a wider re-evaluation. RedminePRO migrates from Jira as part of our done-for-you Redmine migration service.
Per-seat cost at scale. Jira is priced per user; Redmine is open source and managed Redmine hosting is generally priced by capacity band rather than per head. With per-seat pricing, adding a contractor, a read-only stakeholder or a QA team of eight is a line-item conversation with finance. RedminePRO is $24/month for up to 25 users, $49 for up to 100, and $169 for up to 250, with unlimited projects. Jira's Premium rate is $13.53/user/month (verified 29 July 2026); its Standard rate is lower but Atlassian gates the figure, so check atlassian.com and do the multiplication for your headcount. The full breakdown is on Jira alternative without per-user pricing.
Server end-of-life and the move it forced. Atlassian ended support for Jira Server in February 2024, which left self-hosting customers choosing between Cloud and Data Center — both price increases for most teams, and both a migration. Once a team is being made to migrate anyway, the question stops being “Cloud or Data Center” and becomes “is Jira still the right tool”, which is why a large share of Jira-to-Redmine moves are people who were perfectly happy on Server.
You wanted the data on your terms. Redmine is open source, its schema is documented, and its data is a PostgreSQL or MySQL database plus a files directory. Nobody has to approve an export.
The objects people actually work with translate almost one-to-one, because both tools are issue trackers with the same underlying model. Migrated with high fidelity:
| Jira | Redmine | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Project | Direct |
| Project key | Project identifier | Lowercased; must be unique |
| Issue type | Tracker | Trackers created to match your types |
| Summary | Subject | Direct |
| Description | Description | ADF/wiki markup converted; complex macros degrade |
| Status | Status | Statuses recreated; transition matrix rebuilt per role |
| Resolution | Status or custom field | Redmine has no separate resolution concept |
| Priority | Priority | Mapped to Redmine's priority enumeration |
| Assignee / Reporter | Assignee / Author | Requires the user to exist in Redmine |
| Labels | Tags (plugin) or list field | Redmine core has no labels |
| Components | Issue categories | Per-project, same as Jira |
| Fix Version | Target version | Direct |
| Epic Link | Parent task or custom field | Depends on whether epics are issues |
| Sub-task / Issue links | Subtask / Related issues | Link types mapped to Redmine relations |
| Story points | Numeric custom field | Direct once the field is created |
| Sprint | Version or board field | Depends on how you want to work after |
| Estimate | Estimated time | Redmine has one estimate field, not two |
| Worklog | Time entry | Including comment and activity type |
| Comments / Attachments | Journal notes / Attachments | Author and timestamp preserved |
| Change history | Journal entries | Preserved where the target field exists |
| Automation rule | — | Rebuilt as workflow rules, or dropped |
| JQL filter / Dashboard | — | Rebuilt |
| Confluence page | Wiki page | Separate migration |
The process is the same six steps as any Redmine migration: assessment, audit, dry run, validation, cutover, post-cutover support. The Jira-specific differences:
1. We work from a Jira export or API extraction, not a database dump. Jira Cloud does not give you the database, but the REST API exposes everything on the list above — so the extraction is a scripted read, and API rate limits set the pace on very large instances.
2. Mapping decisions come before extraction. Trackers, statuses, priorities and custom-field types are decided with you, in writing, before anything is loaded. This is the meeting where the “what doesn't map” list turns into concrete decisions.
3. Validation is longer than for a Redmine-to-Redmine move. You are not checking that a copy matches an original; you are checking that a translation reads correctly. Plan for someone from each team to spend real time in the dry-run instance.
4. Run both in parallel for a period. Keep Jira read-only for a while after cutover. It costs one more billing cycle and removes all of the risk.