Alternative
Jira Data Center alternative: EU-hosted
Jira Data Center reaches end of life on 28 March 2029. All deadlines at a glance — and which teams an EU-hosted kanban tool with sprints and git fits.
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Atlassian has sealed the end of Jira Data Center: since 30 March 2026 new customers can no longer buy Data Center subscriptions, and on 28 March 2029 every remaining subscription expires — instances go read-only. If your team ran Jira on-premise to keep data in your own hands, you now face a decision with a date on it. This page lays out the deadlines — and says honestly who Zuuna is an answer for, and who it is not.
What Atlassian is retiring — and when
The dates come from Atlassian's official end-of-life page (fetched 3 August 2026):
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 30 March 2026 | No new Data Center subscriptions for new customers — this date has already passed. An existing customer is anyone who ever paid for Data Center on or before that day. |
| 30 March 2028 | Last date for existing customers to buy new Data Center subscriptions, Marketplace apps or user-tier expansions. |
| 28 March 2029 | End of life: all Data Center subscriptions and their Marketplace apps expire; instances go read-only. |
| Exception | Bitbucket Data Center is excluded from the end of life and gets its own licensing option beyond 2029. |
Existing customers can keep renewing until the end — but no renewal reaches past 28 March 2029; it is prorated to that date. After end of life there are no updates and no security fixes, not even critical ones. Atlassian itself advises against keeping a read-only instance connected to the internet afterwards.
Why the forced cloud move worries many EU teams
Atlassian's answer to the Data Center retirement is its own cloud — with migration programmes, early-mover discounts and credits for unused Data Center term. Yet teams in Germany and the EU hesitate, for understandable reasons:
- A US provider. Atlassian offers a data processing agreement with standard contractual clauses and has joined the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The CLOUD Act and Schrems II debate remains all the same — and it is exactly where data protection officers and works councils ask their questions.
- Data residency with gaps. A Frankfurt region exists, but data residency requires at least the Standard plan and has to be actively configured — and it does not cover everything: data in transit, support access and above all Marketplace apps are excluded. For apps, each vendor decides where the data lives.
- Billing in US dollars. Atlassian invoices German customers in USD only — currency risk and procurement friction included.
- The price curve. Cloud list prices rose in October 2025 (Jira Standard to $9.05 per user per month), Data Center prices in February 2026 — Jira Data Center now costs $59,000 instead of $51,000 per year from 500 users (as of 3 August 2026). Whoever migrates, migrates into a pricing model with no on-premise way back.
Who Zuuna is the right answer for — and who it is not
The most important thing first: Zuuna is not a 1:1 replacement for Jira Data Center. Zuuna is a kanban tool hosted in Germany with sprints, backlog, planning poker, releases and git on the card — built for development teams, not for enterprise installations with ten thousand users.
A good fit if:
- your team is small to mid-sized and needs kanban plus sprints rather than configurable enterprise workflows,
- the real reason for on-premise was data sovereignty — Zuuna is hosted in Germany, with a DPA and prices in euros,
- git without a marketplace matters to you: commits, branches and releases land built into the card.
Not a fit if:
- your organisation has thousands of users, complex workflow schemes or Marketplace apps it cannot live without,
- you need a Gantt or timeline view — Zuuna does not have one.
On-premise? If data sovereignty was the real reason for Data Center, hosting in Germany with a DPA usually covers it. If it genuinely has to be your own infrastructure, self-hosting is available by arrangement — on an individual contract, not from the price list. Talk to us.
Zuuna vs Jira Data Center vs Atlassian Cloud
| Criterion | Zuuna | Jira Data Center (until 2029) | Atlassian Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating model | SaaS, no server of your own | Run and maintained by you | SaaS |
| Data location | Germany | Your data centre | Atlassian regions (US provider), Frankfurt configurable |
| Future | Actively developed | Read-only from 28 March 2029 | Actively developed |
| Git on the card | Built in — commit hook, any git host | Via Marketplace apps | Via Marketplace apps |
| Code graph | Yes | No | No |
| Releases bound to git tags + deploy button | Yes | Via add-ons | Via add-ons |
| Sprints, backlog, planning poker, refinement | Built in (Developer plan) | Sprints and backlog built in, poker via apps | Sprints and backlog built in, poker via apps |
| Marketplace apps | No | Yes — expire with the Data Center end in 2029 | Yes |
| DPA & GDPR | German provider, DPA included | Your responsibility | DPA with a US provider (standard contractual clauses) |
| Price | Developer: €24 per seat/month incl. VAT | From $59,000/year (500 users; as of Aug 2026) | Jira Standard: $9.05 per user/month (as of Aug 2026) |
What you give up by switching
Honesty belongs on a page like this — Jira Data Center can do things Zuuna cannot and does not aim to:
- The Marketplace ecosystem. Thousands of apps for every edge case. Zuuna has no marketplace — what is built in is all there is.
- Deep workflow customisation. Schemes, scripting, per-project field configurations — Zuuna does not replicate that enterprise toolbox.
- Scale to thousands of users. A 10,000-seat installation is not our league.
And concretely on our side: Zuuna has no Gantt or timeline view, and card relations are links without enforced dependencies.
The migration in practice
A traceable path in four steps:
- Export your issues from Jira as CSV or Excel.
- Upload the file. The Jira export is recognised and the mapping is already filled in — you check the preview and commit. Limits per file: 15 MB, 10,000 rows, 50 columns. Or skip the file entirely: a Data Center instance whose REST API is reachable can be connected directly, with an API token instead of an export.
- Group-wide issue keys keep card IDs stable — even as work moves between boards.
- Drop the commit hook into your repository — from then on, commits link themselves to their cards.
Sprints, git, releases, the API and webhooks live in the Developer plan at €24 per seat per month (incl. VAT) — all plans on the pricing page.
Next steps
- Zuuna vs Jira — the feature comparison in detail.
- GDPR-compliant project management — what hosting in Germany means in practice.
- Project management for developers — sprints, git and releases at a glance.
Other self-hosted candidates
If the Data Center end-of-life is forcing a re-evaluation anyway, the open-source side is worth a look too: OpenProject alternatives.
What the switch costs
The number that decides it is your own: enter seats and a plan and put it against your current annual invoice — in the cost calculator, no signup.
The migration walkthrough
Step by step, including the Data Center note about wiki markup: migrate from Jira to Zuuna.
FAQ
When exactly does Jira Data Center end?
On 28 March 2029 all Data Center subscriptions and their Marketplace apps expire; instances go read-only. New customers have been unable to buy since 30 March 2026, existing customers can still expand until 30 March 2028 — and renewals never reach past the end-of-life date.
Can I self-host Zuuna?
By arrangement, on an individual contract — it is not a self-service item on the price list, because operations, updates and support take a different shape. For most requirements that come out of data protection, though, running in Germany with a DPA under Art. 28 GDPR is enough. If you have a genuine air-gap mandate — no route out at all — then OpenProject, Redmine or GitLab Self-Managed are the more honest recommendation.
Can I import my issues from Jira?
Yes, and for Data Center usually without a file: if your instance's REST API is reachable, connect it with an API token and pick the project. Otherwise use the „Excel CSV (all fields)“ export, uploaded with the mapping already filled in; limits per file: 15 MB, 10,000 rows, 50 columns. Comments, checklists, sprints, epics, sub-tasks and logged work come across, as do attachment names and links — the files themselves stay in Jira. One caveat specific to Data Center: descriptions arrive as readable text without formatting, because Data Center returns wiki markup rather than the newer format.
Where does my data live, and do I get a DPA?
Zuuna is hosted in Germany, prices are in euros, and you get a data processing agreement (DPA) directly from the provider.
Which plan do I need for sprints, git and releases?
The Developer plan at €24 per seat per month (incl. VAT). It includes sprints, backlog, planning poker, releases, git integration, the API and webhooks.