Atlassian

Jira, Confluence & Trello

Project Management & Productivity
Subscription

For · Software development teams, IT departments and knowledge-intensive organisations

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Atlassian is the supplier behind Jira, Confluence, Trello, Bitbucket, and a range of other development and collaboration tools. In 2024, Atlassian completely discontinued the Server variant and forced all customers to migrate to Cloud or Data Center. This has led to significant price increases for many organisations still using Server.
Atlassian uses a tier-based pricing model: as the number of users grows, you pay per additional tier. This makes budgeting difficult and often results in unexpected jumps in invoices as teams expand.

Procurement considerations

Check your user tiers carefully
Atlassian uses broad user tiers (e.g. 801-1000 users). If you are close to the limit of a tier, removing a few inactive users can lead to significant savings.
Compare Cloud vs. Data Centre TCO
Data Centre is more expensive to buy but cheaper at high user counts. Have the Total Cost of Ownership over three years calculated before migrating.
Bundle products through the Atlassian Cloud Enterprise suite
If you use multiple Atlassian products (Jira + Confluence + Guard), bundle pricing is available. This is not always proactively offered.

Compliance risks

Mandatory cloud migration and data location
Atlassian Cloud stores data in AWS regions. Organisations with strict data residency requirements must negotiate specific contractual guarantees about the EU region.
Increasing dependency on the ecosystem
Many organisations are deeply embedded in the Atlassian ecosystem via Marketplace apps. Switching therefore becomes increasingly complex and costly — a deliberate vendor lock-in strategy.

Frequently asked questions about Atlassian

Frequently asked questions about Atlassian licences and procurement.

Is migration from Atlassian Server to Cloud more expensive?

For most organisations, yes, especially with large numbers of users. The switch from a one-off perpetual licence to an annual subscription model increases recurring costs. SoftVaro helps negotiate migration discounts and the optimal contract structure.

How does Atlassian’s tiered pricing work?

Atlassian charges per user band (e.g. 1-10, 11-25, 26-50, etc.). You always pay for the entire upper tier. So an organisation with 51 users pays for the 51-100 band. Active user management pays off hugely here.