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RequestCrew vs. Jira Service Management
Jira Service Management is Atlassian’s service desk, built on Jira and priced per agent. RequestCrew is a flat-priced helpdesk for small and mid-sized teams. Here’s how they compare, and when Jira is the better pick.
The short version
Jira Service Management grew out of Jira, the tool a lot of software teams use to track their work. If your developers already live in Jira and you want service tickets tied to their work, or you need formal change and problem management, it’s built for that.
If what you need is a helpdesk that does tickets, request forms, approvals, SLAs, and a knowledge base really well, without a lot of setup, at one flat price for your whole team, that’s RequestCrew. Jira charges for each agent, and some features need a higher plan. Their current prices are on Atlassian’s pricing page.
Running Jira on your own server?
Atlassian is retiring Data Center, the version of Jira you run yourself. New customers couldn’t buy it after March 30, 2026. Existing customers can’t add to it after March 30, 2028. And on March 28, 2029, it goes read-only, with no more updates or security fixes. The dates are on Atlassian’s end of life page.
So if your service desk runs on your own server, it’s moving somewhere before then, either to Atlassian’s cloud or to something else. If you’re moving anyway, it’s a good time to ask whether you need everything Jira does.
One honest note: RequestCrew is hosted too, so it won’t keep you on your own server. Your Active Directory sign-in still works through a small agent on one of your servers, which only connects out.
Side by side
| RequestCrew | Jira Service Management | |
|---|---|---|
| How it’s priced | Flat by plan: up to 5, 15, or 40 techs. Team and Organization can add techs 10 at a time. | Free for up to 3 agents, then per agent, per month on Standard and Premium. Enterprise is yearly, through sales. |
| People asking for help | Unlimited, free | Unlimited, free |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 14 days on Standard or Premium, no card |
| Problem and change management | Not included | Premium plan and up |
| Equipment tracking | The inventory add-on, one flat price for your plan | Standard and up, with a set number of items included on each plan |
| Company sign-in | Microsoft 365, Google, Okta, AD FS, or your Windows network, on every plan | SAML single sign-on with a separate Atlassian Guard subscription, or on Enterprise |
| AI help | Off unless you turn it on with your own Claude or Azure OpenAI account | Rovo on paid plans, with a monthly allowance per user |
| Running it on your own server | Not offered. We host it. | Data Center, which goes read-only on March 28, 2029 |
| Discount for schools, government, and nonprofits | 20% off yearly plans | Check with Atlassian |
What you get with RequestCrew
- Flat pricing by plan: $79 a month for up to 5 techs, $179 for up to 15, $349 for up to 40. Everyone who asks for help is free.
- 20% off yearly plans for government, schools, and nonprofits, with invoices you can pay against a purchase order.
- Every helpdesk feature on every plan: request forms, routing, approvals, SLAs, a knowledge base (public articles too), reports, and surveys.
- Equipment inventory and contract renewals when you want them, as add-ons priced by your plan, not per item.
- Sign-in with Microsoft 365, Google, Okta, AD FS, or your Windows network through a small on-site agent.
- Built-in email from day one, plus Slack and Teams. No ads, ever.
- Remote support from the ticket with your own Zoho Assist or TeamViewer account, at no extra cost.
- Your own database and files, never shared with another customer, backed up every 15 minutes with encrypted copies off the server.
- Download everything (tickets, people, articles, files) whenever you want. Your data is yours.
- Help from the person who built it.
When Jira Service Management is the better pick
- Your developers already work in Jira, and you want service tickets linked to theirs.
- You need formal change and problem management, or a full configuration database.
- You have three agents or fewer, and Jira’s free plan covers what you need.
- You have well over 200 techs.
Moving over
Export your issues from Jira as a CSV file and RequestCrew’s import brings in your old tickets, with a preview and an undo. You match Jira’s columns to ours on the preview. Jira puts every comment on a ticket side by side in one row, so the replies take a little reshaping first. Or have us do all of it as part of setup help.
Questions people ask
We just use regular Jira for IT tickets. Is this for us?
It might be. Plain Jira is built for tracking software work, so staff who need help usually end up emailing someone or filling in a screen made for developers. RequestCrew gives them a simple form, a way to follow along, and nothing else to learn.
Can our developers keep using Jira?
Yes. Nothing about RequestCrew needs Jira to go away. Your developers keep their Jira, and everyone asking for help uses the helpdesk.
What would 15 techs cost on RequestCrew?
The Team plan: $179 a month, or $1,790 a year. Schools, government, and nonprofits pay $1,432 a year. That’s every helpdesk feature, with as many people asking for help as you like.
Is RequestCrew ITIL?
It covers the parts most small and mid-sized teams use every day: incidents and requests, approvals, SLAs, a knowledge base, and outages handled as one main ticket with the rest linked to it. It doesn’t do formal change, problem, or release management.
How long does switching take?
Most teams can be taking tickets the same day. Sign-in and email take the longest, and the built-in guides walk you through both. Bringing over old tickets can come later.
Try it with your own team
Start a free 30-day trial with your own helpdesk and your own people. No card needed. Or click around the demo first: it’s the real thing with made-up data.
What we say about other products here was checked in November 2026 from their pricing pages and published reviews. Plans and prices change, so check with them before you decide. Jira and Jira Service Management are trademarks of their owner. RequestCrew isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by them.