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What a test management app adds to Jira, the two choices that shape how your team works, how AIO Tests, Xray, Zephyr, QMetry and TestRail differ day to day, and a seven-step plan for trying two of them on a real sprint.
Most teams start testing in Jira with whatever is at hand: a spreadsheet linked from the story, a "Test" issue type, a checklist in the description. It works for a while. Then the team grows, regression takes a week, and before a release nobody can say for sure which stories were tested and which bugs are still open.
That's usually when someone goes looking for a test management tool. This guide is for that person: a QA lead or engineering manager whose team already works in Jira. It covers what these tools add, the differences you'll notice once you use one every day, and a simple way to try two of them on a real sprint before you commit.
We make AIO Tests, so we describe it first and in the most detail. What we say about other tools comes from their Marketplace listings, their pricing pages and hands-on checks our product team ran in October 2026. Where we haven't checked something, we say so.
What a test management app adds to Jira
Jira is good at tracking work. It has nowhere to keep a test case, record a test run or show which tests passed for a release. A test management app adds those pieces, and you'll notice them as answers to questions your team asks every week:
Two choices that shape daily work
Tests as Jira issues, or tests inside the app
Some apps store every test as a Jira issue. Xray does this, with Test, Test Set, Test Plan and Test Execution issue types. You can search tests with JQL and put them on boards. In exchange, test items show up in your backlog and issue search, and your Jira admin sets up issue types, coverage and defect mapping in each project.
Other apps, AIO Tests among them, keep tests inside the app and link them to stories and bugs. Your backlog stays as it is, and a new project works as soon as the app is enabled.
A useful way to decide: think about who needs to see test results. If it's mostly testers, either approach works. If developers and product owners should see test status without learning another tool, check what each app shows on the Jira story itself.
An app inside Jira, or a separate tool
Apps from the Atlassian Marketplace run inside Jira. Separate tools such as TestRail have their own website and link results and bugs back to Jira. A separate tool makes sense if you also test products that don't live in Jira. The cost is that developers and product owners leave Jira to see test detail, and your team looks after two tools.
The main tools
AIO Tests
Here's what a release looks like with AIO Tests. A tester opens a Jira story and writes its test cases, as plain steps or in Gherkin. If the story is well written, AI can draft a first set of cases from it for the tester to edit; that's included in the price. The cases go into a regression or UAT cycle for the release, and anyone on the team can run them.
When a step fails, the bug arrives in Jira with the summary and steps already filled in. You can make fields such as the build number required for a failed run, so developers get what they need the first time. Automated results come in from CI through ready-made reporters for Cypress, Playwright, Postman (Newman) and Katalon, or as JUnit, TestNG, Cucumber and Robot Framework results.
On the story, developers and product owners see the test cases, their latest result and any bugs, without leaving Jira. Before the release, the report goes out by itself: there are more than 20 reports, and any of them can be emailed on a schedule as PDF or Excel.
There are no extra Jira issue types and no set-up project, and a new project can copy an existing project's settings.
Good fit: teams that want complete test management inside Jira without extra admin work.
Xray
Xray is a widely used Jira app that stores each test as a Jira issue, so tests can be searched with JQL and shown on boards. It supports BDD and reusable preconditions; test case versioning needs the Enterprise edition.
Plan time for set-up: each project needs its issue types, coverage and defect mapping configured. For automation, Xray's official Playwright reporter writes a file you upload, and Cypress results come in through a third-party plugin or JUnit. Reports can be shared and exported, but not scheduled.
Good fit: teams that want tests as Jira issues and have a Jira admin to look after them.
See every difference we checked: AIO Tests vs Xray.
Zephyr
Zephyr, formerly Zephyr Scale, is SmartBear's Jira app; SmartBear also sells Zephyr Essential, a simpler version. Zephyr lets you reuse tests across projects and add custom fields to individual test steps, and its AI test creation with Atlassian's Rovo is included.
Automated results come in through example scripts and API uploads rather than ready-made reporters. Reports can't be scheduled, bugs don't appear on the Jira story, and a new project can't copy another project's settings.
Good fit: teams that need step-level custom fields or already use other SmartBear tools.
See every difference we checked: AIO Tests vs Zephyr.
QMetry
QMetry Test Management for Jira focuses on reusable test cases for agile teams and has its own AI features and automation API. We haven't tested it hands-on, so we don't compare its features here. It's a reasonable name for a shortlist.
TestRail
TestRail is a separate test management tool with a Jira integration. It suits teams that also test products outside Jira, or where only a few people need access. Developers and product owners leave Jira to see test detail.
Also worth a look: AgileTest (a Jira app); BrowserStack Test Management, Testmo and PractiTest (separate tools). We haven't checked these.
AIO Tests, Xray and Zephyr, feature by feature
Our product team checked every row below hands-on, in Xray (Cloud, Standard edition) and Zephyr (formerly Zephyr Scale) trials, in October 2026. These are the same rows as our full comparisons with Xray and Zephyr.
✓ has it · ✗ doesn't · ⓘ partly, or needs extra set-up · – not part of our check for that tool
Try two tools on a real sprint
Feature lists only go so far. Marketplace apps come with a free trial, so the surest test is to run your two favourites side by side on one sprint:
- Pick three or four stories from the current sprint.
- Write their test cases. If the tool can draft cases from a story, try it and see how much editing the drafts need.
- Run them as a small regression cycle, with at least one developer taking part, so you see how it feels for someone who isn't a tester.
- Fail a step on purpose and raise a bug. Check what's filled in, and whether the developer can see it on the story.
- Send one automated run from your CI pipeline.
- Build the report you'd send before a release.
- Ask your Jira admin how long set-up took.
By the end, the team usually has a clear favourite. Price then settles the close calls.
What it costs
Marketplace apps charge for every user on your Jira site, not only the testers. TestRail charges per tester. Yearly prices for Jira Cloud, Standard edition, from the Atlassian Marketplace in October 2026:
TestRail Professional is $456 per tester a year. AIO Tests and QMetry are free for Jira sites with up to 10 users.
Switching from another tool
If you're on Xray or Zephyr, AIO Tests' migration utilities move your test cases, folders, test plans and test cycles, with their run results. Our team helps you do it for free, including if you're moving from Jira Data Center to Jira Cloud. From TestRail, QMetry or a spreadsheet, export your test cases to Excel or CSV and import them; BDD feature files import too.
Already on one of these? Compare your options: Xray alternatives, Zephyr alternatives, TestRail alternatives, QMetry alternatives. For the move itself, see our guide to Jira test management migration.
Frequently asked questions
Does Jira have built-in test management?
No. Jira has no test cases, test runs or test results. Teams add an app from the Atlassian Marketplace, such as AIO Tests, Xray or Zephyr, or connect a separate tool such as TestRail.
Should test cases be Jira issues?
It's a trade-off. As issues, tests work with JQL and boards, but they fill your backlog and need set-up in every project. Kept inside an app, tests stay out of the backlog and still link to stories and bugs.
Can one app handle manual and automated tests?
Yes. AIO Tests, Xray and Zephyr all keep manual and automated results together. They differ in how automated results get in: ready-made reporters, plugins, file uploads or API scripts.
How do I move test cases from Xray or Zephyr?
Check what the new tool's importer moves: cases only, or also folders, plans, cycles and run history. AIO Tests moves all of these from Xray and Zephyr, on Cloud or Data Center, and our team helps for free.
How do I choose between two tools?
Run both on one real sprint: write and run test cases for a few stories, raise a bug from a failed step, send in one automated run and build a release report. The tool your team prefers after that is usually the right one.
How we checked: product details from each app's Atlassian Marketplace listing and hands-on checks by our product team in October 2026; prices from the Atlassian Marketplace and testrail.com on 29 October 2026. Spot something out of date? Email help@aiotests.com and we'll fix it.
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