Migrating from Confluence to Azure DevOps
Azure DevOps scores 4.4/5 on G2 — 0.3 points ahead of Confluence (4.1/5). If you're making the switch, here's how to migrate your team from Confluence to Azure DevOps step by step.
At a Glance
- Deep native integration with Jira makes it the de facto documentation tool for teams already using Atlassian — Jira issues embed seamlessly in pages
- Extensive template library with 100+ templates for PRDs, meeting notes, retrospectives, decision logs, and more — accelerates team onboarding
- Real-time collaborative editing with inline comments, @mentions, and page watching enables asynchronous team communication at scale
- All-in-one DevOps platform combining boards, repos, pipelines, test plans, and artifacts in a single product
- Generous free tier with full functionality for up to 5 users and free CI/CD minutes — ideal for small teams and startups
- Deep native integration with the Microsoft ecosystem including Azure, Visual Studio, GitHub, and Microsoft Teams
You gain with Azure DevOps
- +roadmapping
- +sprint planning
- +backlog management
- +Kanban boards
You leave behind
- −mobile app
Migration Steps
Audit and export your current workspace
Before touching Azure DevOps, document what lives in Confluence: projects and tasks, custom fields, automations, integrations, and team permissions. Export a full CSV backup — most tools support this from Settings → Export. Pay particular attention to any workflow automations that your team relies on daily.
Set up your Azure DevOps workspace
Create your Azure DevOps workspace and replicate your project structure using epics, stories, and sprints. Azure DevOps starts at $6/user/mo/user/mo with a free tier available — $0.04999999999999982/user/mo less than your current Confluence spend. Run with a single pilot team before migrating everyone.
Map your workflow equivalents
Find the closest Azure DevOps equivalent for each Confluence feature your team relies on. projects and tasks in Confluence maps to epics, stories, and sprints in Azure DevOps. Azure DevOps supports custom fields — recreate your Confluence field schema here first. Prioritise the critical path: task creation, status tracking, and assignment.
Import your data
Azure DevOps supports CSV import for tasks and projects and has 20+ native integrations. After importing, rebuild your key automations — Azure DevOps's automation engine can replicate most rules you had in Confluence. Start with your most active project rather than importing everything at once.
Onboard your team
Run a 30-minute walkthrough covering the daily workflow: how to create epics, stories, and sprints, update status, and find your board. Azure DevOps has a steeper learning curve. Budget 2–3 weeks for full adoption and schedule follow-up sessions after week one.
Run Confluence in parallel for two weeks
Keep Confluence read-only while your team works primarily in Azure DevOps. This reduces risk and lets people reference historical context — old decisions, archived tickets, past sprint data — without slowing the migration. After two weeks with no new work going into Confluence, archive the workspace and make Azure DevOps the official home.
Ready to switch?
Read the full Azure DevOps review for pricing, integrations, and team fit details.