Migrating from Jira to Figma
Figma and Jira both handle ui design and prototyping, but they differ on pricing — Jira comes in $7.09/user/mo/user/mo lower. This guide covers how to move your team across without losing data, context, or momentum.
At a Glance
- Industry standard for software development teams — most PMs will encounter Jira in their career
- Deepest configurability of any project management tool with custom fields, workflows, and screens
- 3,000+ marketplace integrations covering virtually every tool in the product stack
- Browser-based with no installation required — runs on any OS and enables instant sharing via URL, removing friction for cross-functional collaboration with PMs, engineers, and stakeholders
- Best-in-class real-time multiplayer collaboration that allows entire design teams to work simultaneously in the same file with live cursors and commenting
- Powerful design system support with shared component libraries, variables, and design tokens that enforce consistency across products and teams at scale
You leave behind
- −roadmapping
- −sprint planning
- −backlog management
Migration Steps
Audit and export your current workspace
Before touching Figma, document what lives in Jira: issues, epics, and sprints, custom fields, automations, integrations, and team permissions. Export a full CSV backup — most tools support this from Settings → Export. Pay particular attention to any custom fields and workflow automations that your team relies on daily.
Set up your Figma workspace
Create your Figma workspace and replicate your project structure using tasks and projects. Figma starts at $15/user/mo/user/mo with a free tier available — budget $7.09/user/mo more per user. Run with a single pilot team before migrating everyone.
Map your workflow equivalents
Find the closest Figma equivalent for each Jira feature your team relies on. issues, epics, and sprints in Jira maps to tasks and projects in Figma. Prioritise the critical path: task creation, status tracking, and assignment.
Import your data
Figma supports CSV import for tasks and projects and has 20+ native integrations. For automations that don't have a native equivalent in Figma, Zapier or Make can bridge the gap. 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 tasks and projects, update status, and find your board. Expect a moderate ramp — most engineers and PMs hit their stride within a week. The biggest adjustment is usually the project hierarchy.
Run Jira in parallel for two weeks
Keep Jira read-only while your team works primarily in Figma. 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 Jira, archive the workspace and make Figma the official home.
Ready to switch?
Read the full Figma review for pricing, integrations, and team fit details.