Jira Cloud vs Data Center: Key Differences

Last Updated on September 26, 2026 by chada sravas

Hosting and Infrastructure

Atlassian is responsible for hosting and managing Jira Cloud; as a result, companies do not have to maintain Jira servers, databases, operating systems, or other related infrastructure. The company’s Cloud service includes maintaining the infrastructure, including updates, backups, and scaling.

Jira Data Center is self-managed. The organization is responsible for the infrastructure on which Jira runs, including installation, upgrades, backups, security configuration, and storage capacity. Data Center can be installed in the organization’s data center or any other public cloud space managed by the organization.

This difference becomes important for organizations that need direct control over their infrastructure or have existing internal systems built around a self-managed Jira environment.

Administration and Upgrade Control

There is also a distinction between the way management in Cloud and Data Center works.

In Cloud systems, Atlassian provides the needed platform management and updates. The administrator merely works with the tools and functionality provided by Atlassian.

Data Center permits companies to manage their own Jira environments, including the schedule for upgrades. This allows users to verify a new version of Jira against current workflows, fields, plugins, and integrations before migration to production.

Cloud customers also get access to functionalities like release tracks and sandboxes for testing and change management, but the underlying infrastructure remains under Atlassian’s control.

Infrastructure-Level Control

One of the major differences is how much control an organization has over the infrastructure underneath Jira.

Data Center implementations give an organization the authority to manage its databases, its infrastructure, and all of its relevant components. This would be vital in situations where the Jira application is merging with other systems within the organization, or in cases where there are infrastructure rules that state that the application should operate from a specific network.

A Jira administrator on Reddit described an environment where custom reports were built directly against the Jira database. According to the administrator, those reports would need to be rebuilt using APIs when moving to Cloud.

Cloud does not give customers the same type of direct access at the database level. Hence, applications relying on direct database queries might need to be redesigned instead of being straightforwardly migrated to Cloud.

Apps and Marketplace Compatibility

Applications are a significant factor to consider when making a comparison of Jira Cloud and the Data Center version.

An application developed for Data Center does not necessarily provide a similar experience to the one designed for Cloud. A Data Center app does not necessarily provide the same functionality or migration experience as its Cloud counterpart. For example, some applications will only work with one of the platforms, while others have different functionality on the two versions.

This is especially crucial during migration. In the aforementioned Reddit thread, an administrator revealed that he faced the challenge of different Cloud and Data Center versions of Marketplace apps and that some apps were not direct substitutes for each other.

As a result of the many Marketplace apps available to a company, ensuring app compatibility must be done before any Cloud migration takes place.

Custom Scripts and Automation

Another factor to consider when migrating highly customized Data Center environments is custom scripts.

Companies may employ ScriptRunner, Groovy scripts, custom automation, and other server-side logic to augment Jira. If certain critical business processes rely on those customizations, cloud migration may require redesigning or even rewriting portions of the implementation.

The administrator discourse that was looked into for this article talks of the tailored data center setting utilizing ScriptRunner and Groovy scripts, whilst the migration team confirms the involvement of massive efforts to bring in those customizations.

The key point is that scripting is not banned in the Cloud but that the design and features vary, implying that the Data Center implementation should not be treated as fully transferable to the Cloud.

Workflows and Integrations

Complex workflows can also make migration more difficult.

A Data Center instance may accumulate custom conditions, post-functions, scripts, and integrations over several years. These components need to be reviewed during a Cloud migration and may require redesign.

In the conversation, one person mentioned that workflows have had different post-functions, conditions, and scripts added to them over time, making it an important aspect of migration.

Likewise, in their migration materials, Atlassian suggests looking into different kinds of apps, configurations, and other differences before migrating from Data Center to Cloud.

Features and Functionality

The features are different across the two platforms.

Jira Cloud and Data Center do not have identical feature sets. Atlassian’s comparison identifies differences in areas such as team-managed projects, automation, Forms, Goals, advanced planning, views, and AI capabilities. Some Cloud capabilities are limited or unavailable in Data Center..

For example, according to Atlassian, Jira Cloud offers no-code automation without any configuration, while Jira Data Center features automation in the form of bundled Automation for Jira. Advanced planning is another feature available in both platforms; however, there are differences in terms of functionality.

Thus, by discussing only the hosting model, we fail to mention another significant difference, in particular Jira is not the same feature-wise in Cloud and Data Center versions.

Security, Compliance and Data Control

Data Center gives organizations direct control over the infrastructure and network environment where Jira operates. This can matter for organizations with specific security, data-location, or regulatory requirements.

The Reddit discussion provides a practical example: an administrator described using firewall and VPN controls to restrict access to their Jira environment and keeping infrastructure and monitoring under internal control.

Nevertheless, compliance should not be viewed simply as “Data Center = compliant, Cloud = non-compliant.” The Atlassian Cloud conforms to several security and compliance standards, providing data-residency features and various options for Cloud deployment for organizations with specific needs.

The crucial question here is whether the specific infrastructure and data-location regulations of an organization can be met by the available Cloud controls and services.

Backup and Recovery

One more operational distinction is the responsibility for backup.

In the case of a data center, the organization manages the infrastructure and therefore is free to define its own backup strategy, for instance, when it comes to backup frequency, where the data is stored, and off-site processes used.

In the case of cloud infrastructure, it is under the control of Atlassian. Because of this, the clients cannot access the database or have complete management over the server backing up infrastructure themselves. Instead, clients can use the export and backup features of the Atlassian applications so that the infrastructure they need can be taken care of. Therefore, the backup methods as well as the administration models of the two platforms differ quite a lot.

Performance and Scaling

Data Center permits the organization to oversee the system that supports Jira. The administrators can make infrastructure capacity, database resources, node, and other component decisions depending on the system.

In the Cloud, the organization leaves the responsibility of managing the infrastructure but does their work via Atlassian Cloud system architecture, limitations, and controls.

User conversations illustrate why this distinction is important in practice. Some Data Center managers do not mind having controls at the infrastructure level when troubleshooting performance issues, while Cloud users tell different stories related to big or complex projects. These are personal experiences, not evidence that one platform is faster than the other.

Migration Considerations

Typically, the most significant issues associated with migrations are not the actual Jira issues and projects. They tend to arise from customization options available.

If you are migrating customized Data Center environments, then there are certain things you should analyze:

• Marketplace apps and whether equivalent Cloud versions exist
• ScriptRunner, Groovy, and other custom scripts
• Direct database reports or integrations
• Complex workflows and automation
• External integrations
• Security and network requirements
• Data residency and compliance requirements
• User accounts and configuration differences

The administrator discussion reviewed for this article identified unavailable apps, custom scripts, compliance and data-residency requirements, performance concerns, and complex workflows or integrations as potential migration challenges.

The discussion to review the administrator was related to the inability to use apps, the use of customized scripts, compliance issues, data residency issues, performance issues, and complex workflows in the Apps.

Atlassian provides a migration assessment tool as part of its Jira Cloud comparison, which can help in identifying any potential blockers, app compatibility, and data complexity while migrating from Data Center or from servers.

Data Center Lifecycle

There is also a major current lifecycle difference between the two platforms. Atlassian has announced that affected Data Center products, including Jira Software Data Center, will reach end of life on March 28, 2029. Existing Data Center customers can continue using their subscriptions during the transition period, subject to Atlassian’s announced dates and restrictions.

Atlassian has announced that Jira Software Data Center will reach end of life on March 28, 2029. For the full timeline and migration details, see our [Jira Data Center End of Life guide].

And in the cost-related section:

For a detailed Cloud vs Data Center cost comparison, see our [Jira Cloud vs Data Center Cost guide].