Best 15 Bug Tracking Tools in 2024

From your customer service department to your IT department, your business encounters a multitude of problems on a daily basis. If there is no proper channel to address these problems, they may be overlooked and hence there are unresolved problems and dissatisfied customers and employees.

With issue tracking software, you can avoid these frustrations and enable your business to provide efficient, multichannel service and build beneficial service experiences for your customers and employees.

Here, you will find the list of the 15 top issue tracking software, essential features, pricing and trial information, advantages, and tips on how to select the right tool for your company.

What is a Bug Tracking Software?

Bug tracking software maintains a record of the bugs in your system and informs you when the bugs have been resolved. It also assists you in identifying which bugs require to be fixed, which bugs are available, and who identified them.

Bug tracking software can be obtained free online or you can buy a program.

The Top 4 Key Features to Look for in a Bug-Tracking Tool

1. User-Friendliness

A bug-tracking tool should be as simple as possible. This is because the person who is going to use the tool will probably report it and therefore he/she should be able to know how it works and what he/she can do with it easily.

For instance, a prominent design is good not to mislead people or give them a hard time on what they are supposed to do next.

2. Ease of Integration

A bug tracking tool should be able to work in conjunction with the other tools that you are applying in your project. This means that the bug-tracking software should be able to transfer data in and out of the system as required and should be integrated with any other tools or applications used.

3. Flexibility

One of the most critical aspects that you will need to look at when selecting a bug tracking tool is flexibility. The bugs can be of many types and it is essential that the software should be able to handle all the types of bugs. You will also need to make sure that the software is flexible enough to be adapted to your needs and specifications.

4. Value for Price

The prices of good bug-tracking software may vary and be clearly stated, ranging from $1. 00 per user per month to $15. 00 per user per month. To give you an idea, the approximate cost of an average bug-tracking tool can be $3. 00-$5. 00 per user per month.

Here are the Top 15 Bug Tracking Tools:

1. Featurebase
2. Zendesk
3. Frill –
4. BugHerd –
5. featureOS –
6. Jira
7. GitHub Issues
8. Trello
9. Redmine
10. YouTrack
11. Bugzilla
12. Azure DevOps
13. MantisBT
14. Request Tracker
15. Trac

Let’s jump into our hand-picked list of top bug-tracking tools that offer the best value for price, so you don’t have to waste hours searching and comparing the tools yourself.

1. Featurebase

Featurebase is one of the best bug-tracking tools on the market. It has a neat interface and many rich features, including in-app widgets, roadmaps, and a changelog, to get the most out of your feedback.

It comes with affordable pricing and a Free plan allowing unlimited feedback. You can set it up in minutes and always get quick help through live chat.

Featurebase’s key features:

• In-app widgets with a screenshot engine (see live demo)
• Voting boards, changelog, and a roadmap
• Sort bug reports by monetary value
• Custom fields for extra information (MacOS / Windows, etc)
• In-app surveys
• Prioritization frameworks
• Automated notification emails for users
• User segmentation
• Custom domain
• Single Sign-On
• API
• Over 6 + languages, including Spanish, German, French, etc.

Advantages of Featurebase:

• Intuitive interface – a neat and easy-to-use design for you and your users with gamified features like leaderboards to incentivize feedback
• AI duplicate post-detection – users & admins will see relevant similar bug reports to reduce duplicates
• AI-powered search – always find that idea that you were looking for, even if you don’t remember the exact wording
• Lots of customizations – have your boards look exactly the way you want by changing the colors, theme, text, and much more
• Replies and @ mentioning – intuitive comment section for lengthy discussions

Drawbacks of Featurebase:

No HubSpot & Salesforce integrations

2. Zendesk

Zendesk is an automated ticketing system and service desk software that acts as a shared inbox for every support inquiry. No matter what channel customers or employees use—email, chat, phone, social, or other—your support agents always have a complete, omnichannel view, making ticket management much more accessible.

Our end-to-end issue tracking and help desk software features a unified Agent Workspace, so your team doesn’t have to jump from channel to channel or request repeat details from individuals who have contacted support in the past. Agents can collaborate with other agents for trickier conversations or seamlessly transfer them to a department better suited for the request.

Zendesk includes powerful artificial intelligence (AI) technology trained on billions of customer, IT, and HR service interactions, enabling your business to offer fast, 24/7 conversational support without any coding. Similarly, Zendesk works out of the box, improving your support experiences from day one.

Features:

• Open and flexible platform
• 1,500+ apps and integrations
• Collaboration
• Real-time reporting and analytics
• Time tracking
• Automation and prioritization
• Custom roles and responsibilities
• Live chatand messaging
• Self-service options

Pricing:

• Suite Team: $55 per agent/month
• Suite Growth: $89 per agent/month
• Suite Professional: $115 per agent/month
• Suite Enterprise: Talk to sales
• Suite Enterprise Plus: Talk to sales
• Plans are billed annually.

3. Frill

Frill is a straightforward feature tracking tool with simple voting boards and a widget. They have a pretty user interface but could improve their feedback management side.

The pricing and dashboard make it a more suitable option for smaller teams that don’t get much feedback.

Frill’s key features:

• Feedback boards, roadmaps, changelogs
• Bug reporting widget & changelog popups
• Custom domain

Advantages of Frill:

• Minimalistic & straightforward UI
• Translations into any language

Drawbacks of Frill:

• Poor dashboard view for managing & moderating feedback
• No user segmentation
• No sorting feedback by customer revenue
• No changelog emails
• No duplicate post-detection system
• No built-in prioritization frameworks

4. BugHerd

BugHerd is a client-feedback tool for web agencies and SaaS startups. It helps teams collect and manage website and product feedback from clients to make better decisions.

BugHerd’s key features:

• Screenshot feedback
• Integrations with Jira, Asana, Trello
• Video feedback

Advantages of BugHerd:

• Annotating screenshots
• Each screenshot has info like browser, Operating System, and more
• Manage all your tasks on a kanban view right inside BugHerd

Drawbacks of BugHerd:

• Confusing & outdated UI
• Occasionally, the feedback widget disappears, and you’ll have to reload the page in order to get it working again.
• There are cheaper options out there

5. FeatureOS

featureOS – once Hellonext – is another good bug reporting software. As the name suggests, it’s packed with many useful features. If you want detailed control over every aspect of the feedback board, featureOS is a good choice.

featureOS key features:

• Feedback boards, roadmaps, changelogs
• Widget for bug reporting
• Duplicate post-detection
• A knowledge base feature
• Replies and @ mentioning

Advantages of featureOS:

• Modern design
• Lots of customizations
• Feature-rich

Drawbacks of featureOS:

• No changelog popups
• Can’t sort feedback by monetary value
• No user segmentation
• No built-in prioritization frameworks
• Supports only English

6. Jira

Jira, developed by Atlassian, remains a leader in the bug-tracking arena. It’s known for its robustness, flexibility, and seamless integration with other development tools.

Key Features:

• Custom Workflows: Create customized workflows to match your team’s processes.
• Integration: Extensive integrations with Confluence, Bitbucket, GitHub, and other tools.
• Agile Support: Excellent support for Agile methodologies, including Scrum and Kanban boards.
• Reporting: Advanced reporting capabilities with real-time insights.

Why Choose Jira:

Jira is ideal for teams of all sizes looking for a highly customizable and comprehensive project management solution.

‍Pros: Lots of powerful features especially when combined with other Atlassian products.

‍Cons: Not very beginner-friendly, and there are apps with a better UX for smaller teams.

7. GitHub Issues

GitHub Issues is an integral part of GitHub, making it a natural choice for teams already using the platform for version control.

Key Features:

• Seamless Integration: Directly integrated with GitHub repositories, allowing developers to link issues with commits and pull requests.
• Markdown Support: Enhanced communication with Markdown for better issue descriptions and comments.
• Project Boards: Organize and prioritize work using GitHub Project Boards.
• Automation: Automate workflows with GitHub Actions.

Why Choose GitHub Issues:

If your team is heavily invested in the GitHub ecosystem, GitHub Issues provides a streamlined and efficient bug-tracking experience.

8. Trello

Trello is known for its simplicity and visual approach to task management. It’s a flexible tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help teams organize their work.

Key Features:

• Kanban Boards: Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for managing tasks and bugs.
• Power-Ups: Enhance functionality with Power-Ups for integration with tools like Slack, GitHub, and more.
• Customization: Flexible card and board setup to match various workflows.
• Collaboration: Real-time updates and effortless collaboration with team members.

Why Choose Trello:

Trello is perfect for small teams or projects that require a straightforward and easy to use task management tool. Due to its simplicity and versatility, it is preferred by many.

9. Redmine

Redmine is a flexible and open-source bug report tool written in Ruby on Rails. It offers features for bug tracking, task management, collaboration, and time tracking.

Pros: 

• The open-source nature allows for customisation and extensibility to meet specific needs.
• Flexible workflow management and issue-tracking capabilities enable you to adapt Redmine to your preferred development methodologies.

Cons: 

• Installation and setup require technical expertise, particularly for self-hosted deployments, which will be challenging for non-technical users.
• User interface and design look outdated compared to modern project management tools, affecting usability and user experience.
• Limited official support and documentation compared to commercial bug tracking solutions result in slower resolution of issues and challenges.

For project management and bug reporting, Redmine will do the job, but how fast will depend on your team’s technical understanding and patience with not-so-smooth interface design.

10. YouTrack

With the YouTrack, you will get agile-centric solutions, such as scrum boards, kanban boards, backlogs, custom workflows, and more. Also, it offers bug tracking, issue tracking, reporting, and time management. It supports mobile versions of Android and iPhones. It comes with both the free and commercial versions.

Features:

• Effortless team collaboration, automated tasks, helpdesks, planning, and time tracking.
• Offers 20 types of customizable reports to track, manage, and analyze the projects’ progress.
• Offers Gantt charts and dashboards for personalized solutions.

11. Bugzilla

Web-based, open-source, lightweight bug tracking system.

Bugzilla is the bug tracking tool many SaaS companies and dev agencies use in their tech stacks.

‍Best for: Software engineers, developers, and agency owners seeking a free, user-friendly bug tracking system.

Key features:

• Advanced search—to find exactly what you’re looking for
• Categorize issues based on products and components, fully customizable
• Milestones—to keep the entire team on track

‍Pros: Free and lightweight.

‍Cons: The interface is clunky, and it’s often better to use the API for custom reports than the tool itself.

‍Pricing: Since Bugzilla is 100% open-source, it’s free!

12. Azure DevOps

Microsoft Azure DevOps is a set of development tools that can be used for bug tracking among other features.

Key Features:

• Boards: Sprint boards, backlog boards, and Kanban boards.
• Integration: Complements other Azure services and third-party tools without the need for additional integration.
• CI/CD: Integrated CI/CD pipelines as a default feature.
• Reporting: Project analysis and reporting for the project’s findings.

Why Choose Azure DevOps:

Azure DevOps is ideal for the teams that are working within the Microsoft environment as it provides all the tools for development in one place.

13. MantisBT

Defect tracking tool that can be customized to the users’ requirements and can be integrated with email notification.

MantisBT is a simple but effective web-based bug tracking system.

‍Best for: Development and engineering teams that need a server-side bug tracking interface for client projects.

Key features:

• Tweak it as needed so it fits your tech stack
• Notify clients and stakeholders through emails to keep them informed
• Ensure that clients do not tamper with your tracking system by denying them access to some parts of the system.

‍Pros: A robust set of bug tracking features.

‍Cons: Lacks a proper workflow management system and test cases management and the support is relatively poor.

‍Pricing: Free (open-source) since it was made available under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

14. Request Tracker

Bug tracking with automation and email integration.

Next on our list of open source tools is Request Tracker.

‍Best for: Devs and QA leads who don’t want to use a shared inbox for bug reports and tracking.

Key features:

• Integrate it with email so that you can create and track issues that way
• Automate bug tracking with Scripts and Actions
• Take reporting to the next level with a visual lifecycle configuration, charting interface, and more

‍Pros: Fairly easy to use for primary use cases.

‍Cons: Requires extensive customization to adapt to different workflows and secure data privacy.

‍Pricing: Free as open-source when self-hosted; otherwise, plans start at $125/mo.

15. Trac

Minimalist issue tracking with wiki, roadmap, and milestones.

Trac (The Trac Project) is a minimalist, lightweight bug tracking software.

‍Best for: Devs that want issue tracking software that doesn’t get in the way of software development.

Key features:

• Link and reference between bugs, tasks, and changesets
• Timeline to keep track of projects (and even use Git for version tracking)
• Keep and update a roadmap for upcoming milestones

‍Pros: A reasonably lightweight bug tracking tool that does most things engineers expect.

‍Cons: Overly complex features for what it does.

‍Pricing: Free (open-source).

How to choose the right issue tracking software

Now that you’ve learned about issue tracking and understand how the software works, it’s time to choose the right solution for your business. When choosing issue tracking software, keep the following considerations in mind:

Total cost of ownership

Issue trackers vary widely in terms of cost and functionality. While free help desk ticketing systems and free trouble ticket software exist, they may lack essential features your business needs.

Finding the best issue tracking solution that offers only the necessary features and functions can be a challenge. However, as your company and support teams grow and change, your issue tracking software’s ideal cost and functionality should, too. The best issue trackers have a low total cost of ownership (TCO) that meets your needs as your team evolves without any surprise fees.

Time to value

Time to value (TTV) is a concept that refers to the time it takes a customer to realize a product’s value from initial onboarding. TTV is essential because the sooner your agents, managers, and executives recognize the value of the issue tracker, the easier it will be to secure buy-in.

This is why an easy, low-cost setup should be one of your buying priorities. The faster you can get your issue tracker up and running, the faster it can create value for your company. Choosing an out-of-the-box solution like Zendesk empowers your team to offer meaningful omnichannel support from the start.

Scalability

For small and midsize businesses (SMBs), issue tracking software is especially critical when managing resources—whether optimizing productivity for a small support team or providing customers with self-service options.

As your business grows, so does the complexity and number of tickets. Your issue tracker or help desk software for SMBs must contain tools that allow it to scale along with your company so customers continue receiving excellent service. With our AI-powered issue tracking software, Zendesk enables businesses to help more customers while taking work off of agents’ plates.

The agent experience

A happy agent is a helpful agent. To make sure your agents are on their A game, keep them as satisfied as possible by providing them with an end-to-end issue tracking solutions that offers the following features:

• Chatbots, which can support customers or employees when agents are off the clock
• Self-service to deflect ticket volume and lighten agents’ workloads
• A unified agent workspace, so agents can respond to customers across channels in a single location
• Routing and intelligence, which ensure agents only receive requests they can handle
• Collaboration tools that enable agents to easily work with teammates on tickets

By improving the agent experience, you also improve the customer experience, customer retention, and CSAT in the process.

The customer experience

At the end of the day, offering a positive customer experience is vital. Because of this, you’ll want to choose issue tracking software that enables your agents to meet customer needs and provide meaningful support interactions.

It’s also important to think about how issue tracking software can improve or maintain customer engagement. Prioritize a solution like Zendesk that will give customers access to efficient, personalized service, complete with feedback-collecting tools that account for their points of view.