Cycle.app Acquisition by Atlassian: The Best Cycle Alternatives
The best Cycle alternatives for Jira teams
With Cycle.app going under Atlassian on October 31, Product teams need a plan, fast.
Before we talk options, let’s give Cycle some credit.
It did two things well:
Centralized feedback: Cycle pulled feedback from many sources into one place. No messy spreadsheets. No scattered inboxes.
Insights-lite: It made customer insights visible without complicated setups or heavy configuration.
That combo — centralized feedback plus easy-to-digest insights — was rare and useful.
Now that Cycle is shutting down, it’s time to ask:
What job are you trying to get done now that Cycle is gone?
Start here: What feedback and customer insight do you need to do your job?
When we speak to Cycle users, most fall into one of these categories:
Job to be done → Your best fit now might be:
Job you hired Cycle to do — Your best fit now might be:
“I want a place for customers to submit ideas and give feedback.” → Released.so
“I want feedback linked directly to Jira work so my team can act on it.” → Released.so
“I want to see trends in feedback collected from many sources.” → Productboard
“I want to create public roadmaps that show customers what’s next.” → Released.so
“I just need to store feedback without creating engagement channels.” → Productboard
Focusing on the job makes it easier to pick the right tool.
Cycle Alternatives at a Glance
Tool | Best For | Setup Effort | Notable Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
Released | Jira-native feedback collection & engagement | ✅ Easy | Active idea portals, Jira integration, automated release notes, public roadmaps |
Productboard | Enterprise feedback & prioritization | ⚠️ Medium | Feature prioritization, roadmap sharing |
Aha! | Roadmaps + idea collection | ⚠️ Medium | Full-suite product management |
Pendo | Customer engagement & product experience | ⚠️ Medium | In-app guides, surveys, feedback forms, analytics, some roadmap visibility; not native to Jira |
What to Look for in a Feedback Platform
Replacing Cycle means replacing two jobs: collecting feedback from multiple sources and making it actionable. Not every tool does both.
What job are you hiring this tool to do?
Cycle focused on passively collecting feedback from many sources — support tickets, emails, surveys — and storing it in one place. Tools like Productboard or Aha! can also collect feedback, but often require manual organization or exporting from Jira. Released.so takes a different approach: it actively engages customers through idea portals and forms, then links every piece of feedback directly to Jira issues. This makes it easier to act on feedback rather than just archive it.
How much setup are you willing to take on?
Some tools promise feedback management but need hours of configuration: syncing Jira, importing spreadsheets, or building manual pipelines. Released.so works out-of-the-box with Jira. No complex syncs, no messy imports, no extra layer of maintenance. You can start collecting and acting on feedback immediately.
Who needs to use this?
Cycle and other passive tools mainly serve product managers. Tools like Pendo or Intercom give broader engagement features but often require separate platforms, and non-technical teams may struggle to keep everything in sync. Released.so is built for everyone involved in product and customer success — PMs, CS teams, and anyone who needs clear, actionable feedback in the context of Jira work.
Does it integrate with your workflow?
Many tools force you to manage feedback in isolation. Even sophisticated options like Productboard require you to manually link insights back to Jira issues. Released.so is native on Jira, so feedback is automatically connected to issues, epics, and roadmaps. This ensures nothing gets lost and keeps your team working in the tool they already use every day.
Will it give insights or just data?
Passive feedback tools store information, leaving teams to sift through it manually. Other tools like Aha! and Pendo offer analytics, but they often live in separate dashboards and don’t tie insights directly to actionable Jira work. Released.so doesn’t just store feedback. It organizes it into actionable insights, surfaces what matters most, and keeps stakeholders informed through portals and notifications.
Released
Overview
Released is built for Jira teams. For Cycle users, it feels like a natural progression. Where most tools either collect feedback passively or provide lightweight engagement, Released actively engages stakeholders and links all feedback directly to Jira issues, epics, and roadmaps. It focuses on making feedback actionable rather than just storing it.
If Cycle was built to show “what feedback do we have?”, Released answers “what can we do with it?” and integrates that answer into your existing workflows.
Data Capture & Setup
Released.so works out-of-the-box with Jira. There are no complex imports or external syncs required. Feedback can come from internal teams, customers, or partners through idea portals.
It also connects to tools like Slack to notify teams about new product updates. Released does more than store feedback. It delivers it in context, on Jira work-items, where decisions are made.
Out-of-the-Box Features & Insights
Released comes with:
Jira-native linking (ideas, work items, epics)
Public and private idea portals for customer engagement
Automated release notes based on Jira tickets
Filtering, and status tracking of feedback
The differentiator: Released actively turns feedback into actionable insights. Teams can immediately see which requests are most critical, which customers care most, and how feedback maps to work in Jira.
B2B SaaS Fit
Released.so’s native Jira integration makes it ideal for B2B SaaS teams. Feedback is tied directly to the work your team is already tracking. No extra context-switching. No manual imports. Your product, CS, and growth teams can all work from a single source of truth.
Use Case & Team Fit
Released is designed for product teams, and anyone responsible for translating feedback into action. Instead of leaving feedback in spreadsheets or third-party apps, Released surfaces it in Jira, making prioritization, roadmapping, and stakeholder communication seamless.
Pricing
Pricing is transparent and startup-friendly with a free tier for up to 10 users. After that it's $0.99/user/month with progressive volume discounts applied in larger tiers.
Bottom Line
Released isn't a one for one replacement for Cycle, but it improves on it by actively engaging stakeholders and linking feedback to Jira. If your team wants clarity, actionability, and alignment in one tool, Released is the strongest option. If your main priority is to pull feedback from various channels into one spot, Released is not yet the tool for you, although that capability is on the roadmap.
Productboard
Overview
Productboard is designed for enterprise-grade feedback collection and prioritization. It aggregates feedback from multiple sources, centralizes it, and provides scoring frameworks for roadmapping. Unlike Released.so, it focuses more on capturing inputs than on active stakeholder engagement.
Data Capture & Setup
Connecting multiple data sources is required. Setup is medium complexity and may involve mapping feedback fields and configuring scoring models.
Out-of-the-Box Features & Insights
Centralized feedback repository
Prioritization scoring frameworks
Roadmap visualization
Integrations with Jira, Salesforce, and Zendesk
Productboard collects feedback from many channels but lacks the live engagement portals or automated Jira-native release notes that Released.so offers.
B2B SaaS Fit
Best for teams that need structured prioritization and cross-team alignment. Less ideal for fast-moving teams that want real-time engagement and immediate Jira context.
Use Case & Team Fit
Product managers focused on portfolio-level prioritization benefit most. CS and stakeholders may need separate tools to engage or track feedback visibility.
Pricing
Productboard’s pricing starts at $19/maker/month, with the Pro tier costing $59 per month. Enterprise tiers are available for larger teams.
Bottom Line
Productboard is strong for structured prioritization, but for Jira-native engagement and actionable insights, it may not be the ideal choice. Its pricing is also significantly higher than Cycle, which is worth keeping in mind.
Aha!
Overview
Aha! is a full-suite product management platform. Feedback collection is part of a larger system that includes roadmaps, releases, and strategy. Feedback is logged but not actively used to engage stakeholders.
Data Capture & Setup
Feedback capture is manual, via email form integrations or the idea portal. Setup is medium complexity due to the broad functionality.
Out-of-the-Box Features & Insights
Idea management
Roadmaps and release planning
Scoring frameworks for prioritization
Portfolio-level reporting
Weakness: it is not Jira-native, and feedback is not automatically linked to issues. Engagement with stakeholders is limited compared to Released.so.
B2B SaaS Fit
Good for teams needing an all-in-one product suite with feedback as one part. Less ideal for teams that want direct Jira integration and lightweight engagement portals.
Use Case & Team Fit
PMs managing multiple products or portfolios. CS and customers will not have direct engagement without additional setup.
Pricing
Aha! breaks out it's pricing into multiple products with the Roadmap module costing $59/user/month, the Discovery module costing $39/user/month and the Ideas module also $39/user/month.
Bottom Line
Aha! works if you want a comprehensive PM tool with feedback as one component. But if you are already using Jira, you'll end up paying for features you don't need.
Pendo
Overview
Pendo is a customer engagement platform with analytics, surveys, and in-app guidance. Feedback collection is possible via surveys and NPS tools but it is primarily designed to drive adoption and engagement inside the product.
Data Capture & Setup
Setup is medium complexity. SDKs or snippets are required to capture in-app activity and configure surveys. Feedback is mostly collected within the product, and Jira integration requires additional connectors.
Out-of-the-Box Features & Insights
In-app feedback and NPS surveys
Feature adoption tracking
In-app guides for engagement
Some roadmap visibility
Strength: strong for in-product adoption and engagement. Weakness: feedback is siloed, not Jira-native, and less actionable for PMs managing cross-channel requests.
B2B SaaS Fit
Good for teams focused on adoption, onboarding, and retention. Less ideal for centralizing feedback or integrating it into Jira workflows.
Use Case & Team Fit
Product and CS teams focused on adoption benefit most. PMs looking for cross-channel feedback management and Jira-native prioritization may find it limited.
Pricing
Pendo’s pricing is not publicly available. However, according to industry reports, most Pendo customers pay an average of $47,330 annually, with costs ranging from $15,000 to $142,476
Bottom Line
Pendo excels at in-product engagement, but if your goal is centralizing feedback, connecting it to Jira, and acting on it quickly, Released.so delivers more immediate value.
