Structure Alternative for Jira: Why Teams Are Switching to Foundation

The fastest-growing Structure alternative in 2026 is Foundation — a Forge-native PPM app that matches Structure's core hierarchy, Gantt, and Sync Agents at a lower price point. Teams switch for three reasons: Tempo's repeated price increases, Connect-framework uncertainty now that Atlassian has closed Marketplace submissions to Connect, and the data-residency advantage of a Forge-native app. Here's why teams are switching and how to evaluate whether it's right for you.

Why teams look for a Structure alternative

Three forces are pushing Structure customers to shop in 2026. First, pricing pressure. Per Tempo's own published pricing pages, Structure has gone through three price increases in the last 18 months, with some tiers moving more than 30%. That is painful on a per-seat app at 100+ users. Procurement teams that approved Structure at the old price are re-opening the evaluation at renewal.

Second, Connect-framework uncertainty. Atlassian closed Marketplace submissions to Connect apps on September 17, 2025. Existing Connect apps — Structure among them — continue to ship updates, but the platform's investment and every new feature Atlassian releases goes to Forge first. IT buyers reading that roadmap are asking whether Connect PPM apps are the right 3-year bet.

Third, data residency. Connect apps route Jira data through the vendor's external servers. Forge apps keep data inside Atlassian's cloud with zero egress by default. For teams in regulated industries or with strict data-handling policies, that architectural difference increasingly decides the shortlist.

Foundation vs Structure — the 30-second comparison

Capability	Foundation	Structure by Tempo
Framework	Forge (modern)	Connect (legacy)
Cross-project hierarchy	Yes, unlimited depth	Yes, unlimited depth
Gantt with dependencies	Built-in	Available via add-on
Formula engine	Roadmap Q1 2027	Expr — 100+ functions
Data residency	Atlassian cloud only	Tempo-operated servers
Free tier	1–10 users	1–10 users
Paid pricing	Undercuts Structure at every tier	Three increases in 18 months
Migration path	One-click Structure Cloud import	—

For the full side-by-side breakdown, see Foundation vs. Structure.

What Foundation does better

Platform posture. Foundation is Forge-native. Jira data stays inside Atlassian's cloud with zero egress — see the Forge platform docs. That collapses IT review cycles and sidesteps the Connect framework risk. Foundation also inherits Forge's event triggers, so Sync Agents refresh without spending points against the shared 65K/hour Jira API pool.

Price. Free for 1–10 users with zero feature gates. Paid tiers undercut Structure at every bracket. We hold pricing as install base grows; Structure is currently on an upward pricing trajectory.

Modern UX. Five density modes (from 44 px Comfortable down to 16 px Micro), live shimmer animations on Jira-driven updates, Cmd+K command palette, and dependency-drawing Gantt built with modern React. The UX is visibly newer than a ten-year-old Connect app.

Migration tools. The one-click Structure Cloud importer rebuilds your existing structures as Foundation Lenses using your Tempo-issued API token. Your Structure data stays untouched.

Rovo-ready. Foundation's Phase 7 ships a Rovo agent for conversational portfolio management inside Jira. Connect apps cannot access the Rovo bridge API natively.

What Foundation doesn't do yet (honest)

The biggest honest gap is the formula engine. Structure's Expr language is genuinely powerful — 100+ functions, weighted roll-ups, conditional columns written in code, custom aggregations across the hierarchy. Foundation has no formula engine in the MVP. It is on the roadmap for Q1 2027.

If your portfolio reports rely on Expr formulas — weighted status roll-ups, custom health-score columns, complex conditional logic — Foundation cannot replace that capability yet. Options: stay on Structure until the engine ships; run both in parallel and use Foundation for the use cases it does cover; or plan to migrate the simple hierarchy first and add formula columns when they arrive.

Two smaller gaps worth naming. Generator variety: Structure supports generators beyond JQL + hierarchy (board-based, saved-filter, linked-issue). Foundation ships JQL Insert and Child Extend today, with Linked Items Extend close behind. Large-scale plans: Foundation MVP optimizes for Lenses up to 1,000 issues. Structure handles 10,000+ item plans well today.

How to migrate from Structure to Foundation

The migration is non-destructive and runs in five steps. Expect an afternoon for a small portfolio, 1–2 days for a large one.

Export your Structure API token. In Jira, open the Structure admin settings and generate a REST API token with read access — see the Structure REST API docs.
Install Foundation from the Marketplace. Free for 1–10 users, install in under two minutes. No credit card.
Import via the Structure Cloud wizard. In Foundation, open Lenses → Import → Structure Cloud. Paste the API token and select the structures to import. Foundation reads each structure via the Cloud API and rebuilds the hierarchy as a Lens, mapping JQL generators to Sync Agents.
Verify side-by-side. Keep Structure running. Open the imported Lens next to the source structure. Check issue counts, sort orders, roll-up values, and Gantt dates. Flag anything driven by Expr formulas — you'll handle those manually or defer.
Switch the team over, then cancel. After a 1–2 week parallel-run, move your team to Foundation as the source of truth. Cancel Structure when you're confident. Your Jira data was never touched — both apps read the same underlying issues.

Full step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots: Migrating from Structure.

Pricing comparison

Both apps offer the same free 1–10 user tier that Atlassian requires for Marketplace discovery. Above that, the two diverge.

Foundation. Free for 1–10 users. Paid tiers undercut Structure at every bracket — exact per-user rates published on the Foundation Marketplace listing. Gantt charts, baselines, and critical path ship in the Advanced edition.
Structure by Tempo. Free for 1–10 users. Paid tiers scale per user per month. Per Tempo's pricing pages as of April 2026, Structure has raised prices three times in 18 months with some tiers above 30%. Tempo Gantt Charts ships as a separate add-on for additional per-user cost.

Translation for a 50-seat team: Foundation is meaningfully cheaper than Structure Advanced plus Tempo Gantt Charts at current list prices, before any annual discount. Check both Marketplace listings at your renewal date for current numbers.

Frequently asked questions

Is Foundation a true Structure replacement?

For most teams, yes. Foundation covers the core Structure use cases — cross-project hierarchy, JQL-driven Sync Agents, Gantt with dependencies, inline editing, and permissions. The one meaningful gap is the Expr formula engine; Foundation does not have one in the MVP. If you depend on custom formulas today, wait for the Q1 2027 formula release or plan a hybrid period.

How long does migrating from Structure take?

Most teams finish the technical migration in an afternoon for small portfolios (under 500 issues) and 1–2 days for larger ones. The Structure Cloud API import is near-instant; the manual work is validating hierarchy, re-creating custom generators that depended on Expr, and re-establishing permission grants. Plan a 1–2 week parallel-run period before cancelling Structure.

Why is Foundation cheaper than Structure?

Foundation is a new entrant and prices accordingly. We are free for 1–10 users and our paid tiers undercut Structure at every bracket. Tempo has raised Structure prices three times in 18 months, per their own published pricing pages; Foundation holds price as we grow the install base.

What happens to my Structure data if I switch?

Nothing destructive. Foundation reads your Structure data via the Structure Cloud REST API and rebuilds it as a Lens. Your original Structure structures stay intact, your Tempo subscription stays active, and you can cancel Structure on your own schedule. Foundation never modifies or deletes anything in Structure.

Does Foundation work with the same Jira fields as Structure?

Yes. Foundation reads and writes the full set of standard Jira fields (summary, status, assignee, priority, sprint, labels, story points, due date, start date, components, fix versions, etc.) and supports custom fields including single-select, multi-select, number, date, and user picker types. The issue cache keeps all of these fresh via Forge event triggers.

Can I run Foundation and Structure at the same time?

Yes, and we recommend it during migration. Both apps operate on your Jira data read-mostly, with writes going back to the same Jira issues. Running them in parallel for 1–2 weeks lets you validate that Foundation Lenses contain the same issues your Structure structures do before you cancel anything.