10 Popular Bug Tracking Software for 2023

Imagine you release a software product in the market that is free from bugs. Sounds like a utopian dream, right? 

Even if your team has the best minds in the business, the software development and testing phases will always reveal bugs and defects. But that shouldn’t scare you at all. 

With bug tracking software, your team can easily identify, track, report, and fix bugs for a well-streamlined software development process. Whether bugs are reported by customers or the QA team, you can ensure not a single issue can slip through the cracks. 

If the process of bug tracking holds an important position in your business, it pays to invest in the best software system. In most cases, getting the best system does not mean emptying all your pockets. 

In this blog, we have created a comprehensive list of the best bug tracking tools available in the market. But before we jump to the tools, let’s understand how this software can actually benefit your business. 

Here we go! 

What Is Bug Tracking Software? 

Bug tracking software is a sophisticated business tool used by software development teams to track, manage, and prioritize software issues or bugs reported during the development and testing phases.

This software allows developers to keep track of all reported bugs and defects, from initial discovery to resolution. It typically includes features such as a shared dashboard, ticket creation, status tracking, assigning priorities, severity levels, and deadlines to fix issues.

Bug tracking systems provide a centralized platform to document, track, and resolve issues, reducing the chances of any issue slipping through the cracks. It also enables teams to collaborate and communicate with each other, assign tasks, and share information about bugs in real time.

The use of the best bug tracking software streamlines the software development process, improves efficiency, and helps ensure that high-quality software is released to users.

How to Choose the Right Bug Tracking Software

Choosing the right bug tracking system can be a critical decision for any organization or development team. Here are some key factors to consider when making your decision:

• Features: Look for a bug tracking tool that offers the features you need. Some key features to look for include the ability to create, manage and track bugs, assign bugs to team members, set priorities and deadlines, attach files and screenshots, and generate reports.

• User interface: The user interface should be easy to use and intuitive. Look for a tool with a clean and organized interface that is easy to navigate.

• Integration: The bug tracking software should integrate seamlessly with other tools you use in your development process, such as your version control system, project management software, or testing tools.

• Customization: Your team may have unique needs, so it’s important to look for a bug tracking software that allows for customization. Look for software that allows you to create custom fields, workflows, and notifications.

• Collaboration: Bug tracking is a collaborative process, so look for software that enables collaboration among team members. This includes the ability to comment on bugs, assign tasks to team members, and communicate in real-time.

• Pricing: Consider your budget and choose software for bug tracking that fits your needs and budget. While some tools are free, others require a monthly/annual subscription or one-time payment.

• Support: Make sure the software vendor provider offers quality and reliable support, including documentation, tutorials, and customer service.

By considering these factors, you can choose the right tool for your team and ensure a smooth development process.

List of Popular Bug Tracking Software

This brings us to the main section of this blog. It’s time to explore the most popular defect tracking systems in the market. 

After comprehensive research, here are our top 10 picks:  

1. ProProfs Help Desk

ProProfs Help Desk offers a powerful bug tracking system that can help your team track the complete lifecycle of bugs – from reception to resolution. Your development team can capture bug requests and complaints from multiple channels such as email, live chat, web forms, help center, and more. 

In case your customers or team members aren’t sure how to report bugs, you can create an online knowledge base for them.  They can read the necessary guides, videos, etc., to report bugs successfully and track their progress. 

Top Features of ProProfs Help Desk: 

• Include additional data about bugs and defects using custom fields
• Allow customers to track the progress of reported bugs using a customer portal
• Automatically distribute bugs among your team members 
• Track the average time taken to resolve bug tickets with smart reports
• Capture user feedback with the help of CSAT surveys

Pros: 

• The tool can be installed in minutes, and does not require any rigorous training. 
• You can add additional information about bugs using custom fields. 

Cons: 

• Integration options are quite limited. 
• The tool does not offer project management capabilities. 

Pricing: 

Starts at $20/agent/month (billed annually).

2. Zoho BugTracker

Zoho offers bug tracking software that helps you build and deliver software products without bugs or defects. With the help of SLAs, custom workflows, and business rules, your development team can stay ahead of every challenge that comes their way. 

Zoho BugTracker helps your team work in sync to resolve bugs together. For instance, they can hold quick discussions via comments or schedule meetings for an in-depth conversation. 

Top Features of Zoho BugTracker: 

• Keep team members and stakeholders in the loop with email notifications
• Automatically escalate critical bug issues 
• Link related bugs together for faster issue resolution
• Upload, store, and access all your files from one place
• Generate detailed invoices and share them with your clients

Pros:

• Zoho BugTracker helps you log your billable hours using timesheets. 
• The tool is quite simple to use, and your team can get started in no time. 

Cons: 

• The Standard plan is limited to only 10 projects. 
• There is no plan that offers unlimited storage. 

Pricing:

 Starts at $3/user/month

3. Jira

Jira helps you get complete control of your development process by empowering team members to capture, report, and resolve bugs from anywhere. The tool offers complete visibility into your software products’ end-to-end development.

Jira helps users add multiple details about any bug. For example, you can include all relevant details, such as bug descriptions, severity levels, version screenshots, and more. 

Top Features of Jira: 

• Assign bugs to the right team members at the right time
• Prioritize bugs based on their urgency or importance
• Easily find past or ongoing bugs with a powerful search feature
• Automatically notify team members when there is a change in bug status
• Connect Jira with Bitbucket, Jenkins, Github, and other tools

Pros: 

• Jira is the best tool when it comes documenting key information about bugs. 
• Multiple integration options can help you speed up your development process. 

Cons: 

• Jira comes with a steep learning curve. 
• The tool has multiple versions, which can confuse new users. 

Pricing: 

Starts at $7.75/user/month

4. ClickUp

ClickUp is a popular project management and bug tracking system that helps your teams stay efficient and productive. With the help of a shared dashboard, team members can quickly see who is working on which tasks. 

ClickUp’s flexible team collaboration features help team members and internal departments work alongside each other. They can together identify, report, and fix bugs for a streamlined development process. 

Top Features of ClickUp: 

• Organize bugs with custom tasks and statuses
• Create documents and outline processes using ClickUp Docs
• Leverage ready-to-use templates designed for different teams 
• Use 50+ automation rules to streamline workflows and avoid repetitive tasks
• Create reusable checklists for bug and defect tracking

Pros: 

• The tool comes with a powerful free version with unlimited users. 
• Users can manage tasks on the go with Android and iOS mobile apps

Cons: 

• Tool customization can prove to be complex for new users. 
• Limited project views are available in the mobile app. 

Pricing:

Starts at $5/user/month

5. QACoverage 

QACoverage is a software testing tool that helps you build high-quality and bug-free products. Through a simple dashboard, users can get a bird’s eye view of all the ongoing test projects and cases. 

In additon to bug tracking, QACoverage offers multiple features for effective test design, test automation, reporting dashboard, agile modules, and more. In addition to this, the tool makes it easier for you to export test reports to Microsoft Excel and Word. 

Top Features of QACoverage: 

• Organize bugs based on their priorities – critical, high, medium, or low
• Customize projects based on their needs and requirements
• Generate comprehensive reports to monitor progress 
• Establish a secure connection between QACoverage and Jira 
• Run multiple tests simultaneously with the parallel testing feature

Pros: 

• Users can easily export software test reports in multiple file formats. 
• Store all your test reports in one place. 

Cons: 

• Sometimes, when connecting to other apps, the data sync takes a lot of time.
• More integration options should be available. 

Pricing: 

Starts at $11.99/month

6. BugHerd

BugHerd is a bug reporting software that helps your team capture, organize, and act on website feedback. Developers can use the tool to track bugs, and designers can receive visual feedback from different stakeholders. 

To simplify bug tracking, BugHerd allows people to share their feedback and comments. For example, every comment is pinned directly to the website element that your team can access anytime they want. 

Top Features of BugHerd: 

• Involve multiple people in your website development process
• Provide feedback by recording a video
• Create multiple website development projects for improved bug tracking
• Get website feedback on desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile  
• Integrate with GitHub, Slack, Zapier, and other tools

Pros: 

• BugHerd can be installed as a simple browser extension. 
• The tool makes it really easier for your guest to share their feedback, as they can simply point and click to drop a comment. 

Cons: 

• Integration options with third-party tools are limited. 
• The screen capture tool doesn’t allow users to custom screenshot certain areas. 

Pricing: 

Starts at $33/month

7. Userback 

Userback is a popular choice among thousands of software teams who use the tool for everything from bug tracking to feedback collection and implementation. 

With Userback, developers can get bug reports that they love addressing. They can access all the information they need to fix bugs with the help of detailed bug reports along with supporting information. 

Top Features of Userback: 

• Easily filter bugs, user feedback, and other important information
• Provide software feedback via audio, video, or written notes
• Capture relevant user insights such as their location, system info, etc.
• Obtain feedback from customers directly on your website
• Integrate Userback with other project management processes and tools

Pros:

• You can automatically add bug reports to your GitHub repository.
• The tool allows you to create a user community where members can upvote the best feedback and suggestions. 

Cons: 

• Some aspects of the interface can be frustrating to use. 
• You will have to pay extra for the Sessions Replay feature. 

Pricing: 

Starts at $59/month

8. Marker.io

Marker.io is one of the best bug tracking tools that can help your business obtain valuable and insightful feedback from clients, team members, users, and key stakeholders. 

The tool brings multiple internal collaboration features to the table. For instance, developers can easily collaborate among each other and with clients using comments, file attachments, and bug status. Moreover, customization features make this a top choice for most businesses. 

Top Features of Marker.io: 

• Get your point across using website annotations
• View the complete details of people who report bugs 
• Use  sessions replay to see what clients did before sharing feedback 
• Notify guests automatically when a big is fixed
• Integrate with Trello, Monday.com, Asana and other project management tools 

Pros: 

• Multiple integration options can help you streamline workflows and enhance team productivity. 
• With the guest portal, clients and other stakeholders can track the progress of their feedback and bug reports. 

Cons: 

Pricing: 

Starts at $39/month 

9. Kualitee 

Kualitee is a leading defect management tool that helps you log and track bugs while executing an ongoing software test. With an easy-to-use dashboard and rich metrics, you can keep track of all the changes through an in-depth history of all activities and editors. 

The tool helps developers, project managers, and business leaders track project health from time to time. For instance, you can easily view metrics such as execution speed, total defects, defects rejection, etc. 

Top Features of Kualitee: 

• Plan and design software tests with intuitive workflows
• Manage multiple software development projects and cycles simultaneously
• Conduct bug tests from anywhere using the mobile app
• Manage test case repositories for future reference
• Integrate with Asana, JIRA, Teamwork, and multiple other tools 

Pros: 

• Kualitee gives you the freedom to choose between on-cloud and on-premise versions. 
• Multiple integration options can make the software testing process a breeze. 

Cons: 

• The UI of the tool isn’t very user-friendly and needs improvements. 
• If you are tracking multiple defects, the page takes much time to load. 

Pricing: 

Starts at $15/user/month 

10. Bugzilla

When talking about “bug tracking software open source,” it’s hard to miss out on Bugzilla. This robust defect-tracking system can help your business enhance its software development process. 

Bugzilla comes with advanced search capabilities so that you never miss out on an important bug ever. For instance, you can create any search you want, including priority-based or time-based searches to get highly accurate results every time. 

Top Features of Bugzilla: 

• Stay updated on bug changes with automated email notifications
• Avoid unnecessary complications with the duplicate bug detection feature
• Estimate the time it will take to fix bugs and set deadlines accordingly
• Mark specific comments as private to prevent customers from viewing them
• Add additional information about bugs using custom fields

 Pros: 

• Project managers can schedule reports (hourly, daily, or weekly) to stay up to date with progress. 
• The platform is quite easy to install, configure, and customize. 

Cons: 

• The tool does not support larger file attachments. 
• Since it’s an open-source platform, the UI looks quite outdated. 

Pricing: 

Bugzilla is free for all users. 

Build Better Software With the Best Bug Tracking Solution

The best developers know that software bugs can hamper the user experience and eventually, your brand reputation. We know you don’t want that to be the future of your business. 

The process of successful software testing and development is incomplete without the right bug tracking software. It enables developers to track and manage bugs and issues in a systematic and efficient manner, which helps to ensure that software is delivered on time, within budget, and to a high standard of quality. 

With the wide range of options available on the market today, it’s important for development teams to carefully evaluate their options and choose a solution that best fits their needs and requirements. If you want a tool with a simple interface and powerful automation features, you can go for ProProfs Help Desk. To enjoy robust project management features along with bug tracking, you can bet on Jira.