Shortcut
Zoho Sprints
| Feature | Shortcut | Zoho Sprints |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $8.5/mo | Free / from $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | software-teams, startups, engineering-managers, product-teams | zoho-users, scrum-teams, small-development-teams, budget-conscious-teams |
| Founded | 2016 | 2017 |
| Stories | ✓ | ✗ |
| Epics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Iterations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Milestones | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sprint Planning | ✗ | ✓ |
| Backlog Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scrum Boards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Velocity Charts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Timesheets | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Shortcut Pros
- Intuitive UI for engineering teams
- Great API and integrations
- Flexible iteration planning
- Excellent GitHub integration
✗ Shortcut Cons
- Limited reporting on free plan
- No time tracking built-in
- Smaller ecosystem than Jira
✓ Zoho Sprints Pros
- Free for up to 5 users
- Deep Zoho suite integration
- Built-in timesheet tracking
- Sprint retrospective boards
✗ Zoho Sprints Cons
- Limited outside Zoho ecosystem
- Fewer integrations than standalone tools
- UI can feel cramped
The Verdict
Shortcut is built for software teams and startups, with a focus on stories and epics. Zoho Sprints targets zoho users and scrum teams and leads with sprint-planning and backlog-management.
Pricing is close: Zoho Sprints starts at $5/mo versus $8.5/mo for Shortcut — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.