# Backlog — Project Management & Collaboration

Backlog by Nulab, Inc. holds a panel rating of 1.5/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 3/5), as of 2026-10-15. Provenance: provenance unknown; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: Nulab, Inc. (https://backlog.com)
- Category: [Project Management & Collaboration](https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): provenance unknown
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/backlog
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/backlog/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/backlog/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-21 · evaluated 2026-10-15 · oldest source captured 2026-10-13

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Nulab, Inc.
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Yes, per the vendor’s own page [S1]

## The panel's verdict

Backlog, a project management and collaboration tool from Nulab, Inc., earns its strongest marks on integrations: scores cluster at 6-7, a band no other criterion reaches, built on fifteen named integrations, webhooks, a public API, import paths from Jira, Redmine and Google Sheets, and built-in Git and SVN with commits linked to tasks. Collaboration depth holds at 4-5 on assignments, deadlines, Gantt charts, Kanban boards, built-in documents and a file repository, though the judges found the evidenced planning story stops at the single-project level. The weakest readings are sovereignty, 0-2 with no sovereignty attributes on record, and pricing transparency, 0-2 with no public prices in the evidence. Onboarding effort runs 2-4, with judges weighing the importers and the enterprise-gated 1:1 training differently, as no self-serve signup or trial is evidenced. Reporting sits at 2-3, with Kanban and Gantt views and AI-assisted progress reports the entire evidenced surface.

**Speaks for it:**
- Integrations score 6-7, a band above every other criterion, across fifteen named integrations including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Dropbox and Jenkins
- Built-in Git and SVN let developers manage code, review pull requests and link commits to tasks without switching tools
- Real import paths from Jira, Redmine and Google Sheets pull existing work in
- Collaboration depth scores 4-5 on assignments, deadlines, Gantt charts, Kanban boards, built-in documents and a file repository
- An Enterprise bundle pairs Backlog with Nulab Pass and includes personalized 1:1 training

**Held against it:**
- Sovereignty scores sit at 0-2, with no sovereignty attributes on record — residency and DPA questions must go to the vendor
- Reporting scores sit at 2-3, with Kanban and Gantt views plus AI-assisted progress reports the entire evidenced surface
- Support documentation scores sit at 2-3, evidenced only by developer API resources and 1:1 training gated to the enterprise bundle
- Onboarding effort scores run 2-4, with no evidenced self-serve signup, trial or templates
- Pricing transparency scores sit at 0-2, with no public prices in the captured evidence

**Best for:**
- You lead a development team that wants built-in Git and SVN with commits linked to tasks
- You are moving existing work from Jira, Redmine or Google Sheets and need real import paths
- Your team already runs on Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Dropbox or Jenkins and wants those connections native
- You need solid single-project planning — assignments, deadlines, Gantt timelines, Kanban boards and built-in documents

**Avoid if:**
- You must clear European procurement on residency and data processing — sovereignty scores run 0-2 with nothing on record to verify
- You need reporting beyond per-project status; the evidenced surface is Gantt and Kanban views and AI progress reports, and reporting scores sit at 2-3
- You need a fast self-serve start — the only evidenced onboarding help is personalized 1:1 training inside the enterprise bundle
- Your users need documented help from day one — the evidenced support surface is a Developers API resource plus enterprise-gated training

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price.

| Criterion | The Data Protection Officer | The Bootstrapper | The Enterprise Architect | The UX Purist | The Integrator | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Collaboration depth | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Reporting | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1/5 |
| Integrations | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Onboarding effort | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1.5/5 |
| European sovereignty | 0/5 | 1/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 |
| Support & documentation | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 |
| Pricing transparency | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r |
| **Weighted verdict** | **1/5** | **2/5** | **1.5/5** | **1.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **1.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Reads the DPA before the feature list. Optimizes for GDPR posture: EU hosting, subprocessor exposure, deletion guarantees. Rejects anything that cannot answer where the data lives.
- **The Bootstrapper** (v1.2): Pays with their own card. Optimizes for price/value at 3 seats and at 30, a usable free tier, and a price page that answers instead of qualifying. Rejects hidden seat minimums and "contact sales".
- **The Enterprise Architect** (v1.0): Buys for two hundred seats and answers for it later. Optimizes for SSO/SCIM, permissions, audit trails, certifications and a clean exit. Rejects anything that cannot survive procurement.
- **The UX Purist** (v1.0): Measures time-to-first-value with a stopwatch. Optimizes for clarity, density and software that teaches itself. Rejects fourteen-step setups and empty screens that offer no way forward.
- **The Integrator** (v1.0): Lives in the API docs before the product tour. Optimizes for webhooks, import/export and a tool that plays well in a stack. Rejects closed ecosystems and CSV-only exits.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.2): Assumes the marketing is lying until the evidence says otherwise. Hunts lock-in, dark patterns, hidden cost and dead changelogs. Exists to keep the rest of the panel honest.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

No sovereignty finding yet.

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- SAML: yes · yes [S1]

**Integrations**
- API: yes [S1]
- Named integrations: Cacoo · Slack · Redmine Importer · Jira Importer · Jenkins · Webhook · Microsoft Teams · Microsoft Copilot · Microsoft OneDrive · Google Chat · Google Drive · Google Sheets Importer · Dropbox · LambdaTest · iCal Sync [S1]

**Legal**
- Data protection policy: Data Protection Policy · Security Policy · Privacy Policy · Cookie Policy · Terms of Service [S1]

**Pricing**
- Flat rate no per user: no per-user pricing [S1]
- Free tier: yes [S1]
- Starter user limit: unlimited users · 30 [S1]

**Product**
- AI assistant: yes [S1]
- Documents and files: built-in documents and project documentation [S1]
- Enterprise bundle: Backlog · Nulab Pass [S1]
- Git svn builtin: Git · SVN [S1]
- Kanban: yes · yes [S1]
- Task management: task management with AI support [S1]
- Training enterprise: personalized 1:1 training (enterprise) [S1]
- User base claim: 4000000 [S1]

**Support**
- Developers API docs: Developers API resources available [S1]

## Questions

### Is Backlog European?

Not determined: the vendor’s pages as captured do not say where Backlog is based.

### Where does Backlog store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### Does Backlog have a free plan?

Yes. Backlog has a free plan, per [the vendor’s page captured 13 Oct 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/7992).

### What are the best alternatives to Backlog?

As of 21 Oct 2026, the panel rates [awork (4/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/awork), [Kantree (4/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/kantree) and [Teamwork.com (4/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/teamwork) highest among the other 60 Project Management & Collaboration products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [awork](https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/awork) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Backlog alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/backlog/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor page: https://backlog.com (checked 2026-10-13)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Backlog — Project Management & Collaboration", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-21. https://whats-best.ai/software/project-management/backlog

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/734?target=page