Key Takeaways
- Zephyr is a test management suite by SmartBear with three versions (Squad, Scale, and Enterprise).
- Zephyr has a solid Jira integration, and users note that this TMS is helpful for teams using Jira to plan, execute, and track testing activities.
- Users report performance issues such as 10-20 minute load times and slowdowns.
- Customer support receives criticism for slow response times and suggestions to purchase upgrades instead of helping to fix issues.
- Zephyr Scale’s pricing model makes companies pay for every Jira user, not just testers, resulting in additional expenses.Ā
Zephyr’s tight Jira integration comes at a steep price with persistent performance problems, disappointing support, and pricing that doesn’t match value. Discover what QA, dev, and product teams experience with Zephyr daily š
What Is Zephyr
Zephyr is a test management suite developed by SmartBear Software, designed to help QA teams plan, create, execute, and track software testing activities. The platform comes in three versions:Ā
– Zephyr Squad for small agile teams
– Zephyr Scale for mid-sized organizations needing advanced features
– Zephyr Enterprise for large enterprises requiring standalone capabilities.Ā
Zephyr’s primary appeal lies in its native integration with Atlassian’s Jira, which allows you to manage testing workflows directly within your existing project management environment.
The tool provides core test management functionality, including test case creation, test cycle organization, execution tracking, and reporting through customizable dashboards.
Modules & Features of Zephyr
#1 Test Case Management
Zephyr’s test case management offers solid Jira integration and straightforward import functionality. However, users consistently complain about complicated test step creation and poor scalability. Teams appreciate the ability to create test cases and cycles within JIRA’s familiar environment. Yet, the cumbersome editing experience and performance issues under load significantly impact productivity.
The positive feedback:
The tool directly helps me provide most the reports and artifacts that I need for my day-to-day work.The tool directly helps me provide most the reports and artifacts that I need for my day-to-day work.
Another user notes:
Zephyr really helped us work in a scaled agile way as well as integrating our automation framework.
The critical issues:
I find creating steps to be an awful editing experience. I tend to write tests in the ticket description instead just so I can avoid the cumbersome work of filling out steps.
This sentiment reflects a common complaint about Zephyr Squad’s test step creation interface, which many find tedious and time-consuming.
Looking to cut delays in your test cycles and accelerate test management? With a trusted tool, QA performance shouldn’t be a concern. aqua cloud, an AI-driven test management platform, delivers instant responsiveness even with repositories containing thousands of test cases. This eliminates the 10-20 minute load times that plague Zephyr users. Unlike Zephyr’s Jira add-on architecture that strains under load, aqua’s purpose-built test management platform maintains fast performance at scale. When you combine that reliability with AI Copilot, which generates complete test cases from documentation, text, and voice notes in seconds, you get a solution that actually accelerates testing instead of slowing it down. Plus, with support responses under 2 hours, you won’t waste time waiting for ticket resolutions like Zephyr users report. 12 out-of-the-box integrations and REST API make it easy to connect aqua to your system.
Save 97% time on your test case creation efforts with AI-powered automation
#2 Test Execution and Cycles
Test execution capabilities of Zephyr show promise with cycle organization and status tracking. But scalability problems and interface bugs create significant friction for teams that run frequent test cycles. Users report lost time due to unpredictable input rejections and frustrating navigation issues.Ā
A Capterra user highlights:
I like importing Test cases from MS Excel to Zephy and creating test cycles. Zephyr feels somewhat dry in user experience, but it accomplishes its goal of being a test management tool.
The comparison to other tools appear frequently in reviews, with users noting that while Zephyr integrates well with JIRA, it lacks some of the visual appeal and reporting richness of standalone tools.
Have you watched any tutorials on Zephyr? In my experience itās a pretty great plug-in to create tests directly connected to stories, but was challenging to scale.
Hereās another negative assessment of Zephyrās test execution:
Our organization needs to run test on weekly basis and we lost lot of time redacting them on the interface that can reject the input for any hidden reason. Navigating through collections of test was buggy and frustrating.
#3 Reporting and Analytics
Zephyr’s reporting capabilities receive mixed reviews. Some users praise the customizable dashboards and real-time visibility, while others find the reporting features lacking compared to alternatives. A PeerSpot user stated:
Zephyr Enterprise needs to redesign the reporting.
The reporting limitations become more apparent in enterprise settings where stakeholders require sophisticated analytics and custom report generation.
#4 Integration Capabilities
Zephyr’s integration with JIRA is its strongest selling point, as users note:
Given most organizations use Jira these days, Zephyr a built in addon works as a separate test management tool without the need for a specific setup. Integration with Jira, Confluence makes it an allrounder in terms of tracking progress, traceability, reporting.
User Experience & Interface
A test management tool’s interface is often a notable concern for QA teams. While Zephyr integrates well into Jira’s familiar environment, users report a mixed experience when it comes to actual usability. As such, a verified user of Software Advice complains:
I would have liked to see better organization of test cases into suites and test runs. Although it provides the Test Cycle feature, I feel it lacks a few elements. Additionally, viewing the history of test results isnāt very straightforward.
Performance Review
Performance problems dominate user complaints, particularly for Zephyr Squad and Scale users. An Atlassian Community thread dedicated to performance issues revealed:
We use Zephyr squad for test cases, and we often experience it being slow and not working. I usually reindex metadata for all projects and clear server cache.
A SmartBear Community member documented an even more severe situation:
I.e. today none of the executions could be loaded for 3 hours (!). This makes the work of the QA engineers so much slower than it could be as most of the time during test execution is spent on waiting for Zephyr Squad. We filed a support ticket at the beginning of January. The response from the support team that we received 6 days ago (mid-February) was that a development ticket had been raised. There was no further update yet. Dear SmartBear team, could you please help? We have been your loyal customers for 4 years now, and we used to recommend your products to our colleagues.
Waiting 6 weeks for a support response while your QA team sits idle isn’t acceptable. aqua cloud, a test and requirement management platform, has a support team that responds quickly. When performance issues arise, you get actual solutions from engineers who understand testing, not suggestions to upgrade. As the first AI-powered test management system, aqua generates complete test cases, requirements, and test data in just 3 clicks, saving 97% of manual effort. The platform combines test management, requirements management, and defect tracking in one unified solution with 100% traceability. With instant load times regardless of repository size and seamless integrations with Jira, Azure DevOps, Selenium, and 12+ other tools out of the box, aqua delivers what Zephyr promises: a tool that accelerates testing instead of blocking it.
Streamline workflow with support that responds in under 2 hours
Thereās also another bit of negative user feedback on the usability of Zephyr:
We have had Zephyr Squad for a few years now. It's the worst tool I've ever used. The team has all but refused to use it and would rather put test cases in excel or not write them at all. We're trying to switch away from it as fast as possible. My advice is to do the same if you can.
Support & Reliability
Response Times and Quality
Customer support emerges as a significant pain point across multiple review platforms. The SmartBear Community example cited earlier illustrates a pattern of slow response times and unresolved issues spanning months.
A Capterra reviewer shared their frustration:
Even it's a testing tool and team should know everything about quality - they push releases not fully checked, so we tired to have problems one-days a release.
This response pattern, pushing upgrades rather than solving issues, appears repeatedly in user feedback.
Stability Concerns
Users report stability issues that compound support challenges. A PeerSpot reviewer noted:
The solution is not really stable. Sometimes in the past, some pages wouldn't load due to issues.
Another added:
We faced some errors while uploading the test cases.
A Software Advice review highlighted data loss concerns:
Really slow to use, the integration with JIRA leads to data loss
Pricing & Value
Pricing is one of the most controversial aspects of Zephyr, particularly for Zephyr Scale. A Capterra user was blunt:
It's a good tool, but way too much money for what you get. Zephyr will cost around $15k a year for the company.
The same reviewer explained the pricing model’s biggest flaw:
Biggest con is that you can't do individual licenses for Zephyr Scale making the product very expensive. If you install the plug-in into JIRA then you have to pay for a license for every JIRA user; which is insane when only a small part of JIRA users at most companies get use out of this too.
This per-user pricing model tied to all JIRA users, not just those using Zephyr, creates significant cost barriers for larger organizations.
Summary & Insights: Key Patterns in User Sentiment
After analyzing hundreds of reviews, several clear patterns emerge:
Zephyr pros:
- Excellent JIRA integration for teams already in the Atlassian ecosystem
- Comprehensive test case management features
- Good traceability linking tests to requirements and defects
- API capabilities for automation integration
- Recent addition of AI-powered features (Zephyr Scale only)
Zephyr cons:
- Persistent performance problems, particularly with Zephyr Squad
- Steep learning curve and clunky interface
- Slow, unhelpful customer support
- Expensive pricing, especially for Zephyr Scale’s per-user model
- Vendor lock-in to JIRA ecosystem
- Limited customization options
- Quality issues with releases
Zephyr may work for:
- Small teams (under 25 users) that are heavily invested in JIRA
- Organizations with simple testing needs
- Teams that prioritize JIRA integration above all else
Zephyr presents challenges for:
- Enterprise teams needing performance at scale
- Organizations requiring robust support
- Teams seeking cost-effective solutions
- Groups needing extensive customization
- Companies wanting flexibility to move away from JIRA
Real User Reviews: The Verdict
SoftwareAdvice: 3.5
Capterra: 3.5
Other platforms and forums: Mixed reviews
To sum up, Zephyr delivers tight Jira integration and test management features that work for teams already invested in the Atlassian ecosystem. However, the overwhelming pattern in user feedback indicates persistent performance issues, a pricing model that forces to pay for every Jira user rather than just testers, and an unsatisfactory interface compared to alternatives. The real cost is both licensing and performance. Zephyr works, but in 2025, “works” isn’t enough when better alternatives exist that don’t require these compromises.
Zephyr Alternatives: Options for Modern Testing Teams
Frustrated with Zephyr’s performance issues, expensive pricing, and sluggish support? Here are alternatives worth considering.
#1 aqua cloud: An AI-Powered Test Management Solution
aqua cloud provides the best of modern test management, delivering what Zephyr promises but actually works. As the AI-powered test management system, aqua eliminates the manual work that users claim makes Zephyr feel slow and outdated.
While Zephyr users spend hours manually creating test cases, aqua’s AI generates complete test cases, requirements, and test data in just few clicks, saving 97% of the time. The platform combines test management, requirements management, and defect tracking in one unified solution with 100% traceability, coverage, and visibility.
Unlike Zephyr, aqua delivers responses in under 2 hours. The platform is backed by 20 years of testing expertise. aqua integrates with Jira, Azure DevOps, and Selenium, giving you more flexibility than Zephyr’s Jira-only approach.Ā
Entrust your test management to a dedicated, AI-driven platform
#2 qTest
Tricentis qTest is an enterprise platform supporting agile and waterfall methodologies. It shares Zephyr’s core problems: expensive licensing, complex setup, support quality issues, and static reporting without AI assistance.
#3 Xray
Another Jira-native option with more customization than Zephyr and BDD testing support. However, it suffers from similar Jira add-on performance limitations, lacks AI-powered features, and has a comparable learning curve to Zephyr.
#4 PractiTest
PractiTest offers end-to-end test management with built-in requirements and issue tracking. Pricing can be high for smaller teams, the interface feels dated, and it doesn’t provide AI-powered test generation capabilities.
#5 TestRail
TestRail is a standalone platform that costs significantly less than Zephyr Scale ($500 vs $15,000 annually). It offers basic test case management outside the Jira ecosystem but lacks AI capabilities and doesn’t include built-in requirements or defect management.
Don’t settle for a test management tool that holds your team back. The feedback from hundreds of Zephyr users reveals performance bottlenecks, months-long support delays, and a pricing policy that makes you pay extra. Your testing process deserves better. aqua cloud, a dedicated test management platform, addresses every pain point raised in this review. Experience instant load times regardless of repository size, get support responses in under 2 hours from engineers with 20 years of testing expertise, and pay only for the users who actually need testing capabilities. aqua’s AI Copilot transforms how you work by generating complete test cases, requirements, and test data in 3 clicks, eliminating 97% of manual effort. With Jira integration plus connections to Azure DevOps, Selenium, and your entire testing ecosystem, you get the flexibility without vendor lock-in.Ā
Cut testing time by 80% and reduce support ticket backlog with AI-driven features
Conclusion
Zephyr is one of the popular test management tools on the Atlassian Marketplace. While it offers solid JIRA integration and comprehensive features, real user feedback reveals significant challenges with performance, support, pricing, and user experience. For teams committed to the JIRA ecosystem and working at a small scale, Zephyr may be suitable. However, organizations prioritizing performance, UX, and cost should seriously consider alternatives that address these pain points more effectively.
