The Ultimate Manual to Atlassian Marketplace

For those who believe add-ons make everything better, Atlassian Marketplace is worth checking out. This Marketplace is a repository for apps, plug-ins, and other add-ons that enhance the base Atlassian software packages.

We’ll discuss the ins and outs of the Atlassian Marketplace in this post, to help organizations and businesses like yours use it efficiently.

What is Atlassian Marketplace Anyway?

Atlassian software products help with collaboration, communications, and project tracking. While most of these products are self-contained and powerful on their own, many of them can also benefit from add-ons that enhance their capabilities. Atlassian Marketplace contains thousands of add-ons and apps designed to improve and upgrade other Atlassian products, for free or for customers to purchase.

Atlassian introduced its Marketplace in 2012. It started primarily with add-ons for Atlassian products like Jira Software and Confluence, but it now has offerings for several additional Atlassian software options.

Add-on software in the Marketplace may run from the cloud only, may run as a local installation only (which is rare), or may have both versions. As Atlassian has announced it will no longer support on-premises versions of its software by 2024, cloud-only add-ons and apps in the Marketplace will eventually be the only option.

Some of the benefits of the apps and add-on software in the Atlassian Marketplace include:

Customization: Customers can create a custom interface within the Atlassian software.
Extension of features: Add-ons and apps can bring a few new features to Atlassian software.
Solve problems: If the organization runs into a unique situation that its Atlassian software can’t solve on its own, a developer may have fixed it through an add-on option.

Which Atlassian Products Have Add-ons in the Marketplace?

The Marketplace offers add-on software for eight different Atlassian products, including:

Jira Service Management
Jira Software
Bamboo
Bitbucket
Confluence
Crowd
Crucible
Fisheye

Sadly, Trello, one of Atlassian’s most popular software packages, does not have apps available in the Marketplace yet, and as of this writing there is no public plan to include Trello apps there.

How Atlassian Marketplace Works

The Atlassian Marketplace gives Atlassian software customers the ability to gain new features for the software they’ve purchased and are using. But it also provides a place for third-party developers to sell the apps and add-ons they develop.

How Atlassian Marketplace Works for Developers

By offering apps and add-ons through the Atlassian Marketplace, third-party developers can gain direct access to customers of Atlassian software products. (Developers at Atlassian also create some products that appear in the Marketplace.)

Developers do not have to pay to list their products on the Marketplace, but they must become Marketplace Partners with Atlassian. By requiring this membership, Atlassian can ensure a greater level of safety in the third-party apps on the Marketplace.

For developers, some of the advantages include:

Easy access to customers: Developers don’t have to spend money on marketing, as customers know exactly where to look for the apps.
Easy payment: Developers don’t need to set up payment structures or a digital storefront, as Atlassian handles this area.
Customer alerts: Atlassian will alert its customers when the developer releases a new version of the app, helping the developer gain more potential purchases.

Through the Marketplace, Atlassian collects payments for the apps and add-ons. It then shares the revenue with the developer. By offering third-party add-ons, Atlassian makes its software products more valuable, as they gain more features.

How Atlassian Marketplace Works for Customers

Customers can visit the Atlassian Marketplace to find apps and add-on software for use with the Atlassian software they already own and use.

Some of the add-ons and apps are free to use, while others have some sort of cost. Depending on the way the developer chooses to offer the app, customers may have to pay a one-time fee or may need to subscribe monthly or annually. Some add-ons charge per user as well.

With the majority of items in the Atlassian Marketplace, customers are able to try the app for free for a limited amount of time before purchasing.

Atlassian offers its Universal Plugin Manager, or UPM, that provides automatic installation for add-ons and simplifies the process. We’ll provide more specific instructions for using Atlassian Marketplace for customers later.

Here are some of the most popular add-ons and apps in the Marketplace and some of the top features they have.

Example #1: Clerk: Billing & Invoice Add-on for Jira Software

When working in Jira Software, teams will gain help with managing test cases and developing software. As employees do their work in Jira Software, the software automatically tracks the processes they complete and the time they spend on them.

With the Clerk add-on tool for Jira Software, organizations will be able to use Jira’s time tracking feature to their advantage. Clerk will search Jira for in-progress and completed projects, creating invoices based on the time spent. Clerk can export the invoices it creates to Intuit QuickBooks or Xero.

Employees don’t need to track their time manually with Clerk. This is a common problem for organizations that leads to missing billable hours when generating an invoice. For organizations using Jira that struggle to create invoices in a timely manner, Clerk can solve this problem too.

Clerk is a cloud software tool that customers can try for a 30-day free trial. After the trial, subscriptions cost $10 per month for up to 10 users and $2 per user per month for each user beyond 10 users.

Example #2: TouchDown: Timesheet Tracking for Jira Software

Those organizations making use of Jira Software for managing projects can add the TouchDown timesheet tracking add-on to simplify payments to employees.

As members of the team log into Jira to work on projects, the software tracks the tasks they’re doing and the time they’re spending. With the TouchDown add-on installed inside Jira, it will create timesheet reports based on the team’s logs.

Users can export this data to spreadsheets. Additionally, through TouchDown, users can apply filters to the data, showing the amount of time spent on a particular aspect of the project, for example.

Not only can organizations use this data to pay employees without requiring manual timesheet tracking, but they can see which steps within projects are taking more or less time than the estimate. This information should make the organization more efficient by finding and alleviating bottlenecks.

For those using TouchDown in the cloud, the add-on is free. Those who want to download it locally for on-prem use must pay a subscription fee after a 30-day free trial. (Users must obtain a personalized price quote.)

Example #3: Scroll Word Exporter for Confluence

Confluence is a workspace where the members of an organization can easily work together on projects. This software allows team members from different divisions within the organization to collaborate effectively. They can build documents and informational pages, such as for a knowledge base, or spark ideas for a new project.

For companies that work primarily in Microsoft Word, having the ability to export documents and content created in Confluence will be highly beneficial. The Scroll Word Exporter add-on for Confluence simplifies this process, while also maintaining design and stylistic elements in the exported documents.

With Scroll Word Exporter, Confluence users can export one page or a group of pages into Word. Keeping a group of related Confluence pages well-organized in Word is a key benefit of this add-on.

Additionally, users of the app can pull templates from Microsoft Word and use them in Confluence. This makes it easier to go back and forth between the two types of software without losing design elements.

Users can try Scroll Word Exporter for free for up to 30 days. After that, organizations will pay a flat $5 per month fee for up to 10 users. For users beyond 10, organizations will pay $0.90 per user per month.

Example #4: Comala Publishing for Confluence

For teams that struggle to track Confluence documents that are in draft mode versus documents ready for publishing, the Comala Publishing add-on can help.

This add-on simplifies the process of carrying a draft of a document where team members are collaborating. By maintaining separate workspaces for drafts and finalized documents in Confluence, the add-on reduces confusion.

Never worry about accidentally publishing a document that’s still in draft mode with the Comala Publishing app in place.

After collaborating on the document, shift it from the draft area to the approved document area of Comala easily. Adjust the Comala settings to automatically publish documents in the approved area at a certain time each day.

Users can try Comala Publishing for up to 30 days for free. After the trial period, users pay a flat fee of $5 per month for up to 10 users and $0.55 per user per month for any user count of more than 10.

Example #5: Numbered Headings for Confluence

For organizations that create quite a few documents that involve outlines in Confluence, having the Numbered Headings add-on will serve a key role.

Numbered Headings automatically adds heading numbers to the outline during the creation process. This ensures that all Confluence documents will have the same outline numbering system, delivering continuity.

Users can adjust the numbering system or turn it off for certain documents as needed. Additionally, with Numbered Headings in place, when the team exports Confluence documents to other formats, such as PDF or Microsoft Word, the numbering system will remain in place.

Numbered Headings is available for a 30-day free trial period. Afterward, users will pay a $5 flat fee per month for the first 10 users. They’ll pay $0.60 per user per month for each user beyond 10.

How to Get Started With Atlassian Marketplace

At first glance, the Marketplace may look a little daunting. Organizations and businesses will need to spend a bit of time searching through all of the options in the Marketplace to find just the right products for their needs.

We’ll walk through the steps required to find and make use of an add-on product in the Atlassian Marketplace.

Search for Add-on Products

Open the Atlassian Marketplace home page to start the process of finding the add-on or app you need. The page offers multiple options for searching for apps using the following items.

Search bar: The top left area of the Marketplace page has a search bar. Just click inside the search bar and start typing the name of the app. Hit Enter and the home page will attempt to find the requested app.
Categories: For those who need an app with a specific feature set, scroll toward the bottom of the home page. Click on Categories on the left side to see the different category options.
Atlassian product: To explore the various apps and add-ons available for a specific Atlassian software product, click on the name of the software along the left side of the page.
Highly rated: Click on the Top Rated link on the left side to only see products that have the highest star ratings from customers. The Marketplace offers a star rating process for customer reviewers to use of between one and four stars (with four being the highest).
Popular choices: Click on the Top Trending link on the left side to see the apps and add-ons that customers are downloading and using most frequently during recent times.
Installed most frequently: Click on the Top Selling link on the left side to see the apps that have the greatest number of installations from customers over the app’s lifespan.
New releases: Click on the Newest link on the left side to see the latest releases from developers.
Staff picks: Scroll to the middle of the page to see the apps and add-ons Atlassian Marketplace staff members currently prefer as their favorites. For apps to qualify as staff picks, they must have a high star rating, a large number of downloads, and a high level of customer support from the developer.

Additionally, the middle of the Atlassian Marketplace home page contains multiple clickable boxes that highlight a certain category or piece of add-on software.

Learn More About an Add-on

After finding an app or add-on that may help, just click on it to open the app page and to learn more about it.

Click on the developer’s name near the top of the page to learn more about the developer and to see the other products it offers in the Marketplace.

Just below the logo for the app, the Marketplace lists the star rating for the app, the number of reviewers who added a star rating in a gray oval, and the number of installs next to the pin icon.

In white boxes underneath the name of the app, the Marketplace lists the Atlassian software with which the app will work, as well as whether it’s a supported app (which means customers can contact the developer with questions).

To see the exact pricing options for the add-on, click the Pricing tab near the top of the page. (If there’s no Pricing tab, the app is free.)

The middle of the page explains the features available in the app. Toward the bottom of the page, find a list of similar apps. This section can help you find a different option with similar features if needed.

Trying the Add-on

In the upper right corner, click on the orange button to gain access to the software. (It will either be a cloud software product or a downloadable product for a local installation.) This area of the page also lists whether the app has a cost or a free trial period available.

The majority of apps will then ask you to log in to your Atlassian software account. After logging in, select the account to use with the app from the drop-down menu. Click on the blue Install App button to start the process. (If you do not have any Atlassian software that can make use of this particular add-on, the Install App button remains dimmed.)

With most apps, the app should install automatically after opening your Atlassian software. Other times, you may have to click on another Install button or on a Get It Now button. Just follow the directions and move through the windows to complete the process.

Once the app finishes downloading, the Atlassian software you’re using should create a popup window message, alerting you that the add-on is ready to use.