Native Jira Clone vs. Clone Expert – Feature Comparison

Jira includes a basic clone function, but its options are limited.
This page compares Jira’s native cloning with Clone Expert for Jira — feature by feature — so you can see exactly what’s available out of the box and what additional flexibility Clone Expert offers.

    Feature / Area Native Jira Clone Clone Expert for Jira
    Scope of cloning ✅ Clone a single issue; optionally include sub-items ✅ Clone any issue type or full hierarchy; select/deselect individual child issues and sub-tasks
    Field editing during cloning ❌ Only Summary, Assignee and Reporter for the main issue (child items inherit original values) ✅ Edit any fields in the preview table – Summary, Assignee, Reporter, custom fields, dates, work type, etc.
    Prefix in Summary ✅ “CLONE” prefix automatically added to all cloned items ✅ User can decide whether to add a prefix/suffix or leave it blank. More details under this link.
    Sub-tasks ✅ Can include or exclude all sub-tasks at once ✅ Can include/exclude globally or deselect individual sub-tasks. Read more here.
    Child work items (Epics) ✅ Can include or exclude all child items ✅ Include child items and select exactly which ones to clone. Also, clone only children without the epic
    Attachments ✅ ✅
    Comments ✅ ✅
    Links ✅ ✅
    Watchers ✅ ✅
    Custom fields ✅ (if configured to be cloned) ✅ Dynamically add fields in Additional fields. Edit directly in the preview table
    Cross-project cloning ❌ Clone only into the same project ✅ Choose destination project + cloning strategy (children to original projects vs. all to destination project)
    Change work type / issue type ❌ Clone keeps the same type as original ✅ Change issue type within the same hierarchy level (e.g. Story→Task) before cloning
    Bulk edit before cloning ❌ ✅ Bulk overwrite, prefix, suffix, find & replace, date shifts
    Add new items to cloned set ❌ ✅ Add new work item before cloning. Appears at the end of the table, linked to the top-level item
    Templates ✅ Clone Jira’s native templates without customization ✅ Clone Jira’s native templates with full customization before cloning (single issue or full hierarchy)
    Placeholders (dynamic variables) ❌ ✅ Use dynamic placeholders in text fields to auto-fill values at clone time
    Quick Clone ❌ ✅ One-click cloning with default settings
    Advanced Roadmaps (+1, +2, +3 above Epic) ❌ ✅ Support for Initiative, Capability, Program etc. in Jira Cloud Premium / DC with Advanced Roadmaps. More you can read here
    Clone children to existing parent ❌ ✅ “Clone child work items to an existing parent” option – choose parent from dropdown
    User interface ❌ Standard clone dialog ✅ Rich interface with dynamic preview table, checkboxes and saved preferences
    Link between original and clone ❌ Not configurable ✅ Create a link between original and cloned items. Choose relationship type
    Infographic comparing Clone Expert for Jira and native Jira cloning, with native cloning on the left for basic single issue cloning and Clone Expert on the right for preview, field editing, placeholders, hierarchy cloning, bulk clone, and timeline adjustment.

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