How to see the full Jira hierarchy
without Premium

What Free and Standard show

Every Jira price tier includes the timeline, list, board and backlog. Premium adds a planning tool called Plans (formerly Advanced Roadmaps) and levels above epic. Atlassian now calls issues “work items” and projects “spaces”.

Start with the list. It’s the view Atlassian documents as nesting all three default levels. Open your space, select List (or All work), and expand an epic. If you don’t see nesting, check that Show hierarchy is on in View settings. Sorting keeps the nesting.

The timeline changed in 2026

Many answers still say the timeline shows only epics and stories. Atlassian announced a rebuilt timeline in 2026 that includes subtasks. Open View settings to choose how it displays them:

• Show inline hierarchy on: two levels, nested.
• Show inline hierarchy off: a flat list that includes subtasks.

A timeline covers one space, and its layout depends on when your site received the update. Some of Atlassian’s older help pages still say subtasks don’t appear, so trust what your own View settings offer.

Reach subtasks with a search

JQL is Jira’s search language, and it’s on every price tier. Go to Filters > Search work items, switch to JQL and paste a search below. Your epic’s key is the code on the epic, such as SHOP-12.

• parent = SHOP-12 finds direct children, in any space type.
• parentEpic = SHOP-12 also finds subtasks, in company-managed spaces only. If it gives an error or no subtasks, your space is probably team-managed.

You may see advice to use portfolioChildIssuesOf. That’s a Plans function, so it’s tied to Premium. Epic Link is the retired field. Use parent in new searches.

My guide to seeing all the work under an epic has searches for stuck, late and unassigned work.

What Premium would cost

You can’t upgrade one person. Atlassian bases pricing on the number of users who can access the app, so one person’s need for a hierarchy view becomes a whole-site decision.

Worked out from Atlassian’s prices on November 6, 2026: Standard $9.70 and Premium $19.60 per user a month on sites of up to 100 users. Annual prices used: 10 users, $950 and $1,950; 25 users, $2,450 and $4,900. Check the pricing page before you decide, because prices change. The page’s headline prices look like averages for larger sites.

You can try it first. Free sites get 30 days of Premium, and paid sites get the rest of the current and next billing cycle. Only a site admin can change the plan.

What Free and Standard can’t do

• Nesting while you filter. Filtering flattens the list. On Premium, Plans has Show full hierarchy.
• A tree across spaces. The list and timeline each cover one space.
• Levels above epic. Custom levels such as Initiative need Premium and work in company-managed spaces only. Atlassian says these changes can’t be undone. Linking work to a custom Initiative work type isn’t hierarchy: a link doesn’t roll up or nest.

Buy Premium if you need levels above epic or plans across teams. To read your own work as a tree, try the options below first.

Cheaper ways to fill the gaps

A free Marketplace app. Smart Issue Hierarchy is listed as free. A site admin usually installs apps. Apps often price by the user count of your site, so check the listing. My hierarchy plugins guide compares the main ones.

A browser extension. Cascade is my Chrome extension, so I’m the wrong person to call it neutral. It shows epics, stories, tasks and subtasks as one tree in your Jira Cloud tab, on any plan. Filter by status or assignee and matches stay inside their parents, and you can pick epics from a space with Epic view.

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It needs no site admin and no change to your Jira plan, and each person installs it. It adds no levels. It isn’t a planning tool, so it won’t replace Plans for cross-team roadmaps. The tree is free today, and indented export is free during early access.

Jira hierarchy without Premium FAQ