What's the Difference Between Components and Labels in Jira?

This is a recurring question we see from users across the Atlassian ecosphere. For new Jira users especially, it can be quite confusing.  A quick search on the web will return lots of articles and videos and graphics of all sorts. In this article, I will throw my two cents in, which hopefully you will find helpful.

Jira Components and Labels are two essential features used to organize and categorize issues in Jira. While they serve similar purposes, they differ in their scope, control, and usage.

Labels are essentially just an open text field. Meaning that there is really no control on the values that people type in them. And they are case sensitive and do not allow spaces!

So, if you search on the Label field the values of Cat, cats, cat, catt, Cats, catz, etc. would all be different values, and some issues would not show up depending on the typos or case used. This means you could easily end up with poor or unintended search results.

Components are created at the project level and appear in a drop down for users to select from. Much better for filters, queries, consistency, sanity, etc.

Our friends from the AI world have a good synopsis here:

Components

  • Scope: Project-specific, defined and controlled by project administrators
  • Control: Admin-controlled, with a fixed set of values
  • Usage: Group related issues together, identify areas of a project affected by an issue, and filter issues by component
  • Example: In a software development project, components might represent different modules or features (e.g., “Backend API” or “Frontend UI”, iOS or Android)

Labels

  • Scope: Project-independent, can be used across multiple projects and your entire Jira organization
  • Control: Anyone can add or remove labels, with no nomenclature control
  • Usage: Categorize issues based on their nature or characteristics, quickly tag issues for easy reference, and filter issues by label
  • Example: In a business project, labels might represent months or groups  (e.g., “December”, “Legal”, or “Marketing”)

Key differences:

  • Control: Components are admin-controlled, while labels are community-owned and lack nomenclature control.
  • Scope: Components are project-specific, while labels are project-independent.
  • Usage: Components are better suited for structured grouping and filtering, while labels are more flexible and adaptable for quick tagging and categorization.

When to use each:

  • Use Components when:
    • You need a structured grouping system with controlled values.
    • You want to identify areas of a project affected by an issue.
    • You require robust filtering and reporting capabilities.
  • Use Labels when:
    • You need a quick and easy way to categorize issues.
    • You want to allow team members to add their own tags.
    • You require flexible and adaptable categorization.

Having said all of that, I think you might find this previous response to a Community post by Nic Brough to be quite helpful:

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-questions/What-is-the-difference-between-labels-and-components-and-how/qaq-p/1122277

And one more post with some good responses.

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-Service-Management/Labels-vs-Components-When-to-use-each/qaq-p/1967270

The bottom line is that you should use what works best for you and your organization. But be consistent and aware of the pitfalls and strengths of each.

For me, I avoid Labels like the plague (or Team-managed projects, which I also consider to be very plague-like). The frustration that comes with unavoidable typos and case differences WILL happen, and I just don't need that in my life.  :-)

Let's hear YOUR thoughts in the comments below. 

 

11 comments

John smithappdev
I'm New Here
I'm New Here
Those new to the Atlassian Community have posted less than three times. Give them a warm welcome!
November 18, 2024

Great explanation! To add to that, Components are project-specific and admin-controlled, allowing for structured grouping and better filtering (e.g., "Backend API" or "Frontend UI"). They help identify areas of a project impacted by an issue.

On the other hand, Labels are flexible and can be used across multiple projects. They’re user-generated, so anyone can add or remove them, but this can lead to inconsistencies with naming conventions (e.g., "Legal" or "Marketing").

Components are best for structured grouping and reporting, while Labels are great for quick, informal tagging across projects.

Like # people like this
Thorsten Letschert _Decadis AG_
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
November 18, 2024

Great overview. I'd like to add the option to create additional "Labels" custom fields that can then be restricted to specific projects, e.g., to be used within specific teams. Of course, the stumbling blocks remain, but I have found that it is easier to establish a consistent nomenclature within smaller groups, such as individual teams.

What's your opinion here @John Funk?

Like # people like this
karim -Atlassway-
Banned
November 18, 2024

Nice article , i'd like to add that any authorized user can add labels to an issue as long as the label field is available on the issue. Consequently, it’s easy to end up with a very large number of labels. The danger here is that the project can end up with numerous capitalization and spelling variations, e.g., login vs. Login, user vs. User, ready_for_UAT vs. ready_for_uat, etc. This can, in turn, render searching via labels inefficient and prone to error.

So adding many label fields it's a good idea ,instead of storing all kinds of labels in one Label field , with Colored label manager you can create many label fields and manage them easily in an intuitive interface .

Project admin can also lock the label field and let the team use it as a select list . 

Empower your project Management with Colored Label Manager.jpeg

Cheers :) 

Like John Funk likes this
John Funk
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
November 18, 2024

Thanks @John smithappdev !

@Thorsten Letschert _Decadis AG_  - Yes, I should add that. And agree 100% if you want to use Labels. 

@karim -Atlassway-  - Good points!

 

Matt Doar _Adaptavist_
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
November 18, 2024

May not need saying but they are both multi-value fields

I've found labels very useful when they are not entered by humans. If scripts set them using the REST API, then their values tend to be much more consistent. When people type them, not so much

Also, there is no easy way to clean up and merge labels. Which is shame, but as usual there are plugins and apps for that

Like # people like this
John Funk
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
November 18, 2024

Great input @Matt Doar _Adaptavist_ !

Evan Fishman - Rallybetter_com
Contributor
November 19, 2024

Labels being case-sensitive is something I still have issues with lol. "Cat" vs "cat" vs "CAT" is exactly the kind of mess that makes searching a nightmare.

 

 

Like karim -Atlassway- likes this
John Funk
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
November 19, 2024
karim -Atlassway-
Banned
November 19, 2024

@Evan Fishman - Rallybetter_com @John Funk , 

Just to confirm that using Colored Label Manager we take care about Jira Cat , Cats , Catz , catt   : )

Cat Cat Colored label Manager.png

Like # people like this
Dave Mathijs
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
November 27, 2024

I regularly use labels in Jira for the automated creation of change logs on Confluence pages.

Insert the Jira Issues Macro on a page and use a Jira Filter based on Labels to identify all service or change requests involving the CRUD of an object or object scheme in Jira.

Like John Funk likes this
John Funk
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
November 27, 2024

Very nice @Dave Mathijs ! Maybe you could create a Community article with an example of that.   ;-)

 

Comment

Log in or Sign up to comment
TAGS
AUG Leaders

Atlassian Community Events