Linear

Overview

Linear is a product-development work system for teams that need to plan initiatives and projects while tracking issues through release. It suits product and engineering groups that value connected planning, automation, and integrations; the chief trade-off is that the free plan caps both teams and issues.

Founded in 2019, Linear says it serves more than 40,000 companies. Its scope runs from cycle planning to AI-powered workflows, with security and identity controls aimed at organizations with more formal requirements.

Key features

Planning and tracking

Initiatives, projects, issue tracking, and cycle planning put roadmap-level planning and day-to-day work in the same system. Automation rules and guest access add coordination options, although the free plan’s 250-issue and two-team limits may be restrictive as a workspace grows.

AI and integrations

Linear includes AI-powered workflows and agents, and even the Free plan includes its agent platform and Linear Agent. The integration directory covers GitHub, Slack, GitLab, Figma, and Intercom, with workflows for pull-request automation, issue creation, and customer feedback tracking. Teams with specialized needs can create integrations through the API and submit them to the directory.

Security and administration

Linear says it undergoes regular SOC 2 Type II audits and is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified. Connections use HTTPS and TLS 1.2; stored data is encrypted with AES 256-bit encryption, and workspaces can be hosted in the EU or US. Identity options include SSO, passkeys, SAML, SCIM, domain claiming, login restrictions, and IP restrictions. Audit logs cover important workspace events over the last three months. Linear is committed to GDPR compliance and provides measures to safeguard protected health information for HIPAA compliance.

Pricing

Linear is freemium, with paid plans billed yearly. The Free plan costs nothing and is billed free for everyone. It allows unlimited members but is capped at two teams, 250 issues, and 10 MB file uploads. Its included agent platform and Linear Agent make it a useful starting point for a small setup, but teams that exceed either core cap will need to move up.

Basic costs $10 a month, billed yearly. It raises the team ceiling to five and removes issue and file-upload limits, while adding admin roles. This fits teams that have outgrown Free’s capacity but do not need unlimited teams. Business costs $16 a month, billed yearly, and adds unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Triage Intelligence, Linear Asks, and Zendesk and Intercom integrations. It is the more suitable tier for organizations needing broader team structure and those additional support workflows.

Enterprise has custom pricing and supports invoice or purchase-order billing. It adds SAML and SCIM, granular admin controls, migration and onboarding support, priority support, and account management, making it the tier for organizations that need those controls and services. The Free plan’s unlimited member allowance contrasts with its strict workspace caps; paid tiers are the route to greater capacity and administration.

Platforms

Linear is available on the web, macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. An API is also available for custom integrations.

Who it's for

Linear is best suited to product and engineering teams coordinating planned work, issues, and releases, particularly those already using its listed development and collaboration integrations. Small teams can start without paying, while teams that need more than two teams or 250 issues will need Basic or Business. Organizations that require enterprise identity controls, more granular administration, or onboarding support should consider Enterprise.

Pros and cons

• Connected planning and tracking: initiatives, projects, issues, and cycle planning address multiple stages of product work in one system.
• Useful free starting point: unlimited members and included AI agents lower the barrier for a small workspace, but the 250-issue, two-team, and 10 MB upload caps limit its headroom.
• Broad integration options: named integrations and API-created integrations support established and custom workflows.
• Strongly specified security controls: encryption, regional hosting, audit logs, and identity options serve organizations with security and administration needs, though the three-month audit-log window may not suit every retention requirement.
• Paid capacity comes with a yearly billing term: Basic and Business remove or raise key limits, but their listed prices are billed yearly rather than monthly.

Alternatives

Consider YouTrack if a free tier for up to 10 users and 30 GB of storage better matches a small team’s needs. Choose Backlog if a free plan for 10 users with one project, Git and Subversion, and a board is the more relevant fit. Bugzilla is a free alternative for readers comparing issue-tracking options. Tuleap is worth considering when a quote tailored to user count, hosting preferences, and support expectations is preferable. Buildtable may suit a small game team looking for a free plan covering one game and two team members. Shortcut offers a free plan for teams of up to 10 users. Trac is another free option to compare. Gemini is a paid alternative with a cloud plan billed monthly per user and a self-host migration option.

Explore Game Bug Tracking Software, IT Release Management Software, Issue Tracking Software, Agile Project Management Software, IT Project Management Software, and Game Project Management Software for category comparisons.

Verdict

Choose Linear if your product or engineering team wants planning, issue tracking, AI agents, and integrations in one system, and its yearly paid tiers fit your budget as work expands. Look elsewhere if the free caps are too tight or if a different team size, storage allowance, or hosting model better matches your needs.