Overview

Linear is a product-development system for teams coordinating plans, issues and release work. It is best suited to product and engineering groups that want planning, tracking and AI features in one workspace. Its free plan makes it possible to start without a subscription, but its issue and team caps make growth a reason to move to a paid tier.

Key features

Planning and issue tracking

Initiatives, projects, issue tracking and cycle planning connect longer-range product work with day-to-day execution. Automation rules and guest access add ways to coordinate work beyond a core team. The Free plan's 250-issue and two-team limits, however, may constrain teams with multiple active products or a growing backlog.

AI and integrations

AI-powered workflows and agents are part of the product, and even the Free plan includes the agent platform and Linear Agent. The integration directory connects Linear with GitHub, Slack, GitLab, Figma and Intercom for workflows such as pull-request automation, issue creation and customer feedback tracking. Teams with specialized needs can build 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 from the last three months. Linear is committed to GDPR compliance and provides measures to safeguard protected health information for HIPAA compliance.

Pricing

The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes unlimited members, two teams, 250 issues, the agent platform and Linear Agent. Its 10 MB file-upload limit is a notable constraint for teams sharing attachments, and the issue cap makes it better for small or limited-scope work than an expanding backlog.

Basic costs 10.00 USD per month, billed yearly. It raises the team cap to five and removes issue and file-upload limits, while adding admin roles. This is the clearest step up for teams that have outgrown the Free plan's caps but do not need the broader controls and workflows in Business.

Business costs 16.00 USD per month, billed yearly. It adds unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Triage Intelligence, Linear Asks, and Zendesk and Intercom integrations. It fits organizations that need more separation between teams, richer triage, or customer-support connections.

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 relevant tier for organizations with formal identity, administration or support needs.

Platforms

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

Who it's for

Linear is a strong fit for product and engineering teams that want initiatives, projects, issue tracking and cycle planning connected, and that can use its integrations and automation to coordinate work. The free tier suits a small workspace that can stay within two teams, 250 issues and 10 MB uploads. Teams with larger backlogs or more teams should weigh Basic or Business; organizations needing identity controls such as SAML and SCIM should consider Enterprise. It is less compelling for teams that need no-cost issue tracking at a scale beyond the Free plan's caps.

Pros and cons

Pro: Planning spans initiatives, projects, issues and cycles, so product work and execution can live in the same system.
Pro: The Free plan includes unlimited members and AI agents, giving teams room to try the workflow before paying.
Pro: A broad integration directory and API-based custom integrations support connections to product, engineering and customer-feedback workflows.
Pro: Security, hosting and identity options include EU or US hosting, encryption, audit logs, and enterprise identity controls.
Con: Free is capped at two teams, 250 issues and 10 MB uploads, so active teams may need to upgrade as their work accumulates.
Con: Basic and Business prices are billed yearly, which is less flexible for teams seeking a month-to-month commitment.

Alternatives

For a free issue-tracking option with a larger stated user allowance, YouTrack offers a Cloud Free plan for up to 10 users with 30 GB storage; choose it if those limits suit your team better than Linear's free issue and team caps. Backlog is another freemium option, with a free plan for 10 users, one project, 100 MB storage, Git and Subversion, and a board; it may suit a team whose needs fit that project-based allowance. Bugzilla is a free, open-source alternative for readers considering a different issue tracker. Tuleap offers a commercial plan with a quote tailored to user count, hosting and support, including cloud or on-premise options. Buildtable offers a free plan for one game and two team members with a Bug Center and tasks, making it a focused option for game teams within those limits. Shortcut has a free plan for teams up to 10 users, with one workspace and 5 GB storage, an alternative for teams whose size and storage needs fit that allowance. Trac is a free alternative. Zoho BugTracker is a freemium alternative.

Readers comparing category-specific tools can also browse Game Bug Tracking Software, Agile Project Management Software, IT Release Management Software, Issue Tracking Software, IT Project Management Software and AI Project Management Software.

Verdict

Choose Linear if your product or engineering team wants planning and issue tracking in one workspace, with useful integrations and AI features included even at the free level. Look elsewhere if the Free plan's issue, team or upload caps are too tight and a yearly paid commitment is not right for you, or if you need a different cost or hosting model.

	Linear	Pancake
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	$10/mo	$149/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, macOS, Web, Windows	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	10 /user/mo	—
Automation rules	Yes	—
Guest access	Yes	—

Linear vs Pancake

Linear

Pancake