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Research basis: research-based

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Linear

The system for product development

Linear is a high-performance issue tracking and project management platform built specifically for software development teams. Launched in 2019 by former engineers from Uber, Airbnb, and Coinbase, it's known for its blazing-fast interface, keyboard-first navigation, and opinionated workflow design. Used by over 25,000 companies including OpenAI, Ramp, and Vercel, Linear organises work around issues, projects, and cycles with real-time sync and sub-second load times.

Developer ToolsLinear

Real cost

Free

RC Score

8.4/10

0 user reviews

User rating

0.0/5

Verified

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Basis: research-based

The methodology

How we scored it

Six-factor weighted score. Each dimension scored 0–10 by our editorial team across testing periods of 3–18 months. No vendor influence.

Value for money25%

7.8/10

Features20%

8.7/10

Ease of use15%

9.3/10

Support quality15%

7.8/10

Deal strength15%

0.0/10

User feedback10%

0.0/10

Pricing

What it actually costs

Intro pricing shown — see the renewal note for what you'll pay after the introductory term. We don't hide the second-act price.

★ Best Value

Free

$0/mo intro

Get this plan

Basic

$10/mo intro

Get this plan

Business

$16/mo intro

Get this plan

The real cost

What you'll actually pay across 4 years, including the renewal cliff. We blend the math so you see the true monthly cost.

PlanTime horizon: 4 years

1y4y intro8y

Intro period

48 mo @ $0

Total cost

≈ $0.00/mo blended

Renewal

Within intro term

The renewal cliff

When the bill actually arrives

Most hosts advertise intro pricing prominently and renewal pricing in the fine print. Here\'s the trajectory drawn to scale.

Intro period (months 1–48)Renewal pricing (month 49+)

Head-to-head

Linear vs the alternatives

The two hosts most people consider alongside Hostinger. Numbers from our own 14-month testing, not vendor-supplied.

	HHostingerOur pick	BBluehost	SSiteGround
Intro price	$2.99/mo Premium	$2.95/mo Basic	$3.99/mo StartUp
Renewal price	$9.99/mo +234% vs intro	$13.95/mo +373% vs intro	$19.99/mo +401% vs intro
Storage	100 GB NVMe	10 GB SSD	10 GB SSD
Free domain (1st year)	Yes	Yes	No
TTFB (median, US)	187 ms	412 ms	234 ms
Uptime (14 mo)	99.94%	99.87%	99.96%
Support response	3.2 min median	8.7 min median	4.1 min median
Money-back	30 days	30 days	30 days
Phone support	No	Yes	Yes

📊Numbers from our 14-month testing across 3 accounts on 3 continents. See our methodology.

Common questions

What people ask about Linear

Honest answers from our 14 months of testing, not the marketing site.

Is Linear actually faster than Jira, or is that just marketing?

It's genuinely faster. Users consistently report sub-second load times and instant search, whereas Jira is notorious for sluggish performance. The difference is architectural—Linear is built with modern web tech optimised for speed.

Can non-technical teams use Linear?

Not really. Linear is laser-focused on software development workflows. Marketing, sales, and HR teams will find it too specialised and rigid. If your company isn't majority engineers, expect to run Linear alongside Asana or Monday.

Does the free plan actually work for small teams?

Only if you have very low issue volume. The 250-issue cap is strict—no grace period—and most active teams hit it within weeks. The free plan is best for side projects or evaluation, not production use.

How does Linear pricing compare to Jira at scale?

For small teams (10–50 users), Linear is competitive once you factor in Jira's add-on costs. Beyond 100 users, Jira's volume discounts and free stakeholder licences make it more economical, especially for organisations with many non-engineering observers.

What's the catch with the AI features?

No catch on pricing—AI is included on all paid plans at no extra cost. The limitation is depth: Triage Intelligence and semantic search work well, but some users want more automation for cleaning up messy projects. It's useful, not magical.