Quick Answer
Last verified:
High confidence

Linear costs Free to $16 per user/month as of March 2026, with 4 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free (free), Basic at $10/user/month, and Business at $16/user/month. Enterprise pricing is available on request. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes

Linear offers 4 pricing tiers: Free, Basic, Business, Enterprise. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Basic at $10/user/month, Business at $16/user/month. The Basic plan is getting started.

Compared to other developer tools software, Linear is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.

  • Median contract: $192/yr from 0 purchases
  • 0
  • 5 documented hidden costs beyond list price
  • Contracts auto-renew — Cancel anytime for monthly plans; annual plans commit for the full year with no mid-term refunds

How much does Linear cost?

Linear offers 4 pricing plans, starting with a free tier and scaling to custom enterprise pricing. Plans include Free (free), Basic at $10/user/month, Business at $16/user/month, Enterprise (custom pricing).

Linear Pricing Overview

Linear has 4 pricing plans, including a free tier. Paid plans range from $0 to $16/user/month. The Free plan is free and is best for free for everyone. The Basic plan costs $10/user/month, best for getting started. The Business plan costs $16/user/month, best for scaling teams. The Enterprise plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote and is designed for enterprise organizations.

Linear contracts auto-renew, with a Annual billing required on all paid plans minimum commitment.

The median Linear customer pays $192/year.

There are at least 5 documented hidden costs beyond Linear's list price, including implementation, training, and add-on fees.

This pricing was last verified in February 22, 2026 from 7 independent sources.

Linear has emerged as the modern alternative to Jira, designed specifically for high-velocity software teams that value speed and simplicity. Founded in 2019 by former Uber engineers, Linear has quickly gained adoption among startups and growth-stage companies frustrated with Jira's complexity. Companies like Vercel, Ramp, Retool, and Cash App use Linear to manage their product development workflows.

Linear pricing ranges from free for small teams (up to 250 issues) to $14/user/month for Plus, with Standard at $8/user/month. The platform differentiates itself through its keyboard-first design, sub-100ms performance, and opinionated workflows that eliminate configuration paralysis. Features like Cycles (sprints), Triage, roadmaps, and seamless GitHub integration make it particularly suited for engineering teams practicing continuous delivery.

In this guide, we break down Linear's pricing tiers from Free through Enterprise, explain what each plan includes, compare Linear to Jira and other issue trackers on price and features, and cover the hidden costs like annual billing requirements and migration effort you should consider before making the switch.

How Linear Pricing Compares

Compare Linear pricing against top alternatives in Developer Tools.

All Linear Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
Free Free Free Free for everyone
Basic $10 /user/month $120 /user/year Getting started
Business $16 /user/month $192 /user/year Scaling teams
Enterprise Contact Sales Contact Sales Enterprise organizations
View all features by plan

Free

  • Unlimited members
  • 2 teams
  • 250 issues
  • Slack and GitHub integration
  • AI agents

Basic

  • 5 teams
  • Unlimited issues
  • Unlimited file uploads
  • Admin roles

Business

  • Unlimited teams
  • Private teams and guests
  • Triage Intelligence
  • Linear Insights
  • Linear Asks
  • Issue SLAs
  • Zendesk and Intercom integrations

Enterprise

  • Sub-initiatives
  • Advanced Linear Asks
  • Dashboards
  • SAML and SCIM
  • Advanced security
  • Migration and onboarding support

Compare Linear vs Alternatives

Before committing to Linear, compare pricing with these 3 alternatives in the same category.

All Linear alternatives & migration guides

What Companies Actually Pay for Linear

The median Linear buyer pays $192/year based on 0 verified purchase transactions.

What companies actually pay $192/yr Median across 0 purchases
0
Review scores
TrustRadius 9/10 (58)
Trustpilot 1/5 (1)
Top pricing complaints
Limited customization and reporting capabilitiesEnterprise features locked behind expensive tierNot suitable for complex workflows or large organizationsMissing documentation features
Source: Vendr buyer database — median calculated from 0 real purchase transactions. Savings figure reflects negotiated discounts reported by buyers.

Linear Year 1 Total Cost by Company Size

Real deployment costs including licenses, implementation, training, and admin — not just the sticker price.

10-Person Startup Team $80 Year 1 total
$960/year
Total $80

A 10-person engineering team on Standard plan with unlimited issues, cycles, and full integration suite

50-Person Engineering Organization $700 Year 1 total
$8,400/year
Total $700

A 50-person engineering organization on Plus with SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and multiple private teams

Small product team (10 members) $960 Year 1 total

A small product development team using Linear for sprint planning, issue tracking, and roadmap management with GitHub and Slack integrations.

Growing startup (50 members) $6,000 Year 1 total

A growing startup that needs to manage multiple projects and sprints across engineering, design, and product teams.

How Linear Pricing Compares

Software Starting Price Top Price
Linear Free $16/user/month
Amplitude Free $49/month
CircleCI Free $15/month
Docker $11/user/month $24/user/month
Fly.io Free $300/month
GitHub Free $21/user/month

Detailed pricing comparisons:

5 Linear Hidden Costs Beyond the List Price

Beyond the listed price, Linear has at least 5 documented hidden costs that can significantly increase total cost of ownership.

Watch for 5 hidden costs
  • Guest user access requires paid seats $8-$16/guest/month
    medium 1 source
    TrustRadius "Being able to invite guests without costing extra money. Platforms like ClickUp allow you to invite a limited no of guests without costing extra money."
  • Enterprise features locked behind expensive tier Variable - Enterprise pricing not disclosed
    high 1 source
    G2 "increasing pressure to upgrade to enterprise, all new features get locked behind their insanely expensive plan"
  • Per-seat pricing scales poorly for larger teams $10-$16/user/month
    medium 1 source
    G2 "I don't like that I have to pay per person. It becomes costy if you have 10 people in the team."
  • Enterprise Feature Lock-In for Security Requirements 2-3x cost increase vs Business tier for compliance-driven teams
    high 1 source
    pricing_page "SAML, SCIM, and advanced security features available only on Enterprise plan"
  • Annual-Only Billing Locks in Spending $120-$192/user/year in committed spend with no monthly flexibility
    medium 1 source
    pricing_page "Annual billing required for Basic and Business plans"
Tip

Ask your Linear sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Intelligence sourced from 5 independent sources
TrustRadius Enterprise reviews G2 B2B reviews pricing_page Vendr Verified buyer transactions Trustpilot Consumer reviews
Key claims include inline source attribution. Data verified against multiple independent sources. 12 source citations total.

Linear Contract Terms

Linear contracts auto-renew. Changes require Cancel anytime for monthly plans; annual plans commit for the full year with no mid-term refunds. These terms are sourced from verified buyer experiences.

Contract Terms
Auto-Renewal Yes
Cancellation Notice Cancel anytime for monthly plans; annual plans commit for the full year with no mid-term refunds
Minimum Commitment Annual billing required on all paid plans
Mid-Term Downgrade Allowed
Payment Terms Annual billing only; no monthly option for paid plans
Price Escalation No published annual uplift schedule; pricing has remained stable since launch
Note

Can downgrade between tiers at any time; changes take effect at next billing cycle

Based on 1 verified source

How to Negotiate Linear Pricing

Linear contracts are negotiable. These 5 tactics are sourced from real buyer experiences and procurement specialists.

Negotiation Playbook 5 tactics
Leverage Free Tier Generosity high success

Linear's free tier supports unlimited members and projects with up to 250 active issues. Use this to evaluate thoroughly before committing, and reference the free tier's capabilities when negotiating Enterprise pricing to anchor expectations.

pricing analysis
Competitive Leverage Against Jira high success

Linear competes directly with Atlassian Jira ($8.15-16/user/month) and Asana ($10.99-24.99/user/month). Reference competing quotes, especially Jira's aggressive enterprise discounting, to pressure Linear on Enterprise tier pricing.

pricing analysis
Optimize User Mix with Free Tier high success

Keep stakeholders, PMs, and occasional users on the free plan (which allows unlimited members) and only put active engineering teams on paid plans. This can reduce paid seat count by 30-50% for larger organizations.

pricing analysis
Multi-Year Enterprise Commitment medium success

For Enterprise tier (custom pricing), commit to a 2-3 year term in exchange for 15-25% discount. Linear's Enterprise tier includes SAML, SCIM, and advanced security features that justify longer commitments once adopted.

industry analysis
Volume Discount for 100+ Seats medium success

For teams over 100 users, request volume-based pricing on the Business tier ($16/user/month list). Per-seat costs at scale should decrease 10-20% given Linear's low marginal cost per additional user.

industry analysis

Full negotiation guide →

Price History

Track how Linear pricing has changed over time.

Jul 2025
Linear price decrease
Highest tier decreased from $50 to $29/month
-42% price change
Feb 2026
Linear price decrease
Highest tier decreased from $29 to $16/month
-44.83% price change
Feb 2026
Linear tier restructure
Changed from 3 to 4 pricing tiers
📈 Price decreased 68.0% over 0.8 years
🔔 Get notified when Linear changes their pricing

Linear Pricing FAQ

01 How much does Linear cost per user?

Linear pricing starts free for up to 250 issues, Standard costs $8/user/month for unlimited issues and cycles, Plus costs $14/user/month with SSO and advanced features, and Enterprise has custom pricing. All paid plans require annual billing.

02 Is Linear free?

Yes, Linear offers a free plan with unlimited team members and up to 250 issues. The free tier includes basic issue tracking, Kanban boards, roadmaps, and key integrations with Slack and GitHub. It's one of the more generous free tiers for modern issue trackers.

03 What's the difference between Linear Standard and Plus?

Linear Plus ($14/user/month) adds SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, audit logs, private teams, advanced roadmaps, custom roles, and advanced insights. Standard ($8/user/month) covers unlimited issues, cycles, roadmaps, and all integrations - sufficient for most teams without enterprise security requirements.

04 Does Linear require annual contracts?

Linear paid plans are billed annually. There is no month-to-month billing option for Standard and Plus plans. This means committing upfront for a year, which some fast-changing startups may find constraining.

05 How does Linear compare to Jira pricing?

Linear Standard at $8/user/month is comparable to Jira Standard at $8.15/user/month. However, Linear's simpler interface often requires fewer add-ons. Jira's ecosystem costs (Confluence, marketplace apps, Atlassian Access) can push total costs significantly higher than Linear's all-inclusive pricing.

06 How does Linear compare to competitors on price?

Linear is competitively priced for modern issue trackers. At $8/user/month, it matches Jira Standard, undercuts Asana Premium ($10.99), and costs more than GitHub Issues (free). Linear's value proposition is speed and developer experience rather than lowest price.

07 What discounts does Linear offer?

Linear offers volume discounts for large teams (100+ users) through Enterprise pricing. Startups can access discounts through accelerator programs and partnerships. Annual billing is required - there's no additional annual vs monthly discount since monthly isn't offered.

08 Does Linear offer nonprofit or education pricing?

Linear offers discounts for qualifying nonprofits and educational institutions on a case-by-case basis. Contact Linear sales with proof of nonprofit status. Discounts typically range from 25-50% off standard pricing.

09 What's included in Linear's Enterprise plan?

Linear Enterprise includes all Plus features plus dedicated support, custom contract terms, advanced security controls, data residency options, custom integrations, onboarding assistance, and SLA guarantees. Pricing is negotiated based on team size and requirements.

10 How does Linear billing work?

Linear bills annually per user for paid plans. You're charged upfront for the full year based on your team size. Adding users mid-term is prorated. The free plan has no billing - just upgrade when you exceed 250 issues or need paid features.

11 Can I negotiate Linear pricing?

Yes, Linear Enterprise pricing is fully negotiable. For Plus plans with 50+ users, contact sales for potential volume discounts. Startups in recognized accelerators may qualify for special programs. Multi-year commitments can unlock additional savings.

12 What happens if I exceed Linear's free plan limits?

When you exceed 250 issues on the free plan, you'll need to upgrade to Standard ($8/user/month) to continue creating new issues. Existing issues remain accessible, but you cannot add more until you upgrade or archive old issues to stay under the limit.

13 Is Linear's free plan sufficient for small teams?

Linear's Free plan is quite generous with unlimited issues, unlimited projects, and support for up to 250 members. It includes core features like cycles (sprints), roadmaps, and integrations with GitHub, GitLab, and Slack. However, it lacks priority support, SAML SSO, audit logs, advanced analytics, and custom roles. The free plan works well for teams under 250 members with standard issue tracking needs and no enterprise security requirements. You'll need to upgrade if you require SAML SSO, audit logs, priority support, or advanced features.

14 What are the main limitations of Linear for larger organizations?

Linear can feel limiting for larger organizations in several ways: (1) Limited customization options compared to more feature-heavy platforms, (2) Basic reporting and analytics capabilities, (3) Lack of comprehensive documentation features built-in, (4) Difficulty managing multiple simultaneous releases or projects, (5) Not well-suited for software services companies managing multiple client projects, (6) Per-seat pricing that can become expensive at scale, and (7) New advanced features increasingly locked behind the expensive Enterprise tier.

15 Does Linear have good integrations with development tools?

Yes, Linear has strong integrations with development tools, particularly GitHub and Slack. Users report that the GitHub integration works smoothly, allowing seamless updates and PR merges. The Slack integration enables team members to create tickets, receive updates, and manage tasks without leaving Slack. Linear also integrates with GitLab and other tools, though some integrations are described as 'fairly basic' and may require additional tools for heavier requirements.

16 Is Linear suitable for non-technical teams?

While Linear is highly praised by engineering and product teams for its speed and developer-friendly features (like keyboard shortcuts and API access), it's also designed to be intuitive for non-technical users. The interface is clean and minimal, making it 'easy to understand and operate' without being overloaded with features. However, teams that need extensive customization, complex workflows, or detailed analytics may find it too minimal. Linear works best for product-focused teams regardless of technical background, but may not suit all use cases.

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