Linear
Plane
| Feature | Linear | Plane |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $8/mo | Free / from $7/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | software-teams, startups, product-teams, engineering-teams | developers, open-source-advocates, startups, engineering-teams |
| Founded | 2019 | 2022 |
| Issues | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cycles | ✓ | ✓ |
| Roadmaps | ✓ | ✗ |
| Projects | ✓ | ✗ |
| Views | ✓ | ✓ |
| Git Integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Modules | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Linear Pros
- Incredibly fast
- Beautiful design
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Git integration
✗ Linear Cons
- Limited customization
- Opinionated workflow
- No time tracking
✓ Plane Pros
- Open source and self-hostable
- Modern clean interface
- Jira-like power without complexity
- Active community
✗ Plane Cons
- Relatively new
- Smaller integration ecosystem
- Documentation still maturing
The Verdict
Linear is built for software teams and startups, with a focus on issues and cycles. Plane targets developers and open source advocates and leads with cycles and modules.
Pricing is close: Plane starts at $7/mo versus $8/mo for Linear — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Linear edges out on user ratings (4.7 vs 4.2). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Both tools are a solid fit for startups, engineering teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Linear has a slight overall edge — but if open source and self-hostable matters most to you, Plane may still be the right call.