How much does Linear cost in 2026?

Linear pricing in 2026: Free plan (up to 10 members), Basic at $8/user/month, Plus at $16/user/month, and Enterprise with custom pricing. The free plan was cut from 250 members to 10 in February 2026.

Linear has a free plan, but it's limited to 10 members (reduced from 250 in February 2026). The free tier includes unlimited issues, 3 active cycles, and basic integrations. Teams of 11+ must upgrade to Basic ($8/user/month) or Plus ($16/user/month).

What happened to Linear's free plan?

In February 2026, Linear reduced the free plan member limit from 250 to 10 members — a 96% reduction. Teams with more than 10 members were forced to upgrade. Linear cited the need to invest in AI features and enterprise infrastructure as the reason.

Is Linear worth $8/user/month?

For engineering teams that value speed and keyboard-driven workflows, Linear at $8/user/month is competitive. It's faster and more opinionated than Jira. For teams that need extensive customization or non-engineering project management, Jira or ClickUp may be better value.

What are the best Linear alternatives?

Top Linear alternatives: GitHub Issues (free, integrates with repos), Plane (open-source, self-hostable, free tier), Jira ($7.75/user/month, more features), Height ($6.99/user/month, similar UX), and Notion (free for small teams, more versatile).

Linear · Updated August 2026 · 8 min read

Linear Pricing 2026: Free vs Basic vs Plus vs Enterprise Breakdown

Complete plan comparison · Price history · Free plan changes · Alternatives

    Bottom line: Linear's free plan was cut from 250 members to 10 in February 2026. Basic is now $8/user/month, Plus is $16/user/month, and Enterprise is custom. For teams of 11+, Linear costs $960-1,920/year per 10 users. This guide covers every plan, the free tier changes, and how Linear compares to alternatives.
  

Linear has become the preferred project management tool for fast-moving engineering teams. But in February 2026, Linear made a controversial change — slashing the free plan from 250 members to just 10. This guide covers every Linear plan, what you get at each tier, the real cost for different team sizes, and how Linear compares to alternatives.

Linear Pricing Plans 2026

Free

Up to 10 members. Unlimited issues, 3 active cycles, basic integrations.

Basic (most common)

$8 /user/mo

Unlimited members, unlimited cycles, guest access, priority support.

Plus

$16 /user/mo

Advanced analytics, Triage, automated issue prioritization, Linear Asks.

Enterprise

Custom

SSO/SAML, SCIM, audit logs, custom SLAs, dedicated support.

Plan	Price (per user/mo)	Member limit	25-user annual total
Free	$0	10 max	N/A (limit exceeded)
Basic	$8	Unlimited	$2,400/yr
Plus	$16	Unlimited	$4,800/yr
Enterprise	Custom	Unlimited	Negotiated

What Changed: The Free Plan Reduction

In February 2026, Linear made its most controversial pricing change:

Before (2025)	After (February 2026)	Change
Free: 250 members	Free: 10 members	-96% reduction
Basic: $8/user/mo	Basic: $8/user/mo	No change
Plus: $16/user/mo (called "Scale")	Plus: $16/user/mo	Renamed
No "Plus" tier	Plus: $16/user/mo (new name)	Renamed from Scale

Forced upgrade: Teams with 11-250 members on the free plan were forced to upgrade to Basic ($8/user/month) or lose access. A 50-person team that was free suddenly faced a $4,800/year bill. Linear offered a grace period, but the message was clear: the free ride was over.

Free Plan: What's Included and What Isn't

The free plan is now severely limited but still usable for very small teams:

Feature	Free (10 members)	Basic ($8/user)
Unlimited issues	Yes	Yes
Active cycles	3 max	Unlimited
Members	10 max	Unlimited
Guest access	No	Yes
Integrations	Basic (GitHub, Slack)	Full suite
Priority support	No	Yes
File uploads	10MB limit	50MB limit
API access	Yes	Yes

Basic vs Plus: Is the Jump Worth It?

At $8/user/month (Basic) vs $16/user/month (Plus), the $8 difference doubles your per-user cost. For a 25-person team, Plus costs $2,400 more per year than Basic.

Feature	Basic ($8)	Plus ($16)
Everything in Free	Yes	Yes
Unlimited cycles	Yes	Yes
Advanced analytics	No	Yes
Triage	No	Yes
Linear Asks (AI)	No	Yes
Automated prioritization	No	Yes
Time tracking	No	Yes
Initiatives	No	Yes

    Who needs Plus: Teams that need structured intake (Triage), AI-powered features (Linear Asks), and cross-project tracking (Initiatives). For most engineering teams that just need fast issue tracking and cycles, Basic at $8/user is sufficient.
  

Team Cost Calculator

Here's what different team sizes pay annually on each plan:

Team size	Free	Basic ($8)	Plus ($16)
5 users	$0	$480/yr	$960/yr
10 users	$0	$960/yr	$1,920/yr
15 users	N/A (over limit)	$1,440/yr	$2,880/yr
25 users	N/A	$2,400/yr	$4,800/yr
50 users	N/A	$4,800/yr	$9,600/yr
100 users	N/A	$9,600/yr	$19,200/yr

Linear vs Alternatives: 2026 Pricing Comparison

Tool	Entry paid plan	Free tier	Best for
Linear	$8/user/mo	10 members	Fast engineering teams
GitHub Issues	Free	Unlimited	Teams already on GitHub
Plane	$7/user/mo	Unlimited (self-hosted)	Open-source, self-hostable
Jira	$7.75/user/mo	10 users	Enterprise, complex workflows
Height	$6.99/user/mo	Unlimited members	Similar UX to Linear
ClickUp	$7/user/mo	Unlimited members	All-in-one workspace
Notion	$10/user/mo	10 guests	Docs + project management

For teams already on GitHub, GitHub Issues (free) is the most cost-effective option. For teams that want Linear's speed and UX but at a lower price, Height ($6.99/user/month) offers a similar experience with a more generous free tier.

See our detailed comparisons:

Is Linear Still Worth It?

Linear remains the fastest, most keyboard-driven project management tool available. For engineering teams that value speed and opinionated workflows, it's hard to beat. The cycles feature, keyboard shortcuts, and tight GitHub integration are genuinely best-in-class.

But at $8/user/month — with the free plan now limited to 10 members — the cost is real. A 25-person engineering team pays $2,400/year for Basic. GitHub Issues for the same team costs $0. The question is whether Linear's speed and UX improvements justify the cost.

    Decision framework:
    Team of 10 or fewer, light usage → Free plan may work
Engineering team that values speed above all → Linear Basic at $8/user is defensible
Team needs structured intake and AI features → Plus at $16/user
Cost-sensitive team on GitHub → GitHub Issues (free) handles 80% of what Linear does
Enterprise with compliance needs → Enterprise plan with SSO/SAML

  

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