CataleoSoftware
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Project Management Comparison

Jira vs. Linear

At a glance

At a glance

Jira

Best for

Best for software development teams running agile workflows.

  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Linear

Best for

Best for software and product teams that want fast, structured issue tracking and planning.

  • Freelancers
  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.

Full Comparison

Criterion Jira Linear
Starting price Free; Standard from ~$7.91 / user / month Premium ~$15.25 per user and month, Enterprise on request. The free tier covers up to 10 users. Free; Basic from $10 / user / month Billed yearly. Business is $16 per user and month. Enterprise is custom and annual billing only. The free plan covers up to 250 issues and 2 teams.
Free trial Free tier Free tier
Made in Australia Not stated
Task planning Yes, agile boards for Scrum and Kanban, with sprints, backlogs and roadmaps Yes, issues grouped into projects, cycles and initiatives, with board, list and timeline views and roadmaps
Resource planning Limited natively, capacity planning via Premium Advanced Roadmaps or marketplace apps Not built in; Linear centers on issue tracking and product planning
Time tracking Yes, native worklogs Not built in; available through third-party integrations
Reporting and controlling Yes Insights and Dashboards on the Business plan and up, with project progress and analytics
Integrations and API Yes, deep developer-tool integration Yes, GraphQL API and webhooks, with integrations for GitHub, GitLab, Slack and Figma
AI features stated Yes No
MCP-ready No stated Yes
Deployment more entries Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
Support Not stated Email helpdesk, Community forum
Onboarding Not stated Documentation and knowledge base
Company size Small and mid-sized, Enterprise more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
Integrations more entries Confluence, Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Tempo GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Figma, Sentry

Compare more tools

Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.

The short version

Key Differences

  • Starting price Jira Free; Standard from ~$7.91 / user / month Linear Free; Basic from $10 / user / month
  • Deployment Jira Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based, On-premise Linear Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based
  • Company size Jira Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Linear Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
  • AI features Jira Yes Linear No
  • MCP-ready Jira No Linear Yes

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

Jira

Strengths

  • The standard for agile software teams
  • Deep developer-tool integration
  • On-premise option via Data Center

Limitations

  • Overkill and complex for non-software teams
  • Configuration can get heavy

Linear

Strengths

  • Fast, keyboard-driven interface built for software teams
  • Clear model of issues, projects, cycles and initiatives
  • Strong developer integrations and an official MCP server for AI agents
  • Generous free plan for small teams

Limitations

  • No built-in time tracking or staffing-style resource planning
  • Focused on software and product work, less suited to general project management

Plans

Pricing

Jira

  • Free $0 Up to 10 users.
  • Standard ~$7.91 Per user and month.
  • Premium ~$15.25 Per user and month.
  • Enterprise Custom On request.
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Linear

  • Free $0 Up to 250 issues, 2 teams and 10 MB file uploads.
  • Basic $10 Per user and month, billed yearly. Unlimited issues and up to 5 teams.
  • Business $16 Per user and month, billed yearly. Unlimited teams, private teams and more integrations.
  • Enterprise Not stated Custom pricing, annual billing only. Adds SAML/SCIM, priority support and account management.
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

Jira

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Linear

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.

Where this comes from

Where this comes from

Jira https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira · no check date recorded yet

Linear https://linear.app · checked against the official source on 2026-08-22

This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.