ClickUp vs Linear
ClickUp and Linear are both project management tools. ClickUp is aimed at small businesses and agencies, while Linear is aimed at developers and small businesses. Linear costs less, from $10/mo versus $12/mo for ClickUp. Both have a free plan.
| Pricing | Freemium · $12 | Freemium · $10 |
| Starting price | $12/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Agencies | Developers, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android, macos, windows | web, macos, windows, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2017 | US · 2019 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose ClickUp if
Agencies and SMBs that want maximum functionality per seat and will invest in setup.
- Extremely feature-rich for the price
- Free plan is unusually generous
- Highly customizable hierarchy and fields
Look elsewhere if: Teams that want an opinionated, minimal tool (Linear, Basecamp) or enterprises needing predictable performance at scale.
Choose Linear if
Product and engineering teams from 3 to a few hundred people who ship continuously and want speed over configurability.
- Fastest issue tracker in day-to-day use; keyboard-first design
- Opinionated structure keeps teams consistent without configuration
- Excellent GitHub, Slack and Sentry integrations
Look elsewhere if: Organizations that need bespoke workflows, custom issue hierarchies, or a single tool for marketing, HR and engineering.
ClickUp vs Linear pricing
ClickUp
- Free$060 MB storage, unlimited tasks and members, 500 AI credits per workspace
- Core$12/user/mo$9/user/mo billed yearly; unlimited storage, 1K AI credits per user
- Business$25/user/mo$17/user/mo billed yearly; 1K automations, Brain² trial
- EnterpriseCustomSAML SSO, HIPAA, data residency
- Max$120/user/mo$100/user/mo billed yearly; full Max AI engine, 10K pooled credits, white labeling
Linear
- Free$0Unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues
- Basic$10/user/moBilled yearly; 5 teams, unlimited issues and uploads, admin roles
- Business$16/user/moBilled yearly; unlimited teams, private teams, Insights, Asks
- EnterpriseCustomAnnual only; SAML, SCIM, advanced security
ClickUp · Key features
- 15+ views including list, board, Gantt, calendar, mind map, workload
- Docs, whiteboards and chat inside the workspace
- Custom fields, statuses and templates per space or list
- Automations and ClickUp Brain AI for summaries and writing
- Time tracking, goals, dashboards and sprints
- Hierarchy: spaces, folders, lists, tasks, subtasks, checklists
Cons
- Complexity and clutter; onboarding takes effort
- Performance issues on large workspaces
- Frequent UI changes
Linear · Key features
- Cycles (sprints) with automatic rollover and capacity view
- Projects and initiatives with milestones, updates and roadmap views
- Triage inbox for bugs and requests from Slack, Intercom, Zendesk and Sentry
- GitHub/GitLab automation: branch naming, PR links and auto-close on merge
- Insights dashboards for velocity, scope change and cycle time
- Local-first sync engine; the app works offline and feels instant
Cons
- Limited customization compared with Jira (no custom issue types)
- Reporting is improving but still lighter than enterprise tools
- Not designed for non-engineering departments
ClickUp vs Linear: FAQ
Which is cheaper, ClickUp or Linear?
Linear starts at $10/mo and ClickUp at $12/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do ClickUp and Linear have a free plan?
Yes, both ClickUp and Linear have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.