In this guide
Quick answer
Linear costs $10 per user per month on Basic and $16 on Business, both billed yearly, with a Free plan capped at 250 issues and custom Enterprise pricing. A 50-person team pays $6,000 a year on Basic or $9,600 on Business at list price, before any discount.
Key takeaways
- Cheapest paid plan: Basic at $10 per user per month, billed yearly.
- Most growing teams need Business at $16, because guests, private teams and SAML start there.
- Biggest hidden cost: the 5-team cap on Basic, which forces every seat onto Business.
- Best way to save: remove idle members before renewal and use GitHub or Jira quotes as leverage.
Linear has a reputation as the fast, opinionated issue tracker engineers actually like using, and its pricing page is short. The catch is in the limits: 250 issues on Free, 5 teams on Basic, and guests and private teams only on Business.
This guide prices every plan from Linear's official pricing page and shows where the bill really lands for a growing company.
How much does Linear cost?
Free
$0
Unlimited members, 250 issues, 2 teams, issues, projects, cycles, initiatives, API access, Linear Agent
Basic
$10
N/A monthly
Unlimited issues, 5 teams, unlimited file uploads, Google SSO
Business
$16
N/A monthly
Unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Triage Intelligence, Insights, Asks, Zendesk and Intercom integrations, SAML
Enterprise
Custom
SAML and SCIM, audit logs, IP restrictions, granular admin controls, invoice and PO billing, migration support, account management
Linear (Free, Basic, Business, Enterprise). Source: linear.app, Prices verified 21 September 2026
Linear lists Basic at $10 and Business at $16 per user per month, both shown as billed yearly, and Enterprise is annual only with invoice or purchase order billing. Every plan allows unlimited members, so cost scales directly with the number of people you add. Some newer Business features, such as coding sessions and Loops, require AI credits on top of the seat price, and the Salesforce integration is sold as an add-on.
What each Linear plan includes
| Feature | Free | Basic | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 250 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Teams | 2 | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| File uploads | 10MB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Private teams and guests | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Triage Intelligence, Insights, Asks | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Zendesk and Intercom integrations | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Single sign-on | Google and SAML | SAML and SCIM | ||
| Audit logs and IP restrictions | Not included | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Invoice and PO billing | Not included | Not included | Not included | Included |
Linear cost calculator
Your estimate
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per year at list price
- per user per month
- —
- Billed
- —
- 3 years
- —
List prices only. Taxes, custom quotes and negotiated discounts are not included.
Hidden costs to budget for
| Scenario | Annual cost | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Basic, billed yearly (50 members) | $6,000 | Headline price |
| Private teams or guests needed, so Business (50 members) | $9,600 | +$3,600 |
| Business with 10 leavers never removed (60 seats) | $11,520 | +$5,520 |
- The 5-team ceiling. Basic stops at 5 teams. Engineering orgs that split by squad hit it quickly and must move every seat to Business.
- Guests are a Business feature. Contractors, agencies and design partners need guest access, which only starts on Business at $16.
- AI credits. Coding sessions and Loops on Business are marked as requiring AI credits, a cost on top of the seat price.
- Salesforce integration. Listed as an add-on on Business rather than included in the plan.
- SCIM and audit logs. Automated deprovisioning and audit logs are Enterprise only, which is often what security review asks for first.
Which Linear plan should you choose?
- Free. Choose if one or two teams are testing Linear and 250 issues is enough for now.
- Basic. Choose if you need unlimited issues and up to 5 teams, with no guests or private teams.
- Business. Choose if you need private teams, guests, Insights, Asks or SAML sign-in.
- Enterprise. Choose if IT requires SCIM, audit logs, IP restrictions or PO billing.
Is Linear worth the price?
Linear is priced below most enterprise work trackers and the Free plan is generous on members. Basic is fine for small product teams, but most growing companies land on Business at $16 because guests, private teams and SAML live there.
You are likely overpaying if: You pay Business for every member when only engineers and PMs use Linear daily, or you bought Enterprise for SCIM before checking whether SAML on Business covers your policy.
How to pay less for Linear
- Keep occasional users on the free tools. Stakeholders who only read updates can often follow via integrations or exports rather than holding a paid seat.
- Remove leavers every month. Unlimited members means seats creep. Review members before each renewal.
- Stay on Basic while you have 5 teams or fewer. Consolidate small teams to delay the Business upgrade if you do not need guests or private teams.
- Watch AI credit usage. Set an owner for AI credits on Business so coding sessions and Loops do not create a surprise line item.
- Price the alternatives. GitHub Issues and Projects come with GitHub Free, and Jira Free covers up to 10 users. Use them as leverage at renewal.
- Negotiate Enterprise as one package. Bundle SCIM, audit logs and migration support in one quote rather than paying for each later.
Copy-ready renewal email
Hi [Account manager], Our Linear renewal is on [renewal date]. We reviewed usage: [active members] of [licensed members] members were active in the last 90 days. We would like to renew at [target members] on the [plan] plan for a [term] term, with any increase capped at [cap]. We are also comparing Jira and GitHub Projects. Can you share your best offer by [date]?
Linear alternatives and what they cost
| Tool | Entry price | Cheaper when |
|---|---|---|
| Jira | $7.91 per user per month (Standard); free up to 10 users | Your company already runs Atlassian tools |
| GitHub Issues and Projects | $0 on GitHub Free; Team $4 per user per month | Engineering lives in GitHub and needs simple tracking |
| Asana | $10.99 per user per month (Starter, annual) | Non-engineering teams need the same tracker |
The bigger picture: why Linear bills drift
Linear usually arrives through engineering, gets adopted by product and design, and then quietly adds every PM, designer and contractor as a member. Nobody removes leavers because nobody owns the member list, and the yearly renewal lands on whoever holds the card.
Leavers stay billable
Linear seats outlive the people who used them.
Owners, seat counts and renewal dates for every vendor in one place.
The notice window closes
Linear renews at list price with last year's seat count.
Renewal alerts on every contract
The owner is alerted before renewals and expiries, with the signed terms one click away.
Teams buy their own accounts
Departments upgrade on a card without checking what the company already owns.
Purchase requests with approvals
Requests route and get approved before anyone buys; Z1 "Prompt to buy" keeps it fast.
Charges nobody approved
Mid-term seat additions land outside the original PO.
AP automation with PO matching
Invoices are matched to POs and receipts before payment.
No view of total software spend
Spend is spread across cards, invoices and entities.
Spend by vendor and category, synced two ways with your ERP.
The bottom line
Start on Basic, move to Business when you need guests, private teams or SAML, and only go Enterprise for SCIM and audit logs. Then review the member list 90 days before each renewal and put a named owner on the date. Zapro runs that renewal habit across every tool you buy, Linear included.
Linear pricing FAQs
How much does Linear cost per user?
Linear Basic costs $10 per user per month and Business costs $16 per user per month, both shown as billed yearly on the official pricing page. Enterprise pricing is custom and billed annually. A 50-person team pays $6,000 to $9,600 a year at list price.
Is there a free version of Linear?
Yes. Linear Free allows unlimited members but caps you at 250 issues, 2 teams and 10MB file uploads. It includes issues, projects, cycles, initiatives, API access and Linear Agent, which is enough for a small team to evaluate the product properly.
How much is Linear Enterprise?
Linear does not publish Enterprise pricing; you get a quote from sales. Enterprise adds SAML and SCIM, audit logs, IP restrictions, granular admin controls, migration support and invoice or purchase order billing, and it is billed annually only.
Can you get a discount on Linear?
Linear's pricing page does not list startup or nonprofit discounts. Your best levers are right-sizing members before renewal, negotiating multi-year or larger Enterprise terms, and bringing competing quotes from Jira, GitHub or Asana to the conversation.
Is Linear cheaper billed annually?
Linear's pricing page shows Basic and Business only as billed yearly and does not publish monthly rates, so there is no public annual versus monthly comparison. Check the checkout screen for a monthly option before you commit.
What is the cheapest alternative to Linear?
GitHub Issues and Projects are included in GitHub Free, and Jira is free for up to 10 users with Standard at about $7.91 per user per month. Both are cheaper when your engineers already work in GitHub or Atlassian tools.
