What is the difference between Linear and Plane?

Linear is best for Software teams that want speed and keyboard-first workflows, while Plane is best for Teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management. Linear starts at $8/user/mo and Plane starts at Free.

Is Linear or Plane cheaper?

Linear starts at $8/user/mo with a free tier. Plane starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Plane?

Both Linear and Plane offer free tiers.

Linear vs Plane

Linear is fast, opinionated project management tool built for software teams, while Plane is open-source project management tool for software teams. Self-hostable alternative to Jira and Linear. The biggest difference up front: Plane is free, while Linear starts at $8/user/mo. Linear is built for software teams that want speed and keyboard-first workflows, whereas Plane targets teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management.

At a glance

	Linear	Plane
Best for	Software teams that want speed and keyboard-first workflows	Teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management
Starting price	$8/user/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Cycles	✓	✓
Git Integration	✓	—
Keyboard First	✓	—
Modules	—	✓
Open Source	—	✓
Roadmaps	✓	—
Self-Hosted	—	✓
Triage	✓	—
Views	—	✓

Linear

Strengths

Blazingly fast — feels instant
Beautiful, minimal design
Keyboard shortcuts for everything
Purpose-built for software teams with Git integration

Weaknesses

Opinionated workflow — less customizable than Jira
Not designed for non-software teams
Limited reporting and analytics
Smaller integration ecosystem

Try Linear → Full review

Plane

Strengths

Open source and self-hostable
Clean, modern interface inspired by Linear
Free for unlimited users (self-hosted)
Active development and growing community

Weaknesses

Less mature than established alternatives
Fewer integrations
Self-hosting requires infrastructure management
Some features still in development

Try Plane → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Plane is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Linear starts at $8/user/mo, but Free for small teams up to 250 issues. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Linear offers Git Integration, Keyboard First and Roadmaps that Plane lacks. Plane brings Modules, Open Source and Self-Hosted that Linear does not have. Both share Cycles.

Team fit: Both tools target small teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

Open source: Plane is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Linear is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Linear's biggest strengths are: blazingly fast — feels instant. beautiful, minimal design. Plane's biggest strengths are: open source and self-hostable. clean, modern interface inspired by linear.

Watch out for: With Linear, users commonly note that opinionated workflow — less customizable than jira. With Plane, the main complaint is that less mature than established alternatives.

Choose Linear if...

You need a tool built for software teams that want speed and keyboard-first workflows
You specifically need Git Integration and Keyboard First
You care about beautiful, minimal design
The free tier works for you: free for small teams up to 250 issues

Choose Plane if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management
Budget is a hard constraint — Plane is free, Linear is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Modules and Open Source
You care about clean, modern interface inspired by linear