What is the difference between Linear and Trello?

Linear is best for Software teams that want speed and keyboard-first workflows, while Trello is best for Small teams and individuals who want simple visual task management. Linear starts at $8/user/mo and Trello starts at $5/user/mo.

Is Linear or Trello cheaper?

Linear starts at $8/user/mo with a free tier. Trello starts at $5/user/mo with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Trello?

Both Linear and Trello offer free tiers.

Linear vs Trello

Linear is fast, opinionated project management tool built for software teams, while Trello is simple, visual Kanban board for organizing tasks and projects. Trello comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. Linear is built for software teams that want speed and keyboard-first workflows, whereas Trello targets small teams and individuals who want simple visual task management.

At a glance

	Linear	Trello
Best for	Software teams that want speed and keyboard-first workflows	Small teams and individuals who want simple visual task management
Starting price	$8/user/mo	$5/user/mo
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Automations	—	✓
Checklists	—	✓
Cycles	✓	—
Git Integration	✓	—
Kanban Boards	—	✓
Keyboard First	✓	—
Power-Ups	—	✓
Roadmaps	✓	—
Templates	—	✓
Triage	✓	—

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

Trello

Strengths

Dead simple to use — minimal learning curve
Visual Kanban boards are intuitive
Generous free tier
Power-Ups add functionality when needed

Weaknesses

Too simple for complex projects
Limited reporting and analytics
Boards don't scale well past ~50 cards
Fewer views than competitors (mainly boards)

Try Trello → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both tools offer free tiers, so you can test each before committing. Linear's free plan: Free for small teams up to 250 issues. Trello's free plan: Free with up to 10 boards. When you outgrow the free tier, Trello is the cheaper option at $5/user/mo vs. $8/user/mo for Linear — roughly 60% less.

Feature gaps: Linear offers Cycles, Git Integration and Keyboard First that Trello lacks. Trello brings Automations, Checklists and Kanban Boards that Linear does not have.

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

Where each tool shines: Linear's biggest strengths are: blazingly fast — feels instant. beautiful, minimal design. Trello's biggest strengths are: dead simple to use — minimal learning curve. visual kanban boards are intuitive.

Watch out for: With Linear, users commonly note that opinionated workflow — less customizable than jira. With Trello, the main complaint is that too simple for complex projects.

Choose Linear if...

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

Choose Trello if...

You need a tool built for small teams and individuals who want simple visual task management
You want to save on per-user costs — Trello is $3.00/user/mo cheaper
You specifically need Automations and Checklists
You care about visual kanban boards are intuitive
The free tier works for you: free with up to 10 boards