Jira vs Linear
They differ on 4 of the 13 things buyers in this category actually ask about. Here is where, and what each one asks you to give up.
Jira
$8.6/seatThe configurable standard for engineering issue tracking and enterprise reporting.
Strongest argument
Workflows, fields and permissions bend to almost any process
Biggest objection
Slow enough day-to-day that engineers avoid it and status goes stale
Configurability is the cost: most Jira instances need an owner, not just an admin.
Linear
$8/seatFast, opinionated issue tracking for product and engineering teams that want less process.
Strongest argument
Keyboard-first and genuinely fast, so engineers keep it up to date
Biggest objection
Limited customisation frustrates teams with regulated or unusual processes
Deliberately opinionated — if you need bespoke workflows and approval gates, it will fight you.
The differences that matter
Where they actually diverge
Only the rows where the two disagree. Everything they both do is listed below.
Cost
What each costs at 50 people
List price only. It ignores add-ons, seat minimums and the cost of the move itself — all of which routinely dwarf the difference below.
Prices are unverified estimates — useful for comparing orders of magnitude, not for budgeting. Confirm the current figure with the vendor before you commit to anything.
Common ground
What both of them do
These will not help you choose — which is exactly why they are worth knowing about before a vendor pitches one as a differentiator.
- Git and CI integrationFirst-class
- No-code automationYes
- Usable by non-engineersNo
- SAML single sign-onYes
- SOC 2Yes
- Self-hostableNo
- Open sourceNo
- Public APIYes
- Native mobile appsYes
In full
Every pro and con, both sides
Jira
- Workflows, fields and permissions bend to almost any process
- Portfolio and advanced roadmaps for multi-team planning
- Deep Git, CI and release integrations out of the box
- Slow enough day-to-day that engineers avoid it and status goes stale
- Accumulated custom workflows become impossible to change safely
- Admin burden is real — many teams end up paying a contractor to maintain it
Linear
- Keyboard-first and genuinely fast, so engineers keep it up to date
- Cycles, triage and projects work well with no configuration
- GitHub, GitLab and Slack integrations are first-class
- Limited customisation frustrates teams with regulated or unusual processes
- Reporting is lighter than Jira’s, which matters to some leadership teams
- Less suited to non-engineering departments sharing the same instance
Questions
Jira vs Linear, answered
Jira or Linear — which is better?
Neither, in the abstract. Jira suits you if workflows, fields and permissions bend to almost any process matters most; Linear if keyboard-first and genuinely fast, so engineers keep it up to date does. The honest trade-offs are: Jira — Configurability is the cost: most Jira instances need an owner, not just an admin. Linear — Deliberately opinionated — if you need bespoke workflows and approval gates, it will fight you.
Is Jira cheaper than Linear?
Linear is cheaper at 50 people — $8.6/seat/mo against $8/seat/mo, roughly $4,800 against $5,160 a year. That gap of about $360 is rarely the whole story though — add-ons, seat minimums and the cost of migrating routinely outweigh it.
Can we migrate from Jira to Linear?
Usually yes, and the difficulty depends on history, integrations and headcount far more than on the two products. Data export quality is the thing to check first: ask both vendors what you can take with you before you commit to either. Our questionnaire produces a scoped estimate for the move.
What else should we consider besides Jira and Linear?
In project management the other credible options are Asana, ClickUp, Monday.com. Narrowing to two before you have written down your requirements is the most common way to end up with the wrong one.
Do not stop at two