GitHub Issues vs Linear

GitHub Issues

• Software teams that already host their code on GitHub
• Open source projects taking bug reports and feature requests in public
• Developers who like to plan from the terminal or the keyboard

Linear

• Software teams planning work in issues, cycles and projects
• Small teams: the free plan has no member limit
• Teams that hand issues to coding agents

GitHub Issues

• Issues is not sold on its own: it is part of every GitHub plan, and paid plans are priced per user for the whole platform.
• Every issue lives in a repository, so planning across repositories and teams runs through GitHub Projects.
• A project is limited to 50 fields, counting built-in metadata and custom fields.
• SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning and self-hosted Enterprise Server need the Enterprise plan, from $21 per user / month.

Linear

• The Free plan stops at 250 issues and 2 teams.
• Private teams, guests, Linear Insights and Linear Asks need the Business plan at $16 per user / month.
• SAML and SCIM are limited to Enterprise, which is billed annually only.
• The download page lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps but no Linux app.

GitHub Issues

Issues and sub-issues

Issues track bugs, features and ideas. Sub-issues break larger work into a hierarchy with progress indicators, and dependencies mark which issues block others.

Tables, boards and roadmaps

GitHub Projects shows issues and pull requests as a table, a kanban board or a timeline-style roadmap, with saved views that filter, sort, slice and group.

Custom fields and iterations

A project takes up to 50 fields, including date, number, single-select and text fields and an iteration field for planning work week by week.

Built-in automations

Built-in workflows set fields, archive items and add issues from a repository automatically. The GraphQL API and GitHub Actions allow further automation.

Insights and charts

Current and historical charts are built from the items in a project, including a default burn-up chart that shows completed work against what is left.

Mobile, CLI and keyboard access

Issues can be created and managed in the iOS and Android apps and from the GitHub CLI, and every mouse action has a keyboard shortcut or command.

Linear

Issues and cycles

Every piece of work is tracked as an issue. Cycles are recurring, fixed-length periods that a team plans a set of issues into.

Projects and initiatives

Projects collect the issues behind one deliverable, and initiatives group several projects under a larger company objective.

List and board layouts

Nearly every issue view can switch between a list and a kanban-style board, with optional swimlanes for an extra grouping.

Triage and Asks

Triage is a review step for new work before a team takes it on. Linear Asks, on the Business plan, turns workplace requests into issues.

Insights

Built-in analytics for whichever set of work a team wants to examine. Linear Insights is part of the Business plan.

Linear Agent and coding agents

Linear Agent is included on every plan, and the integration directory lists coding agents such as Codex, Cursor and GitHub Copilot.

GitHub Issues

• Free$0

  GitHub plan for individuals and organizations. Includes Issues and Projects, unlimited public and private repositories and community support.

• Team$4

  per user / month

  GitHub plan that adds repository rules, required reviewers, code owners, 3,000 CI/CD minutes a month and web-based support. Includes Issues and Projects.

• Enterprise$21

  per user / month, starting price

  Adds SAML single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, enterprise accounts, data residency and the self-hosted Enterprise Server option.

Linear

• Free$0

  Unlimited members, 2 teams and 250 issues, with the agent platform and Linear Agent.

• Basic$10

  per user / month, billed yearly

  5 teams, unlimited issues, unlimited file uploads and admin roles.

• Business$16

  per user / month, billed yearly

  Unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Linear Insights, Linear Asks, Triage Intelligence, and Zendesk and Intercom integrations.

• EnterpriseCustom

  SAML and SCIM, granular admin controls, invoice or PO billing, and migration and onboarding support. Annual billing only.

GitHub Issues

• Nonprofit

  Free Team plan for verified nonprofits

  GitHub for Nonprofits gives verified 501(c)(3) or equivalent organizations a free GitHub Team plan with unlimited users, or 25% off GitHub Enterprise Cloud.

• Startups

  $10,000 in credits for eligible startups

  GitHub for Startups gives partner-affiliated startups with outside funding up to Series B, and new to GitHub Enterprise, $10,000 in credits valid for up to 12 months.

• Education

  Free developer tools for students and teachers

  GitHub's pricing page says students and teachers get free access to developer tools through GitHub Education, for the school year and beyond.

Linear

• Nonprofit

  75% off for eligible charities

  Linear's billing docs offer eligible charities 75% off the Basic and Business plans on request by email. Enterprise is excluded.

• Education

  Free year for students, 75% off for staff

  The Education Program gives full-time students free access for one year and university staff a 75% discount, requested from a .edu address.

• Startups

  Up to 6 months of Business free for startups

  Startups with fewer than 50 employees that are not yet paying and belong to a Linear partner program can get up to 6 months of the Business plan free.