Linear vs Trello

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

Trello

• Individuals and small teams that plan work on kanban boards
• Groups of up to 10 collaborators sharing a free Workspace
• Teams already using Jira or other Atlassian products

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.

Trello

• The Free plan is capped at 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with 10MB per file.
• Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views are only on Premium and Enterprise.
• AI features and full Planner access start on the Standard plan.
• The Enterprise price is an estimate that depends on user count, and the plan is billed annually.

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.

Trello

Boards, lists and cards

Work is laid out as cards in lists on a board. Cards are unlimited on every plan; the Free plan allows up to 10 boards per Workspace.

Inbox

Captures to-dos from email, Slack and other sources into a personal Inbox. It is included on the Free plan.

Planner

Brings a synced calendar into Trello so blocks of focus time can be set aside for work. Full Planner access starts on the Standard plan.

Automation

Built-in automation is metered by Workspace command runs: 250 a month on Free, 1,000 on Standard and unlimited on Premium.

Premium views

Premium adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, including Workspace-level views that span boards.

Power-Ups and integrations

Power-Ups link boards to other tools, with unlimited Power-Ups per board on every plan. An MCP server connects Trello to AI tools.

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.

Trello

• Free$0

  Up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, unlimited cards and Power-Ups, and 250 command runs a month.

• Standard$5

  per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)

  Unlimited boards, AI features, full Planner, card mirroring, custom fields, 250MB per file and 1,000 command runs a month.

• Premium$10

  per user / month, billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly)

  Adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, unlimited command runs, and admin and security controls.

• Enterprise$17.50

  per user / month, billed annually ($210 per user a year)

  Estimated price that depends on user count. Adds unlimited Workspaces, organization-wide permissions and Atlassian Guard Standard.

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.

Trello

• Annual discount

  Lower per-user price with annual billing

  Standard is $5 per user / month billed annually against $6 monthly (about 17% less), and Premium is $10 against $12.50 (20% less).

• Nonprofit

  Atlassian nonprofit discount covers Trello

  Trello's pricing FAQ confirms a nonprofit community discount. Atlassian's nonprofit program lists 50-100% off its apps, Trello included, for eligible organizations.

• Education

  50% off for academic institutions

  Atlassian's licensing page lists academic licenses at 50% off Trello Standard, Premium and Enterprise, and classroom licenses for students and teachers at 75% off Standard and Premium.