Linear vs Zenhub

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

Zenhub

• Software teams that plan their work directly on GitHub issues
• Small teams: the free plan allows up to 50 users on 2 repositories
• Organizations that need project tooling deployed on their own servers

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.

Zenhub

• Zenhub works on top of GitHub: setting up means linking a GitHub organization, and boards are made of GitHub issues.
• The Free plan is limited to 1 workspace, 2 connected repositories and 250 issues.
• Teams stops at 50 users, 50 repositories and 5,000 issues; workspace automations, advanced reporting and Figma, Loom and Miro integrations are Enterprise only.
• No native mobile app is listed: the FAQ says the web app also works in mobile browsers, and the extension supports Chrome and Firefox.

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.

Zenhub

Boards built on GitHub issues

Zenhub syncs issues, pull requests and permissions from a connected GitHub organization and arranges them on Kanban boards that can span several repositories.

Extension for Chrome and Firefox

The browser extension places Zenhub's boards, planning poker and automations inside GitHub's interface. The same workspace is also available as a separate web app.

Sprints, estimates and planning poker

Automated sprint planning, story estimates and planning poker are included on every plan, the free one included.

Roadmaps and work hierarchy

Real-time roadmaps sit on every plan, and work can be nested as objectives, projects, epics, tasks and sub-tasks that stay in step with GitHub.

Agile reports

Basic sprint reports, a velocity report and sprint insights come with every plan. Advanced reporting and GitHub insights are reserved for Enterprise.

Zenhub AI

Teams adds AI suggested labels and AI sprint reviews. AI-written acceptance criteria are listed for Enterprise only.

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.

Zenhub

• Free$0

  Up to 50 users, 1 workspace, 2 connected repositories and 250 issues, with the GitHub extension, sprints, planning poker, roadmaps and velocity reports.

• Teams$4.99

  per user / month, billed yearly ($7.50 billed monthly)

  Up to 10 workspaces, 50 users, 50 repositories and 5,000 issues, adding AI suggested labels, AI sprint reviews and private workspaces.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited users, repositories and issues, up to 10 GitHub organizations, workspace automations, advanced reporting, priority support and a self-hosted option.

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.

Zenhub

• Annual discount

  33% off with annual payment

  Teams is $4.99 per user / month billed yearly against $7.50 billed monthly. Zenhub's FAQ describes this as 4 months free, or 33% off.