Linear

Overview

Linear was founded in 2019 by former engineers from Airbnb, Uber, and Coinbase who were frustrated with the slowness and visual complexity of existing project management tools. The result is a tool built on a single principle: speed. Linear's keyboard-first interface, instant search, and sub-second response times make it the fastest project management tool available.

The product is deliberately limited in scope. Unlike ClickUp or Asana, Linear does not try to be a general work management platform. It is an issue tracker and sprint tool for software teams — with a workflow that maps directly to how engineering teams actually work: issues, projects, cycles (sprints), and roadmaps. This focused design is why Linear has become the default for engineering-led startups.

Key Features

• Keyboard shortcuts — virtually every action accessible via keyboard with a global command palette
• Instant search — sub-second search across all issues, comments, and projects
• GitHub and GitLab integration — automatically update issue status based on PR and commit activity
• Cycles — sprint management with scope, velocity, and completion tracking
• Projects and Milestones — longer-horizon planning above the sprint level
• Roadmap — visual multi-quarter planning view with project dependencies
• Triage — inbox-style intake for new issues before they are assigned to a cycle
• Automations — customisable rules for issue routing and status updates
• Analytics — team velocity, cycle completion rates, and lead and cycle time metrics

Pricing

Linear Free includes unlimited members, up to 250 issues, and 5MB file uploads. Plus ($8/user/month) adds unlimited issues, file uploads, and guest access. Business ($14/user/month) adds admin controls, private teams, and priority support. Enterprise pricing is custom and adds SSO and SLA guarantees.

Best For

Linear is built for software engineering teams and product managers who work in sprints. It suits engineering-led organisations — typically startups and growth-stage technology companies — where the team primarily consists of developers who value keyboard efficiency and clean interfaces over feature breadth. Cross-functional teams with significant non-engineering stakeholders will likely need a supplementary tool for those members.

Limitations

Linear is explicitly designed for software teams and does not serve general business workflows. Marketing, operations, or finance teams working alongside engineering may find it too narrow. Reporting is lightweight compared to ClickUp's dashboards. There is no offline mode. No formal affiliate programme exists.

Verdict

The fastest and most polished issue tracker available. For software engineering teams who value speed and keyboard-first design over feature breadth, there is no better tool. Not suitable as an all-team project management platform.