Side-by-side comparison · Productivity & Notes
Linear vs monday.com
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 2 tools. Add one more if you like.
At a glance
Pick it if: Startups and product teams who build software and want a fast, clean place to plan and track the work.
Pick it if: Teams of 3 to a few hundred who want a visual way to track projects, clients and requests.
Overview
| Attribute | Linear | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | Fast project tracker for product teams, with an AI agent that can code your issues. | Colourful boards for team projects, with AI agents that update them for you. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $0 | $0 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Linear | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.5Winner | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 5.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Linear | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | ||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | ||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No |
| AI abilities | ||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – |
| Makes images | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | – |
| Works in many languages | No | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 10/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Linear | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0 Small teams getting started. | Free $0 Two people trying it out. |
BasicOur pick $10/user/mo billed yearly Small product teams. | Basic $9/seat/mo billed yearly ($12 monthly) Small teams that need shared boards. | |
Business $16/user/mo billed yearly Growing teams with support requests and private work. | StandardOur pick $12/seat/mo billed yearly ($14 monthly) Most teams that want automations and AI. | |
Enterprise Custom Large companies with security needs. | Pro $19/seat/mo billed yearly ($24 monthly) Teams running many projects at once. | |
Enterprise Custom Large organisations. | ||
| Which plan to pick | Start free, then move to Basic when you pass 250 issues. Go to Business when you want AI triage, support-tool integrations or private teams. Add AI credits only if you plan to have Linear Agent write code; top-ups start at $10. | Standard is the plan most teams need, since it's where automations, timelines and the useful AI features start. Pay yearly to save about 20%, and remember seats come in bundles, so price the bundle that fits your team. |
Key features
| Attribute | Linear | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Linear | monday.com |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Linear | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Best for |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Linear or monday.com?
Linear scores highest overall in our ratings (Linear 4.5/5 and monday.com 3.9/5). Linear is best for tracking bugs and feature requests and planning product roadmaps and sprints. monday.com is best for tracking client projects across a team and running a marketing or content calendar.
Which is cheaper, Linear or monday.com?
Linear: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. monday.com: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.
Which is easier to use, Linear or monday.com?
Linear rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Startups and product teams who build software and want a fast, clean place to plan and track the work.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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