Side-by-side comparison · Productivity & Notes
Linear vs Notion vs Slack
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
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: Anyone who wants one place for their notes, plans and team knowledge, from solo creators to whole companies.
Pick it if: Teams that want one place to talk, and that lose time catching up on channels and hunting for old decisions.
Linear scores highest overall, but Notion gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.
Overview
| Attribute | Linear | Notion | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Fast project tracker for product teams, with an AI agent that can code your issues. | One workspace for notes, docs, wikis and project tracking, with AI built in. | Team chat with AI built in: catch-up summaries, answers from your chats and Slackbot. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $0 | $10/member/mo | $0 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Linear | Notion | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.5Winner | 4.3 | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Linear | Notion | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes | – |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | Yes | Yes | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | No | Yes |
| Works in many languages | No | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 13/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Linear | Notion | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0 Small teams getting started. | Free Free One person getting organised. | Free $0 Small teams trying Slack. |
BasicOur pick $10/user/mo billed yearly Small product teams. | Plus $10/member/mo billed yearly Small teams who want shared docs without the AI. | Pro $7.25/user/mo billed yearly ($8.75 monthly) Small teams that want basic AI. | |
Business $16/user/mo billed yearly Growing teams with support requests and private work. | BusinessOur pick $20/member/mo billed yearly Teams who want the AI properly switched on. | Business+Our pick $15/user/mo billed yearly ($18 monthly) Teams that want the full AI set. | |
Enterprise Custom Large companies with security needs. | Enterprise Custom Larger companies with security and compliance needs. | Enterprise+ $45/user/mo billed yearly Large companies with many tools. | |
| 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. | Solo users can stay on Free for a long time. For a team the honest answer is Business, because Plus leaves out the AI that makes Notion interesting now. Note that yearly billing is what gets you the $10 and $20 prices, and monthly billing costs more. | If your team already pays for Pro, try the basic AI first. Move to Business+ when you want AI search, the Slackbot agent and daily recaps, which is where the real time saving is. New teams get 50% off Pro or Business+ for 3 months if they upgrade in the first week. |
Key features
| Attribute | Linear | Notion | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Linear | Notion | Slack |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Linear | Notion | Slack |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Linear, Notion or Slack?
Linear scores highest overall in our ratings (Linear 4.5/5, Notion 4.3/5 and Slack 4.0/5). Linear is best for tracking bugs and feature requests and planning product roadmaps and sprints. Notion is best for team wikis and documentation and personal notes and planning. Slack is best for catching up on busy channels after time off and finding past decisions in your team's messages.
Which is cheaper, Linear, Notion or Slack?
Linear: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Notion: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $10/member/mo. Slack: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.
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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