Side-by-side comparison · Productivity & Notes
Linear 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 2 tools. Add one more if you like.
At a glance
Overview
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Linear | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.5Winner | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| 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 | 3.5 |
| 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 | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | – | Yes |
| Works in many languages | No | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 10/ 17 | 11/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Linear | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0 Small teams getting started. | Free $0 Small teams trying Slack. |
BasicOur pick $10/user/mo billed yearly Small product teams. | 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. | 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+ $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. | 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
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Linear | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Linear | Slack |
|---|---|---|
| Best for |
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| You'll find it used by |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Linear or Slack?
Linear scores highest overall in our ratings (Linear 4.5/5 and Slack 4.0/5). Linear is best for tracking bugs and feature requests and planning product roadmaps and sprints. 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 or Slack?
Linear: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. 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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