Best Linear Alternatives
Looking for a Linear alternative? Linear is the roadmap and sprint tool most fast-moving startups reach for first — fast, opinionated, and allergic to Jira-style bloat. That's a good fit for plenty of teams, but not everyone — here are 5 real planning tools worth comparing it against, each with an honest take on what it does differently. Plane is the one people mention most: open-source, self-hostable answer to Linear — pick it if you want roadmaps and cycles without handing your data to anyone. Shortcut is another solid option — purpose-built for software teams doing sprint planning — less flashy than Linear, but it's been quietly solid for years. None of these are ranked by who pays the most to be listed first; they're ordered the same way the rest of this directory is, sponsors aside.
Open-source, self-hostable answer to Linear — pick it if you want roadmaps and cycles without handing your data to anyone.
Purpose-built for software teams doing sprint planning — less flashy than Linear, but it's been quietly solid for years.
Free roadmap and kanban boards that live right next to your code and PRs — the obvious pick if you're already on GitHub.
No sprints, no story points — just to-dos, schedules, and messages in one place for small teams who find Jira exhausting.
The simplest kanban board there is — drag cards, done. Still the fastest way to plan a small project without any setup.