GitHub vs Linear Pricing (2026)

GitHub vs Linear

Developer Tools pricing comparison · 2026

GitHub pricing ranges from $0–$21/user/month, while Linear ranges from $0–$16/user/month. GitHub is typically 60% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Developer Tools

GitHub

$0–$21
/user/month
3 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Developer Tools

Linear

$0–$16
/user/month
4 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

GitHub and Linear both operate in the developer tools category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan GitHub Linear
Free Free /user/month Free /month
Team $4 /user/month $10 /user/month
Enterprise $21 /user/month $16 /user/month
Enterprise Custom

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

GitHub

5 scenarios
$460/month ($5,520/year)
20-Developer Startup with Copilot
$80 for Team (20 x $4) + $380 for Copilot Business (20 x $19). Actions within included 60,000 minutes.
$8,450/month ($101,400/year)
100-Person Enterprise with Advanced Security
$2,100 for Enterprise (100 x $21) + $2,450 for Advanced Security (50 x $49) + $3,900 for Copilot Enterprise (100 x $39)
$0/month
Solo Developer or Open Source Project — Free Plan
See all 5 scenarios →

Linear

4 scenarios
$80/month ($960/year)
10-Person Startup Team
$8 x 10 users, billed annually
$700/month ($8,400/year)
50-Person Engineering Organization
$14 x 50 users, billed annually
$960
Small product team (10 members)
$1,920 per year for 10 users on Basic or Business tier
See all 4 scenarios →

Market Intelligence

GitHub

Median annual cost
$1,188
Based on
161 deals

Linear

Median annual cost
$700
Based on
368 deals

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

GitHub 4 hidden costs

high
Git LFS Storage and Bandwidth Overages 5-20% of license costs
high
Critical Collaboration Features Locked Behind Paid Tiers $4-$17/user/month
high
Enterprise Plan Required for SSO and Directory Integration $17/user/month
medium
GitHub Actions CI/CD Minutes Overages 5-15% of license costs
See all GitHub hidden costs →

Linear 5 hidden costs

medium
Guest user access requires paid seats $8-$16/guest/month
high
Enterprise features locked behind expensive tier Variable - Enterprise pricing not disclosed
medium
Per-seat pricing scales poorly for larger teams $10-$16/user/month
high
Enterprise Feature Lock-In for Security Requirements 2-3x cost increase vs Business tier for compliance-driven teams
medium
Annual-Only Billing Locks in Spending $120-$192/user/year in committed spend with no monthly flexibility
See all Linear hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term GitHub Linear
Auto-renewal Yes
Cancellation Cancel anytime for monthly plans; annual plans commit for the full year with no mid-term refunds
Minimum commitment Annual billing required on all paid plans
Price escalation No published annual uplift schedule; pricing has remained stable since launch
Can downgrade Yes