Quick Answer
Last verified:
High confidence

Linear costs Free to $16 per user/month as of March 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: No free tier available
Last verified: | Sources: 7 pricing pages and reviews
+-98% above list price

Linear true cost runs -98% above the listed $0-$16/user/month price as of March 2026. For a 25-person team, expect ~$50 in year-one costs vs the $2,400 base license. Key hidden costs: guest user access requires paid seats, enterprise features locked behind expensive tier, per-seat pricing scales poorly for larger teams. Verified from 7 sources by CostBench.

Hidden Costs Breakdown

1

Guest user access requires paid seats

medium addon

Unlike some competitors like ClickUp that allow limited guest access for free, Linear requires you to purchase a full seat for any guest users you want to invite, such as client stakeholders or external collaborators. This can significantly increase costs when you need to give limited access to people outside your core team.

trustradius

Being able to invite guests without costing extra money. Platforms like ClickUp allow you to invite a limited no of guests without costing extra money.

2

Enterprise features locked behind expensive tier

high addon

New features and advanced capabilities are increasingly being added only to the Enterprise tier, which is significantly more expensive than the lower tiers. This creates pressure to upgrade even if you only need one or two of these features.

g2

increasing pressure to upgrade to enterprise, all new features get locked behind their insanely expensive plan

3

Per-seat pricing scales poorly for larger teams

medium overage

Linear uses a per-user pricing model that can become expensive as teams grow, especially when you need to add many team members. At $10-16 per user per month, costs can add up quickly.

g2

I don't like that I have to pay per person. It becomes costy if you have 10 people in the team.

4

Enterprise Feature Lock-In for Security Requirements

high addon

SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, and advanced security controls are only available on the Enterprise tier with custom pricing. Organizations with compliance requirements (SOC 2, HIPAA) are forced into the most expensive tier regardless of team size.

pricing_page

SAML, SCIM, and advanced security features available only on Enterprise plan

5

Annual-Only Billing Locks in Spending

medium billing

Linear does not offer monthly billing for paid plans. Teams must commit to a full year upfront, making it expensive to trial paid features or adjust team size. If team size decreases mid-year, you continue paying for unused seats.

pricing_page

Annual billing required for Basic and Business plans

Example: True Cost for 25 Users

License (25 × $8 × 12) $2,400/yr
Guest user access requires paid seats +$8-$16/guest/month
Enterprise features locked behind expensive tier +Variable - Enterprise pricing not disclosed
Per-seat pricing scales poorly for larger teams +$10-$16/user/month
Enterprise Feature Lock-In for Security Requirements +2-3x cost increase vs Business tier for compliance-driven teams
Annual-Only Billing Locks in Spending +$120-$192/user/year in committed spend with no monthly flexibility
Estimated Year 1 Total ~$50
That's roughly 0.0× the advertised license price. The median Linear contract is $192/yr across Vendr purchases.

Frequently Asked Questions

01 What hidden costs should I budget for with Linear?

Beyond the license fee, budget for: Guest user access requires paid seats ($8-$16/guest/month); Enterprise features locked behind expensive tier (Variable - Enterprise pricing not disclosed); Per-seat pricing scales poorly for larger teams ($10-$16/user/month); Enterprise Feature Lock-In for Security Requirements (2-3x cost increase vs Business tier for compliance-driven teams); Annual-Only Billing Locks in Spending ($120-$192/user/year in committed spend with no monthly flexibility). Total ownership typically runs -98% higher than the listed price.

02 Does Linear charge for implementation?

Linear doesn't include implementation in the license cost. Implementation is typically done by partners and costs range from $5,000 for basic setup to $100,000+ for enterprise deployments with customization.

03 How much does Linear support cost?

Basic support is included, but premium support (faster response times, 24/7 availability) typically adds 15-20% to your annual contract. This can be thousands of dollars per year for larger deployments.

04 Are there overage or storage costs with Linear?

Linear uses a per-user pricing model that can become expensive as teams grow, especially when you need to add many team members. At $10-16 per user per month, costs can add up quickly. Estimated impact: $10-$16/user/month.

05 What add-ons cost extra with Linear?

Many features marketed as part of Linear are actually add-ons: advanced reporting, API access, integrations, and specialized modules. Each can add $10-$100+ per user per month.

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