Asana vs Linear — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Asana starts at $13.49/mo. Linear starts at $12/mo. Linear is $1.4900000000000002/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Asana.
Work management platform focused on projects, tasks, and strategic goal alignment. Alternative to running Jira + Confluence for non-engineering teams. Founded by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz; publicly traded but valuation compressed 60%+ from 2021 peak. Acquired Stack AI in May 2026 for $75M to add agent capabilities — first acquisition in 18 years. Popular with marketing, ops, and product teams; overkill for a 5-person team, underpowered for engineering-heavy orgs.
Engineering-first issue tracker positioned as the modern alternative to Jira for small-to-mid engineering teams. Distinctive for its opinionated speed (keyboard-first, obsessively fast) and clean design that engineers actually like. Popular with venture-backed startups and design-conscious engineering orgs. Priced $8-$16/user/mo. Series B in 2024. Not a direct Jira replacement at enterprise scale (weaker admin controls) but eating Jira's mid-market share aggressively.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Asana monthly | Asana annual | Linear monthly | Linear annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Personal / Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Starter / Basic | $13.49 | $10.99 | $12 | $10 |
| Pro / power | Advanced / — | $30.49 | $24.99 | — | — |
| Teams | — / Business | — | — | $20 | $16 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Asana is worth it if… cross-functional teams (10-500 people) that need structured project management with dependencies, timelines, and cross-project reporting — without Jira's engineering-first UX. Starter covers most project needs; Advanced adds workload management and portfolios.
Linear is worth it if… engineering teams (5-100 developers) that want fast, opinionated issue tracking + sprint planning — the anti-Jira for teams that value speed and design polish over configurability. Free covers small teams; Basic adds more features; Business adds advanced permissions and admin.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Asana over Linear if…
Choose Asana if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $13.49/mo).
- You match the profile Asana is built for: cross-functional teams (10-500 people) that need structured project management with dependencies, timelines, and cross-project reporting — without Jira's engineering-first UX.
- You need a general-purpose project management option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Linear if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $12/mo).
- You match the profile Linear is built for: engineering teams (5-100 developers) that want fast, opinionated issue tracking + sprint planning — the anti-Jira for teams that value speed and design polish over configurability.
- You need a general-purpose project management option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Asana | Linear | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $13.49/mo | $12/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Per Seat |
| Last verified | September 18, 2026 | September 14, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 18, 2026. Tracked daily.