Linear Alternatives

Asana is my first pick among Linear alternatives for a team whose work extends beyond product issues. Airtable wins when tasks belong to a larger database. Personal lists and visual planning need different tools again. These choices use official documentation, pricing and user feedback; they replace different parts of a Linear routine.

Why people look for Linear alternatives

Linear's Free plan allows unlimited members but caps the workspace at two teams and 250 issues. The same page lists private teams, guests and Asks under Business. A team can outgrow Free through work volume or need a higher tier for its intake and access choices.

The model can also be a mismatch. Linear's official Issues documentation starts with work assigned to a team, carrying a status and identifier. That is helpful for product work, but a personal shopping list or a database of suppliers has a different shape.

The import documentation is another reason to think about the move before switching. An import moves mapped issue data; the new app still needs an equivalent place for owners, statuses and any linked work. A different interface won't carry the whole team's process by itself.

Quick picks

• Best for general team projects: Asana.
• Best for work connected to records: Airtable.
• Best for visual planning: Miro.
• Best open-source team route: Nextcloud with Deck.
• Best for a personal daily list: TickTick.
• Best free desktop organizer: Makagiga.

Comparison table

Prices and limits checked on official pages October 9, 2026. Miro and Makagiga replace narrower jobs; they aren't complete product-issue systems.

Asana: general projects without making every task a product issue

Asana is my pick for a team coordinating work across marketing, operations and client projects. Its current Personal plan includes two users with unlimited tasks and projects. Starter adds forms, custom fields, automation and timeline views.

The free-plan surprise is its people cap. Linear Free has unlimited members but limited issues; Asana Personal has unlimited tasks but only two collaborating users. Which limit matters depends on whether your problem is work volume or the size of the group doing it.

Starter costs $10.99 per user per month billed annually ($131.88/year), or $13.49 billed monthly. A task process that needs forms and custom fields should compare that paid tier, rather than assume the free plan covers it.

In a 2026 Asana forum discussion, a longtime supporter objects to having to buy seats in bands beyond the number the team needs. Other replies raise the cost for a solo person. The appeal is a shared project system; the purchase can still be awkward for a small group.

For a move from Linear, choose one real project and map owners, deadlines and statuses to Asana's task model. A marketing launch may benefit from project views that don't assume a development cycle. A software team tightly tied to issue identifiers may find that the broader setup adds less than it removes.

Switch if different departments need the same task system. Stay with Linear if product issues and engineering integrations are the center of the work.

Airtable: connect the task to the records behind it

Airtable is better when a task depends on structured records. For example, a publication can connect an article to its author, product and sources. A service business can connect a job to a customer and equipment record. Those relationships give the database a purpose beyond a task board.

Team costs $20 per user per month billed annually ($240/year); Business is $45 per user per month billed annually ($540/year). On those plans, people with editing access are billed differently from read-only collaborators and form submitters. Count who will maintain the records before counting every person involved in the process.

A February 2026 single-user discussion praises the spreadsheet-and-database combination while objecting to the push toward larger teams and AI features the writer doesn't need. That is the tradeoff: the flexible record model can be exactly right, while the surrounding purchase feels oversized.

My pick is Airtable when customers, assignments and assets need their own linked records. Its weakness is maintenance. You must decide how to structure the base, who owns it and what happens when the process changes. A task board with no real relationships may not justify that effort.

Switch if work needs reusable customers, assets or submissions behind each task. Stay with Linear if a known issue model already tells the team what to do next.

Miro: plan the work together before filing it

Miro replaces the planning portion of a Linear routine. A shared canvas helps people collect ideas, arrange a process and discuss a diagram before turning the result into assigned work. It is the tool I would choose for a workshop where the questions aren't yet settled.

The Free plan allows three editable boards. Its default team access is also a material difference: the free workspace isn't the route for selectively private boards. Paid plans start above the free tier; use the current billing and regional offer when budgeting.

A Miro teaching discussion describes students enjoying the tool while the teacher struggles to provide a separate editable board for each person under the free allowance. A visual board can work well for the session and still become costly when every session needs a separate board.

Miro's weakness as a replacement is the handoff from planning to execution. A cluster of sticky notes can explain an idea without telling someone which issue is assigned to them, which change is merged or what should ship next. Keep a clear route from the agreed plan to tracked tasks.

Switch if you need collaborative diagrams and workshops before assigning work. Stay with Linear if the planning is already done and the problem is tracking delivery.

Nextcloud with Deck: choose where the board lives

Nextcloud lets you use a hosted provider or operate a server, then add compatible apps. Deck's official app page describes boards, lists and cards. That makes it the closest Nextcloud route here for a team moving a board-based process.

The software is open source, but hosting, backup and support still have a cost. A provider's plan and a self-managed server are different purchases. There is no single US-dollar seat price that describes both.

An April 2026 Nextcloud developer account explains choosing Deck because the team already operated Nextcloud and wanted its board features. The authors like the result but describe a lengthy integration effort around access, API behavior and frontend work. Existing server experience made their choice more practical.

My pick is Nextcloud with Deck for a group already committed to that environment. Its weakness is the work around the board: server updates, compatible clients and recovery need someone responsible. A hosted issue tracker keeps more of that work with the vendor.

Switch if your team already uses Nextcloud and wants boards there. Stay with Linear if operating another application and its storage would distract from the product work.

TickTick: put personal work on a daily list

TickTick is the better fit when the real request is a personal task app. Reminders, lists and calendar views can matter more than team issue identifiers. It gives individual work a smaller starting point than a product workspace.

The official upgrade page lists Free with nine lists and 99 tasks per list. Premium costs $49.99 per year, with 299 lists and 999 tasks per list, along with more calendar and task-duration options.

An April 2026 longtime-user discussion contains people who value their daily routine while asking for more control of calendar behavior and badge counts. Someone wanting an app icon to represent a particular list can be disappointed even when the task system itself works well for them.

My recommendation is TickTick for a person separating today's commitments from longer-term personal tasks. Its weakness as a Linear replacement is team product work: a convenient personal calendar isn't a substitute for the same development integrations and issue model.

Switch if reminders and your daily list matter most. Stay with Linear if the work must stay attached to a team's product issues and shared delivery process.

Makagiga: keep tasks beside notes and feeds on the desktop

Makagiga is a free, open-source Windows and Linux app that combines a to-do manager, notepad and RSS reader. The official site lists stable 6.34 from April 2026 and a later beta. It is an unusual choice when collecting information and acting on it happen on the same desktop.

That combination can suit a solo research routine. A source in the reader can lead to a note and a task without opening a hosted team tracker. The app doesn't need to become the team's central product database to earn a place in that routine.

SourceForge reviews praise the collection of features while also criticizing parts of its visual presentation, including icons. For me, its main weakness is the collaboration gap: an installed organizer doesn't provide the same shared hosted issue system as Linear.

Keep expectations focused on personal organization. It can replace a notebook and checklist portion of your work, but moving a team's issue backlog into it would remove the common place where colleagues discuss and assign changes. For a person working alone, that smaller scope can be the reason to choose it.

Switch if you want free desktop tasks, notes and RSS together. Stay with Linear if everyone needs to see and update the same product work.

Other common picks

Jira is another issue-tracking route for software teams.

Plane is a project and issue-management option with an open-source route.

ClickUp combines several types of work in a shared workspace.

Trello is a board-based option for simpler team task flows.

Moving work out of Linear

Export the issues before rebuilding the process. Linear's import/export documentation covers data movement, but each destination needs a matching way to represent properties. Keep a written mapping for title, description, owner, status, project and labels, and separate attachments or links that need another transfer route.

For Asana, map the work to projects and tasks. For Airtable, decide which pieces deserve their own linked tables. For Deck, map the workflow to boards and cards. Miro is better for the plan that supports the move; TickTick and Makagiga are better for the personal tasks you pull from it.

Choose one bounded project for the first transfer. A completed small project lets you compare the original record with the new record without leaving an active team divided between two live backlogs. Preserve the original export so a missed field can be recovered.

FAQ

Which Linear alternative is best for a general team?

Asana is my starting choice for general team projects. It supports task and project views across different kinds of work, with forms and custom fields on Starter. Personal only supports two users, so a larger team should budget the paid plan. A team focused on software issues may still prefer Linear's existing product model.

Is there a free open-source alternative in this list?

Yes, Nextcloud with Deck and Makagiga are open-source routes with different scopes. Deck serves shared boards within a Nextcloud environment; Makagiga is an installed personal organizer. Server hosting and support can cost money even when the software is free. Choose based on whether the work belongs to a team or one desktop user.

Can Miro replace Linear for an entire project?

Miro can replace visual planning and workshop work, but I wouldn't choose it solely to replace a product issue system. A board can hold ideas and diagrams without providing the same engineering workflow. Keep an assigned-task destination for the decisions coming out of a workshop, especially when the team needs a clear delivery backlog.

Which tool is better for personal tasks?

TickTick is my pick for personal tasks built around reminders and a calendar. Its free plan allows nine lists and 99 tasks per list, while Premium costs $49.99 per year. Makagiga is the free desktop alternative if you also want notes and RSS beside the checklist and don't need a mobile-first routine.

Sources

Official Linear Pricing, Issues and import/export documentation; Asana Pricing; Airtable Pricing and forms; Miro Pricing; Nextcloud Deck/Tasks app pages; TickTick Upgrade; Makagiga site; linked user and developer feedback. Checked October 9, 2026.