Head-to-head
GitHub vs Linear
Two of the most-considered options in their category. Compared on the same scoring scale, here's the honest breakdown.
★ Winner
G
GitHub
GitHub
RC Score
8.6/10
Starts at
$0/mo intro
The world's most widely adopted AI-powered developer platform
See GitHub review →vs
L
Linear
Linear
RC Score
8.3/10
Starts at
$0/mo intro
The system for product development
See Linear review →Round by round
Scoreboard GitHub 5–1
8.5/10★
Value
7.8/10
9.5/10★
Features
8.7/10
8.0/10
Ease of use
★9.3/10
8.5/10★
Support
7.8/10
8.0/10★
Deal strength
0.0/10
9.0/10★
User feedback
0.0/10
ReviewCost analysis
What each one actually costs
Calculated from each vendor's published prices. A dash means the vendor does not publish enough to work it out.
| GitHub | Linear | |
|---|---|---|
Entry price (paid) Cheapest plan that costs money | $4 | $10 |
Free plan | Yes | Yes |
How it is charged Decides what a team pays | Per seat | Per seat |
Monthly, 5 people | $20 | $50 |
Monthly, 10 people | $40 | $100 |
Monthly, 50 people | $200 | $500 |
Three-year total, 10 people | $1440 | $3600 |
Renewal price published | Not published | Not published |
Feature by feature
What you get
Side-by-side capability comparison. ✓ included, ✕ not included, or a specific value where it matters.
| Feature | GitHub | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot AI coding assistance | ✓ | — |
| GitHub Codespaces cloud-based development | ✓ | — |
| GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines | ✓ | — |
| Copilot Autofix for vulnerabilities | ✓ | — |
| Push protection for leaked secrets | ✓ | — |
| Native mobile app with Copilot integration | ✓ | — |
| GitHub Marketplace for apps and actions | ✓ | — |
| Enterprise-grade with Mercedes-Benz, Spotify adoption | ✓ | — |
| Autonomous agent mode for multi-file edits | ✓ | — |
| Free tier for public repositories | ✓ | — |
Pick by need
Which one is right for you?
There's rarely a universal winner. Here's who wins for which use case.
G
Small personal site
Pick GitHub
Wins on value (8.5/10)
G
Small business
Pick GitHub
Wins on support (8.5/10)
G
E-commerce store
Pick GitHub
Wins on features (9.5/10)
G
Developer / power user
Pick GitHub
Wins on features (9.5/10)
L
Complete beginner
Pick Linear
Wins on ease (9.3/10)
G
Need to scale fast
Pick GitHub
Wins on deal strength (8.0/10)
How to choose between them
The trade-offs that follow from the figures above, rather than a single winner.
- GitHub starts cheaper — $4 a month against $10 for Linear.
- At ten people the gap is $60 a month, in GitHub's favour — the pricing models diverge as the team grows.
- Their scores are within half a point of each other, so neither is the obvious choice on our scoring alone.
Scores follow our published methodology. Prices come from each vendor’s own pricing page — see the source and date on GitHub and Linear.