# Linear vs Jira: what each plan costs per user, and which one to keep

> Linear Basic and Business set against Jira Standard and Premium on verified US month-to-month prices, with what each tier unlocks and how much a 10-person team saves by keeping one.

Updated 2026-11-02 · https://onelesstool.com/guides/linear-vs-jira

**Typical savings:** a 10-person team paying for Linear Basic ($12 per user/month) and Jira Standard ($9.70 per user/month) spends $217 a month on two issue trackers. Keeping only Linear Basic saves $97/month ($1,164 a year). Keeping only Jira Standard saves $120/month ($1,440 a year). At the upper tier, Linear Business ($18 per user/month) and Jira Premium ($19.60 per user/month) together cost $376 a month for 10 people. Keeping only Business saves $196/month ($2,352 a year), and keeping only Premium saves $180/month ($2,160 a year).

Before you cancel either one, move one real project or cycle into the tracker you're keeping (the pilot checklist is under **Test before you cancel**). If some of that work is simple enough to live in a shared Google Sheet instead, the free [workflow readiness check](/workflows/asana-trello-monday-to-existing-suite#readiness) tests that move. It checks Google Workspace, not your Linear or Jira plan, needs no account, and you can download the checklist.

Teams usually end up paying for both when engineering moved to Linear but the rest of the company, or one older product team, stayed on Jira. Both track issues on boards and backlogs, run sprints (Linear calls them cycles) and plan projects, and both are priced per user, so the overlap is large. The useful question is which tool your team's live issues, workflows and integrations already depend on.

## The plans side by side

| Linear plan | Price per user | Jira plan | Price per user |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues) | Free | $0 (up to 10 users) |
| Basic | $12/month | Standard | $9.70/month |
| Business | $18/month | Premium | $19.60/month |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Enterprise | Contact sales |

All prices are US month-to-month. They come from our [Linear page](/tools/linear) (linear.app/pricing, checked on 2026-10-29 and 2026-10-30) and our [Jira page](/tools/jira) (atlassian.com/software/jira/pricing, US, checked on 2026-10-28). The rows pair plans by where they sit in each lineup: Linear Basic and Jira Standard are the first paid tiers, and Linear Business and Jira Premium are the next step up.

Linear bills every active user in the workspace. Jira's month-to-month price per user is the same from 1 to 100 users and starts to fall above that, so larger teams should use Atlassian's calculator.

Both vendors also show lower prices for yearly billing. We compare month-to-month only. Both sell Enterprise yearly and through sales, without a public price for a small team, so we don't show one.

## What each tier unlocks

| | Linear | Jira |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Unlimited members, 2 teams and 250 issues, Linear Agent and MCP access | Up to 10 users, 2 GB storage, 150 automation steps a month |
| Entry paid | Basic: 5 teams, unlimited issues and file uploads, admin roles | Standard: up to 100,000 users, 400 automation steps per user a month, 250 GB storage |
| Upper tier | Business: unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Linear Insights and Triage Intelligence, Zendesk and Intercom integrations | Premium: cross-team planning and dependency management, 750 automation steps per user a month, unlimited storage, 99.9% uptime SLA |

Features are from the same catalog pages and the vendors' pricing pages. Jira caps automation steps per user each month by plan, so check how many your rules use today before you rely on them after a move.

## Keep Linear when

- The people who use the tracker every day are product and engineering, and they already run cycles, triage and projects in Linear.
- Your issues are wired to GitHub and other developer tools, and the team relies on the Linear Agent or MCP access, which Linear lists on every plan.
- You need private teams, guests or support-desk intake from Zendesk or Intercom. Those come with Business at $1.60 per user/month less than Jira Premium.

## Keep Jira when

- Non-engineering teams track work there too, with custom workflows, fields and boards built around their process.
- You use Confluence, Bitbucket or other Atlassian tools, and issue links between them are part of how work gets done.
- You plan across several teams with dependencies. Premium lists cross-team planning, and Standard is $2.30 per user/month less than Linear Basic.
- Your team is 10 people or fewer and fits Jira Free's limits (2 GB storage, 150 automation steps a month). Then keeping Jira can cost nothing at all.

## Before you cancel either one

- **Linear:** the pricing page lists import and export and API access on every plan. Cycles, triage rules and integrations still have to be rebuilt in the other tool. Dropping to Free caps the workspace at 2 teams and 250 issues.
- **Jira:** work items can be moved out, but workflows, automation rules and integrations must be rebuilt elsewhere. Dropping to Free caps the site at 10 users and 2 GB storage and removes user roles and permissions.
- Count the people who hold a seat in both tools. That number, not the whole team, is what you're paying for twice.

If your projects are simple and you're weighing a lighter tool, compare [Asana, Trello or Sheets for simple project tracking](/guides/asana-vs-trello-vs-sheets). When you're ready to cancel, use the [cancellation checklist](/guides/cancel-software-safely).

## Test before you cancel

Our readiness check doesn't cover a Linear-to-Jira or Jira-to-Linear move, so run this pilot by hand on one real project or cycle before you cancel anything:

1. Pick the tracker you're keeping and list who holds a seat in the other one.
2. Export one live project or cycle and import it into the tracker you're keeping. Check that statuses, assignees, labels and comments came across.
3. Rebuild the workflows, triage or automation rules that project depends on. On Jira, check those rules fit your plan's automation-step cap.
4. Reconnect the integrations the project uses, such as GitHub, Slack or a support desk, and confirm new issues and links arrive.
5. Run the project in the kept tool for one full sprint or cycle. Cancel the other seats only after nobody needed to go back.

If part of your tracking is simple enough for a shared Google Sheet, the free [workflow readiness check](/workflows/asana-trello-monday-to-existing-suite#readiness) on our project tracking consolidation workflow tests that move. It checks your Google Workspace setup, needs no account, keeps your progress in your browser, and lets you download the checklist as Markdown.

## Check your own numbers

The [audit](/audit) is a free stack and savings calculator, and you don't need to sign up. List what you pay for and it shows keep, downgrade or drop line by line, with the arithmetic. OneLessTool has no affiliate links, so no recommendation earns us anything. Stack Watch is coming soon. Join the free waitlist on the [pricing page](/pricing).