Linear pricing in 2026, and how Shortcut compares

Issue trackers are usually cheap per seat, which is why nobody reviews them. But engineering tools tend to get rolled out to the whole company, with designers, support and product managers all on paid seats. Here's what Linear costs today, which limits push teams to upgrade, and how Shortcut compares.

All prices below were checked on the vendors' own pricing pages on 26 October 2026. Prices change, so confirm them before you negotiate.

Linear's plans

From Linear's pricing page:

Free includes unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues and 10 MB file uploads.

Basic removes the issue cap, allows 5 teams and unlimited file uploads, and adds admin roles.

Business adds unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Linear Insights, Linear Asks, Triage Intelligence, Code Intelligence, and Zendesk and Intercom integrations.

Enterprise adds SAML and SCIM, granular admin controls, advanced org modeling, invoice billing, migration support and account management.

Which limit pushes you up a tier

The two limits that matter most are issues and teams.

• Free to Basic. Free caps you at 250 issues, which a working team passes quickly. Basic removes the cap at $10 per user.
• Basic to Business. Basic allows 5 teams. Growing companies often pass that, or need private teams, or want guests for contractors. Business costs $16 per user, 60 percent more.
• Business to Enterprise. SAML SSO and SCIM are Enterprise features, so IT requirements often force this one.

For 40 users on yearly billing, Basic costs $4,800 a year and Business costs $7,680.

Where the money goes

Before renewing, check:

• Who has a seat. Linear is often opened up to the whole company so people can file bugs. Check how many members create or update issues, versus only looking.
• Whether you need more than 5 teams. Merging small or inactive teams can sometimes keep you on Basic.
• Guests on Business. If contractors are on full member seats, guests may be a cheaper option on Business.
• Why you're on Business. If it's for Insights or one integration, check how many people use it.

Shortcut

Shortcut's pricing page lists:

Shortcut says yearly billing saves up to 25 percent, but its page doesn't say which billing period the listed prices reflect.

Free includes 1 team, 1 workflow and 5 GB of storage. Team allows up to 5 teams and 5 workflows, and adds WIP limits, automations, more reports and an observer role. Business adds unlimited teams and workflows, objectives and key results, advanced custom fields and reports, and multiple workspaces. SSO and SCIM are add-ons on Business and included on Enterprise.

Shortcut's observer role is worth a look for the "people who only look" problem above, though its pricing page doesn't say whether observers are billed.

Side by side

Prices are per user per month, as listed on each vendor's pricing page. Linear's are billed yearly.

At list prices, Shortcut is cheaper at each paid tier, and its SSO is available as an add-on before Enterprise. Linear's free plan is more generous on seats. And switching an engineering team's tracker has real costs, so the price gap on its own may not justify a move mid-project.

What to do with this

Start with your member list. Remove or downgrade people who only browse issues, and merge teams if that keeps you under a tier limit. Then price your real seat count on Shortcut. Even if you stay on Linear, that number is useful at renewal. For the full playbook, see how to negotiate a SaaS renewal.

You can see what companies post for Linear on the Linear vendor page, and for Shortcut on the Shortcut vendor page. To get bids from sellers, post an RFP with what you pay for Linear and the features your team uses. It's free, and you can post anonymously.