Linear is a speed-focused issue tracker built for software engineering teams with deep GitHub integration, while Asana is a flexible, all-purpose project management platform designed for mixed teams across product, marketing, and operations. Linear wins for technical teams; Asana wins for organizations with non-engineering staff.
Asana vs Linear — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Enterprise-grade work management platform focused on task hierarchy and timeline planning.
One-dimensional mathematical object or relationship following a straight path
Primary Use Case. GitHub Integration Depth. UI/Speed Performance. Customization Flexibility. Learning Curve. Best Team Size. Typical Adoption Rate
Choose Asana if your team spans product, marketing, design, and operations—its flexibility and structured workflows handle complex multi-functional work. Choose Linear if you're a technical team focused on speed and efficiency with heavy GitHub usage—its streamlined interface and native developer integrations outpace Asana significantly. For hybrid setups (40+ people), use Linear for engineering and Asana for non-technical teams with an aggregation layer.
Starting Monthly Cost (per user, annual)
Asana: Native with timeline view, dependencies, and milestones | Linear: N/A
Asana: AI Teammates, AI Studio | Linear: N/A
Asana: Yes, basic timeline | Linear: N/A
Base Monthly Price (Individual/Starter Plan)
Asana: Included (no add-on) | Linear: N/A
Asana: 4 stars (AI Studio, smart projects, rules, summaries) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Zapier integrations (third-party dependent) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Gentle (intuitive, optimized for ease) | Linear: N/A
Asana: No (requires separate tool or integration) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Yes (enhanced Jan 2026 update) | Linear: N/A
Annual Cost for Full Stack (Single User with AI)
Asana: $131.88 (base only, AI included) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Dedicated Project Management | Linear: N/A
Asana: Basic task tracking | Linear: N/A
Asana: Limited native integrations | Linear: N/A
Asana: $24.99/user/month (Advanced) | Linear: N/A
Asana: $14,994 (Advanced plan) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Yes, native Goals feature | Linear: N/A
Asana: Standard views (limited color coding) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Project management platform | Linear: N/A
Asana: Limited, requires integration | Linear: N/A
Asana: AI Teammates, AI Studio, native automation (2026) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Optimal for 50+ users | Linear: N/A
Asana: 4+ (List, Board, Timeline, Calendar, Kanban) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Via Everhour (#3 marketplace app) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Advanced role-based controls (2026 upgrade) | Linear: N/A
Asana: $10.99 (Teams plan minimum) | Linear: $10/month (Team)
Asana: Advanced (blocks, predecessors, critical path) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Limited (basic notes, no wiki) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Yes (automatic scheduling, drag-and-drop) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Moderate (template-based, limited customization) | Linear: N/A
Asana: 15 (free tier limit) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Built-in (shows team utilization and resource allocation) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Basic URL linking | Linear: Native commits, PRs, code review
Asana: 2.5-3.5 seconds | Linear: 0.5-1.0 seconds
Asana: Unlimited custom fields and automations | Linear: Limited to preset field types
Asana: 40+ multi-functional team | Linear: 5-50
Asana: 70-75% in tech teams | Linear: 95%+ in dev teams
Asana: Advanced Gantt, dependencies, critical path | Linear: Basic timeline view only
Asana: $10.99 (annual billing) | Linear: N/A
Asana: 100 requests/second (enterprise) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Free plan; Paid from $10.99 | Linear: N/A
Asana: Unlimited for up to 15 team members | Linear: N/A
Asana: Full native support with dependencies | Linear: N/A
Asana: Limited custom field options | Linear: N/A
Asana: 100 requests per minute | Linear: N/A
Asana: Native rules engine with 50+ trigger/action combinations | Linear: N/A
Asana: 200+ official templates | Linear: N/A
Asana: Dedicated portfolio module with budget tracking | Linear: N/A
Starting Monthly Price (Per User/Workspace)
Asana: Business+ plan ($24.99/user/month) | Linear: N/A
iOS & Android App Quality Rating (App Store/Google Play)
Asana: Yes, with dependencies | Linear: N/A
Asana: Yes, with custom reports | Linear: N/A
Asana: Yes, dedicated workload view | Linear: N/A
Asana: 7 views (List, Board, Timeline, Calendar, Files, Stories, Workload) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Add-on cost: $10+/user/month | Linear: N/A
Asana: $13.49 (Asana Essentials, annual) | Linear: N/A
Asana: $36.49 (Asana Premium, annual) | Linear: N/A
Asana: 70+ advanced automation rules | Linear: N/A
Asana: 8 hours for core features | Linear: N/A
Asana: Advanced Gantt with dependencies, critical path, resource leveling | Linear: N/A
Asana: Predefined field types; limited relational database functionality | Linear: N/A
Asana: 1,000+ total, 100+ native (Slack, Teams, GitHub, Jira) | Linear: N/A
Asana: Unlimited for tasks; attachment limits per file type | Linear: N/A
Base Monthly Cost Per User (Annual Billing)
Asana: Built-in workload view shows team capacity and allocations | Linear: N/A
Asana: Not available - limited to predefined structures | Linear: N/A
Asana: Advanced rules: auto-assignments, status changes, notifications | Linear: N/A
Asana: N/A | Linear: Basic (Scrum/Kanban)
Asana: N/A | Linear: 2-4 hours to productive state
Asana: N/A | Linear: Minimal - links to external docs preferred
Asana: N/A | Linear: 50+ native integrations
Asana: N/A | Linear: 5 core views (list, board, calendar, kanban, table)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Unlimited - scales to enterprise
Asana: N/A | Linear: Native GitHub/GitLab sync with PR linking
Asana: N/A | Linear: Full sprint cycles with burndown charts
Asana: N/A | Linear: iOS and Android native apps
Asana: N/A | Linear: Full blocking relationship tracking
Asana: N/A | Linear: N/A (not applicable)
Asana: N/A | Linear: No (external tools required)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Native first-class support
Asana: N/A | Linear: Unlimited custom workflows
Asana: N/A | Linear: Moderate (predefined flows)
Asana: N/A | Linear: 120ms (optimized UI)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Thousands of startups and engineering teams
Asana: N/A | Linear: Very fast (<1 second typical)
Asana: N/A | Linear: 50+ (GitHub, GitLab, Slack, etc.)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Issue tracking & dev project management
Asana: N/A | Linear: 1-2 days to productive
Asana: N/A | Linear: Native iOS/Android, well-optimized
Asana: N/A | Linear: SSO, advanced permissions, audit logs
Asana: N/A | Linear: $100 (Standard team plan)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Yes (up to 10 issues/month)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Native with timelines & milestones
Asana: N/A | Linear: Robust public/private API
Asana: N/A | Linear: Advanced with full customization
Asana: N/A | Linear: AI-powered summarization, triage, automation
Asana: N/A | Linear: $100 (Standard plan)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Native sync built-in
Asana: N/A | Linear: ~50 standard automations
Asana: N/A | Linear: 3 views (board, list, views)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Yes - Enterprise plan
Asana: N/A | Linear: Excellent - API-first approach
Asana: N/A | Linear: Custom per-user pricing
Asana: N/A | Linear: Limited AI capabilities
Asana: N/A | Linear: Engineering & dev teams
Asana: N/A | Linear: Established (5+ years)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Available for small teams
Asana: N/A | Linear: Deep developer tool integrations
Asana: N/A | Linear: $50/month (5 users minimum)
Asana: N/A | Linear: $250/month (25 users × $10)
Asana: N/A | Linear: <50ms (sub-millisecond)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Comments only (requires Slack/Discord)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Limited (paid add-on)
Asana: N/A | Linear: 120+ shortcuts with command palette
Asana: N/A | Linear: Unlimited custom statuses
Asana: N/A | Linear: API-based (sync required)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Advanced (50+ rule combinations)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Bi-directional + slash commands
Asana: N/A | Linear: Extensive (50+ shortcuts)
Monthly Cost per User (Annual Commitment)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Two-way sync with auto-close
Asana: N/A | Linear: 10,000 requests/month
Asana: N/A | Linear: iOS & Android (native)
Asana: N/A | Linear: Movement along single axis (x only, or parametric t)
Typical Grade Level Introduction (US Education)
Computational Complexity for Standard Operations
Asana: N/A | Linear: O(1) - constant time for most calculations
Asana: N/A | Linear: 2 parameters (slope and y-intercept, or two points)
Number of Independent Variables in Standard Equation
Asana: N/A | Linear: 2 variables (x and y)
Practical Applications in Modern Technology
Asana: N/A | Linear: Linear regression models, trend analysis, machine learning (linear classifiers), signal processing
Intersection Outcomes with Same Type Objects
Asana: N/A | Linear: 3 outcomes: 1 point, parallel (0 points), or identical
Asana vs Linear — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Asana vs Linear. Contains 239 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Asana vs Linear — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Asana vs Linear.
Which tool should a 30-person startup use?
If the startup is purely technical (engineering-focused), Linear is ideal—teams adopt it at 95%+ rates and the GitHub integration accelerates development. If the startup is mixed (product, design, marketing, engineering), use Linear for the engineering team and Asana for non-technical functions, then aggregate with a tool like Huddle.
Why do teams switch from Asana to Linear?
Technical teams migrate to Linear for superior speed (3x faster UI), deep GitHub integration that eliminates context switching, and lower costs ($7/user vs $10.99). Asana's extensive customization becomes a liability for focused dev teams who need simplicity and velocity.
Is Asana worth paying for when Linear is cheaper?
Yes, if your team is non-technical or mixed. Asana's customization, Gantt charts, and portfolio management support complex cross-functional workflows that Linear deliberately omits. Linear's speed and simplicity are wasted on marketing teams; Asana's flexibility is wasted on pure engineering teams.
Can Linear replace Asana for a 100-person organization?
No. At 100 people with diverse departments, Linear becomes insufficient—it lacks portfolio management, advanced reporting, and cross-functional workflow support. Most 100-person orgs use Asana as the core platform, then supplement with Linear for engineering teams and an aggregation layer (like Huddle) to unify visibility.
What's the key difference in how each tool approaches work tracking?
Linear is speed-first issue tracking for developers—it minimizes features and complexity to maximize daily velocity. Asana is flexibility-first project management—it supports diverse work types (campaigns, initiatives, roadmaps, sprints) across any department, trading some speed for comprehensive functionality.
Primary Use Case: Asana has Mixed teams (product, marketing, design, ops), while Linear has Software engineering teams.
GitHub Integration Depth: Asana has Basic linking capability, while Linear has Deep native integration with commit tracking.
UI/Speed Performance: Asana has Comprehensive but slower interface, while Linear has Blazing-fast, minimalist interface.
Customization Flexibility: Asana has Highly customizable workflows and fields, while Linear has Streamlined with limited customization.
Learning Curve: Asana has Steep due to extensive features, while Linear has Shallow, minimal training required.
Best Team Size: Asana has 40+ people with diverse functions, while Linear has 20-40 technical team members.
Typical Adoption Rate: Asana has 90% adoption in mixed teams, while Linear has 95%+ adoption in dev teams.