Head-to-Head Comparison · Alternative to Linear · 🛠️ dev tools
Linear vs Leantime
Project planning for people who do not collect project-management jargon. Here is how Leantime ($0/mo open source) stacks up against Linear ($10/mo) across cost, hosting, data privacy, and real-world trade-offs.
Leantime
$0.00/mo · AGPL-3.0+
Linear vs Leantime Specification Matrix
facts verified 2026-08-10
| Dimension | Linear (Paid) | Leantime (Replacement) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $10 / mo | $0 / mo |
| 1-Year Cost (1 seat) | $120 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $120) |
| 1-Year Cost (5 seats) | $600 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $600) |
| 1-Year Cost (10 seats) | $1,200 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $1,200) |
| Source & License | Proprietary SaaS | open source AGPL-3.0+ |
| Where It Runs | Vendor Cloud | Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud) |
| Platforms | Web / Cloud | webself-hosteddocker to self-host |
| GitHub Stars | — | ★ 11k (active aug 2026) |
Deep Dive: Switching from Linear to Leantime
Trade-offs, installation & data architecture
What you trade away
Leantime is approachable for planning, but it is not keyboard-first and its issue triage, cycles, product roadmaps, and developer integrations are much less refined than Linear's.
How to deploy Leantime
Paid hosted signup, or the free open-source edition via Docker Compose/official image or a PHP release archive plus MySQL/MariaDB
What it takes to run
There is no longer a permanent free hosted tier: the free route means operating PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, persistent storage, backups, and a web-facing Docker or LAMP stack.
Where your data lives
Self-hosted project data lives in MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.6+, while uploaded files use the local filesystem or configured S3-compatible storage; hosted-account data lives in Leantime's cloud.
Why fork Leantime instead of vibe-coding a Linear clone?
The object model is small: issues, states, labels, cycles, projects. A keyboard-first single-player tracker with a board, cycles, and one-way GitHub sync is a weekend build. What does not survive the copy is the sync engine, real-time multiplayer, and the integration surface (GitHub two-way, Slack, Figma, Sentry) that make Linear the place a team actually agrees on what is being built.
Linear vs Leantime FAQ
Is Leantime a good free alternative to Linear?+
Yes. Leantime is a verified open-source (AGPL-3.0+) replacement for Linear. Project planning for people who do not collect project-management jargon.
What is the catch when switching from Linear to Leantime?+
Leantime is approachable for planning, but it is not keyboard-first and its issue triage, cycles, product roadmaps, and developer integrations are much less refined than Linear's.
How much do you save switching from Linear to Leantime?+
Linear costs $10/mo ($120/yr) per seat, whereas Leantime is $0/mo. Switching saves $120/yr for a solo user, $600/yr for a 5-person team, and $1,200/yr for a 10-person team.
How do I install or self-host Leantime instead of Linear?+
Install: Paid hosted signup, or the free open-source edition via Docker Compose/official image or a PHP release archive plus MySQL/MariaDB. Setup: There is no longer a permanent free hosted tier: the free route means operating PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, persistent storage, backups, and a web-facing Docker or LAMP stack.
