Estimated monthly cost comparison — not just the headline price
Prices change often — confirm on the vendor's site before buying. Report incorrect pricing →
Quick Take
Linear has the lower estimated monthly cost (~40%)
Based on advertised price plus documented recurring fees, not your exact usage.
Best for Linear
Modern issue tracking for software teams. Free for up to 250 issues, then $8-$14/user/mo. Clean and
Best for Trello
Atlassian's visual Kanban board tool. Free plan is limited by Power-Up restrictions, automation caps
Modern issue tracking for software teams. Free for up to 250 issues, then $8-$14...
Advertised
$0
/month
Estimated monthly cost
$12
/month (illustrative)
250 Active Issue Limit on Free
Free plan limits to 250 active issues. Fast-moving engineering teams hit this in weeks. Standard at ...
Guest Access Requires Plus
External guest access for contractors and clients requires Plus plan at $14/user/mo — 75% more than ...
Advanced Features on Plus Only
Triage responsibility, SLA tracking, and advanced GitHub/GitLab integrations require Plus at $14/use...
Atlassian's visual Kanban board tool. Free plan is limited by Power-Up restricti...
Advertised
$5
/month
Estimated monthly cost
$20
/month (illustrative)
Power-Up Limit on Free
Free plan allows only 1 Power-Up per board. Need Slack + Google Drive + Calendar? That is 3 Power-Up...
Automation Command Caps
Free: 250 command runs/mo. Standard: 1,000. Premium: 6,000. Complex automations burn through limits ...
View Restrictions
Dashboard, Timeline, Calendar, and Map views require Premium at $10/user/mo. Free and Standard only ...
10MB Attachment Limit on Free
Free plan caps file attachments at 10MB per file. Standard allows 250MB. Teams sharing design files,...
Linear advertises $0/mo. Trello advertises $5/mo.
Linear has 3 documented hidden fees. Trello has 4.
Linear confidence: 78%. Trello confidence: 80%.
| Metric | Linear | Trello | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised Price | $0/mo | $5/mo | Linear |
| Estimated Monthly Cost | $12/mo | $20/mo | Linear |
| Recurring Extra Fees | +$12/mo | +$15/mo | Linear |
| One-Time Costs | $0 | $0 | — |
| # Documented Fees | 3 | 4 | — |
| Pricing Tiers | 3 | 4 | — |
| Affiliate Program | None | No public affiliate program | — |
Linear advertises $0/mo and Trello advertises $5/mo. Linear has 3 documented extra fees (recurring: +$12/mo), while Trello has 4 (recurring: +$15/mo). On these illustrative assumptions, Linear has the lower estimated monthly cost (about 40% less). Your real cost depends on seats and usage — use the calculator for your numbers.
Linear has 3 documented extra fees: 250 Active Issue Limit on Free, Guest Access Requires Plus, Advanced Features on Plus Only. Recurring fees add roughly $12/mo on top of the $0/mo advertised price.
Trello has 4 documented extra fees: Power-Up Limit on Free, Automation Command Caps, View Restrictions, 10MB Attachment Limit on Free. Recurring fees add roughly $15/mo on top of the $5/mo advertised price.
Choose Linear if: Modern issue tracking for software teams. Free for up to 250 issues, then $8-$14/user/mo. Clean and . Choose Trello if: Atlassian's visual Kanban board tool. Free plan is limited by Power-Up restrictions, automation caps. The right choice depends on your team size, usage volume, and which features you need most.
This comparison is compiled from public vendor pricing pages and documentation. It uses illustrative assumptions (see "Cost Comparison Summary"), not your exact seats or usage, and vendor prices change often. Confirm current prices on each vendor's site, and use our calculator with your own usage for a closer estimate. Spotted an error? Email hello@trulycritic.com.
Enter your usage to see personalized pricing for both tools
Use Free Calculator