Linear vs Asana in 2026: Which Is Better for Engineering and Cross-Team Work?
Pick Linear if most of your users are engineers who ship in short cycles and live in GitHub. Pick Asana if engineering is one of several teams, such as marketing, ops and product, that need to share timelines, goals, approvals and workload views. On price: Linear Basic is $10 and Business $16 per user a month, billed yearly. Asana Starter is $10.99 and Advanced $24.99, billed yearly, as of October 18, 2026.
I checked both pricing pages today: Linear pricing and Asana pricing. For features I used Linear’s cycles docs, Linear’s GitHub docs and Asana’s GitHub app page.
Prices side by side
| Plan level | Linear (per user a month, yearly) | Asana (per user a month, yearly) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0: unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues | Personal $0: up to 2 users |
| Entry paid | Basic $10: 5 teams, unlimited issues | Starter $10.99: timeline, Gantt, dashboards, forms |
| Mid tier | Business $16: unlimited teams, Insights, Asks | Advanced $24.99: portfolios, goals, workload, proofing |
| Top tier | Enterprise: quote, yearly only | Enterprise and Enterprise+: quote |
What a 25-person team pays each month (yearly billing):
- Linear Basic: 25 × $10 = $250
- Asana Starter: 25 × $10.99 = $274.75
- Linear Business: 25 × $16 = $400
- Asana Advanced: 25 × $24.99 = $624.75
At the top paid tier, the gap is big: $224.75 a month for 25 people. That is why fit matters more than the sticker price.
Two very different tools
Linear is built for software teams. Issues go into cycles. Cycles feed projects. Projects roll up into initiatives. New bugs and requests land in a triage inbox before anyone plans them. It has strong defaults and few settings, which keeps it fast and tidy.
Asana is built for any team. Work lives in projects with list, board, timeline and calendar views. Portfolios, goals and workload views tie many teams together. Rules (Asana’s automations), forms and approvals help with intake and sign-off.
In plain words: Linear tracks code work very well. Asana tracks work across a whole company very well.
Sprints and cycles
Linear cycles are built in. You turn them on in Team Settings > Cycles. Each cycle lasts 1 to 8 weeks, starts on the same day each time, and can have a cooldown week after it. Linear creates up to 15 future cycles. Unfinished issues roll into the next cycle on their own. Estimates (story points) are an optional field.
Asana has no cycle feature. Engineering teams on Asana usually run sprints with a project template, a section per sprint, and a custom field for points. It works, but someone has to move unfinished tasks by hand or with a rule each sprint. If your team runs two-week sprints every time, that upkeep adds up.
My take: if sprints are the heart of your process, Linear wins this round easily.
GitHub links
Linear links pull requests and commits to issues and moves the issue’s status as the PR moves. By default an issue goes to In Progress when its PR opens and Done when it merges. You can also map draft, review requested and ready-for-merge states. It can also sync GitHub issues with a Linear team, and comments sync both ways. A GitHub org owner installs it for org-wide access. GitHub Enterprise setups need Linear Enterprise.
Asana’s GitHub app shows pull request status on Asana tasks: review status, build status, PR status and line changes. You add it per project under Customize > Apps. It does not support GitHub Enterprise Server.
Both work. Linear’s link is deeper because issue status follows the code. Asana’s link is a status window for non-engineers who want to see progress.
Roadmaps, goals and workload
This is where Asana pulls ahead.
- Timeline and Gantt views come with Asana Starter, with task dependencies.
- Portfolios and goals come with Advanced. Leaders can see many projects’ health in one place and tie them to company goals.
- Workload (resource management) comes with Advanced, within one portfolio. Enterprise adds company-wide workload and capacity planning.
- Approvals and proofing come with Advanced, so design and legal can sign off in the same tool.
Linear has projects, initiatives, a timeline and Insights (charts on Business). That covers an engineering roadmap well. It doesn’t try to run a marketing launch calendar or a hiring plan.
AI limits to know
Asana includes AI Teammates and Asana Dash on paid plans, but only 5 requests per user a month, up to 50 per account on Starter and Advanced (250 on Enterprise). After that, prepaid requests cost $0.50 each or $0.60 pay-as-you-go. AI Studio credits (for AI in rules) are separate: 50,000 a month on Starter and 75,000 on Advanced, per billing account.
Linear includes its Linear Agent and agent platform even on Free. Triage Intelligence, Code Intelligence and Loops need Business, and some features use paid AI credits.
If your team plans to lean hard on Asana’s AI Teammates, budget for extra requests. Fifty a month for a whole account runs out fast.
When each is the wrong choice
Don’t pick Linear if non-technical teams must plan in the same tool, if you need approvals and proofing, or if leaders want portfolio and goal views across departments.
Don’t pick Asana if your engineers want a fast, keyboard-first tracker with built-in cycles and deep GitHub status sync. They will push back.
Many companies run both. Engineering lives in Linear. The rest of the company plans in Asana. A shared project link or a status update keeps leaders in the loop.
Honest pros and cons
Linear pros – Built-in cycles with auto rollover – Deep GitHub link that moves issue status – Free plan allows unlimited members
Linear cons – Free stops at 250 issues – Thin tools for non-engineering teams – SAML and SCIM only on Enterprise
Asana pros – Timeline, portfolios, goals and workload – Approvals, proofing and branching forms on Advanced – Unlimited free guests on Starter and up
Asana cons – No native cycles or sprint rollover – Advanced costs much more per seat – AI requests are capped low before you pay more
Which should you pick?
- Engineering-only team: Linear Basic, or Business if you need private teams and Insights.
- Product company with engineering plus marketing and ops: Asana Advanced for the company, and maybe Linear for engineers.
- Small agency or ops team with a few developers: Asana Starter.
For more detail, see our Linear review, our Asana pricing guide, our Linear vs Jira comparison and our Asana workload guide.
Common questions
Is Linear cheaper than Asana?
Yes, at each paid tier. On October 18, 2026, Linear Basic was $10 and Business $16 per user a month billed yearly. Asana Starter was $10.99 and Advanced $24.99.
Does Asana have sprints like Linear cycles?
No built-in cycle feature. Teams run sprints in Asana with templates, sections and a points custom field. Linear cycles roll unfinished issues forward on their own.
Which has the better GitHub integration?
Linear. Its integration moves issue status as pull requests open and merge, and can sync GitHub issues. Asana’s GitHub app shows PR, review and build status on tasks.
Can Asana work for engineering teams?
Yes, for teams that work closely with other departments. Asana’s timeline, portfolios and workload help mixed teams. Pure engineering teams usually prefer Linear.
What are Asana’s AI limits?
Starter and Advanced include 5 AI Teammate and Dash requests per user a month, up to 50 per account. Extra requests cost $0.50 prepaid or $0.60 pay-as-you-go.
Prices and features checked on linear.app, asana.com and their docs on October 18, 2026.
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