Linear vs Smartsheet
A source-aware comparison of pricing, documented capabilities and workflow fit.
Short answer
- Price: Smartsheet is cheaper — $9/user/mo vs $10/user/mo.
- How to start: Linear is from $10/user/mo billed annually, Smartsheet is from $9/user/mo billed annually.
- Where they differ: on what we checked they match — both offer public api, mobile app and sso (saml).
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. How we score tools.
What Linear is
What Linear isLinear is the streamlined alternative to Jira, built specifically for high-performance product and engineering teams. It is designed for speed, with a 'keyboard-first' approach that allows you to perform almost any action without touching a mouse. Linear avoids the bloat of traditional project management tools, offering a focused, opinionated workflow centered around 'Cycles' and 'Projects.' Its beautiful, minimalist UI and blazing-fast performance make it the favorite of the world's most modern tech startups.
What Smartsheet is
What Smartsheet isSmartsheet manages work in a spreadsheet-like grid with automations, dependencies and reporting layered on. The grid is deliberate: teams that already run projects in spreadsheets can move across without learning a new mental model, then gain Gantt views, approval workflows and cross-sheet reporting they could not build in a spreadsheet. It suits operational and portfolio work more than software development, where board-based tools fit the rhythm better.
Side by side
| Linear | Smartsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management | Project Management |
| How to start | $10/user/moverified | $9/user/moverified |
| Public API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Open source / self-hostable | No | No |
| SSO (SAML) | Yes | Yes |
| Visit | Linear ↗ | Smartsheet ↗ |
Some links on this page earn us a commission if you sign up. It never changes a price you pay, a verdict we publish, or the order tools appear in.
What Linear is built to do
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Perform every task, from assignment to status change, with fast keys.
- Cycles
- A streamlined take on Sprints that keeps the team focused on what's next.
- Roadmaps
- High-level overview of your product's strategic goals and major milestones.
- Automated Backlog
- Keeps your project clean by automatically archiving old, inactive tasks.
What Smartsheet is built to do
- Grid, Gantt and card views
- The same data shown as a sheet, a timeline or a board without duplicating it.
- Cross-sheet reporting
- Roll many project sheets into one portfolio view for reporting upward.
- Automated workflows
- Approval chains, reminders and status updates triggered by field changes.
- Forms
- Collect structured requests from people who never open the sheet itself.
Choose Linear if
- Small teams testing the workflow: Free covers unlimited members but caps you at 2 teams and 250 issues
- Teams that outgrow the issue cap — Basic at $10 per user/month billed yearly lifts issues and file uploads to unlimited and allows 5 teams
- Companies running many squads: Business at $16 per user/month adds unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Triage Intelligence, Linear Insights, Linear Asks and Zendesk/Intercom integrations
Skip Linear if
- You need SAML or SCIM — SSO on Business is Google plus SAML, but SCIM provisioning, IP restrictions, domain claiming and audit logs are Enterprise, which is annual-only and quote-based
- You want deep sub-team structure on a mid plan: Basic allows 1 level of sub-teams and Business 5, with unlimited only above
- You plan to lean on the AI features — coding sessions and Loops require AI credits on top of the seat price
Choose Smartsheet if
- Teams that think in spreadsheets but need automation, forms and dashboards on top
- Small groups: Pro starts at $9/member/month billed annually
- Trying it fully first — 30 days with no card
Skip Smartsheet if
- You need unlimited automations or timeline view; those start at Business, $19/member/month annual
- You want a free tier; Smartsheet has none, only a trial
- You are an existing customer hoping to move to Pro — the vendor lists Pro as available to new customers only
Evidence and freshness
Where a claim on this page comes from a vendor page, it is linked here.
Linear: pros & cons
- Blazing Fast: The interface responds instantly to every command and keyboard shortcut.
- Keyboard Native: Manage your entire project without ever leaving your keyboard.
- Clean Aesthetic: One of the most beautiful and distraction-free UIs in the market.
- Great Integration: Seamlessly connects to GitHub, GitLab, and Slack.
- Opinionated Workflow: It forces a specific way of working that may not fit all teams.
- Not for Non-Tech: Less suitable for HR or marketing teams compared to Monday.com.
- Limited Customization: You cannot radically change the logic of the tool like Jira.
Smartsheet: pros & cons
- Familiar to anyone comfortable in spreadsheets
- Handles dependencies and resource views
- Strong automation and forms
- Interface is dense
- Per-user pricing with feature gates
- Spreadsheet metaphor breaks on complex work
Our verdict on Linear
The fastest and most elegant project management tool for modern software teams.
Our verdict on Smartsheet
The easiest migration path off spreadsheets. Teams that never liked spreadsheets will not like this either.
Published plans, side by side
Every figure below was read from the vendor's own pricing page and is shown with the sentence it came from. Where a vendor publishes no plan prices, we say so rather than guess.
Linear
- Free$0/mo
Free: unlimited members, 2 teams, 250 issues, 10MB file upload, agent platform, Linear Agent
- Basic$10/user/mo billed annually
Basic $10 per user/month billed yearly: all Free features plus 5 teams, unlimited issues, unlimited file uploads, admin roles
- Business$16/user/mo
Business $16 per user/month: all Basic plus unlimited teams, private teams and guests, Triage Intelligence, Loops, Code Intelligence, Linear Insights, Linear Asks, Zendesk and Intercom integrations
Smartsheet
- Pro$9/user/mo billed annually
Pro from $9 per member/month billed annually
- Business$19/user/mo billed annually
Business from $19 per member/month billed annually
Linear vs Smartsheet: common questions
- Is Linear cheaper than Smartsheet?
- Smartsheet is the cheaper entry point at $9/user/mo billed annually, against $10/user/mo billed annually for Linear. Both figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages.
- Does Linear or Smartsheet have a free plan?
- Linear publishes a free plan (Free), while Smartsheet has no free plan listed.
- Which is cheaper once you start paying, Linear or Smartsheet?
- Smartsheet has the cheaper first paid step: Pro at $9/user/mo billed annually, against Basic at $10/user/mo billed annually for Linear. Both figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages.
- What is the difference between Linear and Smartsheet?
- On the criteria we check, on what we checked they match — both offer public api, mobile app and sso (saml). The table above lists every criterion side by side.