Linear vs Asana

by Gralio Feb 05, 2025

Linear and Asana are both project management platforms, but Linear excels in speed and efficiency for software development teams, while Asana offers broader applicability and more integrations at a higher price point. Choose Linear for focused software development and Asana for diverse team needs and broader project management.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 4931 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 3 hours, 53 minutes of reading.

Linear

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Asana

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

Linear is a software platform designed for product development teams of all sizes to manage projects and build products efficiently. It provides tools to streamline and track issues, manage sprints, and build product roadmaps. Linear enables teams to collaborate on ideas, plan projects, visualize progress, and gain insights from real-time data analytics. It integrates with popular tools like Slack and Figma, making it a comprehensive solution for managing modern software development workflows.

Asana is a work management platform designed to help teams organize tasks, projects, and goals in one shared space. It offers tools to improve team collaboration, transparency, and accountability. Used by companies of all sizes, it's particularly beneficial for managing complex projects and keeping everyone aligned on priorities. Features include task assignments, progress tracking, deadline setting, and communication tools. Asana aims to streamline workflows, enhance team productivity, and provide a clear overview of project statuses.

Summary

Main difference

Linear is a powerful project management tool specifically designed for software development teams, offering a streamlined and intuitive interface optimized for speed and efficiency. Asana, while also a robust project management platform, caters to a broader range of teams and projects, providing more diverse views and integrations but at a higher cost.

Relative strengths of Linear (compared to Asana)

Superior performance and speed, ideal for agile development.
Clean and intuitive interface minimizes distractions and learning curve.
Strong focus on software development workflows with purpose-built features.

Relative weaknesses of Linear (compared to Asana)

Less flexible pricing plans compared to Asana.
Limited project views compared to Asana's list, board, calendar, and timeline options.
Fewer integrations with non-software development tools compared to Asana.

Who is using Linear and Asana?

No data

Olesia Krilyshyn

Sales Acceleration Specialist at Reply.io

Gaetano Di Nardi

Growth Advisor for B2B SaaS Companies

Who should use Linear VS. Asana

Linear is a powerful yet intuitive project management tool loved by users for its speed, clean design, and efficient hotkeys. While some desire more label customization, it excels at streamlining workflows and fostering collaboration, making it perfect for fast-paced software teams.

Asana is a versatile work management platform ideal for teams seeking to enhance collaboration and streamline workflows. Users praise its intuitive interface, flexible project views, and integrations with popular tools like Slack and Google Drive. However, some users mention the high cost and occasional performance issues. It's a great option for teams who prioritize ease of use and robust task management.

Best for small to mid-sized teams seeking streamlined product development.
Ideal for software development teams looking to enhance collaboration and productivity.

Best for small, medium, and enterprise companies.
A good fit for various industries, including Healthcare, Finance, E-commerce, Retail, and more.

Linear and Asana features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Workflow management

Not supported

Linear is designed for software development workflows, not knowledge bases.

Supported

Asana supports workflow management for knowledge base content creation, review, and publishing.
Intuitive Interface Design

Supported

Linear has a sleek, minimalist, and streamlined interface praised for intuitive design.

Supported

Asana has an intuitive interface with customizable dashboards and playful animations.
High Performance

Supported

Linear is built for speed with a high-performance architecture.

Supported

Asana has improved speed and performance, especially when switching projects or tasks.
Purpose-built Workflows

Supported

Linear supports custom workflows designed for software development, enhancing efficiency.

Supported

Asana allows creation of custom workflows for various purposes, enhancing efficiency.
Team Collaboration Enhancement

Supported

Linear supports team collaboration with features like real-time co-editing and communication tools integration.

Supported

Asana offers various features that enhance team collaboration, including task management, project visualization, and integrations.
Task Management

Supported

Linear supports creating, assigning, managing, and tracking tasks within projects.

Supported

Asana allows users to create, assign, manage, and track tasks within projects.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

No data

-0.41

Rather negative sentiment
Customer Service

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment

+0.51

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.83

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.84

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment

+0.1

Neutral sentiment
Scalability

No data

+0.26

Neutral sentiment

Linear and Asana Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-1

See full Pricing page

Asana offers a free plan and three paid plans (Starter, Premium, and Enterprise) designed for teams of varying sizes and needs. Contact sales for Enterprise pricing.

Plans

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.41

See full Pricing page

Linear and Asana review insights

4927 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Intuitive and user-friendly interface, praised for its clean design and ease of use.
Fast and efficient performance, making task management seamless.
Excellent keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys, enabling efficient navigation and interaction.
Strong collaboration features, particularly for software development teams.

User-friendly interface, praised for its intuitive design.
Flexible project views: list, board, and calendar options.
Excellent integration with Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams.
Strong task management capabilities with deadlines, assignments, and progress tracking.

Users dislike

Limited customization options for labels, with users desiring more flexibility.

High cost - the price per user is a deterrent for many teams.
Subtasks are not easily viewed in the main task view, requiring extra clicks.
Limited advanced reporting features.
Occasional bugs, freezing, and performance lags.

Linear and Asana Ratings

G2

4.6/5

(36)
TrustPilot

4.0/5

(4)

G2

4.3/5

(2486)
Capterra

4.5/5

(2414)
Glassdoor

4.1/5

(806)

Company health

Employee growth

47% increase in the last year

21% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No change in the last quarter

8% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

June 2023 - $52M

May 2020 - $453M

How do Linear's purpose-built workflows compare to Asana's general task management features?

Linear's purpose-built workflows are specifically designed for software development processes, offering features like sprint management and issue tracking. Asana, while offering general task management, lacks these specialized workflows. Asana's strength lies in its broader applicability for various team types and project styles, offering a more generalized approach to task and project management.

Which product better integrates with existing communication tools for software teams?

Asana better integrates with existing communication tools for software teams. It offers excellent integration with popular tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams, while Linear only mentions integration with Slack and Figma. For teams heavily reliant on diverse communication and collaboration platforms, Asana's broader integration capabilities would likely be more advantageous.

What are the advantages of Linear?

Linear boasts a high-performance architecture and a sleek, intuitive interface designed specifically for software development workflows. Its focus on speed, purpose-built features, and seamless integrations with tools like Slack and Figma makes it highly efficient for software teams. Users praise its ease of use and powerful keyboard shortcuts, contributing to a streamlined and productive experience.

What are the disadvantages of Linear?

Linear has limited customization options, particularly for labels, which can restrict users' ability to tailor the software to their specific needs. It may also be less suitable for enterprise-level organizations due to its lower rating for that company size. While generally praised for its speed, some users have reported occasional performance issues or bugs, impacting reliability.

Alternatives to Linear and Asana

Trello

Trello is a visual project management tool that helps teams organize tasks and collaborate more effectively. Using boards, lists, and cards, teams can easily track progress on projects, from simple to-do lists to complex workflows. Trello offers a high level of customization with features like templates, integrations with other popular apps, and no-code automation. Its intuitive interface makes it easy for anyone to use, regardless of technical skill. Trello offers various pricing plans to suit different team sizes and needs, including a free plan for small teams.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a comprehensive work management platform designed to consolidate various work processes into one centralized location. It offers a wide array of features including task management, project planning, document collaboration, communication tools, goal setting, and automation options. ClickUp aims to enhance team collaboration, improve visibility across projects, and streamline workflows for increased productivity regardless of team size or industry.

Dynatrace

Dynatrace helps you understand how your software is running, like a health tracker for your apps and systems. It monitors everything - websites, networks, user experience - to pinpoint problems before they impact your business. With AI-powered analysis, Dynatrace simplifies complex data, giving you clear answers and helping you automate IT tasks.

Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace platform designed to help teams organize information, manage projects, and collaborate effectively. It centralizes notes, documents, tasks, and databases, making it easy for teams to access and share information. Notion allows users to customize their workspace with templates and integrations and offers AI features for writing assistance and information retrieval. It aims to be a flexible solution that adapts to various work styles and replaces the need for multiple single-purpose tools.

Jira

Jira is a popular work management tool from Atlassian used by teams of all sizes to track tasks and projects. It helps organize, prioritize, and track work progress through customizable workflows, boards, and reporting features. Although highly configurable and initially popular for software development, Jira is now used by various teams for project management, bug tracking, and issue resolution.

5day.io

5day.io is a work management software designed to simplify project management, task management, and team collaboration. It offers features such as project planning, time tracking, and communication tools. 5day.io aims to provide a user-friendly platform for teams of all sizes across various industries, helping them improve efficiency and achieve better project outcomes. It emphasizes ease of use and visual clarity, aiming to make work more manageable and enjoyable.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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