Trello vs Linear

by Gralio Feb 03, 2025

Trello is better for you if you need a versatile and customizable tool for general project management across different teams and projects. Linear is better for you if you are a software development team looking for a purpose-built, high-performing platform with streamlined workflows and integrations tailored to your needs. Trello stands out with its flexibility and ease of use, while Linear excels in speed, performance, and features specifically designed for software development.

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 2529 reviews and 60 websites, saving 14 hours, 33 minutes of reading.

Trello

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Linear

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About

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.

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.

Summary

Main difference

Trello is a versatile project management tool suitable for various teams and projects, offering a highly customizable and visual approach. Linear, on the other hand, is purpose-built for software development teams, providing a streamlined and efficient workflow with a focus on speed and performance.

Relative strengths of Trello (compared to Linear)

Highly customizable with various views, templates, and integrations.
User-friendly interface with drag-and-drop functionality, suitable for non-technical users.
Free plan available for small teams, offering good value for basic project management.

Relative weaknesses of Trello (compared to Linear)

Limited features for software development specific workflows.
Free version has limitations on file uploads and team size.
Can become cluttered with complex projects and multiple boards.

Who should use Trello VS. Linear

Trello is a visual project management tool ideal for teams seeking a simple, flexible way to organize tasks and projects. Its drag-and-drop interface and customizable boards make it easy to track progress, while integrations with popular apps enhance collaboration. Users love its intuitive design and versatility, but some find the free version limiting.

Linear is a powerful project management tool loved by users for its intuitive interface, speed, and collaboration features. Perfect for software development teams, it streamlines workflows and boosts productivity. However, some users desire more label customization.

Best for small to medium-sized businesses.
Ideal for IT, marketing, and other collaborative industries.

Best for small to medium-sized businesses.
Ideal for software development teams.

Trello and Linear features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

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

Intuitive Interface Design

Supported

Trello has an intuitive interface design that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Supported

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

Partially supported

Trello performance can be inconsistent, especially with large boards.

Supported

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

Supported

Trello supports purpose-built workflows through customizable boards, automation, and integrations.

Supported

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

Supported

Trello provides visual collaboration, task management, and real-time communication tools.

Supported

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

Supported

Trello offers Timeline, Table, Calendar, Dashboard, and Map views for visualizing projects.

Supported

Linear supports visual project views with customizable list and board layouts.
Kanban board

Supported

Trello has built-in Kanban boards for visual task and workflow management.

Supported

Linear has built-in Kanban boards for visual task and workflow management.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0

Neutral sentiment

-1

Strongly negative sentiment
Customer Service

-0.14

Neutral sentiment

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.85

Strongly positive sentiment

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.62

Rather positive sentiment

+1

Strongly positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.61

Rather positive sentiment

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment
Scalability

-0.51

Rather negative sentiment

No data

Trello and Linear Pricing

Trello offers a free plan for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace and paid plans billed per user monthly or annually (annual billing shown).

Plans

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-1

See full Pricing page

Trello and Linear review insights

2525 reviews analysed from

Users love

Easy to use and understand, with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
Highly customizable boards, cards, and lists, adaptable to various workflows.
Seamless integrations with popular apps like Google Drive and Slack.
Trello’s visual simplicity makes project and task tracking easy.

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.

Users dislike

Free version limits are frustrating, especially for larger teams and file uploads.
The mobile app is good, but could be more tailored to mobile use.
Retrieving archived items is difficult and could be improved.
Some find the interface cluttered, especially with multiple cards and boards.

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

Trello and Linear Ratings

G2

4.4/5

(2489)

Company health

Employee growth

No data

47% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No data

No change in the last quarter

Financing

No data

June 2023 - $52M

How important is a simple, intuitive interface for non-technical team members?

A simple, intuitive interface is crucial for non-technical team members. Trello is specifically praised for its ease of use and intuitive drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible to users with varying technical skills. While Linear also boasts an intuitive interface, its focus on software development teams suggests it might assume a higher level of technical familiarity than Trello. Therefore, for teams with a significant number of non-technical members, a simpler interface like Trello's is likely more important.

Which product better supports a fast-paced, agile software development workflow?

Linear better supports a fast-paced, agile software development workflow. It is specifically designed for software development teams, offering purpose-built workflows, a high-performance architecture with real-time sync, and an intuitive interface praised for its speed and efficiency. While Trello is a versatile project management tool, Linear's focus and features cater better to the demands of agile development.

What are the advantages of Trello?

Trello's advantages include its intuitive interface, making it easy to learn and use, and its visual approach to project management with Kanban boards, lists, and cards. It offers a high degree of customization and integrates with many popular apps. A free plan is available, making it accessible to small teams or individuals.

What are the disadvantages of Trello?

Trello's free version has limitations, particularly regarding team size and file uploads, which can be frustrating for larger teams. Some users find the interface cluttered, especially when dealing with numerous cards and boards. While the mobile app is functional, it could be better optimized for mobile use. Additionally, retrieving archived items can be challenging. Trello's scalability has also been noted as a potential weakness.

Alternatives to Trello and Linear

CogniSaaS

CogniSaaS is a software platform designed for onboarding new customers and managing projects, particularly for enterprise SaaS companies. It aims to streamline customer projects, improve team collaboration, and provide data-driven insights to optimize project delivery and revenue recognition. CogniSaaS offers features like task management, customer collaboration tools, timesheet tracking, reporting dashboards, and resource management functionalities. Their focus on customer success and industry best practices sets them apart.

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.

Asana

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.

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.

SwiftKanban

SwiftKanban is a visual project management tool designed for various teams and company sizes. It uses Kanban boards to help teams visualize their work, improve workflow, and increase efficiency. Beyond software development, it can be used by marketing, sales, HR, and other departments. SwiftKanban integrates with popular tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack, Outlook, and Zapier. It also connects with enterprise platforms such as Jira and Azure DevOps. The software is suitable for both teams working in the same location and remote teams.

Essembi

Essembi is a software platform designed for software companies of all sizes. It combines product management, development, and customer support tools into one system. This allows teams to collect feedback, plan roadmaps, track issues, and manage projects collaboratively. Essembi aims to streamline the software development process, improve communication between teams, and help companies build and release software faster. It offers a free plan for up to 5 users and paid plans for larger teams.

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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