My stack
    Comparison

    Trello vs Linear

    Trello organises visually. Linear structures product and engineering shipping.

    Trello logoTrelloVisual Kanban board tool with cards, lists, Power-Ups and built-in automation for lightweight project tracking.$5/mo★ 3.8Linear logoLinearIssue tracking and project planning for product and engineering teams, with cycles, AI workflows and a free plan capped at 250 issues.$10/mo★ 3.6

    Our verdict

    ToolTrim recommends Trello by default for nontechnical teams. Linear becomes a better fit when the work centres on shipping a product.

    Trello logo

    Choose Trello

    You need a simple Kanban board.

    Watch out

    • Not suited to managing a demanding product backlog.
    • Risk of a mess on a complex development project.
    Linear logo

    Choose Linear

    You manage issues, cycles, roadmap and releases.

    Watch out

    • May be too specialised for non-developers.
    • Less suited to teams without a product or engineering culture.

    Compare by use case

    Trello logoTrelloLinear logoLinear
    Usage principalTrello si simple, Linear si dev/produit.Kanban visuel, planning simpleIssues, cycles, roadmap produit
    Plan gratuitBoth have a solid free plan, depending on use.Generous, 10 boards, unlimited cardsGood, unlimited members, 2 teams
    Suits non-developersTrello for non-technical teams.Strong, no training neededLow, it is built for engineering
    Vitesse de shippingLinear when the team ships product.Low, no cycles and no releasesStrong, cycles, sprints, GitHub integration
    Built-in AILinear for engineering teams that want the AI features.Absente ou marginaleLinear Agent, Code Intelligence (beta)

    Pricing

    Entry prices of the paid plans. Check taxes, seat counts and limits with the vendor. Checked on 2026-09-25.

    Should you switch?

    Stay if

    Trello for non-technical teams that want a simple Kanban board.

    Switch if

    Move to Linear as soon as the work looks like product shipping: bugs, cycles, sprints, releases.

    Signals to watch

    • Using Trello to manage a demanding product backlog: complexity can overwhelm the tool.
    • Trello for a marketing team managing campaigns with Kanban.
    • Linear for a development team shipping features with GitHub and weekly cycles.

    Mistakes to avoid

    Running a complex product backlog in Trello

    Cards accumulate without clear priorities or work cycles.

    Linear or Jira for any backlog with sprints, bugs and a roadmap.

    Forcing Linear on a non-engineering team

    Adoption friction and an underused tool.

    Trello or Asana for teams without a product and engineering culture.

    Sources, terms and methodology

    Recommendations are editorial judgements based on documented plans. No hands-on ToolTrim benchmark is presented here.

    Read the ToolTrim methodology →

    Alternatives