Linear vs Jira: Which Agile Tool Fits Your Team in 2025?

You’re about to launch a new product, and your team debates whether to use Jira or Linear. Half swear by Jira’s robust customization; the other half rave about Linear’s sleek simplicity. Meanwhile, your CEO just wants work delivered on time and under budget. How do you choose? In this crash course, we’ll compare Linear and Jira, walk you through setup, highlight best practices, and show how integrating a time tracking tool like Everhour can keep projects on track.

What Is Linear vs Jira?

Both Linear and Jira help teams manage projects, but they serve different audiences and philosophies.

• Jira is Atlassian’s flagship project management platform. Initially created for software development teams practicing agile methods, it offers extensive customization, workflows, and integrations. Jira can adapt to complex, regulated environments and large enterprises with multiple teams and projects.
• Linear is a newer player focused on speed and simplicity. Designed for modern software teams, it emphasizes a clean interface, minimal configuration, and fast performance. Linear’s opinionated workflow guides teams to follow best practices without overwhelming configuration.

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Why the Comparison Matters

Choosing between Linear and Jira impacts how your team collaborates, plans, and delivers work. Here’s why people compare them:

• Team culture: Some teams prefer minimal overhead and a light interface (Linear). Others need deeply customizable workflows and metrics (Jira).
• Project complexity: Enterprises with compliance requirements may lean toward Jira’s extensive features. Startups value Linear’s fast learning curve.
• Integration ecosystem: Jira integrates with hundreds of apps. Linear integrates with fewer but focuses on developer tools like GitHub and Slack.
• Time tracking: Both tools can integrate with time tracking solutions like Everhour, ensuring accurate project budgeting and billing.

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Getting Started with Linear

1. Create an account.
   • Go to linear.app and sign up with Google or email.
   • Choose your workspace name (e.g., Acme Corp).
2. Set up your first team.
   • Teams are where you group related projects. For example, Engineering, Design, or Marketing.
   • Assign members and select a default project type (e.g., Engineering tasks).
3. Explore the interface.
   • Sidebar: Lists teams and projects.
   • Cycle view: Linear’s equivalent of sprints, showing tasks assigned to the current cycle.
   • Issues: Create tasks with titles, descriptions, and status.
   • Roadmap: Plan larger projects with target dates.
   • Keyboard shortcuts: Linear’s power lies in shortcuts (press ? to see them).
4. Create your first cycle.
   • Click “Start Cycle” in your team view.
   • Set a start and end date (e.g., two weeks).
   • Drag tasks into the cycle from the backlog.

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Linear vs Jira: Reddit Take

On Reddit, users have shared diverse perspectives on the Linear vs Jira debate. Here’s a summary of notable opinions:

⚫️ ✅ Linear’s advantages:

• Many find Linear faster and more streamlined, with a cleaner UI.
• It is praised for better design and performance compared to Jira.
• Developers appreciate its focus on simplicity and intuitive third-party integrations.

🔵 ✅ Jira’s benefits:

• Some users argue Jira excels in mature environments, especially when paired with other Atlassian tools like Confluence.
• It offers robust backlog management tools when used with proper hierarchies, labels, and filters.
• Jira is seen as more versatile for complex or large-scale projects.

⚫️ ❌ Critiques of Linear:

• It is perceived as having a minimal feature set, better suited for startups or small teams.
• Concerns were raised about scalability and its appeal potentially diminishing as it matures.

🔵 ❌ Critiques of Jira:

• Jira’s interface can feel overwhelming, especially for non-engineering teams.
• It is often criticized for being slow and cluttered, with a steep learning curve.

Consensus: There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Linear is ideal for smaller, agile teams seeking speed and simplicity, while Jira remains a reliable choice for larger, more established organizations.

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Everhour: A Great Alternative to Jira and Linear

For teams looking for an efficient Linear Jira alternative, Everhour is an exceptional alternative to both. By integrating project management, time tracking, and budgeting tools, Everhour addresses the pain points of overly complex or narrowly focused platforms. It’s ideal for teams that value a streamlined workflow without compromising on essential features.

What makes Everhour stand out?

While Jira offers extensive customization and Linear prioritizes speed and simplicity, Everhour strikes a balance between the two, providing a user-friendly interface coupled with robust capabilities. It caters to a variety of team needs, from detailed project oversight to seamless time tracking and budget management. Key features that make Everhour shine:

Project management

Everhour simplifies task and project oversight, ensuring transparency and accountability.

• Create and assign tasks with clear deadlines for team members.
• Monitor task progress in real-time to ensure projects stay on track.
• Maintain centralized communication to prevent misaligned updates and scattered information.

Billing and budgeting

Financial management becomes straightforward with Everhour’s budgeting tools.

• Define budgets for individual projects or recurring tasks.
• Track real-time expenses to prevent overspending.
• Generate professional billing reports to streamline invoicing for clients or stakeholders.

Real-time progress tracking

Keep up with what your team is working on without interrupting their flow.

• Gain instant visibility into task statuses and project developments.
• Reassign resources and adjust priorities on the go to address bottlenecks.
• Ensure your team remains productive and focused on their goals.

Timesheet and time-off management

Everhour supports accurate time tracking and leave management, minimizing administrative hassles.

• Enable teams to log, submit, and track their hours effortlessly.
• Set up automated reminders to avoid missed timesheet submissions.
• Plan and manage team leave with real-time visibility into schedules.

Who should choose Everhour?

Everhour is perfect for teams that want an intuitive, efficient solution without the steep learning curve often associated with platforms like Jira. It is equally suitable for small startups needing a lightweight, fast tool and mature organizations requiring more detailed reporting and tracking capabilities.

Whether you’re handling complex workflows or simple projects, Everhour ensures your team stays aligned, productive, and informed. Its thoughtful features make it an excellent fit for those seeking an all-in-one solution that combines the best aspects of both Jira and Linear.

🚀 What other users are saying about Everhour:

“Tracking time has become very easy and we got a detailed overview on how much time we need for certain project or customer. Also the support is great, I needed help and the team from Everhour has helped to solve the problem within an hour.” [Izabela, G2]

“The reporting feature is so easy to use and can be configured any way we need. It’s much stronger than other tools we’ve used in the past. It also integrates so well with our project management software.” [G2]

“Everhour is the perfect tool if you have several clients and want to organize your working time. I can keep track of every job, every task and this is very good both for me because I have an overview of my work and for my client, because I can keep track of the working time and the amount to be paid accurately.” [Carolina, Capterra]

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Linear vs Jira: Which One to Choose

When comparing Linear and Jira, selecting the right tool can greatly affect your team’s productivity, collaboration, and project success. Both platforms offer powerful features, but the right choice depends on how you prioritize workflow management, time tracking, and budget control. A streamlined solution should reduce complexity while boosting efficiency, and that’s where Everhour shines as the ideal alternative to both Linear and Jira.

Everhour stands out as a versatile and efficient alternative, offering the perfect balance of features to meet your team’s needs.

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Its intuitive design and comprehensive capabilities make it an excellent choice for those seeking to simplify project management while enhancing productivity.

Besides Linear vs Jira, we also made comparisons of Linear vs Notion, Notion vs Jira, Jira vs Monday, Jira vs Basecamp, Jira vs GitHub, and Linear vs Asana to see which of these PM tools is better suited for your specific needs! Be sure to check them out!