Linear vs Notion
Learn more about your options and pick the best tool for your team.
Unsure whether to choose Linear or Notion? You've come to the right place.
With over 20 million users, Notion has set a new standard for productivity software. In comparison, Linear is still a relatively unknown niche tool.
So which of them should you choose for your business? In this article, we will take a closer look at both Linear and Notion and examine their strengths and weaknesses to help you make the right decision for your company.
Linear and Notion compared
The main difference between Linear and Notion is their focus.
Linear is primarily designed for project management and issue tracking. It's also specifically tailored for software development teams. It's structured around a fast-paced, iterative workflow, making it ideal for Agile methodologies.
Notion, on the other hand, is a versatile all-in-one workspace that caters to a broader audience. It allows users to create databases, wikis, notes, and manage projects in a unified environment. Notion's flexibility is both its strength and potential drawback, as it can be adapted to various use cases but might lack the specialized features found in tools like Linear.
Let's dive deeper into what these two tools have to offer and also have a look at other alternatives you may want to consider.
Linear
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $8/user/month
Rating on G2: 4.5/5
Linear was founded by Karri Saarinen and Tuomas Artman in 2019. It is a relatively new player in the project management and issue tracking software space. But while it may not have the long-established history of some other project management tools like Jira, it has gained a dedicated user base in a relatively short time.
Unlike Notion, Linear is specifically tailored for software development projects. It provides a streamlined and focused approach to project tracking and collaboration within the software development context.
Linear stands out for its simplicity and efficiency, avoiding the all-encompassing features found in Notion. While Notion offers a broader range of functionalities, Linear zeroes in on the essentials for software development teams, offering a more targeted and purposeful tool.
Why you might prefer Linear over Notion:
Linear offers a more streamlined interface compared to Notion, which some users find to be cluttered and complex.
Linear is easier to set up compared to Notion.
Linear optimized for the needs and workflows of software development teams.
Linear is designed for project management and doesn't try to do too many things at once.
What users say about Linear:
"An excellent project management tool for sprint planning. Linear is extremely easy to use. The UI is simple and straightforward. I wish there were also mobile applications like Jira or Asana have! This would help me create tickets for my team, update statuses, or respond to comments on the go rather than having to wait until I'm back at my computer. Additionally, I think it would be helpful if Linear also had an adjacent documentation software (similar to Atlassian's Confluence) so that we didn't have to use other software for PRDs, architecture documentation, and other forms of documentation related to our sprints."
Notion
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $8/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.8/5
Notion is a versatile productivity tool that shares similarities with Linear but adopts a broader scope.
While Linear targets software development with a focus on Agile methodologies, Notion caters to a wider range of users and use cases. Notion's flexibility allows users to create databases, wikis, and knowledge bases, in addition to managing projects and tracking issues.
While Linear emphasizes a structured and linear workflow, as the name suggests, Notion allows for a more free-form organization. Users can create pages, databases, and kanban boards to structure information in a way that suits their preferences.
Why you might prefer Notion over Linear:
Notion can be used not only as a project management and issue tracking tool, but also as a wiki and a database, allowing you to replace multiple collaboration tools.
Notion is designed for a general audience, while Linear is primarily geared towards technical users.
Notion can be easily used for personal and hobby projects, while Linear is designed to be used in a professional setting.
Notion is more flexible and can be better customized to suit your unique needs.
What users say about Notion:
"It's a MS Word on steroids. I can use Notion to create fancy pages for others to read: instructions, post mortems, rules, plans, lessons, etc. It didn't work as a project management tool for our team. We use the Linear instead."
Looking for more tools similar to Notion? Check out this list of Notion alternatives.
Other alternatives
It should be mentioned that your options are not limited to just Notion and Linear. There are many other great project management and collaboration apps that can serve you just as well.
If you like the idea of bringing all your work together in Notion, but prefer the modern and intuitive interface of Linear, consider Nuclino.
Like Notion, Nuclino allows you to bring all your projects and documentation together. Every item in Nuclino is its own document that can be collaborated on in real time. You can add notes, create to-do lists, set due dates and reminders, embed files, and more, managing and simultaneously documenting your projects in one place. You can use comments to exchange feedback directly in Nuclino and preserve the context of every decision. Imagine if every task in Linear had its own Google Doc.
At the same time, like Linear, Nuclino is minimalist, intuitive, and fast. It focuses on the essentials and offers a clean, distraction-free interface with no clunky menus and rarely-used options. Every interaction in Nuclino, from search to editing, is meticulously optimized for speed. Real-time collaboration is seamlessly integrated, enabling multiple users to work together while preserving every change in the version history. Markdown commands provide a convenient way to format text without taking your hands off the keyboard.
But project management and issue tracking is not all you can do in Nuclino. Like Notion, it's a highly flexible and versatile tool that is suitable for a wide range of different use cases. You can use it to take notes, create internal documentation, build your internal knowledge base or team wiki, and more. Nuclino works like a collective brain, allowing you to bring all your team's knowledge, docs, and projects together in one place.
Linear vs Notion: So which is better?
Linear and Notion are designed for different types of teams and workflows, and there is no objective winner between the two of them. Notion is a versatile all-in-one workspace, while Linear is a specialized project management tool designed specifically for software development projects. Notion offers broad functionality across various domains, whereas Linear excels in providing a focused and streamlined solution tailored for software teams.
At the end of the day, the best choice depends on your team's unique preferences and requirements. We hope this article has made your decision a little easier.
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