project management tool · head to head
ClickUp vs Linear
Comparison Summary
ClickUp scored 7.4 and Linear scored 6.5 on our project management tool test script.
ClickUp and Linear were the two apps in our project-management test that did most on their free plans, but they are built for different people. ClickUp is a general project manager: list, board, calendar and Gantt views, a working status automation and a recurring task that repeats on completion, all free. Linear is an issue tracker for software teams: list and board views only, preset automations and no plain CSV import.
Linear is in another league for speed. It was usable about 5 seconds after launch and used about 0.55 GB of memory, against about 14 seconds and up to 2.2 GB for ClickUp. Both AIs answered accurately; ClickUp's asked before adding subtasks and Linear's did not, but Linear's is fully included on the free plan while ClickUp's chat is a one-off trial.
Importing a spreadsheet is awkward in both: ClickUp matched none of our columns automatically, and Linear would not take a plain CSV at all. Choose ClickUp if you need calendars, Gantt charts and automations; choose Linear if your team tracks software work and values speed.
Key differences
ClickUp
Linear - Our 8 scripted tasks
- ClickUp:6 passed, 2 partial
- Linear:3 passed, 4 partial, 1 failed
- Views on the free plan
- ClickUp:List, board, calendar and Gantt
- Linear:List and board; timeline for projects only
- Automation
- ClickUp:Custom rules, 100 actions a month free
- Linear:Presets only
- CSV import
- ClickUp:Accepted; 0 of 7 columns matched automatically
- Linear:Plain CSV not accepted; Jira format required
- Cold start and memory
- ClickUp:About 14 s; 1.7–2.2 GB
- Linear:About 5 s; about 0.55 GB
- AI on the free plan
- ClickUp:One-off chat trial; asked before adding subtasks
- Linear:Linear Agent included; created sub-issues without asking
- Export
- ClickUp:Whole workspace in under a minute; no dependencies
- Linear:All issues by email in under a minute; with dependencies
- Starts with Windows
- ClickUp:Yes, added without asking
- Linear:No
- Left after uninstalling
- ClickUp:About 275 MB and a broken startup entry
- Linear:About 280 MB and a link handler
Editor's Verdict
Choose ClickUp if…
Best for: Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app.
- Every view we needed is free: list, board, calendar and Gantt, with no upgrade prompt
- Automation, dependency and recurring task all worked on the free plan
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line
Choose Linear if…
Best for: Software and product teams who live on the keyboard and want a fast issue tracker with a capable free AI agent.
- Very fast: usable about 5 seconds after launch with roughly 0.55 GB of memory, the lightest app in the category
- Linear Agent is included on the free plan; its summary and overdue answer were accurate and it made real sub-issues
- Keyboard shortcuts for every field, natural-language due dates
Head to Head
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, ClickUp completed 6 and Linear completed 3.
| Task | ClickUp | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Pass≈ 200 actions | Pass≈ 18 min |
| P2 · Views | Pass≈ 2 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P3 · Rules | Pass≈ 7 min | Partial≈ 5 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Partial≈ 12 min | Fail≈ 10 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass< 2 min import | Pass≈ 45 s import |
| P6 · Permissions | Pass≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P7 · AI | Pass≈ 1–1.5 min each | Pass≈ 20–55 s each |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 7 min | Partial≈ 5 min |
Both apps ran on their free plans. Linear only accepted our CSV after we rewrote it in Jira's export format, and its second-user check was not completed in this run.
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | ClickUp | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| Installer size | 150 MB | 234 MB |
| Install time | ≈ 45 s | ≈ 15 s |
| On disk | 643 MB | 369 MB |
| Admin rights | Not needed | Not needed |
| Starts with Windows | Yes, by default | No |
| 40-task project | ≈ 200 actions | ≈ 18 min |
| Views on the free plan | 4 / 4 | 2 / 4 |
| 200-row CSV import | 200 / 200 | ≈ 20 s |
| 500-row CSV import | < 2 min | ≈ 45 s |
| Cold start | ≈ 14 s | ≈ 5 s |
| Memory | 1.7 – 2.2 GB | 0.55 GB |
| CSV export | 771 / 771 | 747 / 747 |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 275 MB | ≈ 280 MB |
Pros and cons
ClickUp
+ What works
- Every view we needed is free: list, board, calendar and Gantt, with no upgrade prompt
- Automation, dependency and recurring task all worked on the free plan
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line
- 500-row CSV import in under two minutes, and the 500-task board opened in under a second
- Brain² summarised our project accurately, answered “what is overdue?” correctly and asked before adding subtasks
- Full CSV export in under a minute: all 771 tasks, with comments and subtasks
- Removing someone's access took effect immediately
− What falls short
- Heavy: about 14 seconds from launch to a usable list and 1.7–2.2 GB of memory
- The CSV import matched none of our seven columns automatically and needed status values mapped by hand
- The import offers to invite everyone whose email is in the file
- Starts with Windows by default and leaves about 275 MB and a broken startup entry after uninstalling
- Free AI chat is a one-off trial that does not reset
- The export drops dependencies and recurrence settings
- Busy setup: nine onboarding screens, a phone-number request, an invite nudge and an AI pop-up for every new list
Linear
+ What works
- Very fast: usable about 5 seconds after launch with roughly 0.55 GB of memory, the lightest app in the category
- Linear Agent is included on the free plan; its summary and overdue answer were accurate and it made real sub-issues
- Keyboard shortcuts for every field, natural-language due dates
- Dependencies and weekly recurring issues work on the free plan
- The full CSV export arrived by email in under a minute, with dependencies, milestones and sub-issues
- No marketing emails by default, a choice of EU or US data region, no startup entry
− What falls short
- No plain CSV import: our file was rejected until we rewrote it in Jira's export format, and priorities and due dates were then lost
- Only list and board views for issues; no calendar, and the timeline covers projects rather than issues
- No custom automation rules, only presets such as auto-close; stale issues are auto-cancelled after six months by default
- No bulk paste: each of our 40 issues was entered one by one
- Invites have no role choice, and every member on the free plan is an admin
- The free plan lists a 250-issue limit (it did not stop our imports on day one)
- The AI created sub-issues without asking first
- The uninstall leaves about 280 MB and a linear:// link handler
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
ClickUp
Starts with Windows
The installer adds ClickUp to Windows startup without asking. It adds no services or scheduled tasks and only listens on the PC itself.
Contacts are pushed, not required
Setup asks for a phone number for promotional calls and messages, and the CSV import pre-fills the file's email addresses as invitations. Both can be skipped.
Full deletion is opt-in
Deleting a workspace keeps it recoverable unless you tick a separate box to delete it and its third-party data permanently.
Left after uninstalling
A 133 MB profile folder, a 143 MB updater cache, the clickup:// link handler and a startup entry pointing at the removed program.
Linear
Quiet defaults
Marketing and onboarding emails are off by default, and you choose an EU or US data region when you create a workspace.
Everyone is an admin on Free
Invites have no role choice, and the invited user was listed as an admin.
Stale issues auto-close
Issues not updated for six months are cancelled automatically unless you switch this off.
Left after uninstalling
A 223 MB updater cache, a 58 MB profile and the linear:// link handler.
Features & Pricing
| ClickUp | Linear | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $9/mo | $10/mo |
ClickUp plans
- Free Forever$0
- Core$9/user/mo
- Business$17/user/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From ClickUp's pricing page, checked Oct 29, 2026.
Linear plans
- Free$0
- Basic$10/user/mo
- Business$16/user/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From Linear's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- ClickUp:ClickUp (Mango Technologies, Inc.)
- Linear:Linear Orbit, Inc.
- Headquarters
- ClickUp:San Diego, California, USA
- Linear:San Francisco, California, USA
- Founded
- ClickUp:2017
- Linear:2019
- Funding
- ClickUp:$400 million Series C in October 2021 at a reported $4 billion valuation.
- Linear:Series C of $82 million in 2025 at a reported $1.25 billion valuation.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: ClickUp · Linear.
FAQ
Which is better, ClickUp or Linear?
For general project management ClickUp scored higher: calendar and Gantt views and custom automations are free. Linear is the better issue tracker for software teams and far faster.
Which is faster on Windows?
Linear, clearly: about 5 seconds to start and 0.55 GB of memory, against about 14 seconds and up to 2.2 GB for ClickUp.
Which has the better free AI?
Linear Agent is fully included on Linear's free plan. ClickUp's free AI chat is a one-off trial, though it asked before changing anything.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
ClickUp reviewRecommended 7.4 ClickUp passed every step of our project-management test on the free plan: all the views, a working automation, dependencies, recurring tasks, a 500-row import and an AI that got the facts right and asked before changing anything. It is heavy, though: the Windows app needs about 14 seconds and up to 2 GB of memory, and the import and setup make you do more by hand than they should. Read the full review → Linear reviewSituational 6.5 Linear is the fastest and lightest app we have tested in this category, and its AI agent is free and got everything right. But it is a tool for software teams, and it shows: there is no calendar view or task-level timeline, no rule builder, no plain CSV import, and the free plan makes every invited person an admin. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
Notion Situational Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup 6.9 Read reviewReview 
Airtable Situational Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out 6.8 Read reviewReview 
Asana Situational Teams ready to pay for Starter or Advanced who want a polished, fast-to-learn project tool with strong import and export 6.7 Read reviewReview 
