Best open-source self-hosted Linear alternative in 2026
It's a Plan is an open source Linear alternative you host yourself: issues, boards, views, initiatives and dashboards. Its AI agents are full project members. They run on your own model keys, or on the Claude Code, Codex and Antigravity subscriptions you already pay for. What Linear bills per seat is included here, free.
Why teams look for a Linear alternative
Linear is a good tracker. Teams rarely leave it because of the product. These four reasons repeat.
The bill grows with the team
Linear charges per user: $10 on Basic, $16 on Business, billed yearly. Twenty people on Business is $3,840 a year. Every new hire increases it. The free plan stops at 2 teams and 250 issues.
The data has to stay in-house
Linear has no self-hosted edition. The workspace runs in Linear's cloud. You pick a data region, but user accounts and API keys are in the United States either way. A contract or a regulator can rule that out.
The source is closed
Linear does not publish the product source. You cannot read the code, fix what blocks you, or keep the tracker running if Linear changes direction.
AI is metered and hosted elsewhere
The agents are free. The work they do is not. Coding sessions and Loops use prepaid AI credits: model tokens, plus $0.25 for every 20 minutes of sandbox time. Unused credits expire after 12 months.
It's a Plan vs Linear
| It's a Plan | Linear | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Yes. AGPL-3.0. The full source is public. | No. Closed-source. Linear does not publish the product source. |
| Hosting | Yes. Self-hosted with Docker Compose, on your server and your PostgreSQL. | No. Hosted by Linear on Google Cloud. You pick a data region, United States or European Union. There is no self-hosted option. |
| Pricing | Yes. Free. No licence fee, no per-seat cost. You pay only for the server. | No. Per user per month. The free plan stops at 2 teams and 250 issues. Basic is $10 and Business is $16, billed yearly. Enterprise is on request. |
| AI | Yes. Agents are project members. Delegate an issue to one, or mention it in a comment. You bring the model and the key. | Yes. Linear Agent and the agent platform, available from the free tier. Coding sessions and Loops use AI credits. |
| Agent cost | Yes. Nothing from the tracker. A run bills to your own provider key, or to the coding CLI subscription you already pay for. | No. Prepaid AI credits, which the workspace buys. A coding session bills model tokens at provider rates plus $0.25 for each 20-minute sandbox block. A typical Loop run is $0.07 to $0.20. Credits expire 12 months after purchase, and Linear does not refund them. |
| Model choice | Yes. Per agent. A key from any of 150+ providers, or a local endpoint. | No. A workspace admin picks from Linear's list of Anthropic and OpenAI models. There is no bring-your-own-key. |
| Where agent work runs | Yes. Internal agents run on your instance. External agents run on your own machine through Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Copilot CLI or opencode, so the repository stays there. | No. In Linear's managed sandbox. Coding sessions need Basic or above. Linear clones the repository into its own infrastructure. |
| Scheduled agent work | Yes. Agent schedules, quick actions and auto-assignment on a state change, in every install. | In part. Loops, on Business and Enterprise. Every run uses AI credits. Loops pause when the balance reaches zero. |
| Sign-in | Yes. Password, magic link, passkey, Google, or single sign-on with any OIDC provider. SCIM 2.0 provisioning included, on every install. | In part. Google SSO on Business. SAML and SCIM on Enterprise. |
| MCP | Yes. Part of the API, served from your own instance at /mcp. | Yes. A hosted MCP server at mcp.linear.app, reached over OAuth or an API key. |
| API | Yes. REST, with an OpenAPI reference, plus webhooks. | Yes. GraphQL, plus webhooks. You need workspace admin rights to create a webhook. |
| Importers | No. None yet. Issues arrive through the REST API. | Yes. Jira, GitHub Issues, Asana and Shortcut in the product. Trello, GitLab and a CSV file with a CLI. |
| Where the data sits | Yes. In your database. Nothing leaves your machine except the calls your agents make to the model you picked. | No. In Linear's cloud, in the region you picked. Workspace data, user accounts and API keys are in the United States either way. |
What the same team costs a year
Linear bills per user, yearly, before you buy any AI credits. A self-hosted install bills nothing per user, at any headcount.
| Team | Linear Basic | Linear Business | It's a Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 people | $600 | $960 | $0 |
| 20 people | $2,400 | $3,840 | $0 |
| 50 people | $6,000 | $9,600 | $0 |
Linear's free plan stops at 2 teams and 250 issues. Coding sessions and Loops are extra, on prepaid AI credits. It's a Plan has no licence fee: you pay only for the server, and agent runs bill to your own provider key.
When to stay on Linear, and when to switch
Stay on Linear
- You want someone else to run the tracker, patch it and make the backups.
- You are moving from Jira, GitHub Issues, Asana, Shortcut or Trello. Linear imports all of them. We have no importer yet.
- Your identity provider speaks SAML. Linear sells SAML on Enterprise. Sign-on here is OIDC.
- You want agents without hosting them. In Linear an agent takes no seat, on any plan.
- Per-seat cost is fine, and a mature product matters more than control of the code and the servers.
Move to It's a Plan
- The data has to stay on your infrastructure, by policy or by contract.
- Headcount should not change what the tracker costs.
- You want agents that work on the board like teammates, on a model you pick.
- Agent runs should bill to your own key, or to the coding CLI you already pay for.
- You want the API and the MCP server inside your own network.
- You want to read and change the code behind your tracker.
Best open source Linear alternatives in 2026
It's a Plan is not the only one. These are the self-hosted trackers teams shortlist next to it, and what makes each different.
Plane
The closest match on features, with importers and a hosted plan. The Community Edition is AGPL-3.0, but workflows, approvals, SSO, audit trails and epics belong to the closed-source Commercial edition.
Huly
Tracker, docs, HR and chat in one workspace, under EPL-2.0. The hosted service is closing, so self-hosting is the only option now. Wider than a tracker, and more of it to operate.
OpenProject
Classic, agile and hybrid project management under GPL-3.0, with Gantt charts and time tracking. Single sign-on, SCIM and custom workflows are paid Enterprise add-ons, from EUR 5.95 per user per month.
Taiga
A mature Scrum and Kanban tool under MPL-2.0. Built around sprints and burndown charts, with no agents and no MCP.
Vikunja
A light AGPL-3.0 task manager with list, board, table and Gantt views. Closer to a shared to-do list than to an issue tracker.
GitLab
Issues, boards and epics inside a full DevOps platform. Right if you already run GitLab, heavy if you only want a tracker.
Gitea and Forgejo
Issue tracking attached to a light Git forge. Enough for one repository, with little support for views, initiatives and dashboards.
Linear alternative FAQ
Is there an open-source alternative to Linear?
Yes. It's a Plan is a free, open-source Linear alternative under AGPL-3.0 that you host yourself. Plane, Huly, OpenProject, Taiga, Vikunja, GitLab and Gitea are the other options teams shortlist.
Can Linear be self-hosted?
No. Linear runs only in its own cloud on Google Cloud. You can pick a data region, United States or European Union, but there is no self-hosted or on-premise edition. Self-hosting means moving to a different tracker.
How much does It's a Plan cost compared with Linear?
It's a Plan is free: no licence fee and no per-seat cost, at any headcount. You pay only for the server. Linear charges per user per month, $10 on Basic and $16 on Business billed yearly, so twenty people on Business is $3,840 a year. Its free plan stops at 2 teams and 250 issues.
Does it have AI agents like Linear?
Yes, and they are in a different place in the product. An agent is a project member with its own @username. Delegate an issue to it, mention it in a comment, or give it a schedule. It then works on the board with the tools you granted. Internal agents run on your instance, on a key from any of 150+ providers or a local model. External agents run on your own machine. A runner gives each task to Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Copilot CLI or opencode, so your repository never leaves the machine. There are no AI credits to buy.
Do Linear AI agents cost extra?
The agent platform is on every plan and an agent takes no billable seat, but Linear meters the two features that do the work. Coding sessions and Loops use prepaid AI credits. A session bills model tokens at provider rates, plus $0.25 for each 20-minute sandbox block. A typical Loop run is $0.07 to $0.20. Credits expire after 12 months. In It's a Plan a run bills to your own provider key instead, and the tracker meters nothing.
Can I import my Linear issues?
Not automatically. There is no importer yet. Issues leave Linear through its GraphQL API and enter through our REST API: titles, descriptions, states, assignees, labels, estimates and comments. They land in your own PostgreSQL, in no proprietary format.
What do I need to run it?
Docker and a domain behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy. Clone the repo and run docker compose up. It starts PostgreSQL, the object store and the four services, and applies the migrations on start. There are also one-click deploys for Railway and Coolify, and a Helm chart for Kubernetes.
Does it support SSO?
Yes. Sign-in works with a password, a magic link, a passkey, Google, or single sign-on with any OIDC provider. An identity provider can also create, update and deactivate accounts over SCIM 2.0. All of it is in the free, open edition. Linear puts Google SSO on Business, and SAML with SCIM on Enterprise. It's a Plan does not support SAML yet.
Does it have an MCP server?
Yes. It is part of the API, served from your own instance at /mcp, so a local coding agent reaches your tracker directly. Linear runs a hosted one at mcp.linear.app.
Is it ready to replace Linear for a whole team?
It has issues, boards, views, cycles, initiatives, custom fields, dashboards, roles, webhooks, OIDC sign-in and SCIM provisioning, and we use it to build itself. SAML and issue importers are missing. If you need either today, keep Linear.