Linear vs Cursor
The issue tracking tool built for modern software teams
vs. AI-native code editor — VS Code fork with deep AI integration
Pricing tiers
Linear
Free
$0. Unlimited members. 250 issues. Unlimited file uploads. 2 teams. Slack/GitHub integration.
Free
Basic
$8/user/mo annual ($10/mo monthly). Unlimited issues, 5 teams, admin roles, API access.
$8/mo
Business
$14/user/mo annual. Unlimited teams, Linear Insights, private teams, SSO (SAML, OIDC).
$14/mo
Enterprise
Custom. SAML, SCIM, audit logs, advanced security, HIPAA-eligible, dedicated CSM.
Custom
Cursor
Hobby (Free)
Free. Limited Agent requests + Tab completions. No credit card.
Free
Pro
$20/month. Extended Agent limits, frontier models, MCPs + skills + hooks, cloud agents.
$20/mo
Teams
$40/user/month. Shared chats + commands + rules, centralized billing, RBAC, SAML/OIDC SSO.
$40/mo
Pro+ (Recommended)
$60/month. Everything in Pro + 3x usage on OpenAI, Claude, Gemini.
$60/mo
Ultra
$200/month. 20x usage multiplier + priority access to new features.
$200/mo
Enterprise
Custom. Pooled usage, SCIM, AI code tracking API + audit logs, priority support.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing free on Linear vs hobby on Cursor.
| Metric | Linear | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Linear · 16 features
- Asks — Slack → Linear issue from messages.
- Cycles — Auto-recurring sprints.
- Desktop App — Native macOS, Windows, Linux.
- Documents — Markdown-style shared docs.
- GitHub Sync — Auto-link PRs/commits to issues.
- GraphQL API — Full-featured public API.
- Initiatives — Multi-project strategic groupings.
- iOS + Android Apps — Native mobile clients.
- Issues — Fast CRUD + keyboard shortcuts.
- Labels + Custom Views — Filter + save views.
- Linear Insights — Built-in analytics.
- Parent + Subissues — Hierarchical task breakdown.
- Projects — Milestones + docs + updates.
- Roadmaps — Timeline view with dependencies.
- Triage — Inbox for unassigned issues.
- TypeScript SDK — @linear/sdk generated from GraphQL.
Cursor · 15 features
- Agent Mode — Autonomous multi-file editing + tool use. Runs terminal commands with confirmati…
- Background Agents — Run agents in the cloud to tackle longer tasks async.
- BugBot (PR reviews) — AI reviewer on GitHub PRs.
- Chat (⌘L) — Conversational chat with codebase context.
- Cmd-K Inline Edit — Highlight code + ⌘K → natural language edit instruction.
- Codebase Indexing — Embedding-based semantic search over your codebase.
- Composer — Multi-file edit sessions with full context.
- .cursorrules / Project Rules — Custom system prompts per project to steer the AI.
- MCP Support — Add Model Context Protocol servers to extend agent capabilities.
- Privacy Mode — Data never used for training; zero-retention routing.
- Skills & Hooks — User-defined skills library + lifecycle hooks.
- Tab (multi-line completion) — Predictive completions including next-edit suggestions.
- Team Shared Context — Share chats, commands, rules across team.
- VS Code Extension Compat — Most VS Code extensions work via the marketplace.
- YOLO Mode — Auto-approve all agent actions (for trusted workflows).
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Linear | Cursor |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | — | Cursor CLI |
| SDK | @linear/sdk | — |
| GRAPHQL | Linear GraphQL API | — |
| MCP | Linear MCP | Cursor MCP support |
| OTHER | Linear Desktop App, Linear Webhooks, OAuth 2.0 | Cursor Desktop App, Cursor Rules (.cursorrules), Privacy Mode |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Linear and Cursor may be affiliate links — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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