Coming soonShipLean and Linear, side by side
ShipLean vs Linear.
Linear is a fast, polished issue tracker for software teams, with cycles, projects and roadmaps. It is a cloud service. Here is a fair look at where they differ.
At a glance
Linear and ShipLean.
| Linear | ShipLean | |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | No | Yes, once released |
| Self-hosted | No, cloud only | Yes, one container and Postgres |
| Price | Per seat | Free |
| Agents over MCP | Check Linear’s current docs | Built in, with planning tools for parallel agents |
| Jira import | Check Linear’s current docs | Project, history, comments and sprints |
| Available today | Yes | Coming soon |
Written from what we know today. Tools change, so check Linear’s own documentation for the latest.
What Linear is good at
- A fast, keyboard-driven interface that teams enjoy using.
- Cycles, projects and roadmaps in one product.
- Nothing to run: it is a hosted service.
Where ShipLean differs
- ShipLean runs on your own server. Linear is cloud-only, so your data lives with Linear.
- ShipLean will be free and open source, with no per-seat bill.
- ShipLean has an MCP server and a planning guide so agents work the same backlog as people.
Which to pick
It depends on what you need.
Pick Linear if
- You want a hosted service and do not need to self-host.
- You value its speed and polish above all.
Pick ShipLean if
- Your data has to stay on your own infrastructure.
- You want open source and no per-seat cost.
Plan the sprint.
Then go ship it.
ShipLean is coming soon. Follow the project on GitHub to hear when it is ready to install.