| Functionality | 6 <p>Linear focuses on delivering exceptional functionality required for planning and building software products. including excellent product planning, cycling planning and issue tracking functionality. However, this means that compared to other PM tools, Linear lacks some common functionality, e.g. timeline/ Gantt view for tasks, adding custom fields, time-tracking, an automations module.</p> | 4 <p>As opposed to a project management tool, Trello is more of a "shared to-do list" which only offers basic task management features to manage simple projects. Trello doesn't have any built-in functionality to manage task dependencies, and inbuilt documentation section or any meaningful analytics.</p><p>However, you can layer on richer functionality via its rich marketplace of "power ups" plugins - usually at a premium.</p> |
| Ease of Use | 9 <p>Using Linear is a delight. Its keyboard-first design allows you to breeze through workflows with ease—most actions, like creating a new task, are just a single shortcut away (press “C,” and you’re good to go). With its streamlined functionality, finding key information and navigating core workflows feels intuitive. Thanks to its smooth onboarding process, most startup employees can feel comfortable with the platform in just 1-2 hours, even with minimal guidance.</p><p>That said, Linear isn’t the most beginner-friendly tool. For users less familiar with keyboard shortcuts, it can feel a bit daunting at first. Plus, it offers fewer templates and less in-app guidance compared to alternatives like Asana or Monday, which might leave some teams wishing for a little more hand-holding.</p> | 9 <p>Trello has an extremely approachable and intuitive UX. It should be easy and straightforward to implement for teams with any level of technical competency. The only more complex features Trello has are its power-ups and automations module. Besides that, it should take any SMB employee less than 30 minutes to feel comfortable with platform.</p> |
| Look and feel | 9 <p>If you like modern, minimalist app designs with a touch of elegance, then you will love Linear. Every Linear page is beautifully laid-out and colour-coded, every interaction & transition is silky smooth, and page loads are lightning fast.</p> | 8 <p>Trello offers a clean, visually appealing interface that is both functional and engaging. If you dislike Trello's default interface, you're able to personalise boards and cards with custom colours, images and stickers. Its page loads are also lightning fast (<1 second), which is refreshing compared to most project manage tools.</p> |
| Customisability | 4 <p>Linear proudly admits that it is inflexible —and for good reason. They believe overly flexible software lets everyone create their own workflows, which eventually leads to chaos. For instance, you can’t add custom fields in Linear or build your own bespoke workflows. You’re also limited to just two task (or issue) views: board and list. It’s a “less is more” philosophy, designed to keep things simple and focused.</p> | 4 <p>While Trello allows for some customisation e.g. switching between project views, adding custom fields - its inherent simplicity limits advanced customisability. There are simple things you can't customise e.g. which columns are shown on a table, filters are limited to a few default fields, which can be frustrating if you're trying to adapt Trello to your workflow.</p> |
| Ease of Setup | 8 <p>Linear offers a self-serve free trial and lets you purchase directly—no need to deal with sales. If you're familiar with agile methodology, then setting up Linear should be a breeze since it anticipates everything you need, including sprints, Kanban board, and a backlog. You can get started with a project and a few tasks within 10-20 minutes, with full customization taking 1-2 hours.</p> | 9 <p>Offers a self-serve free trial and allows purchase without needing to talk to sales. Getting started and setting up a few tasks and subtasks should take 20-30 minutes, because it has a very rich library of templates, including hundreds from the Trello community. Full setup should take less than a day.</p> |
| Customer Support | 9 <p>Linear’s support team is easy to reach—you can submit a question directly in the app. When tested, their response time was impressive (under an hour), and the support agent was both knowledgeable and genuinely helpful.</p><p>The Linear team has also been open and responsive to feedback.</p> | 4 <p>Trello's support leaves much to be desired. Trello seems to push users towards self-service, such as to their documentation and community forums, which can be frustrating when you need immediate assistance. Even direct support from Atlassian can be hit-or-miss, especially for smaller customers not on premium support plans.</p> |
| Integratability | 7 <p>Linear might not boast the extensive list of integrations you’ll find with other project management tools, but it likely covers everything a tech startup needs for software development. The integrations it does offer are top-notch—high-quality and thoughtfully crafted. Plus, if you need something more specific, Linear provides an API for building custom integrations.</p> | 7 <p>Trello has a extremely vibrant marketplace with most relevant third-party integrations (Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp) and "Power-ups" - plugins that extend Trello's functionality e.g. creating forms, invoicing, managing task hierarchies.</p><p>It also has an API for custom integrations. However, note that on lower tier plans, there's a limit to the number of Power-Ups you can use per board, which limits the usefulness.</p> |
| Ease of Migration | 9 <p>Linear makes it easy to export all your key data—workspace, team members, projects, and tasks—directly into CSV format through a self-serve option. You can also export data via its analytics module or by integrating with Google Sheets. For anything else, Linear’s API has you covered, giving you full control over exporting additional data.</p> | 8 <p>Exporting key data out of Trello is relatively straightforward. You can simply export entire projects, with all your tasks, in JSON or CSV formats. However, note that not all data - such as comments, activity logs and attachments will transfer seamlessly. However, you can export other data via its API.</p> |
