Mainline vs Linear
Linear is the best sprint tool on the market. Mainline is for teams that have decided not to run sprints.
| Mainline | Linear | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary unit of work | User story on a story map | Issue on a sprint board |
| Estimation model | Lead-time distributions from your team's actual history | Story points (optional but encouraged) |
| Backlog | None. A backlog is a landfill. | First-class concept |
| People per story | As many as are working on it. Solo, pair, or ensemble. | One assignee. You cannot put a second person on an issue. |
| What "done" means | Released to users | Configurable, usually "merged" or "deployed to staging" |
| Deploy / release lifecycle | Deploy and release are separate events. A story cannot be released until it has been deployed. | No native distinction |
| Who can see what | Every view is the same view, including the manager's | Configurable views, manager dashboards available |
| Per-developer metrics | None. Surveillance is not a feature. | Available via the analytics surface |
| WIP limits | Enforced | None documented |
| Pricing model | Flat. $99 per team per month, or self-host free. | Per seat. $8-$16 / user / month. |
| Data export | Full JSON export including complete event history | CSV and JSON export |
| Worldview encoded in the data model | Continuous flow with paired delivery | Sprint-based execution with high polish |
When to choose Mainline
You have chosen continuous flow over sprints. You pair, and you measure lead time instead of velocity.
When to choose Linear
You run sprints and want the best implementation of them. Then Linear is the right answer.
We also have comparisons against Jira, Asana, and Miro. If you'd like to see Mainline compared to a tool we haven't covered, email us.
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