5 Open-Source Linear Alternatives You Can Self-Host (2026)
Linear charges $8 per user per month on its Standard plan — a reasonable price until your team grows or you want to keep issue data fully under your control. Five mature open-source projects cover Linear's core workflow: issues, cycles (sprints), backlogs, and roadmaps — all self-hostable on a Liquid Web Managed VPS starting at $33/month.
Linear is fast, opinionated, and genuinely well-designed. But its closed-data model, per-seat pricing, and SaaS-only delivery make it unsuitable for teams with strict data-residency requirements or budget constraints beyond a handful of seats. The open-source alternatives below span the full range from lightweight task managers to full project management suites with Scrum and Kanban built in.
1. Plane (AGPL-3.0, ★ ~46k)
Plane is the closest open-source equivalent to Linear. It covers issues, cycles (sprints), modules (feature groups), pages (wikis), and a dashboard view — essentially the same conceptual model Linear uses, with a React/Next.js frontend and a Python backend. Plane was backed by Y Combinator (W22) and has grown to roughly 46k GitHub stars, making it the most actively maintained Linear alternative in the space.
Key features for Linear users:
- Issues with states, priorities, labels, assignees, and sub-issues
- Cycles (sprints) with start/end dates and burndown
- Modules for grouping issues into features or milestones
- Views (custom filtered issue boards) and a roadmap view
- GitHub and Slack integrations built in
The trade-off versus Linear is speed: Plane's interface is noticeably heavier than Linear's famously snappy keyboard-driven UI. Docker Compose deployment is official and well-documented.
- Stars: ~46k · License: AGPL-3.0 · VPS recommended: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB for production with multiple projects
- Self-hosted Plane guide
2. GitLab CE (MIT core, ★ ~25k self-hosted forks)
If your team already uses GitLab for source control, its built-in Issues, Boards, Milestones, and Epics cover most of what Linear offers — without adding another tool to your stack. GitLab CE issues support labels, weights, time tracking, due dates, and linked MRs. Boards give you Kanban views; Milestones work as sprints.
The honest caveat: GitLab CE is heavy. The full self-hosted deployment idles at 4–6 GB RAM and requires a dedicated 8 GB VPS at minimum (16 GB is more comfortable for teams of 5+). If you're already hosting GitLab, adding Issues costs nothing. If you're standing up a new instance purely for project management, Plane is a better starting point.
- Stars: ~25k (self-hosted repo) · License: MIT (core) · VPS recommended: 8–16 GB
- Official deployment docs: docs.gitlab.com/ee/install/
3. Taiga (AGPL-3.0, ★ ~7.4k)
Taiga is a full-featured agile project management platform with Scrum (sprints, story points, backlog) and Kanban modes available out of the box. Built on Python/Django with a Vue.js frontend, it predates the Linear-style "speed-focused" generation of tools but remains the most mature option for teams that need structured Scrum ceremonies — sprint planning boards, burndown charts, and backlog grooming — alongside Kanban boards.
Taiga's UI is less polished than Linear or Plane, but it has a long track record and a stable Docker Compose deployment path. For teams running formal Scrum with sprint retrospectives, Taiga's dedicated sprint tooling beats Plane's cycles in depth.
- Stars: ~7.4k · License: AGPL-3.0 · VPS recommended: 4 GB (Python + PostgreSQL + Redis)
- Official Docker setup: github.com/taigaio/taiga-docker
4. Leantime (AGPL-3.0, ★ ~5.2k)
Leantime takes a different approach: it's designed for "non-project-managers" — teams that find Jira or even Plane overwhelming. The interface is intentionally simpler, with a focus on lean methodology: goals, to-dos, milestones, and a built-in time tracker. It runs on PHP + MySQL, making it one of the lightest options in this list, and deploys easily on a 2–4 GB VPS.
For small teams or individual contributors who want Linear-level simplicity without the SaaS dependency, Leantime is worth evaluating. It won't match Linear's keyboard shortcuts or real-time sync, but it covers the fundamentals cleanly and without bloat.
- Stars: ~5.2k · License: AGPL-3.0 · VPS recommended: 2–4 GB (PHP + MySQL, very light)
- Official Docker image:
leantime/leantimeon Docker Hub
5. Vikunja (GPL-3.0, ★ ~4.5k)
Vikunja is a task and to-do manager rather than a full project management suite — think Todoist or Things for teams, rather than Linear or Jira. It covers tasks, lists, projects, labels, assignees, and due dates, with a clean Go + Vue architecture that keeps the idle footprint under 100 MB. A single 512 MB VPS can run it comfortably.
If your Linear usage is primarily personal task tracking and lightweight team to-dos — rather than full sprint cycles and roadmaps — Vikunja is the most resource-efficient option in this list. It also offers a Caldav interface, so tasks sync with calendar apps.
- Stars: ~4.5k · License: GPL-3.0 · VPS recommended: 512 MB–2 GB (Go binary, extremely lightweight)
- Official docs: vikunja.io/docs/
Comparison table
| Tool | Best for | License | Idle RAM | Closest Linear feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plane | Teams wanting full Linear parity | AGPL-3.0 | ~1.5 GB | Issues + Cycles + Modules |
| GitLab CE | Teams already on GitLab SCM | MIT core | 4–6 GB | Issues + Boards + Milestones |
| Taiga | Formal Scrum teams | AGPL-3.0 | ~600 MB | Sprint boards + burndown |
| Leantime | Non-project-manager teams | AGPL-3.0 | ~200 MB | Goals + milestones |
| Vikunja | Lightweight personal/team tasks | GPL-3.0 | ~80 MB | Task lists + due dates |
Prices subject to change — verify Linear pricing at linear.app/pricing and Liquid Web at liquidweb.com/vps-hosting/managed-vps/.
Where to start
For most teams replacing Linear, Plane is the right first stop. It matches Linear's conceptual model most closely (issues, cycles, modules), has the most active development of the group, and offers a guided Docker Compose deployment. If Plane's resource footprint is too much for your VPS, Vikunja covers the lightweight end. For teams already running GitLab CE for source control, enabling Issues and Boards adds zero incremental cost.
A Liquid Web 4 GB Managed VPS runs around $20–25/month. Linear Standard costs $8/user/month — so at 3 or more users you're already paying more for Linear than the VPS. At 10 users, Linear costs $80/month versus ~$25/month self-hosted. The cross-over point for most teams is 3–4 users.
Plane does not have a native Linear importer as of mid-2026. You can export your Linear data as CSV and import it into Plane via its CSV import feature, mapping Linear's status, priority, and assignee columns to Plane's equivalents. For large workspaces, the Plane API allows scripted migration.
Yes. Plane's GitHub integration links pull requests and commits to issues, and can auto-update issue status when a PR is merged — covering the most common Linear-GitHub workflow. The integration is configured per-workspace in Plane's Settings → Integrations panel.