Nimbus vs Linear.
A realtime kanban board at $0 against the fast, opinionated issue tracker with per-seat pricing. An honest feature and pricing comparison, updated August 2026.
Which should you pick?
Linear is fast, keyboard-first, and opinionated, and teams happily pay per seat for it. Its free tier is usable, but caps at 250 issues and 2 teams. Nimbus wins when you want realtime kanban with no user limit and no issue cap, at $0 forever, with nothing to install. Linear wins when you need cycles, triage intelligence, Insights, or its app ecosystem enough to pay $10-16 per user per month.
Pricing and capabilities checked August 2026. We update this page when either product changes.
Feature comparison
The two tools answer the same question, realtime issue tracking, with very different answers. The table keeps it honest.
| Criterion | Nimbus | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| Realtime collaboration | Cards, comments, and presence sync to every screen over WebSockets the moment they change. No refresh, no polling. | Very fast, but updates are not broadcast: there is no live presence layer, and collaborators do not see changes in real time. |
| Pricing | $0 forever. No per-seat billing, no user limits, no issue caps, no feature gates. | Free caps at 250 issues and 2 teams, then Basic from $10 per user per month and Business from $16, billed yearly (July 2026 list). |
| Issue limits | Unlimited issues on every plan, because there is only one plan. | The free plan allows 250 issues in total, which most active teams hit within a few months. Paid plans are unlimited. |
| Boards and views | A realtime kanban board built around live collaboration. | Kanban-style boards plus cycles (sprints), project views, and roadmaps. |
| AI features | Not available yet. Deliberately simple. | Triage Intelligence, Code Intelligence, and AI coding sessions (beta) with separately purchased credits. |
| Roles and permissions | Three clear roles, owner, admin, and member, scoped per workspace. Explicit and quick to set up. | Admin roles on Basic; private teams and guest accounts are gated to Business. |
| Search | Full-text search across every issue, one keystroke away. | Fast full-text search with saved filters and command palette navigation. |
| Automation and integrations | Not available yet. Deliberately simple. | Deep integrations (GitHub, Slack, Figma, Zendesk, Intercom) and automation rules, with more on Business. |
| Audit trail | Every move, edit, and invite lands in the activity log on every plan. | Audit logs arrive on the custom-quoted Enterprise tier. |
| Mobile | Responsive web app; no native apps yet. | Native iOS and Android apps included with every plan. |
| Support | Email support plus an open source community on GitHub. | Email support on all plans, with priority support on Business. |
| Open source | Open source under the MIT license, with the full source on GitHub. | Closed source. No self-hosted option and no open source program. |
| Setup time | Minutes: sign up, create a workspace, invite the team. | Also fast, but the 250-issue free cap means budgeting for Basic within the first months. |
Linear details reflect the official pricing page, checked August 2026. Nimbus details reflect the current release.
Pricing at a glance
Nimbus
$0 forever
Free to use with unlimited boards, issues, and team members. Sign up and sign in from any browser; nothing to install and no servers to run.
Linear
Linear Free
$0
Up to 10 users, 2 teams, and 250 issues in total — the issue cap is the real limit.
Linear Basic
$10 / user / month
Billed yearly ($12 monthly). 5 teams, unlimited issues, unlimited file uploads, admin roles.
Linear Business
$16 / user / month
Billed yearly ($18 monthly). Unlimited teams, private teams, guest accounts, Triage Intelligence, Insights.
Linear Enterprise
Custom
SAML/SCIM SSO, audit logs, and advanced org modeling, quoted annually.
Choose Nimbus if...
You want realtime kanban at $0
No per-seat billing, no user limits, and no 250-issue ceiling. Free to use, so the price never surprises you.
You want presence, not just speed
Cards, comments, and assignments sync over WebSockets with a live presence layer — everyone sees the board move at the same moment.
You want open source software
Nimbus is MIT-licensed and built in the open on GitHub. Read the source, run it, or contribute to it.
Choose Linear if...
You run cycles and want planning views
Cycles, project views, and roadmaps are native. Nimbus is kanban-only for now.
You want AI-assisted triage
Triage Intelligence, Code Intelligence, and AI coding sessions are Linear's differentiators — and paid.
You live in the keyboard
Linear's command palette, saved filters, and fast integrations are the best in the category for power users.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Nimbus is free to use, with unlimited boards, issues, and team members. Linear's free plan caps at 250 issues and 2 teams, then Basic costs $10 per user per month and Business $16 per user per month billed yearly, at July 2026 list prices.
For teams that track work on a kanban board, yes — with no per-seat cost and nothing to install. Teams that rely on Linear's cycles, Triage Intelligence, Insights, private teams, or its integration ecosystem may want to stay, since Nimbus is kanban-first and deliberately simple.
Yes, and it is genuinely usable — unlimited members, 2 teams, and 250 issues in total. Most active teams hit the 250-issue cap within a few months and move to Basic at $10 per user per month, billed yearly.
Yes. Nimbus is open source under the MIT license, with the full source available on GitHub. Linear is closed source with no self-hosted option.
For a team that wants realtime kanban with no cost ceiling, Nimbus — there is no per-seat pricing and no issue cap. Linear's free tier works until you cross 250 issues or need a third team, then it is $10 or $16 per user per month.
More comparisons
See how Nimbus stacks up against the other issue trackers.
Ship your first sprint today.
Create a workspace and invite the team — the board is live the moment you open it.