Linear PM Alternatives (10 options without the big players)

Linear is popular because it's fast, clean, and built around modern product + engineering workflows (issues, cycles/sprints, triage, shortcuts).

But teams often look for alternatives when they want one of these:

• a different planning style (more day-based, more personal workflow, more "real life")
• self-hosting / open-source control
• stronger GitHub-native workflow
• heavier agile tooling (Scrum/Kanban options, custom flows)
• something simpler (or cheaper) for a small team

Note: I'm intentionally not listing the typical "big players" here (Jira, Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, Notion, Trello, etc.). This list focuses on smaller, more focused, or more "next wave" tools.

1) Self-Manager.net (first choice if you want day-based execution + reviews)

Linear is great for a backlog and shipping workflow. But a lot of teams (and especially founders/freelancers) don't actually live in a backlog… they live in today.

Self-Manager.net is a strong "Linear alternative" when your goal is:

• plan work by day (not just by status)
• keep momentum with weekly/monthly/quarterly reviews
• run personal + small team execution without turning everything into tickets

If Linear feels too "issue tracker" and not enough "daily operating system," Self-Manager.net is the cleaner path.

2) Plane (open-source, modern "Linear-like" workflow)

Plane positions itself as an open-source alternative to tools like Linear/Jira-style workflows, focused on tracking issues, cycles, and product planning.

Best for: teams that want a modern interface + open-source control.

3) Shortcut (product + engineering planning: issues, sprints, roadmaps)

Shortcut is a dedicated platform for software teams with issue tracking, sprint planning, and roadmaps—very much in the same "product/dev execution" category as Linear.

Best for: teams that like Linear's focus but want a different flavor of workflow/customization.

4) YouTrack (agile boards + sprints, good for dev teams)

YouTrack has strong agile board support (Scrum/Kanban) and sprint workflows, plus it's part of the JetBrains ecosystem.

Best for: engineering teams that want robust agile tooling without going full enterprise-Jira.

5) Taiga (open-source agile for Scrum/Kanban teams)

Taiga is a well-known open-source agile tool built around Scrum and Kanban workflows.

Best for: teams that want a straightforward agile tool with open-source roots.

6) OpenProject (open-source, classic + agile in one)

OpenProject supports agile boards (Scrum/Kanban) and also covers more "classic PM" needs (helpful if your work isn't purely software issues).

Best for: teams that need agile + more traditional project structure.

7) Leantime (open-source, goals-first PM — less "tickets," more "clarity")

Leantime is open-source and positions itself as goals-focused project management, built to feel less overwhelming for many users.

Best for: small teams that want goals → projects → tasks, without heavy process.

8) Zenhub (GitHub-native project management)

Zenhub runs inside GitHub workflows, designed to reduce context switching while managing planning/reporting around GitHub issues.

Best for: teams that want project management tightly coupled to GitHub.

9) Zube (Agile PM synced with GitHub Issues)

Zube is built around Agile workflow with real GitHub Issues sync, so product folks can collaborate with developers without duplicating tickets.

Best for: GitHub-based teams that want a more PM-friendly layer on top.

10) Focalboard (open-source boards for tracking work, self-hostable)

Focalboard is an open-source, self-hostable board-style PM tool. It's less "issue tracker," more "work tracking," which can be perfect for smaller teams.

Best for: lightweight project tracking with open-source + self-hosting options.

Quick "pick the right one" guide

• Want day-based execution + reviews (not just issue tracking): Self-Manager.net
• Want open-source + Linear-like product workflow: Plane
• Want software team planning with sprints/roadmaps: Shortcut
• Want agile boards + sprints with strong dev tooling: YouTrack
• Want GitHub-first workflow: Zenhub or Zube
• Want open-source but broader PM coverage: OpenProject