OpenTodo vs Linear
For small teams who want speed, not process, and would rather run their own tool than pay per seat.
Checked on against OpenTodo v0.6.0
Linear is built for software teams that want a clear process: cycles, triage, roadmaps. Many small teams do not need that, and pay per seat for it anyway.
OpenTodo is a task manager first. It gives a small team shared projects, assignees, comments and a fast keyboard-driven app, without the process and on a server you own.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Linear | OpenTodo |
|---|---|---|
| Fast, keyboard-first interface | Yes | Yes How it works: Fast, keyboard-first interface in the OpenTodo docs |
| Boards, sections and priorities | Yes | Yes How it works: Boards, sections and priorities in the OpenTodo docs |
| Assignees, comments and mentions | Yes | Yes How it works: Assignees, comments and mentions in the OpenTodo docs |
| Cycles, roadmaps and initiatives | Yes | No |
| GitHub and GitLab integrationOpenTodo offers webhooks and an API you can connect yourself. | Yes | No |
| Triage and automation rules | Yes | No |
| Coding agents that work on issuesOpenTodo's command line and MCP endpoint let an agent you run read and change tasks. | Yes | Partly How it works: Coding agents that work on issues in the OpenTodo docs |
| Works fully offline | Partly | Yes How it works: Works fully offline in the OpenTodo docs |
| Self-hosted, your data on your server | No | Yes How it works: Self-hosted, your data on your server in the OpenTodo docs |
| Personal tasks next to team work | Partly | Yes How it works: Personal tasks next to team work in the OpenTodo docs |
Where Linear is ahead
If any of these matter most to you, Linear may be the better choice, and that is fine.
Planning for product teams
Linear has cycles, projects with roadmaps, initiatives and insights. OpenTodo has none of these.
Developer integrations
Linear links issues to GitHub and GitLab pull requests and offers triage automation. OpenTodo has webhooks and an API, but no built-in code integration.
Agents on issues
Linear runs agents and coding sessions on issues. OpenTodo lets you connect an assistant you run yourself, nothing more.
What it costs
Linear
A free plan with an issue limit, then per-seat pricing per month for each member of the team.
OpenTodo
Free and open source, for any number of people on your server. You pay only for the server.
Your to-do list, on your own server.
Try the demo in your browser. When you like it, install OpenTodo on your server and import your tasks.