Linear Free 250-issue cap: when indie teams should buy Basic

When release boards and bug lists grow, indie builders ask whether Linear Free still fits. This article does not choose among Linear, Jira, and ClickUp. It only explains Free caps and when Basic is justified. Facts come from linear.app/pricing as observed on 2026-09-27.

What a Free workspace includes

Pricing lists Free at $0 for everyone. Members are unlimited, teams max out at 2, issues max out at 250, and file uploads are capped at 10MB. Core building blocks such as issues, projects, and cycles remain available, and the Agent platform is mentioned on Free. Basic is $10 per user per month billed yearly, adding 5 teams, unlimited issues, unlimited uploads, and admin roles.

For a solo founder or a two-person pair, two teams usually suffice. Common splits are Product vs Ops, or App vs Marketing. Before paying for a third team, ask whether projects and labels already express the boundary.

250 issues is a hard ceiling. Historical bugs, one-off research cards, and duplicate “maybe later” tickets all consume the budget. The 10MB upload cap blocks heavy design exports and long recordings—store those externally and paste links into the issue.

Spend the 250 on executable work

Open issues for work you intend to finish. Park vague ideas in docs or a temporary Inbox project and prune them on a schedule. Mark fixes Done promptly, and agree how long test cards may linger before deletion. Use cycles to bound release work so the same bug is not cloned across boards.

A solo maintainer can live on three views. This week, launch blockers, and waiting on external replies. Views do not raise the cap, but they reduce duplicate filing. Customer requests that are only notes can append to a parent issue instead of creating one card per email.

When importing from another tool, sample first. Dumping two years of Jira history into Free burns 250 immediately. Import open items only and leave closed history where it already lives.

Attachments and collaboration beyond two people

Screenshots usually fit. Figma exports, long Loom videos, and full log bundles often exceed 10MB. Write a house rule: attachments under 10MB only; everything else is an external link. That rule alone can keep Free viable for months.

Unlimited members sounds generous, yet private teams and finer guest controls sit on higher plans. If contractors need isolated boards Free cannot provide, compare Business features instead of staring only at Basic’s unlimited issues.

When two people share Free, decide who may close issues so one person does not reopen while another clones. Admin roles arrive with Basic; most personal projects do not need them on day one.

When to buy Basic—and when to wait

Upgrade when any of these hold. Open plus necessary historical issues stably approach 250. A third team is a real org boundary. After enforcing the link-not-upload rule, 10MB still blocks shipping. You need admin roles to lock who edits workflows.

If you are not there yet, run a cleanup. Close duplicates, externalize large files, merge rambling cards. If usage drops into a comfortable band, stay Free. If net new issues keep rising with the business, estimate yearly Basic seats.

Basic is per seat. A three-person team at about $10 per user per month should decide who truly needs a seat. Read-only observers should not get paid seats out of politeness.

How to read this beside comparison articles

Still choosing among Linear, Jira, and ClickUp? Read a comparison for workflow fit first. Already on Linear and only hitting caps? Use this upgrade checklist. Hitting Free limits is not proof Linear is wrong for indies—often it is history hygiene and attachment policy.

Bottom line. Linear Free fits small member counts, at most two teams, issue volume under 250, and attachments that can live as links. Near the ceiling, or needing more teams and unlimited uploads, evaluate Basic on the live pricing page. Prices change—re-check before you subscribe.

Add a short Linear conventions section to the repo README: when to file, how to link large files, and a monthly cleanup day. Conventions are cheaper than another seat.