TL;DR
Height vs Linear: For most Mac users in 2026, Linear is the better choice for project management because it is a free, install-in-one-command replacement for Jira Premium. Both install with a single Homebrew command, so the switching cost is low. Choose Height instead if you want project management.
Which is better: Height or Linear?
Linear is the top pick for most Mac users looking at project management. It has a free tier and installs in one Homebrew command. Height is the stronger choice if you want project management. As of September 2026, both install with brew install --cask height and brew install --cask linear-linear.
Height vs Linear
Which is the better project management for Mac in 2026?
We compared Height and Linear across 6 key factors including price, open-source status, and community adoption. Read our full breakdown below.
Height
All-in-one project management tool
Linear
Modern issue tracking and project management
Visual Comparison
Linear
Linear — Official Website
Our Verdict
For most Mac users in 2026, Linear is the better choice for project management because it is a free, install-in-one-command replacement for Jira Premium. Both install with a single Homebrew command, so the switching cost is low. Choose Height instead if you want project management.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Height | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Open Source | No | No |
| Replaces | — | Jira Premium ($14.54/month) |
| Best for | project management, tasks, team | issues, project management, agile |
| Install | brew install --cask height | brew install --cask linear-linear |
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
Quick Install
brew install --cask heightbrew install --cask linear-linearLearn More
In-Depth Overview
What was Height?
Height was a project management and collaboration app founded in 2018 that combined tasks, chat-like context, flexible views (spreadsheet, kanban, calendar, gantt-style planning), and later autonomous AI features for triage and backlog hygiene. It raised venture funding and competed for product-engineering teams who wanted prettier workflows than classic Jira. Despite a Height 2.0 AI push, the company announced shutdown in March 2025 with service ending 24 September 2025, roughly three and a half years after broad public availability. As of August 2026 the product is dead for production use. Any overview is historical: strong visual polish, ambitious automation, incomplete durability. If you still have Height export files, treat them as archives. Do not write new process docs that assume live Height workspaces.
Detailed Feature Comparison
Product viability (2026)
CriticalDiscontinued. Final service day 24 September 2025. No responsible team should adopt Height now. Document the date in runbooks so new hires do not treat old bookmarks as live.
Verdict: Viability alone decides the comparison: only Linear is a living product in August 2026.
Issue tracking speed
CriticalHistorically fast keyboard UI. That speed is irrelevant for new work after shutdown.
Verdict: Linear is the living speed tool; Height's historical keyboard UI cannot be adopted for new work.
AI and agents
HighAutonomous PM features existed pre-shutdown but died with the service.
Verdict: Only Linear's agent platform is available today; Height autonomous features ended with the service.
Views and planning
HighHistorically broad views including spreadsheet and timeline-style planning.
Verdict: Linear wins as the available option. Recreate special Height views via projects and initiatives where needed.
Integrations
HighHad Slack and GitHub-class integrations; endpoints are gone with the product.
Verdict: Live integrations only exist on Linear. Height endpoints disappeared with the product.
Pricing predictability
HighNo active pricing. Service ended. Historical freemium is moot.
Verdict: Only Linear has payable, current pricing with published Free, Basic, Business, and Enterprise tiers.
Collaboration model
MediumChat-linked tasks were a differentiator historically.
Verdict: Linear's comments, mentions, and Slack intake are the collaboration model you can implement now.
Migration friendliness
CriticalExports were possible during wind-down. Delayed migrations risk incomplete archives.
Verdict: Linear is built to receive teams via CSV/API imports and Enterprise migration support paths.
Who Should Choose Which?
1Team still mentioning Height in docs
Update runbooks immediately. Height links are dead ends. Replace URLs with Linear issue or project links and mark Height retired in the software catalogue so security questionnaires stop treating it as an active vendor.
2Startup choosing first tracker
Start Free or Basic and ignore Height entirely. There is no viable trial path to a shut-down product. Map cycles and projects early so you do not recreate Jira-shaped process debt on day one.
3Enterprise needing SAML
Use Linear Enterprise for SAML, SCIM, and audit requirements. Remove Height from identity providers and confirm no service accounts remain in SSO dashboards.
4Agency wanting fancy Gantt
Linear may not match classic agency PM with heavy Gantt views. Evaluate Notion, Asana, or ClickUp if timeline surfaces are non-negotiable, but still do not plan on Height.
5Open-source project
Linear Free may suffice at small issue volumes; otherwise GitHub Issues stays a fine default. Do not resurrect Height archives as a collaboration surface for contributors.
6Height data recovery drill
Import CSV or API exports into Linear projects and re-label statuses. Validate assignees, due dates, and labels on a pilot project before importing historical noise you will never query again.
7Security team cleaning SSO
Remove Height from identity providers and password managers. Confirm no service accounts remain. Point all tooling catalogues to Linear and date-stamp the decommission in vendor risk registers.
8Founder writing postmortem
Use the Height shutdown as a vendor concentration lesson: prefer tools with clear financial runway and export guarantees. Linear meets that bar better than a dead startup product. Capture which automations were actually useful so you do not re-buy the same AI theatre on Linear Agent without gates.
Migration Guide
From_height → Linear
1) Locate any Height exports taken before shutdown (CSV, JSON, or API dumps). 2) Map Height lists to Linear teams and projects; map custom fields to Linear labels or custom fields where available. 3) Recreate workflow states as Linear workflow statuses; use cycles for sprint rhythm. 4) Reconnect GitHub or GitLab and Slack. 5) Turn on Linear Agent features only after security review. 6) Archive Height credentials and remove SSO apps. If you never exported, reconstruct active work from Git history, Slack, and memory because Height servers are gone. Detailed checklist: (a) export any local caches or emailed shutdown packs; (b) create a Linear workspace with the correct identity provider; (c) define issue statuses that match your delivery language (Triage, Backlog, In Progress, In Review, Done); (d) import a pilot project of 50-100 issues and validate assignees, labels, and due dates; (e) connect GitHub or GitLab and verify branch and PR automation; (f) configure notification defaults to avoid spam; (g) train on keyboard shortcuts including Command-K style navigation; (h) enable AI features only in a sandbox team first; (i) set retention and admin roles; (j) declare Height fully retired in the company tool directory with a link to this migration note. If executives ask why not rebuild Height: the company no longer exists as a going SaaS concern for this product line, so remaining on abandoned tooling is an operational risk, not a preference. Success metrics: 100% of active engineering work has a Linear issue ID within two weeks; zero production incidents caused by missing Height context; cycle time dashboards restored using Linear Insights on Business or higher if you previously relied on Height reporting. Budget one engineering-manager week and one IT-admin day for a typical startup; larger enterprises should add SSO and SCIM configuration time on Enterprise. After import, run a naming pass: replace Height-specific status labels with the delivery language your team actually uses in standups. Delete empty projects created as one-to-one mirrors of abandoned Height lists. Set default assignee rules carefully so triage does not become a black hole. Document who may enable agent features and who may change workflow statuses. Put that document next to the Linear workspace URL in the company wiki.
From_linear → Height
Not possible. Height is discontinued as of the 24 September 2025 final service day. Do not attempt to reverse-migrate, and do not leave reverse-migration plans in disaster-recovery docs.
Final Verdict
linear
Winner
Runner-up
Scores are Bundl.run editorial ratings out of 10 across 8 criteria (the feature comparison above), last reviewed August 2026.
Height is gone. Linear is the living product in this pairing as of August 2026. Scores that pretend Height still competes on features mislead buyers. Migrate archives if you have them, rebuild active work as Linear issues and projects, reconnect Git and Slack, and enable Linear Agent only after a security review. Free and Basic cover small teams; Business unlocks guests and deeper AI; Enterprise covers SAML and SCIM. Agencies that need classic Gantt-heavy PM should evaluate other living tools rather than mourning Height. For software delivery teams on macOS, Linear is the default successor path documented here. If your company still has Height in password managers, SSO tiles, or onboarding checklists, schedule a cleanup sprint this week. The product comparison is over; the operational cleanup is not. Linear's Free, Basic, Business, and Enterprise tiers give a clear ladder as the team grows. Enable Linear Agent, Loops, and Triage Intelligence only after you define data boundaries and human approval gates. That is how you keep the useful parts of Height's autonomous ambition without inheriting an unmaintained vendor. Procurement, security, engineering management, and support all have leftover cleanup tasks even after the product decision is obvious. Close the loop on SSO tiles, password vaults, vendor questionnaires, onboarding docs, and job descriptions. Keep encrypted exports for the retention window, then delete them per policy. Use Linear Free to prove fit, Basic when you outgrow issue caps, Business when guests and deeper AI matter, and Enterprise when SAML and SCIM are required. That ladder is the practical answer to 'what replaces Height' for software teams in 2026. Half-migrations are worse than decisive ones because people keep pasting dead links. Finish SSO cleanup, docs cleanup, and archive policy in the same programme as the issue import. Cleanup is part of the product decision. A team that imports issues but leaves Height in SSO has not finished. A team that finishes SSO cleanup but leaves dead URLs in customer runbooks has not finished either. Close every loop: identity, docs, finance, hiring, and archives.
Bottom Line: Height is discontinued. Migrate to Linear (or another living tracker) and close out Height in SSO, docs, and finance.
Video Tutorials
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Frequently Asked Questions
About the Author
Explore More on Bundl
Browse project management apps, read our complete guide, or discover curated bundles.
Expert Insights
Write the Height end date into onboarding. People click dead links for months without a retirement note.
Pilot Linear imports at 50-100 issues before bulk loads so status and label mismatches stay cheap to fix.
Sandbox Linear Agent before production backlog edits, especially on customer-facing projects.
Count SSO apps still named Height as a migration KPI, not a chore for later.
Sources & References
Fact-CheckedLast verified: Aug 9, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- Height announced shutdown and set final service for 24 September 2025.[cite-height-shutdown, cite-height-shortcut]
- Linear Free includes unlimited members with limits of 2 teams and 250 issues.[cite-linear-pricing]
- Linear Basic is $10 per user per month and Business is $16 per user per month when billed yearly.[cite-linear-pricing]
- Linear continues to ship agent features such as Loops and agent-assisted editing during 2026.[cite-linear-home]
- Height is not an active alternative for new project management deployments in August 2026.[cite-height-shutdown, cite-height-alts]
- 1Height.app is shutting down
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
- 2Alternatives to Height.app
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
- 3Best Height.app alternatives
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
- 4Linear Pricing
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
- 5Linear homepage and changelog highlights
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
- 6Linear documentation
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
- 7Height.app project management tool shuts down
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
Research queries: Height.app shutdown September 2025; Linear pricing 2026; Linear Agent Loops; Height alternatives
Related Technologies & Concepts
Related Topics
Issue Trackers for Engineering
Modern software delivery trackers. Emphasise living vendors and export guarantees after the Height shutdown.
Discontinued SaaS Migrations
Moving off dead tools. Keep ownership and SSO cleanup in the same checklist as feature evaluation.
AI Project Management
Agentic triage and automation. Prefer tools with public pricing and active changelogs when replacing Height.
Startup Product Tools
Default stacks for product teams. Migration notes matter more than nostalgia for discontinued PM surfaces.