It's close: Ghostty edges it 9.1 to 9.0, so the right pick depends on what you need. Ghostty wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Linear on 2.
Developers on Mac or Linux who live in the terminal
Software teams who want fast, low-friction issue tracking and planning
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Ghostty | Linear |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Category rank | #2 of 10 | #5 of 10 |
| Developer | Mitchell Hashimoto and contributors | Linear Orbit, Inc. |
| Pricing | Free | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | — | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | — | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | — |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Ghostty better than Linear?
It's close: Ghostty edges it 9.1 to 9.0, so the right pick depends on what you need. Ghostty wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Linear on 2.
Which is cheaper, Ghostty or Linear?
Ghostty: Free and open source; optional donations go through the non-profit Hack Club. Linear: Free for up to 2 teams and 250 issues; Basic $10/user/month, billed yearly. On value for money, Ghostty scores higher.
Do Ghostty and Linear work on the same devices?
Only Ghostty runs on Linux. Only Linear runs on iPhone & iPad, Android, Windows, Web.
Which is more private, Ghostty or Linear?
Ghostty scores higher on privacy (9.8/10). No account needed. Crash reports are saved locally and never sent anywhere automatically; you can share them yourself if you choose.
Strengths and weaknesses
Ghostty
- Fast GPU rendering with a native look
- Free, open source and run as a non-profit
- Hundreds of themes that follow light and dark mode
- No Windows app planned
- SSH hosts may need its terminfo installed
- AppleScript support is still a preview
Ghostty is a terminal emulator that refuses to choose between speed and polish. It renders on the GPU, uses real native tabs and splits on Mac and Linux, ships hundreds of themes that follow light and dark mode, and supports the Kitty graphics protocol and ligatures. Version 1.3 added scrollback search. It's free, MIT-licensed and run as a non-profit project. There's no Windows version, and remote SSH hosts may need its terminfo installed.
Full Ghostty review
Linear
- Extremely fast and keyboard-friendly
- Sensible defaults with little setup
- Automatic status updates from pull requests
- Less customizable than enterprise trackers
- Built for software teams, awkward for other work
- Agent coding sessions use paid AI credits
Linear is the issue tracker developers actually enjoy using. It is very fast, fully keyboard-driven and opinionated in a good way, with cycles, projects and triage that keep work moving without endless setup. It now reaches further, with Linear Agent, agent coding sessions and code review in Linear Diffs. The trade-off is flexibility: if you need deeply custom workflows, fields and reports, it can feel limiting.
Full Linear review
