Comparison
Plandeck vs. Linear Cycles
Linear Cycles is a planning workflow — it tracks what gets done in a sprint. Plandeck is the estimation step that happens before the cycle starts. They work together, not in competition.
- 20
- Voters on Pro
- 50
- Voters on Team
- 90d
- Session history — Pro
- 365d
- Session history — Team
Summary
The 60-second answer
Linear has a single estimate field per issue — anyone with edit access types a number in. That works fine if estimates come from one person. If your team votes on estimates, you need a process that respects everyone's input without anchoring on the first voice. That's what Plandeck adds: multi-voter blind poker that writes the agreed estimate back to Linear before the cycle starts.
Comparison
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Plandeck | Linear Cycles |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-voter blind poker | Yes — three blind modes | No — single estimate field |
| Async voting workflow | Yes — built-in deadlines, reminders, results | No |
| AI estimate suggestions | Yes — Pro & Team | No |
| AI story decomposition | Yes — Pro & Team | Manual sub-issue creation |
| Estimate writeback to Linear | Yes — GraphQL, instant | Native field |
| Confidence ratings per vote | Yes | No |
| Discussion timer & facilitator dashboard | Yes — purpose-built for live sessions | Out of scope |
| Cycle planning view | Out of scope | Yes — Linear's strength |
| Estimation accuracy reports | Per-voter & rolling team accuracy | Cycle velocity only |
| Pricing model | Per facilitator seat — voters free (Linear sync on Team) | Per-user — included in Linear license |
Comparison reflects publicly available information at publication. Linear is a trademark of Linear Orbit, Inc.
Integrations
Linear is one spoke in your stack
- Import unestimated issues from a Linear cycle into a Plandeck session — no copy-paste.
- Agreed estimate writes back to the Linear issue via GraphQL the moment the session closes.
- Slack and Teams notifications reach voters in the tools they already have open.
- GitHub, Jira, Azure DevOps, and GitLab work the same way — one Plandeck session can pull from multiple trackers.
When to stay
When Linear's built-in field is enough
- PM-driven estimation where one person decides size and the team accepts it.
- Tiny team where estimates are quick gut-feel calls.
- Pre-planning estimates that aren't commitments.
When to add
When Plandeck on top of Linear pays off
- Distributed team across time zones — async voting fits Linear's already-async culture.
- Multi-voter teams where estimate accuracy comes from blind voting, not the loudest engineer.
- AI-assisted estimation and decomposition for stories that need it.
- Per-voter accuracy tracking that exposes which engineers consistently under or over estimate.
Connect Plandeck to Linear in 2 minutes
Sign up takes 30 seconds. Connect Linear from team settings (Team plan), import unestimated cycle issues, run async voting, write results back automatically.