Usage-based billing

How usage-based billing works⁠

Linear’s Coding Agent feature is billed based on what you actually use, not a fixed seat fee. You pay for this from a prepaid dollar balance held at the workspace level.

• Your balance is denominated in US dollars and shown as a dollar amount everywhere in Linear.
• The balance is pooled across the workspace and shared across AI features that use it.
• You add funds to your balance before they are spent.

Usage-based billing is opt-in. If your workspace never adds funds, no usage-based features will run, and you will never be charged for them.

What uses your balance⁠

Other Linear AI features remain included in your plan and do not draw from your balance. We may add more features to usage-based billing over time.

Typical costs⁠

Actual cost depends on task complexity, codebase size, and how long an agent runs, so pricing is presented as an estimate. As a rough guide:

• Coding Agent: around $5 to $7 for bug fixes and short tasks. Multi-turn coding sessions vary more widely.

You can see a live breakdown of usage by feature and by user in Settings → Workspace → Usage.

Choosing a model⁠

By default, Coding Agent uses the latest state-of-the-art model. If you prefer more predictable cost, you can pin Coding Agent to a specific model.

Adding funds⁠

Workspace admins with billing permissions can add funds from Settings → Workspace → Usage. Top-ups are processed by Stripe and produce a separate invoice from your regular Linear subscription invoice.

Payment methods⁠

• Credit cards are the only accepted payment method for buying credits in billing settings.
• AI usage can use a different card than your core Linear subscription if desired.
• If you need invoice, ACH, or purchase-order payment, contact support.

Currency and tax⁠

Top-ups are processed in USD. Sales tax is applied where applicable, using your billing address.

Expiration⁠

• Funds you add expire 12 months after the purchase date.
• Promotional balances may have their own expiration dates, visible in the Usage dashboard.
• Unused balance rolls over across subscription billing cycles. It is independent of your Linear subscription period.
• Expired balances cannot be refunded, transferred between workspaces, or restored.

Order of use⁠

When your workspace has multiple balances at once (for example, a promotional balance alongside funds you added), they are consumed in this order:

1. Promotional balances (one-time grants when turning on a feature)
2. Included balances (bundled with a feature)
3. Balances issued by Linear support
4. Funds you added yourself

Within each group, balances that expire soonest are consumed first. A single task may draw from more than one balance.

Running out of funds⁠

If your workspace runs out of funds, features that require a balance will stop starting new work. You’ll get low-balance and expiration alerts in advance.

Because balances are not updated in exact real time, your balance can briefly go slightly negative when multiple tasks run at the same time, typically by a few dollars. Your next top-up is applied first to that outstanding amount, then adds new funds. For example, a workspace at -$1 that adds $50 ends at $49.

Manage your usage⁠

Billing admins can manage everything related to usage-based billing from Settings → Workspace → Usage:

• View your current workspace balance.
• Add funds.
• See usage broken down by feature and by user.
• See recent transactions and upcoming expirations.
• Receive low-balance, expiration, and spend alerts.

Usage history is retained for 12 months.

Refunds and adjustments⁠

• Funds you’ve added are non-refundable and non-transferable.
• If a task fails because of a Linear platform issue, contact support and we can adjust your balance.
• Failed runs, retries, or partial completions are billable.

Workspace cancellation⁠

If a workspace is deleted, any remaining balance expires and cannot be recovered or transferred. Linear will warn you clearly before you confirm workspace deletion.