For a long time, Invisalign wasn’t just the king of clear aligner treatment, it was the only option on the market. But since many of their patents expired in 2017, several competitors have entered the fray, including some that improved on certain aspects of Invisalign’s winning formula. Linea is one of these competitors, positioning themselves as a viable alternative for adults who might worry about Invisalign’s high prices or frequent office visits.

But how do Invisalign and Linea really stack up? We’ve broken down their treatments below, so you can evaluate their advantages and drawbacks, then determine which might be a better fit for you.

Linea vs. Invisalign: At a Glance

How They Work

The basic idea behind both brands is the same—use a series of snug-fitting plastic trays that apply pressure to certain teeth, moving them. Each set of aligners will shift your teeth a tiny bit, and you’ll switch to the next set every 1–2 weeks. By the end of the series, your teeth should be perfectly straight, and you’ll wear a retainer to keep them that way.

Both Invisalign and Linea require at least some in-person oversight from a dentist or orthodontist. However, you can’t get them from just any dentist or orthodontist. They have to go through special training before they can register as an official provider of either treatment. From there, here’s how both companies typically work:

1. Adults or teens interested in Invisalign or Linea treatment will need to schedule an appointment with a provider to get started.
2. During this initial office visit, the dentist will examine your teeth to make sure you don’t have any underlying problems, like cavities or gum disease.
3. If you have any underlying issues, you’ll need to address those first. If not, the dentist will take x-rays and intraoral scans of your teeth.
4. They’ll send those images to Invisalign or Linea, who will use them to design a full treatment plan. The dentist can make tweaks to this plan, if they’d like.
5. Invisalign or Linea will create the aligners and send them to the dentist.
6. The patient will schedule another appointment, where the dentist will show them how to use their aligners, answer questions, and make sure everything feels okay.
7. Throughout treatment, the patient will wear their aligners for 22+ hours per day and schedule regular in-person or virtual check-ins with their dentist.

At the end of treatment, you’ll typically have a wrap-up appointment to assess your results and order a retainer, which you’ll need to wear every day (all day at first, then just at night) to keep your teeth from shifting back.

Scope of Treatment Comparison

Of course, none of that matters if you’re not a good fit for clear aligner treatment. Linea and Invisalign can treat a pretty similar variety of conditions, but here’s more detail on the specific misalignments they can take on.

Linea

Linea has three different tiers of treatment, which cover everything from 'very light' cases to more complex ones. This includes most cases of crowding and spacing, as well as improvements to certain bite issues. Through properly aligning the teeth, Linea treatment can often help improve the appearance and function of mild to moderate bite concerns such as overbite, underbite, crossbite. For complex cases, the dentist may choose to use attachments—small, tooth-colored buttons they can affix to the teeth, which help improve orthodontic tooth movements. They might also prescribe interproximal reduction (IPR), which means carefully removing minimal enamel between the teeth, giving them more room to move.

That said, Linea is transparent about treatment limitations. Severe bite misalignments, particularly those with significant skeletal jaw discrepancies, might require more comprehensive treatment approaches like traditional orthodontics (braces) or, in some cases, surgical intervention. Your Linea dentist will evaluate your specific case to determine if Linea aligners are the right solution for your smile goals.

Invisalign

The range of issues Invisalign can fix is pretty similar. Like Linea, their aligners can tackle everything from mild cases of crowding and spacing to more complex issues like bite misalignments. They also have attachments (called SmartForce) and can incorporate IPR as part of the treatment.

Invisalign has a slightly wider range of attachments at their disposal, including ones like elastics and palatal expanders. This might make them a little more versatile, but for the majority of issues, these two are equally effective.

Price Comparison

Orthodontic treatment can be quite the investment, so it’s a good idea to get a sense of what you’ll pay beforehand. How much you pay for Invisalign can depend on the severity of your misalignment, whether you need refinements, your location, and other variables. Even so, Linea’s flat-rate pricing is typically the less expensive option. Here’s the breakdown.

Linea

We already mentioned Linea’s three tiers of treatment, and each one has a different price. Most people fall into Tier 2.

• Tier 1: $2,698
• Mild cases
• 1–8 aligners + 1 refinements (if necessary)
• Not eligible for IPR or attachments
• 0 re-scans during treatment
• Tier 2: $3,698
• Moderate cases
• 9–24 aligners + 2 refinements
• Plans may include attachments and IPR
• 1 re-scan during treatment
• Tier 3: $4,998
• Complex cases
• 25+ aligners + 3 refinements
• Plans may include attachments and IPR
• 2 re-scans during treatment

The nice thing about these prices is that they’re set by the company, not the providers. So, no matter where you get your treatment, the prices will stay the same. If you end up needing more than the allotted number of refinements or re-scans for your tier, it may end up costing more, but that rarely happens.

One reason Linea’s price often comes in lower than Invialign’s is that their treatment involves fewer in-person office visits. Your dentist’s time costs money, so by streamlining their care model with remote oversight, Linea cuts some of the treatment’s biggest costs. That doesn’t mean you’ll receive subpar care, though. They’ve designed their treatment to deliver quality clinical results for each patient they accept, even with fewer face-to-face visits.

Plus, Linea offers interest-free financing through Humm and Zip, so you can break those prices into fortnightly payments and pay off your treatment over six or twelve months. You may have to qualify for these plans based on your credit, and some fees may apply.

Invisalign

Invisalign’s prices are more complicated than Linea’s, because each provider gets to set their own rates. So you could get a quote from one dentist, then go down the street and get a completely different quote from another. That means you can shop around, but it also makes it difficult to predict your final price—and they often fall anywhere between $4,000 and $9,500.

The primary determining factor is the complexity of your misalignment. Complex cases take more time, aligners, and appointments to correct, so they naturally cost more. However, your location can also make a difference. Some places have higher rent, utilities, and other expenses than others, which means higher overhead costs for your dentist and, therefore, higher prices.

Plus, Invisalign charges more in lab fees than most other clear aligner brands, and they encourage the use of their iTero intraoral scanner, which is one of the more expensive models on the market. Faced with these higher expenses, dentists usually raise their prices to accommodate.

Invisalign doesn’t have any overarching payment plans, but dental offices typically have options, either in-house or through a third-party partner. If you’re unable to pay up front, the office staff should be able to make some recommendations.

Monitoring Comparison

Providing your aligners is only half the battle. The dentist also needs to make sure you wear them as instructed and that your teeth move as expected. So, you’ll need to schedule check-ups throughout treatment. How you complete these appointments, however, varies based on the brand you choose.

Linea

You’ll have two office visits to start. The first is your consultation, and the second is to receive your aligners and ensure they fit perfectly. The dentist may use this second visit to apply attachments or administer IPR, but that depends on your specific case. After that, your dentist will primarily monitor your progress remotely.

This means you’ll upload photos of your teeth to the Linea app every month, so the dentist can make sure they’re moving like they’re supposed to. If they see anything that looks off, they may ask you to return for additional exams or treatment. But if everything goes according to plan, you’ll only have to come back for your final wrap-up appointment, and any re-scans (if they’re part of your plan). This will save you time, since you won’t have to travel to and from the office every few weeks.

Invisalign

Invisalign’s first couple of appointments look a lot like Linea’s. But after that, you’ll typically need to return for your checkups in person. This allows the dentist to get a good, in-depth look at your teeth each time, but not every case needs that, and it increases your time commitment. Some Invisalign providers may offer remote monitoring, but it doesn’t come standard with your clear aligners like Linea’s does.

Patient Support Comparison

During treatment, you might have questions, and neither company leaves you hanging. However, they handle patient support differently, and it’s good to know their procedures before diving in.

Linea

The same mobile app you use to upload photos of your teeth and complete virtual check-ins is your portal to Linea’s support team. They’re available seven days a week and will handle any questions you have. This team works under the supervision of Linea's orthodontists, who can step in for more complex cases or issues. If you have questions that require clinical expertise, the support team will either provide guidance based on established protocols, consult with their orthodontists, or connect with your local dentist as needed.

This collaborative approach ensures you receive comprehensive care without requiring frequent in-person visits. While you won't be talking to your dentist every time, having Linea's support available seven days a week provides flexibility that traditional dental offices (typically closed on weekends) can't match.

Invisalign

Unlike Linea, Invisalign leaves all patient support up to the dentist’s office. They have a centralized “Smile Concierge” team, but they primarily help interested patients find local Invisalign providers. They can potentially answer broader questions about Invisalign treatment, but for day-to-day questions about your specific case, you’ll want to contact your dentist’s office. The advantage is that you’ll be speaking with people who know you personally. But the disadvantage is that you’ll be restricted to their hours of operation—which are usually 9–5 during the week and closed on weekends.

Company Overviews

In 1998, a company called Align Technology started marketing the very first clear aligner treatment: Invisalign. At the time, it was revolutionary, and adults who wanted straighter teeth—but didn’t like the visibility of braces—flocked to it. Over the next two decades, they continued to extend their reach, and since their introduction, their treatment has straightened more than 18 million smiles in over 90 countries. Today, they’re still perhaps the biggest name in clear aligner therapy.

But that’s changing pretty quickly. In 2017, Invisalign’s grip on the industry loosed quite a bit when over 40 of their patents expired. This allowed competitors all over the world to move in, and many of them built on Invisalign’s success, developing their own unique advantages and digging out niches in the customer base.

Linea was one of these competitors. Founded in Melbourne in 2020, they’ve quickly established themselves as one of the top clear aligner brands in Australia. Dentists started the company with the goal of making Invisalign’s quality products, in-person care, and robust oversight both more affordable and more convenient for patients. Combining hands-on treatment with remote oversight, with flat-rate prices, they’ve done just that.

Our Recommendation

Both Invisalign and Linea deliver quality products and care, but ultimately, the best treatment for you depends on your specific smile. That said, Linea’s combination of top-quality treatment with cost-conscious prices and convenient oversight is tough to beat.