This paper presents a comparison of the linear and nonlinear approaches for damage accumulation of tooth root breakage damage of gears. In the beginning, the theoretical fundamentals of damage accumulation are presented compactly. To compare the suitability of the methods an extensive set of experimental data is presented at first. The data is evaluated with both the linear and the nonlinear approach and the results are compared. For the linear approach, the method according to Miner and Palmgren is applied. For the nonlinear approach, the method developed by Subramanyan is used. The objective of this evaluation is to assess if the more complex method yields a potential benefit for a more accurate service life prediction of gears.