Yes, it is possible to upgrade your LinkedIn subscription to access more features and benefits. LinkedIn offers three paid subscription levels: Premium Career, Premium Business, and Sales Navigator. Upgrading allows you to unlock additional capabilities beyond the free version of LinkedIn.
What are the different LinkedIn paid subscription levels?
Here is an overview of the three different paid subscription options on LinkedIn:
LinkedIn Premium Career
- Costs $29.99 per month
- Gives you access to features like seeing who viewed your profile, advanced profile search filters, unlimited LinkedIn Learning courses, professional insights about people and companies, interview preparation tools, and more
- Ideal for job seekers and individual professionals looking to advance their careers
LinkedIn Premium Business
- Costs $59.99 per month
- Gives you access to features like 15 InMail messages per month to directly contact anyone, company and contact targeting tools, expanded search filters, talent and competitor insights, unlimited profile highlights, and more
- Ideal for small businesses, teams, and organizations seeking recruiting, sales, and marketing capabilities
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Costs $64.99 per month for the Professional plan
- Gives you access to features optimized for sales professionals like seeing how you are connected to leads, Lead Recommendations, TeamLink collaboration tools, unlimited InMail messages, custom sales alerts, and more
- Ideal for sales teams and individuals focused on lead generation and prospecting
How do I upgrade my LinkedIn subscription?
Upgrading your LinkedIn subscription is easy. Just follow these steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile and click on the “Upgrade” link next to your profile photo.
- You will be taken to the LinkedIn premium options page. Review the details of each subscription tier.
- Click the blue “Subscribe” button on the plan you want to upgrade to.
- Enter your payment information on the next page.
- Confirm your subscription level, features, and start date.
- Your upgrade will take effect immediately after payment is processed.
You can also upgrade directly from the LinkedIn homepage by clicking on the “Try Premium Free” link in the top navigation bar. This will take you through the same subscription upgrade process.
Can I get a free trial?
Yes, LinkedIn offers one month free trials for all of their paid subscription levels. When you click to upgrade, simply select the “Start with 1 month free” option on the payment page. This allows you to test out the premium features for 30 days before paying.
Here are the key things to know about LinkedIn free trials:
- The 1 month free trial is only available for first time LinkedIn Premium and Sales Navigator subscribers.
- You’ll need to enter credit card information upfront when starting the trial, but you won’t be charged until the trial ends.
- You can cancel anytime during the trial period and won’t pay anything.
- If you don’t cancel, your subscription will automatically start after the trial ends and you’ll be charged the normal monthly fee.
- All of the premium features are available during the free trial period.
Taking advantage of the free trial is a great way to experience the benefits of a paid LinkedIn subscription completely risk-free.
What features do I get with a paid subscription?
The additional features unlocked with a LinkedIn paid subscription depend on the level you upgrade to, but some of the most popular include:
Premium Career Features | Premium Business Features | Sales Navigator Features |
---|---|---|
See who viewed your profile | 15 InMail messages per month | Lead Recommendations |
Advanced profile search filters | Contact & company targeting | TeamLink collaboration |
Unlimited Learning courses | Talent and competitor insights | Custom sales alerts |
Interview preparation tools | Unlimited profile highlights | Lead management tools |
Some other popular features include expanded search filters, professional insights, inbox messaging controls, custom analytics reports, and more. Review the full feature list for each subscription on LinkedIn’s website.
What are the advantages of upgrading?
There are many advantages to upgrading to a paid LinkedIn subscription, such as:
- More insights and information – Paid accounts provide more data, analytics, and insights about people, companies, jobs, candidates, and more.
- Enhanced messaging capabilities – Send unlimited InMail messages to anyone and expand your reach.
- More search filters – Upgrade search to filter by location, company size, job title, skills, and more.
- Build professional brand – Stand out with profile highlights, expanded profiles, and premium badges.
- Better recruiting and sales tools – Get support for hiring, prospecting, lead generation, and pipeline management.
- Larger network – Grow your network faster with premium features and messaging.
- More learning content – Access over 15,000 expert-led courses with LinkedIn Learning.
For most professionals, upgrading to a paid LinkedIn account can significantly increase the value you get from the platform and support your career or business goals.
What happens if I cancel my paid subscription?
Here is what happens if you cancel a paid LinkedIn subscription:
- Your account reverts back to a free version with access only to basic LinkedIn features.
- You lose access to all of the premium features available with your subscription level.
- Your remaining allowance of InMail messages for that month will be deleted.
- You will no longer appear in premium search results and filters.
- Profile badges and highlights will be removed from your profile.
- You won’t be able to message other members unless you are connected.
- Custom analytics reports and tracking will no longer be available.
- You can resubscribe at any time in the future to regain access to premium features.
Essentially, canceling means reverting back to the free version of LinkedIn until you choose to upgrade again. Make sure to download any important premium insights or data before cancellation goes into effect.
Can I reactivate my old premium subscription?
Typically, yes – you can reactivate a previously paid LinkedIn subscription in most cases. Here is how it works:
- If your premium subscription lapsed within the last 60 days, simply login and re-subscribe to instantly reactive your old level.
- For lapsed subscriptions over 60 days, you can still reactivate but will be treated as a new subscriber. You may need to re-enter payment information.
- Paused subscriptions can be unlocked almost instantly from your settings page, as long as still within the 60 day window.
- Regardless of when your subscription ended, all of your previous data and insights will still be available after reactivating.
- You may be eligible for promotional offers exclusive to reactivating members when resubscribing.
Check your account settings or contact LinkedIn customer support to determine your options for reactivating an old premium subscription.
Can I pause my paid subscription?
LinkedIn allows you to temporarily pause a paid subscription by following these steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn account settings and open the “Products” section.
- Locate your active subscription and click “Pause subscription.”
- Choose a pause end date up to 60 days in the future.
- Confirm the pause – your subscription will remain inactive until the end date.
Here are some key things to know about pausing a LinkedIn paid subscription:
- You can pause for up to 60 consecutive days in a 12 month period.
- All premium features will be disabled during the pause but your data will remain intact.
- You won’t be charged any fees until the pause expires and billing resumes.
- You can unpause at any time before the end date to reactivate your account.
- If not manually reactivated, your subscription will automatically renew after the pause ends.
Pausing can be helpful if you want to temporarily disable your paid features for a vacation, work trip, or other limited break from actively using LinkedIn.
Can I get a refund for my subscription?
Getting a refund for a LinkedIn paid subscription is limited, but possible in some cases. Here are the refund policies to be aware of:
- Monthly subscriptions are non-refundable because they are billed in 1 month increments.
- Annual subscriptions may be partially refundable depending on how many months are left.
- Refunds are prorated based on the time remaining, less an early termination fee.
- Partial refunds are issued back to the original payment method.
- Contact LinkedIn support for details on refund eligibility for your subscription.
If within the first 30 days, you can request a full refund for an annual subscription, but need to demonstrate why you are unsatisfied with the service.
Can I gift a premium subscription?
LinkedIn does not currently offer the ability to gift premium subscriptions. The subscription process requires entering your own payment method and account details. However, there are a couple potential workarounds:
- Gift a LinkedIn Premium eGift Card which can be redeemed towards a subscription.
- Pay for the subscription on behalf of someone else using your own payment method.
- Reimburse or give money to the recipient to cover subscription fees.
While not ideal, these options allow you to essentially gift the money required for someone else to upgrade their own LinkedIn account. Direct gifting is not available at this time.
Conclusion
Upgrading to a paid subscription can take your LinkedIn experience to the next level. The premium features provide enhanced visibility, insights, messaging capabilities, and tools to support your career or business. While the subscriptions come at a cost, the benefits are often well worth the monthly or annual fees for active LinkedIn users and sales professionals. With options to test it free, pause, or even cancel, it’s easy to try out a paid upgrade and see if it’s right for your needs.