LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that unlocks additional features beyond the free version. Determining whether someone has a Premium account can be helpful in understanding how active they are on LinkedIn and what capabilities they have access to. Here are some ways to tell if a LinkedIn user is Premium.
Their profile says “Premium”
The most straightforward way to identify a Premium account is if the person’s profile explicitly states they are a Premium member. On desktop, below their name and headline, it will say “Premium” in a blue badge. On mobile, you’ll see “Premium” listed on their profile page. Unless they opt to hide their Premium status, this is a clear indicator the LinkedIn user pays for the upgraded services.
They have expanded profile sections
LinkedIn Premium allows you to add more detailed information to your profile beyond what the free version offers. Key areas to look for expanded content:
- Summary – Up to 2,000 characters instead of 1,000.
- Experience – Can add more positions, photos, videos, presentations, etc.
- Education – Space for detailed descriptions, test scores, courses, etc.
- Skills – Up to 100 skills can be listed instead of 50.
- Accomplishments – Premium users get this whole section for achievements.
- Additional sections – Premium allows adding sections like Courses, Test Scores, Projects, Languages, etc.
If you see a profile using these extended sections, it’s a clear sign of their Premium status.
They have a profile background photo
Premium accounts unlock the ability to customize your LinkedIn profile with a background photo. This provides a more visual, branded experience compared to the default white background of free accounts. If you see a background photo behind someone’s profile photo, experience section, and details, LinkedIn Premium is enabling this feature.
They have more than 15 endorsements
On LinkedIn, you can endorse connections for their skills and expertise. This appears as small icons below each skill on their profile. Free accounts can only be endorsed for up to 15 skills. With Premium, there is no cap on endorsements. If you see a profile with more than 15 endorsed skills, this is a sign they have unlocked additional capabilities through Premium.
They have unlimited profile views
On free LinkedIn accounts, you can only see who viewed your profile for the last 90 days and only the last 5 profile views if anonymous browsing is turned on. With Premium, you get unlimited profile view history so you can see every profile visit over any time period – a very useful selling point for Premium memberships.
They have a custom LinkedIn URL
Premium accounts can create a unique, customized URL for their LinkedIn profile (ex: linkedin.com/in/yourname). Compared to the longer, generic URLs given to free users, this vanity URL makes their profile link more memorable and searchable. If the LinkedIn URL consists simply of their name, Premium’s custom URL capability was likely used.
They have more search filters
Searching LinkedIn on free accounts only provides basic filters like location, current company, school, title, etc. Premium unlocks more advanced people search filters so you can target your searches more precisely. If someone mentions they used filters like years of experience, company size, seniority level, etc. to find connections, Premium provided access to those filters.
They have unlimited InMail messages
LinkedIn’s InMail system allows you to directly contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. But free users only get 5 InMails per month. Premium provides unlimited InMails as a core perk, so if someone notes frequent InMail usage to prospect, they likely have a Premium account.
They have access to online courses
LinkedIn Learning comes bundled with all Premium paid plans, providing unlimited access to over 16,000 online courses for professional development. If someone mentions taking LinkedIn Learning courses, this benefit would require them to be on a Premium membership.
They have a Premium badge on their messages
When a LinkedIn Premium member sends you a message, it will have a small Premium badge icon next to their name, allowing you to instantly know they have the paid account before even viewing their profile. Replying to their message gives you an opportunity to review if they do indeed have the Premium features.
Their profile has been recently updated
Premium accounts enable users to see who has viewed their profile in the last 90 days. Many Premium users leverage this by updating their profiles frequently so viewers are enticed to revisit their profile to check the updates. Frequent profile changes and refreshers may indicate someone takes advantage of the viewer tracking perks of Premium.
They have published long-form posts
Free LinkedIn accounts can only publish articles up to 1300 words. Premium allows publishing articles with up to 10,000 words. If you see someone sharing very long, in-depth articles on LinkedIn, the extended word count allowance from Premium likely enabled this.
They have aPremium badge on their profile
Similar to the message badges mentioned earlier, some Premium users will add the Premium badge icon directly onto their profile to explicitly display their account status. While not very common, it’s an unambiguous way to convey they have a paid Premium membership.
Conclusion
Identifying whether someone has a Premium LinkedIn account can provide useful context on their level of activity, capabilities, and seriousness in leveraging LinkedIn for networking or business. Look for giveaways like expanded profiles, unlimited endorsements, vanity URLs, and special badging to detect a Premium membership, along with advanced features like unlimited InMail and viewing extended viewer analytics.