If you signed up for LinkedIn’s free 1 month trial but have decided you don’t want to continue with a paid membership, canceling is easy. Here’s a step-by-step guide to canceling your LinkedIn free trial before you get charged.
What is LinkedIn’s free trial?
LinkedIn offers new users a free 1 month trial of their Premium Career membership. This trial gives you access to Premium features like being able to view everyone who has viewed your profile, unlimited InMail messages, access to online courses, and more.
When you sign up for the free trial, LinkedIn will automatically start billing you for a paid Monthly Premium Career subscription at $29.99 per month once the trial ends. So if you signed up but don’t want to pay, make sure to cancel before the 1 month trial period is over.
How to cancel LinkedIn Premium free trial
Canceling your LinkedIn free trial is simple and can be done right from your account settings in just a few clicks. Here are the steps:
- Log into your LinkedIn account on a desktop or mobile web browser.
- Click on your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Select ‘Settings & Privacy’ from the dropdown menu.
- Click ‘Account’ on the left side menu.
- Under ‘Premium Career’ click ‘Manage’ or ‘Downgrade to Free’.
- Select ‘Cancel subscription’ on the next page.
- Confirm cancellation on the popup.
And that’s it! LinkedIn will immediately downgrade you to a free account and you won’t be charged anything. The cancellation happens right away.
What happens when you cancel LinkedIn Premium trial?
Here’s what to expect after canceling your LinkedIn Premium trial membership:
- You’ll lose access to Premium features like InMail, profile views, online courses etc. Your account reverts to a free membership.
- Any Premium benefits you haven’t used will be forfeited.
- You won’t be charged anything or billed for a subscription.
- Your profile and network will remain intact.
- You can still use LinkedIn’s free features like creating posts, searching profiles, messaging connections etc.
- You can sign up for Premium again at any time if you change your mind.
Canceling the free trial is irreversible but you can always restart your subscription later on. LinkedIn won’t extend the trial period if you change your mind – you’ll have to pay for a full month.
How much does LinkedIn Premium cost?
Here are LinkedIn’s current Premium subscription costs:
Premium Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
---|---|---|
Premium Career | $29.99 | $239.88 (billed annually) |
Premium Business | $59.99 | $479.88 (billed annually) |
Premium Sales | $64.99 | $519.88 (billed annually) |
As you can see, Premium Career is LinkedIn’s basic paid plan while Premium Business and Sales have more features tailored to business owners, recruiters and sales professionals.
The annual subscription works out to be a better value since it’s equivalent to getting 2 months for free compared to paying monthly. But the monthly option offers more flexibility if you only need Premium temporarily.
Should I keep LinkedIn Premium?
Here are some things to consider when deciding whether to keep LinkedIn Premium after the free trial:
- Job hunting – Premium lets recruiters see you’re open to work opportunities. You also get insights into how recruiters view your profile.
- Networking – InMail messages let you directly contact people outside your network. You can expand connections faster.
- Lead generation – Premium Sales tools help identify, contact and manage leads and accounts. Useful for sales professionals.
- Skills training – Online courses give you access to thousands of expert-led videos and training materials. Great for learning.
- Brand building – Premium offers insights into your content performance so you can refine your personal brand.
For most professionals, the free LinkedIn account has plenty to offer in terms of profiles, posts and basic messaging. Premium is best suited for those who want additional tools for finding jobs, connecting with new contacts, online learning or sales prospecting.
Is LinkedIn Premium worth it for job seekers?
For job seekers, Premium can be worth it for features like:
- Seeing who’s looked at your profile
- Standing out as an active job seeker
- Expanded profile recommendations
- Skill assessments to showcase abilities
- Learning new skills with online courses
The ability to contact recruiters and hiring managers directly with InMail messages is also a major perk. But if you’re selective in applying for jobs, you may be able to get by with the free account.
Is Premium worth it for sales professionals?
For sales teams, Premium Sales offers compelling benefits like:
- Finding and managing new leads with Sales Navigator
- Sending targeted InMail to prospects
- Seeing full profiles of your prospects and leads
- Tracking interactions and deals in CRM tools
- Unlocking team collaboration features
The sales automation and lead management tools can significantly boost productivity. Premium Sales has the highest value potential for revenue-focused teams and individuals.
Is Premium worth it for recruiters and HR?
For recruiters and HR specialists, Premium Business can be extremely helpful for:
- Sourcing new candidates with advanced search filters
- Contacting passive candidates open to new roles
- Managing candidates through the hiring pipeline
- Posting jobs to reach targeted audiences
- Benchmarking compensation with salary data
Premium Business transforms LinkedIn into a robust talent management solution. The ability to quickly source, contact and manage candidates makes Premium very valuable.
Downgrading from Premium to Free membership
If you want to keep your LinkedIn account but don’t want to pay for Premium, you can downgrade to the free membership. Here’s how:
- Go to your account Settings & Privacy > Account
- Next to your Premium plan, click ‘Manage’ or ‘Downgrade to Free’
- Select ‘Downgrade to Free’ on the next page
- Confirm on the popup to complete the downgrade
Your Premium subscription will immediately cancel but your profile and network will remain unchanged. You’ll lose access to Premium features but can still use LinkedIn freely.
Getting a refund for LinkedIn Premium
If you’re within the refund period, you may be able to get a full or partial refund on LinkedIn Premium subscription fees:
- Monthly subscriptions – Refunds available within first 5 days of payment
- Annual subscriptions – Refunds available within first 30 days
To request a refund, contact LinkedIn customer support by going to your account Help Center and selecting Contact Us > Billing & Payments. Explain you’d like a refund and why.
Refunds are generally provided on a prorated basis depending on how many days are left in the refund window. You will forfeit the remaining time of Premium access after a refund.
Avoiding Premium renewal charges
To ensure you don’t get unexpectedly charged for LinkedIn Premium, take these steps:
- Cancel as soon as your free trial ends if you don’t want to continue
- Downgrade to Free membership if you no longer want Premium
- Turn off auto-renewal in your account settings
- Remove your payment method after canceling Premium
- Track your billing date and cancellation status
As long as you proactively cancel Premium or downgrade before the next billing cycle, you can avoid being charged. LinkedIn will send several email reminders as your trial end date approaches.
How to turn off LinkedIn Premium auto-renewal
To prevent your Premium plan from automatically renewing each month, follow these steps:
- Go to account Settings and open the Premium page
- Next to your plan, click ‘Manage’
- Toggle the Renewal setting to ‘Off’
- Confirm turning auto-renewal off
Your subscription will still be active until it expires but won’t renew. You can also turn auto-renewal off when initially signing up for Premium.
Conclusion
Canceling LinkedIn’s free 1 month Premium trial is quick and easy – just go to your account settings and click a few buttons. You won’t be charged anything and your profile will revert back to a free account.
Downgrading is also an option if you want to keep your account but discard Premium features. Be sure to monitor your billing date and turn off auto-renewal as well to avoid surprise charges.
For many professionals, the free LinkedIn account is sufficient for networking and personal branding. But Premium can provide job seekers, salespeople, recruiters and others with additional tools for reaching their goals. Evaluate whether the benefits are worth the monthly or annual costs.
With the above guide, you can easily cancel your LinkedIn trial hassle-free. Just proactively manage your membership settings and billing details to avoid unwanted charges.