LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members worldwide. Many professionals use LinkedIn to network, search for jobs, post resumes, and build their personal brand.
While anyone can create a basic LinkedIn profile for free, LinkedIn also offers several paid membership options that provide additional features and benefits. The Premium Career membership plan is priced at $29.99 per month when billed monthly or $239.88 per year when billed annually ($19.99 per month).
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at what is included with a LinkedIn Premium Career subscription, who can benefit from upgrading to Premium, and whether the $29.99 per month price tag is worth it for career-minded professionals.
LinkedIn Premium Overview
LinkedIn Premium (formerly LinkedIn Premium Career) is LinkedIn’s mid-tier paid subscription plan. It sits above the free version of LinkedIn but below the top-tier LinkedIn Premium Business plan.
Some of the key features included with Premium are:
- Unlimited profile searches
- Ability to view full profiles of anyone (even outside your network)
- See who’s viewed your profile
- Advanced profile filtering when searching profiles
- InMail messages for directly contacting anyone on LinkedIn
- Professional learning courses and videos
- Salary data insights
Premium also removes most ads from the LinkedIn platform for subscribers.
Some other perks include expanded profile recommendations, real-time notification alerts, and additional profile customization options.
Overall, the Premium plan aims to enhance profile visibility, boost networking capabilities, develop skills through professional learning content, and gain data-driven insights to improve hiring and career strategies.
Who is LinkedIn Premium Best Suited For?
While every professional can get value from LinkedIn Premium, it offers the most benefits for certain user segments:
Job Seekers
For job seekers, Premium allows you to research companies and hiring managers more extensively, get notified of new job listings that match your criteria, take online courses to gain skills, and directly contact recruiters at your target companies. The additional profile visibility can also help you stand out in the competitive job market.
Business Owners / Freelancers / Consultants
Premium aids entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals by making it easier to identify new business opportunities and forge valuable connections. Sales navigator tools provide insights to grow your business.
Recruiters / HR Professionals
Recruiters can significantly cut down their candidate search time with Premium. Advanced filters, saved searches, and profile contact information allow for more efficient recruitment.
Marketers / Brand Managers
Marketers can research their target audience more extensively with Premium. Company page analytics provide data to improve content and engagement. Direct contact with influential professionals supports influencer marketing campaigns.
Networking Focused Professionals
For anyone focused on expanding their professional network, Premium makes it easier to connect with relevant individuals in your industry, even if they are outside your existing network.
What Features Do You Get With LinkedIn Premium?
Here is an overview of the key features unlocked with a Premium subscription:
Enhanced Profile and Visibility
– See full profiles of anyone on LinkedIn, even if they are outside your network
– View names of people who have viewed your profile recently
– Get profile recommendations to improve your profile visibility
– See more profile views and connection requests
Searching and Filtering
– Make use of advanced filters when searching profiles, such as location, company, job function, industry, skills, and more
– Unlock unlimited profile searches without any capped limits
– Save search preferences to be automatically notified of new profiles
Messaging and Communication
– Directly contact anyone through InMail messages, even if they are not in your network
– Receive real-time notifications when you receive new messages and mentions
– Send follow-up messages to people who have viewed your profile
Learning and Insights
– Access over 15,000+ professional learning videos and courses
– View salary insights by job position to negotiate pay more effectively
– Get data-driven insights on your LinkedIn content performance
Other Perks
– Ad-free LinkedIn browsing experience
– Premium profile badge to highlight your subscription status
– More options for customizing your profile
– Ability to follow hashtags and publications
LinkedIn Premium Pricing
LinkedIn Premium is available on a monthly or annual payment plan. Here is a breakdown of the LinkedIn Premium costs:
Monthly Billing
– $29.99 per month
– Automatically renews each month
– Can cancel at any time
Annual Billing
– $239.88 per year when billed annually
– Comes out to $19.99 per month
– Save $60 per year compared to monthly billing
Here is a table summarizing the Premium pricing options:
Billing Plan | Total Price | Price Per Month |
---|---|---|
Monthly | $29.99 | $29.99 |
Annually | $239.88 | $19.99 |
As shown in the table, the annual plan provides a lower effective monthly rate. Paying annually saves you $60 per year compared to paying month-to-month.
There are also occasionally promotional discounts available, such as 40% off a Premium annual subscription for first-time purchasers. So the price may be slightly lower at times.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It?
Whether Premium is “worth it” depends on your individual needs and career goals.
For most job seekers, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and networking-focused professionals, the benefits justify the $29.99 monthly price tag. Being able to efficiently search profiles, directly contact people, and get notified of relevant opportunities can significantly improve your career and business prospects.
However, more casual LinkedIn users may not need or use all the advanced features frequently enough to justify the cost. The free version of LinkedIn still offers substantial value.
You can also get some Premium features for free through the LinkedIn mobile app. For example, you can see who viewed your profile, receive notification alerts, and take some learning courses without a paid plan.
Here are some key questions to consider when evaluating if Premium is worth it for you personally:
- How actively do you use LinkedIn now? Will you utilize Premium features often?
- Is your career or business highly dependent on networking and opportunities on LinkedIn?
- Are you looking to expand your professional connections or pivot into a new role/industry?
- Do you send InMail messages regularly? How much is that direct access worth?
- Will the ad-free experience and notification alerts save you time?
For most professionals, being able to clearly answer “yes” to several of these questions means the value you’ll gain from LinkedIn Premium likely outweighs the monthly cost.
But you can always test it out first. LinkedIn offers a free 1-month Premium trial period to experience the benefits before paying.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Premium provides robust tools and features for professional networking, job seeking, recruiting, marketing, and career development. While not essential for all LinkedIn members, it offers tremendous value for anyone utilizing LinkedIn strategically to advance their career or business interests.
The $29.99 per month pricing is reasonable considering the ROI it can deliver by increasing your professional opportunities and making you more productive on LinkedIn. Try out a free trial first to confirm it aligns with your needs and usage habits before subscribing.
With over 800 million members on LinkedIn, a paid Premium plan can be the difference between standing out versus getting lost in the crowd. The expanded capabilities and premium profile badge signal you are a serious professional invested in making the most of the world’s top career networking platform.