LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 800 million members. While anyone can create a basic LinkedIn profile for free, LinkedIn also offers several paid subscription options that provide additional features and benefits.
LinkedIn Premium
LinkedIn Premium (formerly LinkedIn Premium Career) is LinkedIn’s most popular paid subscription. Here’s an overview of what’s included:
- See who’s viewed your profile – You can see the names and titles of members who have viewed your profile in the last 90 days, helping you understand who’s curious about you.
- InMail messages – Send unlimited 1:1 messages to any LinkedIn member without needing to connect first. Great for reaching out to busy executives and decision makers.
- Profile badges – Display badges on your profile to highlight your skills, achievements, and certifications.
- Expanded network and search – Grow your network by searching all LinkedIn members by name vs. just your connections.
- Premium insights – Gain insights about how you rank for profile views and post engagements against other members.
- Learning paths – Access over 15,000 expert-led video courses across business, creative, and technology topics.
LinkedIn Premium costs $29.99 per month when paying monthly or $239.88 per year when paying annually ($19.99 per month).
LinkedIn Premium Business
LinkedIn Premium Business includes all the features of LinkedIn Premium plus:
- Open profile targeting – Target your messages to members who match certain job titles, seniorities, locations, company sizes, and interests.
- Unlimited InMails – Send as many 1:1 InMail messages as you want per month vs. a capped limit.
- Advanced search filters – Filter your search by industry, company size, job function, years of experience, and more.
- Company and contact history – See the historical connections between your company, your contacts, and the companies they’ve worked for.
- Talent pool matching – Get suggested matches from LinkedIn’s pool of over 800M members when looking to fill an open role.
LinkedIn Premium Business is $59.99 per month when paying monthly or $479.88 per year when paying annually ($39.99 per month).
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a sales-focused subscription that includes:
- Lead recommendations – Get recommendations for members who are more likely to respond to your InMail and become quality leads.
- Saved leads and accounts – Save and track leads and accounts so you can follow up at the right time.
- TeamLink – Collaborate on accounts and leads with your sales team.
- PointDrive – Present right from LinkedIn with integrated slides to strengthen customer relationships.
- Lead builder – Get suggested leads based on your target customers and accounts.
- Premium search – Unlock filters like seniority, location, company size, and more.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator pricing starts at $64.99 per month when paying monthly or $519.88 per year when paying annually ($43.33 per month).
LinkedIn Recruiter
LinkedIn Recruiter is designed for corporate recruiting and talent acquisition teams. Key features include:
- InMail messages – Send unlimited 1:1 InMail messages to prospective candidates.
- Candidate insights – View data like likelihood to respond, current company stats, and past job changes for prospects.
- Pipeline builder – Get recommendations for qualified candidates tailored to open roles.
- Work With Us ads – Attract candidates by promoting open roles across LinkedIn.
- Interview prep – Research candidates before interviews so you’re fully prepared.
- Team collaboration – Share candidates and collaborate with your recruiting team.
LinkedIn Recruiter pricing starts at $999.95 per month when paying monthly or $9,999.50 per year when paying annually for a team of 1-3 recruiters.
Other LinkedIn subscriptions
In addition to the main subscription options above, LinkedIn also offers:
- LinkedIn Learning: Access over 15,000 expert-led video courses. Pricing starts at $19.99 per month when paying monthly or $199.88 per year when paying annually.
- LinkedIn News: Get unlimited access to premium business and industry news. Pricing is $9.99 per month when paying monthly or $79.88 per year when paying annually.
- LinkedIn Sales Insights: Get real-time stats on your sales team’s LinkedIn activity and impact. Pricing starts at $79.99 per month when paying monthly or $799.88 per year when paying annually.
- Other packages: LinkedIn offers bundled packages like Premium + Learning and Premium Business + Learning. Bundles provide a discount compared to purchasing the products individually.
Free LinkedIn features
While LinkedIn’s paid subscriptions unlock more advanced features, you can still get a lot of value from LinkedIn for free. Here are some of the key things LinkedIn offers for free users:
- Profile – Create a profile summarizing your background, skills, experience, education, accomplishments, and interests.
- Feed – Share written posts, articles, images, and videos to your connections.
- Groups – Join groups in your industry or with shared interests to connect with professionals worldwide.
- Job postings – Search millions of jobs and get notified of roles that match your experience and interests.
- Limited search – Search LinkedIn members limited to your 1st and 2nd degree connections.
- Advice and insights – Follow influencers and LinkedIn’s blog The Point for career tips and business insights.
Subscription comparison
Here is a table summarizing the key features included in LinkedIn’s main paid subscription options:
Feature | Premium | Premium Business | Sales Navigator | Recruiter |
---|---|---|---|---|
Profile views | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
InMail messages | ✅ | Unlimited | ✅ | Unlimited |
Premium search filters | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
Lead recommendations | ✅ | |||
Candidate insights | ✅ | |||
Learning courses | ✅ |
Conclusion
A LinkedIn subscription can be a valuable investment depending on your goals and how actively you use LinkedIn. Premium subscriptions offer additional search filters, insights, and communication capabilities to grow your network and advance your career or business.
Sales Navigator and Recruiter provide more specialized features for sales prospecting and recruiting. But even LinkedIn’s free account offers helpful tools to create a professional profile, build connections, access career opportunities, and stay informed.
When considering if a paid subscription is worthwhile, assess if the additional capabilities will help you significantly beyond the free features. The expanded network reach and communication flexibility of paid accounts provide the most value for very active LinkedIn users who want to maximize the platform.