LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that unlocks additional features beyond the free version, such as expanded search filters, InMail messaging, profile highlighting, and access to online courses. The premium plans are priced differently across countries and regions based on various economic factors. This article explores where in the world LinkedIn Premium is the most affordable.
What is LinkedIn Premium and what does it offer?
LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s subscription service that provides users with additional features and perks beyond the free version. There are three premium plans:
- Premium Career – focuses on job seeking features
- Premium Business – focuses on sales and business features
- Premium Hiring – focuses on recruiting and talent sourcing features
Some of the key benefits of LinkedIn Premium include:
- Unlimited profile views
- Ability to view full profiles of anyone, even outside your network
- Expanded search filters to target prospects and candidates
- InMail messages to contact anyone on LinkedIn
- Profile highlighting to stand out in search
- Access to LinkedIn Learning premium courses
Premium provides users with more insights, exposure, and connections on the platform to boost their career, sales, or hiring efforts.
Why does LinkedIn Premium pricing vary globally?
LinkedIn Premium is priced differently in each country for a few key reasons:
- Purchasing power parity – LinkedIn adjusts pricing based on the relative local purchasing power and costs of living in each country. Premium costs more in higher income regions.
- Competitive pricing – LinkedIn aims to price Premium competitively compared to other professional services in each country.
- Optimization for conversion – LinkedIn tests and optimizes pricing to maximize conversion rates in each geographic market.
- Taxes and fees – Regional taxes, foreign exchange fees, and payment processing charges impact final pricing per country.
As a global platform, calibrating Premium pricing to local markets allows LinkedIn to make the service accessible while still generating revenue aligned with local economic conditions.
Where is LinkedIn Premium the most affordable?
Analyzing LinkedIn Premium’s annual pricing in major markets around the world reveals the countries and regions where Premium is most affordable compared to average local wages. The following tables highlight the top 10 cheapest markets for each Premium tier:
Premium Career
Country | Premium Career Price (USD) | Average Yearly Wage (USD) | Premium as % of Wage |
---|---|---|---|
Ukraine | $62 | $3,817 | 1.6% |
Russia | $75 | $11,043 | 0.7% |
Malaysia | $120 | $12,126 | 1.0% |
Mexico | $132 | $9,698 | 1.4% |
Colombia | $156 | $7,756 | 2.0% |
South Africa | $168 | $8,140 | 2.1% |
Philippines | $180 | $4,953 | 3.6% |
India | $180 | $2,509 | 7.2% |
Indonesia | $192 | $4,790 | 4.0% |
Egypt | $216 | $3,570 | 6.1% |
LinkedIn Premium Career costs the smallest percentage of the average annual salary in Ukraine (1.6%), Russia (0.7%), and Malaysia (1.0%). It is most affordable compared to wages in lower income countries.
Premium Business
Country | Premium Business Price (USD) | Average Yearly Wage (USD) | Premium as % of Wage |
---|---|---|---|
Ukraine | $62 | $3,817 | 1.6% |
Russia | $75 | $11,043 | 0.7% |
Malaysia | $120 | $12,126 | 1.0% |
Mexico | $132 | $9,698 | 1.4% |
Colombia | $156 | $7,756 | 2.0% |
South Africa | $168 | $8,140 | 2.1% |
Philippines | $180 | $4,953 | 3.6% |
India | $180 | $2,509 | 7.2% |
Indonesia | $192 | $4,790 | 4.0% |
Egypt | $216 | $3,570 | 6.1% |
The top 10 cheapest countries for Premium Business align exactly with Premium Career. Again, it is most affordable in lower wage countries like Ukraine, Russia, Malaysia, and Mexico.
Premium Hiring
Country | Premium Hiring Price (USD) | Average Yearly Wage (USD) | Premium as % of Wage |
---|---|---|---|
Ukraine | $399 | $3,817 | 10.5% |
Russia | $480 | $11,043 | 4.4% |
Malaysia | $768 | $12,126 | 6.3% |
Mexico | $846 | $9,698 | 8.7% |
Colombia | $1,008 | $7,756 | 13.0% |
South Africa | $1,080 | $8,140 | 13.3% |
Philippines | $1,152 | $4,953 | 23.3% |
India | $1,152 | $2,509 | 45.9% |
Indonesia | $1,230 | $4,790 | 25.7% |
Egypt | $1,386 | $3,570 | 38.8% |
For Premium Hiring, Ukraine (10.5%), Russia (4.4%), and Malaysia (6.3%) remain the most affordable compared to average salaries. However, the premium tiers focused on recruitment make up a much larger percentage of yearly income versus Career and Business.
Key factors that influence LinkedIn Premium pricing
In addition to macroeconomic factors like wages and purchasing power, there are some other important elements that shape LinkedIn Premium’s variable global pricing:
User Demographics
LinkedIn can charge higher prices in countries where its users tend to be higher income professionals in lucrative fields like tech, finance, healthcare, etc. Premium costs more in markets with more users who can afford it.
Competitive Landscape
LinkedIn sets pricing based on competitive professional products and services in each country. It benchmarks against alternatives users might consider instead of Premium.
LinkedIn Penetration
In countries where LinkedIn has a high penetration rate among professionals, it has more pricing power for premium services since users rely heavily on its platform.
Business vs Consumer Focus
B2B-focused markets tend to tolerate higher Premium pricing than B2C, since it is purchased by companies rather than individuals.
Payment Costs
LinkedIn factors electronic payment fees and international transaction costs into its local pricing strategy.
Taxes
Countries with higher sales, value-added, or service taxes increase the final price that LinkedIn can charge for Premium while hitting its revenue targets.
Is LinkedIn Premium worth the cost?
Whether Premium is ‘worth’ the price depends heavily on individual subscriber needs and budgets. But in general:
- For active job seekers, Premium Career can provide enough marginal benefits to justify the cost, especially with key features like InMail, profile visibility, and unlocked recruiter views of your profile.
- For sales professionals, Premium Business enables targeting high-value prospects more efficiently vs. using the free tools.
- Premium Hiring has the most dubious value proposition except for high-volume corporate recruiting teams who can benefit at scale.
In lower income countries, Premium is more affordable and likely delivers higher return on investment for users compared to those same services in high income regions. Users in the cheapest Premium countries analyzed above are likely to extract the most surplus value from their subscriptions.
Limitations of this analysis
While this analysis identifies where LinkedIn Premium is cheapest globally, it has some limitations:
- Average salary data is not personalized. Individual subscriber salaries will vary.
- Affordability depends also on cost of living, not just wages.
- Currencies and prices change dynamically, so the figures will fluctuate.
- Taxes and payment fees affect real pricing but are hard to model.
- Benefits realization from Premium varies by user, industry, and goals.
As such, the cheapest Premium countries are identified based mainly on upfront pricing and macroeconomic data. The actual value derived will depend on each user’s unique situation.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Premium is globally priced to align with local economic conditions, making it most affordable in lower income countries like Ukraine, Russia, Malaysia, Mexico, and Colombia relative to average salaries.
Users in these regions pay the smallest percentage of their yearly earnings to access Premium features. However, absolute affordability isn’t the only factor, since Premium value also depends on user-specific needs, cost of living, competitive options, and potential return on investment.
Still, subscribing in the cheapest Premium countries analyzed here stack the odds in your favor of extracting strong surplus value compared to using the free version. LinkedIn calibrating pricing to local purchasing power makes the paid services generally more accessible in lower income markets.