Is LinkedIn Premium worth it? That’s the question many professionals ask when considering an upgrade from the free version.
This guide breaks down what you actually get with a Premium subscription and whether these features might benefit your career or business goals.
What is LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn Premium is a paid subscription service that adds extra features to your LinkedIn account. It comes in different tiers designed for job seekers, sales professionals, recruiters, and business leaders.
Premium subscriptions unlock more information about who views your profile, provide deeper insights into companies, and offer learning tools to help develop your skills.
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What does a premium LinkedIn account get you?
LinkedIn Premium provides several features that aren’t available with the free version. Here’s what you can expect:
- InMail credits to message people outside your network
- Complete list of who viewed your profile
- Salary insights for job listings
- Advanced search filters
- Learning courses through LinkedIn Learning
- Enhanced profile visibility when applying for jobs
- Company insights and competitive intelligence
What are the main benefits of LinkedIn Premium?
The most valuable LinkedIn Premium benefits are the ones that directly expand your networking potential and career opportunities.
InMail credits are arguably the most powerful feature, letting you bypass connection requirements to reach decision-makers directly.
Profile analytics provide real intelligence on who’s interested in your profile, giving you follow-up opportunities you’d otherwise miss.
The advanced search filters help you find exactly the right people to connect with, saving hours of scrolling through irrelevant profiles.
What’s the difference between LinkedIn Free and Premium?
Free LinkedIn gives you basic networking with limited search and messaging capabilities.
Premium expands these features with additional InMail credits, detailed profile analytics, salary information, and priority placement in job applications.
The main differences involve search capabilities, networking reach, and the depth of information you can access.
How much does LinkedIn Premium cost?
LinkedIn Premium costs between $29.99 to $159.99 per month, depending on which plan you choose.
Career Premium starts at $29.99, Sales Navigator at $79.99, Recruiter Lite at $119.99, and Business Premium at $59.99 per month.
You can save about 20% by paying annually instead of monthly, bringing the cost down significantly if you’re planning long-term use.
Overview of LinkedIn plans
LinkedIn offers four main Premium plans tailored to different professional needs. Career helps job seekers with application insights and skill development.
Sales Navigator focuses on lead generation and sales intelligence. Recruiter Lite gives hiring managers tools to find and contact candidates.
Business Premium combines elements of Career and Sales plans for business owners and leaders who need both networking and hiring capabilities.
- Free LinkedIn Account: Lets you create a profile, connect with others, and search for jobs.
- LinkedIn Premium Career: Made for job seekers. You can see who viewed your profile, get help writing your profile, and access LinkedIn Learning and career advice.
- LinkedIn Premium Business: Great for professionals and businesses. It helps you grow your network, see business insights, and manage your company’s presence.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Built for salespeople. It offers advanced search tools, lead tracking, and sales insights.
- LinkedIn Recruiter: Designed for recruiters. It helps you find, contact, and manage potential job candidates.
- LinkedIn Learning: Gives access to thousands of courses to build and improve your skills.
Is it worth to pay for LinkedIn Premium?
It depends: LinkedIn Premium is worth it if you’re actively job hunting, building a client base, or recruiting talent.
The value comes from how you use the additional features—if you regularly need to contact people outside your network, research companies, or want to stand out in job applications, the investment makes sense.
For casual users who check LinkedIn occasionally, the free version is likely sufficient for your needs.
Related article: 22 Signs You Will Get the Job After an Interview (Backed by Hiring Managers)
What are the cons of LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn Premium isn’t without its drawbacks. Here are the main concerns to consider:
- Monthly cost adds up over time, especially for individual users
- Many features remain unused by typical subscribers
- Premium badge may appear sales-focused to some connections
- InMail messages often have lower response rates than expected
- Job application insights don’t guarantee interviews
- Learning content overlaps with other platforms you might already use
- Free alternatives exist for many of the premium features
I tried LinkedIn Premium as a digital marketer—here’s what I think
As a digital marketer, I found LinkedIn Premium particularly valuable during active job searches and when focusing on network building.
Seeing which hiring managers viewed my profile gave me confidence to follow up with targeted messages, often leading to conversations that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
For our business page, the premium features noticeably improved lead generation by allowing us to directly invite relevant contacts to follow our page.
The increased visibility in search results and job applications definitely justified the cost during periods of career transition or business development.
Bottom line: Is LinkedIn Premium worth it?
Yes, LinkedIn Premium is worth it if you’ll actively use its features for specific career or business goals.
The value equation is simple: if you’re job hunting, recruiting, selling, or serious about expanding your professional network, the premium features will save you time and create opportunities that easily justify the cost.
If you’re between active career moves or business pushes, feel free to cancel and resubscribe when you need it again—LinkedIn makes this surprisingly easy to do without losing your profile data.
Related article: Should You Be Attending Networking Events? The Importance of Connections
Who should get LinkedIn Premium
- Active job seekers: Premium puts your application at the top of recruiters’ lists and lets you compare your qualifications to other applicants. The ability to message hiring managers directly with InMail can be the difference between getting noticed and getting overlooked.
- Recruiters and HR professionals: The advanced search filters and expanded profile views help you find qualified candidates faster. InMail credits make it easy to reach out to passive candidates who aren’t actively applying.
- Sales professionals and business developers: Sales Navigator helps identify decision-makers and provides intelligence on potential clients. The ability to see everyone who viewed your profile creates natural follow-up opportunities.
- Entrepreneurs building their network: Premium makes it easier to find investors, partners, and early customers. The added visibility helps establish credibility when you’re building a new business.
- Career changers researching new industries: Access to LinkedIn Learning courses and salary insights helps you understand what skills you need and what compensation to expect in a new field.
Who can probably skip on LinkedIn Premium
- Established professionals not job hunting: If you’re happy in your current role and not actively networking, most Premium features will go unused. The free version covers basic profile maintenance and occasional connections.
- Students early in their education: Until you’re within a year of graduation, the job-seeking features won’t provide much value. Focus on building your profile and connections using the free version for now.
- Casual LinkedIn users: If you check LinkedIn less than once a week or have it primarily to stay visible rather than actively use it, you won’t get enough value from Premium to justify the cost.
- Early-career professionals with limited budgets: The monthly fee represents a bigger percentage of your income, and many early roles don’t require the networking reach that Premium provides.
- Business owners with established client bases: If most of your business comes from existing relationships or other marketing channels, the lead generation aspects of Premium might not be necessary.
- Employees of companies with corporate LinkedIn accounts: Many organizations provide Sales Navigator or Recruiter accounts to relevant team members, making individual subscriptions redundant.
FAQ
Is there a free trial for LinkedIn Premium?
Yes, LinkedIn Premium offers a free trial for new subscribers. The trial typically lasts for one month, giving you full access to all the features of whichever Premium plan you select.
LinkedIn requires payment information to activate the trial, so remember to set a calendar reminder before it automatically converts to a paid subscription.
You can only claim one free trial per account, so make sure to use it when you’ll have time to fully explore the features.
Can you cancel LinkedIn Premium anytime?
Yes, you can cancel LinkedIn Premium at any time without any cancellation fees.
After canceling, you’ll still have access to Premium features until the end of your current billing cycle.
The cancellation process is straightforward—just go to your account settings, find subscription management, and follow the prompts to cancel.
LinkedIn doesn’t make you call anyone or jump through hoops to cancel, which is refreshingly simple compared to many subscription services.
Do you really get hired faster with LinkedIn Premium?
The evidence on getting hired faster with LinkedIn Premium is mixed and depends on how you use it.
Premium places your job applications higher in recruiters’ queues and provides insights about how you compare to other applicants, which can help you focus on roles where you’re competitive.
However, Premium doesn’t magically overcome qualification gaps or guarantee interviews.
Many users report that the most valuable hiring advantage comes from using InMail to directly contact hiring managers rather than relying on the application system alone.
Does LinkedIn Premium help with networking?
Yes, LinkedIn Premium significantly enhances your networking capabilities.
The ability to send InMail messages to people outside your network removes the biggest barrier to making new connections.
Seeing exactly who viewed your profile creates natural conversation starters and follow-up opportunities.
Advanced search filters help you find precisely the right people to connect with, whether they’re potential clients, employers, or collaborators—making your networking efforts more efficient and targeted.
Can LinkedIn Premium boost your profile visibility?
Yes, LinkedIn Premium does boost your profile visibility in several measurable ways.
Your profile appears larger in search results with a Premium badge, and you get featured applicant status when applying for jobs.
Premium members also appear in more search results because they have access to expanded profile options and keywords.
The analytics tools show you exactly how your visibility is changing over time, letting you adjust your profile to improve performance based on actual data rather than guesses.
