LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that unlocks additional features beyond the free account. One of the most common questions around LinkedIn Premium is whether you can pay for it monthly rather than committing to an annual subscription. Here is a detailed look at the payment options for LinkedIn Premium and how you can pay monthly if desired.
LinkedIn Premium Overview
LinkedIn Premium comes in three different tiers – Basic, Plus, and Sales Navigator. Each tier builds on the features of the previous one and targets different types of LinkedIn users and their needs. Here is an overview of what’s included with each tier:
Tier | Key Features |
---|---|
Basic | See who viewed your profile, access advanced profile filters, expand network with introductions, get unlimited profile badge displays |
Plus | Includes all Basic features plus ability to message anyone, view full profiles, see more search results, advanced profile analytics |
Sales Navigator | Includes all Plus features plus lead and account tracking, saved lead lists, TeamLink collaboration, customized sales pipelines |
As you can see, each tier targets different needs – Basic for passive job seekers, Plus for active networkers, and Sales Navigator for sales professionals. The features and pricing adjust accordingly.
LinkedIn Premium Payment Options
When signing up for LinkedIn Premium, you have three main payment options:
- Annual subscription – billed once per year
- Monthly subscription – billed each month
- Pre-pay options – pay upfront for set amount of months
The annual subscription is the default option LinkedIn encourages, offering a small discount compared to paying month-to-month. However, paying monthly is available as an alternative if you do not want to commit to a full year upfront.
Annual Subscription
The annual subscription is the standard way most people pay for LinkedIn Premium. Here are the current annual prices:
Tier | Annual Price |
---|---|
Basic | $72 |
Plus | $168 |
Sales Navigator | $648 |
With the annual subscription, you pay a single lump sum upfront and your Premium access is valid for one full year. Most users choose this option for the cost savings vs. paying month-to-month.
Monthly Subscription
Paying monthly is also an option if you do not want to commit to an entire year of Premium access upfront. Here are the current monthly prices:
Tier | Monthly Price |
---|---|
Basic | $8 |
Plus | $19.99 |
Sales Navigator | $64.99 |
As you can see, the monthly price comes out to be slightly higher compared to paying annually. However, the flexibility of paying month-to-month may be worth it for some users who only need access temporarily.
Pre-Pay Options
In addition to annual or monthly payments, LinkedIn also offers some pre-paid options where you pay upfront for a set number of months. The two pre-pay options are:
- 3 months upfront
- 6 months upfront
This allows you to get a small discount compared to paying month-to-month, while still not committing to a full year upfront. The 3 month and 6 month pre-pay options are only available for Plus and Sales Navigator packages, not the Basic tier.
Can I Pay Monthly for LinkedIn Premium?
Based on the payment options above, the short answer is yes, you can pay monthly for LinkedIn Premium if you choose. While LinkedIn encourages the discounted annual subscription, paying month-to-month is available as an alternative.
The key advantages of paying monthly include:
- More flexibility – only pay for months you need access
- Lower upfront cost – useful if testing out Premium
- Easier to budget – smaller recurrent charges
The tradeoff is that you lose the roughly 14% discount for paying annually. Monthly prices are $8 for Basic, $19.99 for Plus, and $64.99 for Sales Navigator.
How to Sign Up for Monthly Billing
If you’ve decided to pay monthly for LinkedIn Premium, here are simple steps to signup with monthly billing:
- Go to the LinkedIn Premium signup page and choose your desired tier
- On the checkout page, look for the “Billing Frequency” section
- Select the “Monthly” option
- Enter your payment details and complete signup
Once complete, you will be billed monthly at the current monthly prices until you cancel. You can change to annual billing at any time via your account settings.
Pausing or Cancelling Your Monthly Subscription
A benefit of paying monthly for LinkedIn Premium is that you can more easily pause or cancel your access if needed. Here’s how:
Pausing
If you want to temporarily pause your monthly subscription, go to your account settings and use the “Pause membership” option. You can pause for up to 12 weeks at a time before your membership is cancelled.
Cancelling
To fully cancel and end your LinkedIn Premium subscription, return to your account settings and select “Cancel membership”. Your access will then end at the conclusion of your current billing cycle.
With the monthly subscription, you have much more flexibility to start and stop your Premium access compared to paying annually.
Downgrading your LinkedIn Premium Tier
In addition to pausing or cancelling, you can also easily downgrade between Premium tiers when paying monthly. For example, you can downgrade from Plus to Basic if you no longer need the expanded features.
To downgrade tiers, go to your account settings and select the “Change membership” option. Pick the new desired tier you want to switch to.
Your billing amount will adjust starting the next month to match the price of the new tier.
Conclusion
Paying monthly for LinkedIn Premium is completely viable if you prefer the flexibility of month-to-month billing compared to an annual commitment. While not heavily advertised, LinkedIn does accommodate monthly subscribers.
To signup for monthly billing, simply choose the “Monthly” frequency during the LinkedIn Premium checkout process. You can then cancel or pause your subscription at any time via your account settings.
The monthly prices in 2022 are $8 for Basic, $19.99 for Plus, and $64.99 for Sales Navigator. This comes out to around a 14% premium compared to paying annually. However, the flexibility of monthly billing may be worth it depending on your needs and budget preferences.
So in summary – yes, you can absolutely pay month-to-month for LinkedIn Premium. It provides flexibility that the annual subscription does not.
LinkedIn does hope to upsell people to annual billing, but they offer the monthly option for those who prefer it. Evaluate your own needs and go with the billing frequency that makes sense for your situation.
LinkedIn Premium provides valuable benefits like seeing who viewed your profile, messaging anyone, expanding your reach, and tracking leads and sales opportunities. Unlocking those features on a monthly basis can support your networking and career growth goals.
In today’s fast-changing job market, having the upgraded LinkedIn tools for a short-term period may be just what you need. The capability is there if you want it!