LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides users with additional features beyond the free version of LinkedIn. Some of the key benefits of LinkedIn Premium include being able to see who has viewed your profile, advanced search filters, expanded InMail messages, professional learning courses, and more profile customization options.
With these extra capabilities, some users wonder if having a Premium account is visible to others on LinkedIn. Can other users tell if you have LinkedIn Premium or does it appear the same as a free account?
Visibility of Premium Badges and Icons
One of the most identifiable signs that someone has LinkedIn Premium is the presence of badges or icons by their name. There are two main indicators:
– Premium Subscriber Badge: Paying users have a gold badge by their name that says “Premium Subscriber.” This badge is displayed on your profile and with any content you post or share.
– Open Profile Icon: Premium accounts also display a gold open briefcase icon next to the Premium Subscriber badge. This icon signifies that the user has an open profile that provides more information than a free account.
The Premium Subscriber badge and Open Profile icon are displayed prominently next to a user’s name and photo across the LinkedIn platform. It’s quite easy to identify Premium subscribers simply by looking for these visual markers. They stand out clearly in search results, on profiles, with posted content, and elsewhere.
Differentiated Profile Customization
In addition to the badges and icons, there are other subtle ways to identify Premium users based on their LinkedIn profile customization options.
Some of the LinkedIn Premium profile features include:
– Background photos
– Additional modules like Certifications, Courses, Projects, and more
– Profile highlighting in search results
– Expanded contact options and custom URLs
– No ads
– Larger profile photo size
A LinkedIn profile that utilizes a background photo, has lots of content modules, highlights prominently in searches, and has a clean look without ads is a strong indicator of a Premium account.
The expanded profile customization capabilities allow Premium subscribers to create a differentiated profile that stands out from free users. An optimized, decked-out profile serves as a signal that someone likely has a paid Premium membership.
InMail Capabilities
LinkedIn Premium unlocks the ability for users to send InMail messages to any other member, even if they are not connected. Free LinkedIn accounts can only message direct connections.
If you receive an InMail message from someone you are not connected to, that is a clear sign they have a Premium subscription.
The enhanced InMail provided by Premium also allows for larger message sizes of up to 10,000 characters. A very lengthy or detailed first InMail introduction may point to Premium access.
However, it’s important to note that LinkedIn Sales Navigator accounts (aimed at sales professionals) also include InMail messages even though they aren’t full Premium accounts. So InMail capabilities alone do not definitively indicate Premium.
Who’s Viewed Your Profile
One of the most popular Premium features is the ability to see who has viewed your profile recently. Free accounts do not provide this visibility.
If someone mentions that they saw you looked at their profile or makes reference to the fact you viewed them, they likely have Premium access.
But this indicator isn’t foolproof either. Some users utilize external services or browser extensions to also track profile views even without Premium. So it’s not an absolute guarantee.
LinkedIn Learning Courses
Premium subscriptions provide unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning courses for professional development. Course progress and completions are displayed prominently on a user’s profile.
If you see a Premium member actively engaging with LinkedIn Learning, either by listing courses on their profile or sharing course completion achievements, it’s a confirm signal they are paying for Premium access.
Job Seeker Badges
Active job seekers on LinkedIn can showcase badges on their profile that signal they are open to new opportunities.
For free users, these job seeker badges are limited. But Premium members can display unlimited badges highlighting their interest and preferred roles.
A profile covered in diverse job seeker badges indicates the strength of Premium capabilities.
Publishing Articles
Publishing long-form posts and articles is included in LinkedIn Premium. That means the ability to write posts beyond just standard updates.
If you see a connection frequently publishing full articles on LinkedIn — not just status updates — it’s likely they have Premium access.
Free users are limited in terms of how many articles they can publish per month before being prompted to upgrade to Premium. Frequent publishers are almost certainly already Premium members.
Advanced Search Filters
Premium unlocks advanced filters for searching LinkedIn profiles and content. This includes prioritizing content by engagement, looking up member IDs, saving advanced searches, and more.
If someone references a very specific or customized search, that indicates they have Premium tools to create it. Sophisticated filtering options are not available on the free tier.
Ad-Free Experience
One of the other big perks of Premium is removing nearly all ads from the LinkedIn experience. Free users still see ads.
A lack of ads on someone’s profile or when looking at their feed is a clue that they likely have Premium. No ads = Premium access.
Of course, it’s impossible to definitively tell from just looking at their screen. But a user that mentions their ad-free experience is almost certainly on Premium.
Member Insights
Premium subscribers gain access to broader Member Insights about their connections and other LinkedIn members. This includes work history, education, connections in common, and more.
If someone references deeper insights into your work background or connections, it’s likely they have Premium access to that data.
Larger Profile Photo
Premium enables uploading a larger profile photo than free accounts. Premium supports images up to 8MB with minimum dimensions of 400×400 pixels.
A crisp, high-quality headshot that takes up more real estate on screen is generally a Premium user. Low-resolution, tiny profile pics are more common among free members.
Premium pricing plans
LinkedIn Premium is offered at different price points based on the plan:
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
|---|---|---|
| Premium Career | $29.99 | $239.88 (savings of $59.88 over monthly) |
| Premium Business | $44.99 | $359.88 (savings of $89.88 over monthly) |
| Premium Sales | $64.99 | $519.88 (savings of $129.88 over monthly) |
| Premium Hiring | $99.95 | $799.88 (savings of $199.88 over monthly) |
The Premium Career plan is the basic paid version that most individual subscribers opt for. Premium Business unlocks additional company branding and employee engagement capabilities. Premium Sales provides insights for prospecting. And Premium Hiring has sourcing tools for recruiters.
In general, the starting price of Premium is $29.99 per month if paying monthly. But the price drops to $19.99 per month if you purchase an annual subscription upfront.
The various plan options and discounts for annual commitments give users flexibility based on their needs. But all the plans provide the core benefits of Premium like profile badges, unlimited searching, expanded connections, ad-free browsing, and more.
Is the Premium pricing worth it?
Whether LinkedIn Premium is worth the price depends on the individual use case.
For job seekers, Premium can provide valuable visibility and exposure to recruiters. The Open Profile badges and advanced searching help users stand out in the highly competitive job market.
For sales professionals and recruiters, Premium unlocks targeting and messaging capabilities to more easily connect with prospects and candidates.
More casual users may be fine sticking with the free version of LinkedIn. But for anyone using LinkedIn as a critical business, branding, or job search tool, the premium features are highly beneficial and worth the monthly or annual fee.
Some of the key benefits users receive from Premium include:
– Increased profile visibility
– Unlocking additional content modules
– Removing ads for clean user experience
– Advanced customized searching
– Unlimited InMail messages
– Seeing who viewed your profile
– Access to unlimited LinkedIn Learning courses
Depending on your profession and how integral LinkedIn is to your success, the Premium capabilities can provide tremendous value for the money.
Can you hide your Premium status?
Some Premium subscribers wonder if it’s possible to hide or remove the Premium badges from their profile and posts so their paid status is not as easily visible.
Unfortunately, there is no setting to disable Premium badges or icons. These visual markers are automatically displayed and can’t be hidden or removed.
The main Premium badge and Open Profile icon will remain next to your name and photo no matter what.
The benefits of increased exposure and visibility that come with Premium badges usually outweigh any concerns over publicly displaying your Premium status.
Rather than trying to hide Premium, it’s better to embrace it as mark of your professional brand and commitment to advancing your career through LinkedIn’s tools.
Conclusion
While Premium doesn’t grant users any overpowered abilities, the visual cues like badges and expanded profiles clearly signal to others that you have invested in a paid LinkedIn product.
For most professionals, that’s a positive association and something to highlight rather than downplay. Prominently displaying your Premium subscriber status can only help you stand out from the crowd in competitive jobs markets and industries.
So if you are wondering if anyone can tell that you’ve upgraded — the answer is yes, Premium subscribers have clear indicators. But that enhanced visibility is something to take advantage of rather than obscure. Premium opens doors to new connections and opportunities.
