While LinkedIn offers a free basic account, they also provides premium subscriptions with additional features for a monthly or annual fee.
So can you pay for LinkedIn monthly? The short answer is yes, LinkedIn does offer monthly payment options for their paid subscriptions.
LinkedIn Premium Subscriptions
LinkedIn has three premium subscription options: Premium Career, Premium Business, and Sales Navigator. Each subscription unlocks additional features beyond the free account such as:
- Seeing who viewed your profile
- Messaging recruiters and hiring managers directly
- Viewing full profiles of people outside your network
- Seeing more job postings and applicant insights
- Advanced search filters and saved searches
- Profile branding and advertising opportunities
The Premium Career subscription focuses on job seeking and professional branding tools. Premium Business adds analytics, talent and educational insights, and recruitment tools. Sales Navigator provides sales-specific features for finding new leads and accounts.
LinkedIn Monthly Payment Options
LinkedIn offers the flexibility to pay for premium subscriptions either monthly or annually. Here are the current monthly costs for LinkedIn premium plans:
LinkedIn Subscription | Monthly Cost |
---|---|
Premium Career | $29.99 per month |
Premium Business | $59.99 per month |
Sales Navigator Professional | $64.99 per month |
Sales Navigator Team | $79.99 per user/month |
As you can see from the table, LinkedIn allows you to pay month-to-month for any of their premium subscriptions. The monthly price is slightly higher than the annual price per month, but gives you more flexibility.
How to Subscribe and Pay Monthly
If you want to upgrade to a premium LinkedIn subscription and pay monthly, here are the steps to follow:
- Go to your LinkedIn account settings and click “Try Premium for free.” You can also go directly to www.linkedin.com/premium.
- Choose your desired subscription plan – Premium Career, Premium Business, or Sales Navigator.
- You’ll be able to start a 1 month free trial. Enter your payment information but you won’t be charged until the trial ends.
- On the checkout page, choose the “Monthly” billing option. This bill every month instead of the full annual amount.
- Review your order for the monthly subscription fee.
- Complete checkout. Your credit card will start being charged monthly after the 1 month free trial.
- Cancel anytime from your account settings. You can switch back to the free account after cancelling.
Once you complete checkout, your LinkedIn account will be upgraded to premium access. You’ll retain all the premium features as long as your monthly subscriptions remain active. LinkedIn will charge your payment method on file on a monthly basis going forward.
Benefits of Paying Monthly
Here are some of the benefits that come with paying monthly for LinkedIn premium subscriptions:
- Lower upfront cost – Paying month-to-month only charges you for one month at a time instead of the full annual fee upfront.
- Flexibility – You can cancel or change subscriptions month-to-month if your needs change.
- Upgrade or downgrade – Switch between Premium Career, Premium Business, and Sales Navigator each month as needed.
- Pause premium – Temporarily pause a premium subscription for up to 12 weeks per year.
- Trial period – Test out premium with a 1 month free trial before paying.
- Sharing access – Some plans allow sharing premium access with team members while only the admin pays.
Paying monthly gives you more agility. You can upgrade from free to premium when you need it, whether that’s for a job search, business project or sales campaign. You can also cancel anytime if you no longer need premium features.
Downsides of Monthly Payments
While the flexibility of monthly payments has advantages, there are some potential downsides to consider as well:
- It costs more overall compared to annual billing.
- You need to remember to actively cancel to avoid being charged every month.
- Some collaboration features may be limited if colleagues have different billing cycles.
- You may forget to reactivate your subscription after pausing it temporarily.
- Premium reminders and notices may increase each time a monthly payment processes.
Depending on your situation, an annual subscription could save you money and effort compared to monthly billing. But you lose the ability to change plans or cancel as quickly. Evaluate your needs and budget to determine if a monthly or annual premium subscription makes more sense.
Can I Pay Monthly Without a Credit Card?
LinkedIn requires a valid credit or debit card to enroll in a paid premium subscription, even on monthly billing. This allows them to charge your card on a recurring basis each month.
However, there are a couple alternative options if you don’t have a credit card:
- Virtual debit card – Services like Privacy.com let you generate virtual card numbers to use in place of real cards online.
- Gift card – Redeem a LinkedIn gift card towards premium subscription costs each month.
- Prepaid card – Use a prepaid Visa or Mastercard that’s reloadable each month.
With a little creativity, you may be able to pay for LinkedIn premium monthly without a traditional credit card account. But you will still need to enter valid payment information for automatic billing.
Is It Worth Paying for LinkedIn Monthly?
Whether it’s “worth it” to pay monthly for LinkedIn premium depends on your personal or business goals. Here are some key benefits that may justify the cost for some users:
- Unlimited profile searches help identify hiring managers and find jobs.
- Messaging recruiters directly improves access to opportunities.
- Premium insights reveal competitor intelligence.
- Advertising and branding expand your reach.
- Sales Navigator facilitates warmer outreach and lead generation.
If you actively use LinkedIn for business, the premium features could lead to landing clients, closing deals, or getting hired faster. The monthly cost often pays for itself many times over. But more casual users may find the free account sufficient for their needs.
Conclusion
Paying for LinkedIn Premium on a monthly basis is a flexible and affordable option to access additional features. You can upgrade, downgrade, pause, or cancel your subscription month-to-month as your needs change. While the monthly price is higher than paying annually, it comes with lower upfront cost and commitment. For active LinkedIn users who want to maximize their results, the premium features often provide tremendous value that justifies the monthly expense.