InMail is LinkedIn’s internal messaging system that allows you to directly contact other members, even if you’re not connected. With InMail, you can send messages to people outside of your network. However, there are some limitations depending on your account type.
InMail Options for Regular LinkedIn Members
If you have a free LinkedIn account, you can receive InMail messages from other members but you cannot reply unless you upgrade to a premium account. Free account holders do not have access to sending InMails.
Here are the InMail options for regular LinkedIn members with free accounts:
- Can receive InMail messages
- Cannot reply to InMail messages
- Cannot send InMail messages
So if you want to reply to an InMail message received on your free account, you will need to upgrade to a premium LinkedIn account.
InMail Capabilities with Premium LinkedIn Accounts
With a LinkedIn premium account, you gain full access to InMail capabilities. This includes:
- Sending InMail messages
- Replying to received InMail messages
- Receiving InMail messages
Premium account holders can send up to 30 InMail messages per month. You can reply to any InMails you receive and those replies will not count against your allotted 30 InMails for that month.
So with a premium account, you can freely reply to any InMail messages you get as part of your subscription. Replying does not have any additional charge or use up your InMail credits.
Types of LinkedIn Premium Accounts
There are three types of premium accounts on LinkedIn that enable full InMail capabilities:
- Premium Career – $29.99/month
- Premium Business – $49.99/month
- Sales Navigator – $64.99/month
All three premium account types allow you to read, reply to, and send InMail messages. The higher-tier accounts like Premium Business and Sales Navigator include more InMail credits per month.
Account Type | Monthly Price | InMail Credits |
---|---|---|
Premium Career | $29.99 | 30 |
Premium Business | $49.99 | 50 |
Sales Navigator | $64.99 | 50 |
As you can see from the table, Premium Business and Sales Navigator offer 50 InMail credits per month, while Premium Career has 30. But again, replying to received InMail does not count against your monthly allotment.
How to Reply to InMail
Replying to InMail messages is easy with a LinkedIn premium account. Here are the steps:
- Open the InMail message from your LinkedIn inbox
- Click the “Reply” button to open up a new message window
- Type your reply message
- Click “Send” to deliver your reply back to the sender
It’s just like replying to any other email. LinkedIn will associate your reply with the original received InMail thread.
Replying with a Free Account
While you can’t reply to InMail with a free standard LinkedIn account, you do have a couple options to respond:
- Upgrade to a premium account to unlock full InMail capabilities
- Send a connection request to the InMail sender to open up regular messaging
- Provide your email address in your profile and ask the sender to contact you there
If you don’t want to upgrade to premium, sending a connection request is the best way to respond. This allows you to move the conversation over to regular LinkedIn messaging for free.
Is a Premium Account Worth It?
For most people, a free LinkedIn account is probably sufficient. But there are some benefits to upgrading to premium, especially for sales professionals and recruiters.
Here are some of the benefits of a premium LinkedIn account:
- Send unlimited InMail messages to build relationships
- See who’s viewed your profile for additional insights
- Take online courses to expand your skills
- Access more advanced analytics and reporting
- Display premium badge on your profile
Being able to send InMails alone can be tremendously valuable for making connections and attracting talent. The ability to reply to any InMails you receive is an added bonus.
Premium Pricing
LinkedIn Premium ranges from $30 – $65 per month depending on the plan. Here’s a breakdown of the pricing:
Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price |
---|---|---|
Premium Career | $29.99 | $359.88 (save 17%) |
Premium Business | $49.99 | $599.88 (save 17%) |
Sales Navigator | $64.99 | $779.88 (save 17%) |
Annual subscriptions offer nice discounts compared to paying month-to-month. So if you decide premium is worth it, annual plans provide the best value.
Free Trial
LinkedIn also offers one month free trials for all premium account types. This allows you to test out the benefits before committing.
Conclusion
To summarize, a LinkedIn premium account unlocks the ability to reply to InMail messages received in your inbox. Free users can only read InMails, but not respond directly.
Upgrading to premium allows unlimited InMail replies as well as the ability to send InMails. Depending on your usage and needs, a paid plan may be worth the monthly or annual investment.
But if you’re looking to reply to an InMail on a budget, requesting a connection is your best bet to move the conversation into the free messaging system.