The number of LinkedIn messages you can send per week depends on your account status. Basic LinkedIn members are limited to 300 messages per week, while premium members can send up to 15,000 messages weekly.
Messaging limits for basic LinkedIn members
If you have a free basic LinkedIn account, you are allowed to send up to 300 messages per week. This includes InMail messages as well as regular messages sent through LinkedIn. InMail credits allow you to directly message any LinkedIn member, even if they are not in your network. You get 5 InMail credits per month as a basic member.
The 300 weekly message limit is quite restrictive for those looking to use LinkedIn for lead generation and sales prospecting. Having to individually send messages to connect with prospects can be very time consuming. Many users hit the limit quickly when trying to reach out to a large number of potential customers or leads.
Messaging with a LinkedIn Premium account
To remove limits on messaging, you need to upgrade to one of LinkedIn’s paid Premium accounts. The higher-tier Premium accounts offer the ability to send significantly more messages per week:
- Premium Career – 1,500 messages per week
- Premium Business – 5,000 messages per week
- Premium Sales – 15,000 messages per week
With Premium Sales, you can send over 2,000 messages per day without hitting LinkedIn’s limits. This makes it feasible to reach out to a large contact list for sales prospecting.
Premium accounts also come with more InMail credits. You get 25 InMail credits per month with Premium Career, 50 with Premium Business, and 125 with Premium Sales.
Tips for avoiding LinkedIn messaging limits
Here are some tips to avoid hitting LinkedIn’s messaging caps:
- Upgrade to a Premium account if you need to message frequently for outreach.
- Use automation tools like Dux-Soup or Mixmax to queue and schedule messages.
- Personalize messages instead of blasting generic spam.
- Only message prospects likely to be interested in your offerings.
- Focus on quality over quantity – build genuine connections.
- Use InMail selectively for key prospects rather than everyone.
- Follow up messages with emails or phone calls.
- Leverage groups and content sharing to indirectly connect.
How LinkedIn counts messages
It’s important to understand exactly how LinkedIn calculates your messages for the weekly limits:
- Each direct message sent via LinkedIn counts as 1 message.
- InMail use counts the same as regular LinkedIn messages.
- Messages sent to group members count toward your weekly limits.
- Automated messages through tools like Dux-Soup or Mixmax count too.
- Messages rejected due to recipient limits still count for your account.
- Messages over your limit get queued and count the next week.
Essentially, any message or InMail sent via your LinkedIn account counts toward your weekly allotment. If you go over the limit, any additional messages get held in a queue and count against the next week’s limits after reset.
Troubleshooting LinkedIn messaging limits
If you suddenly find yourself unable to send LinkedIn messages, you’ve likely hit one of their limits. Here is how to troubleshoot and reset your messaging capabilities:
- Check your account status – upgrade to Premium if on basic.
- Review your sent messages and InMail usage for the week.
- Wait for your weekly allotment to reset on Sunday.
- Use automation tools to queue and schedule messages.
- Spread out your messaging over days/weeks rather than all at once.
- Focus on quality conversations instead of spamming quantity.
- Consider focusing on groups and content sharing instead.
With a Premium account and smart messaging strategy, you can avoid hitting LinkedIn’s caps. Be personal, follow up outside LinkedIn, post content to share your expertise, and focus on building connections rather than blasting every prospect.
Limits on LinkedIn messages received
LinkedIn does not only limit the messages you can send – members are also restricted in how many messages they can receive. This can further hamper messaging efforts, as your messages may not even reach recipients if they have hit their limit.
Here are the LinkedIn incoming message limits per account type:
- Basic – 20 messages per day
- Premium Career – 30 messages per day
- Premium Business – 50 messages per day
- Premium Sales – 100 messages per day
When prospects hit their daily message cap, any additional messages will be discarded. You won’t receive any notification that your message was blocked. There is no way to tell if the people you are messaging have hit their limit.
To avoid having your messages blocked by recipient limits:
- Personalize messages to spark engagement and responses.
- Target prospects more likely to respond at lower volumes.
- Follow up over email or phone to continue the conversation.
- Try connecting in LinkedIn Groups instead of direct messages.
- Build relationships and share content before pitching services.
While you may be able to send thousands of messages per week, that does not mean your prospects can receive them. Keep recipient limits in mind when messaging on LinkedIn.
Why LinkedIn limits messaging
LinkedIn implements messaging caps to prevent spamming and abuse on their platform. Without limits, many users and businesses would blast spam at mass scale, ruining the experience for members.
Limiting messages helps LinkedIn:
- Maintain quality conversations
- Incentivize business and premium accounts
- Prevent spam and unsolicited pitches
- Control abuse from automation tools
- Manage server loads and infrastructure
- Uphold their brand reputation
While strict caps may frustrate legitimate business users, the restrictions protect normal members from getting overwhelmed. This helps sustain LinkedIn’s value in facilitating professional networking and conversations.
Ethical messaging practices
When messaging prospects on LinkedIn, be sure to follow ethical practices, regardless of account limits. Avoid spamming by:
- Personalizing each message
- Only messaging relevant prospects
- Providing value upfront before pitching
- Being transparent and telling the truth
- Giving recipients opt-out options
- Honoring opt-out requests promptly
- Following applicable laws and regulations
Unethical or illegal messaging can damage your brand and get your LinkedIn account restricted. Always respect recipients and build relationships, not just blast promotional messages.
Conclusion
Basic LinkedIn members can only send 300 messages weekly. For larger volume outreach, Premium accounts allow 1,500 to 15,000 messages per week depending on tier. Understand your limits and watch for queueing or rejections when messaging. Follow up outside of LinkedIn, focus on relevance over quantity, and always be ethical.