LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 530 million members worldwide. LinkedIn allows professionals to connect with each other, share content, find jobs, participate in industry groups, and more. LinkedIn essentials is a subscription plan offered by LinkedIn that unlocks several useful features for professionals looking to get the most out of the platform. With LinkedIn essentials, users can gain insights about who is viewing their profile, send unlimited InMails to contact any member without needing an existing connection, see expanded profiles of colleagues and new connections, and access exclusive newsletters full of tips and advice. But how much does a LinkedIn essentials subscription cost? Let’s take a closer look.
LinkedIn Essentials Monthly and Annual Pricing
LinkedIn offers two pricing options for LinkedIn essentials – a monthly subscription and an annual subscription. Here are the current prices as of October 2023:
Monthly Subscription
The LinkedIn essentials monthly subscription costs $29.99 per month. This gives you access to the full suite of essentials features for one month at a time. If you just need essentials for a short project or want to test it out before committing, the monthly plan may be a good choice.
Annual Subscription
The LinkedIn essentials annual subscription costs $359.88 per year. This breaks down to $29.99 per month, the same monthly price as the monthly plan. However, with the annual plan you commit upfront to using essentials for the full year. This option saves you about $60 overall compared to paying month-to-month. If you know you’ll use essentials consistently, the annual plan offers a small but decent savings.
So in summary, LinkedIn essentials costs $29.99 per month if you pay month-to-month, or $359.88 ($29.99 per month) if you pay for the full year upfront.
What Features Are Included in LinkedIn Essentials?
Now that we know how much LinkedIn essentials costs, what features do you get for the price? LinkedIn essentials includes these key benefits:
See Who’s Viewed Your Profile
One of the most popular essentials features is the ability to see who has viewed your profile recently. You’ll get insights into how many views your profile gets each week, as well as details on job titles and locations of viewers. This helps you understand who your profile is reaching.
Unlimited InMail Messages
With essentials you can send unlimited InMail messages to anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. InMail messages bypass the inbox and are perfect for directly contacting recruits or potential clients. Each message also shows if your message was read.
Profile Tagging
Essentials lets you add a tag like “Open to work” or “Hiring” to your profile to showcase your current status. People viewing your profile can then filter searches based on these tags.
Expanded Profile Views
See expanded profiles of up to 500 colleagues and new connections, letting you access their full work history, skills, endorsements, and more.
Exclusive Newsletters
Get tips and insights through essentials-only newsletters focused on being productive, building your network, finding a job, and more.
Premium Customer Support
Essentials subscribers get faster response times and VIP treatment from LinkedIn’s customer support team.
Who is LinkedIn Essentials Good For?
Now that you know what’s included with LinkedIn essentials, who should consider subscribing? Here are some of the top types of users who can benefit the most from essentials:
Job Seekers
LinkedIn essentials provides valuable insights during a job search. See who’s looked at your profile to identify recruiters and hiring managers, message contacts about openings, and add a “Open to work” profile tag to stand out in searches.
Sales or Business Development Professionals
The ability to send unlimited InMail messages makes essentials very useful for sales, recruitment, and business development roles. Cold message leads and prospects to generate new business.
Recruiters and Talent Acquisition
Source, connect with, and screen candidates more efficiently. Filter by profile tags to find qualified candidates and use expanded profiles and InMail to engage them.
Networking Focused Professionals
For those focused on expanding their network, essentials provides insights on who is viewing your profile and tools to grow connections.
Premium LinkedIn Users
Heavy LinkedIn users who want to unlock the most value from the platform appreciate the bundle of enhanced features offered by essentials.
What are the Payment Options for LinkedIn Essentials?
LinkedIn offers a few different payment options when signing up for essentials, including:
Credit Card
You can pay for either the monthly or annual essentials subscription with a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover credit card. Cards are charged monthly or annually based on your plan.
PayPal
Those with a PayPal account can pay for essentials through PayPal. This links to your PayPal wallet.
Invoice
For annual subscriptions, LinkedIn offers the ability to pay via invoice. This allows 30 days to pay your annual fee via check or bank transfer.
So in summary, credit card, PayPal, and invoice are your options for paying for LinkedIn essentials. Credit card or PayPal provide the most convenience if you don’t want to be invoiced annually.
Is There a Free Trial for LinkedIn Essentials?
Unfortunately, LinkedIn does not offer a free trial for LinkedIn essentials. Because you can subscribe and cancel month-to-month, the monthly plan provides flexibility to try it out for one month at $29.99. But there is no free trial option.
Many users recommend starting with the monthly plan if you want to get a feel for essentials before committing to a full year. While a free trial would be nice, the month-to-month payments provide a similar experience to test it out.
What is the Cancellation Policy for LinkedIn Essentials?
You can cancel your LinkedIn essentials subscription at any time. Here are the cancellation policies to be aware of:
Monthly Plans
For monthly subscriptions, you can cancel at any time from your account settings. Your access will continue until the end of the monthly billing period you already paid for.
Annual Plans
For annual plans, you can cancel at any time but will not receive a refund for the remainder of the year you already paid for. Access will continue through the end of the year.
So essentially, cancellation stops your subscription at the next natural break in billing cycles. You must pay for the full month or year you’re currently in. Automatic renewals can be disabled in account settings when you cancel.
Can I Save Money on LinkedIn Essentials?
While LinkedIn doesn’t offer special discounts or coupons for essentials, there are a few ways you may be able to save:
Annual vs. Monthly Payments
As mentioned earlier, paying annually saves you around $60 per year compared to monthly payments. If you know you’ll use it long-term, this is the cheapest approach.
Included with Some College Emails
Some colleges provide free or discounted access to LinkedIn premium and essentials subscriptions for students and alumni. Check with your college to see if they offer this benefit.
Bundle with LinkedIn Premium
You can purchase essentials bundled with LinkedIn Premium (their more robust paid tier). This may offer a small bundled discount.
Aside from locking in annual payments, those are the only ways to potentially save a bit on LinkedIn essentials. The monthly and annual prices are generally standard.
How Does LinkedIn Essentials Compare to Premium?
LinkedIn offers two paid subscription tiers – LinkedIn essentials and LinkedIn Premium. Premium offers a more robust set of features and analytics for a higher price. Here’s an overview of how the two compare:
LinkedIn Essentials Features
– See who’s viewed your profile
– Unlimited InMail messages
– Profile tags
– Expanded profile views
– Exclusive newsletters
– Premium support
LinkedIn Premium Additional Features
– Advanced profile analytics
– SKill assessments
– Ability to filter LinkedIn search
– Contact/lead management system
– Unlimited profile highlights
– Premium courses & videos
LinkedIn Essentials Pricing
– $29.99 per month month-to-month
– $359.88 per year paid annually
LinkedIn Premium Pricing
– $59.99 per month month-to-month
– $719.88 per year paid annually
So in summary, Premium offers more advanced features, analytics, and learning content for around double the price of essentials. Essentials provides great core benefits at a lower price point for more casual users.
Conclusion
LinkedIn essentials provides robust professional networking capabilities through features like seeing who’s viewed your profile, unlimited InMail messages, profile tags, and expanded connections. It costs $29.99 per month on a month-to-month basis, or $359.88 per year if paying annually. While there is no free trial, the month-to-month payments allow you to effectively “test drive” essentials. And you can cancel at any time, though you can’t get a refund for unused time you’ve already paid for. Overall, LinkedIn essentials delivers solid value for networking-focused professionals at a reasonable price point.