LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides users with additional features and benefits beyond the free basic account. The premium plans range in price from $29.99 per month for the lowest tier to $79.99 per month for the highest tier, with discounts available for annual subscriptions. But with the high monthly and yearly costs, an important question to ask is – is LinkedIn Premium really worth the investment?
In this comprehensive guide, we will analyze the key features and benefits of LinkedIn Premium, look at the different pricing tiers, and evaluate whether the paid plans are worth the money for different types of professionals and use cases.
Key Features and Benefits of LinkedIn Premium
LinkedIn Premium provides users with a number of additional features and benefits not available with the free account. Here are some of the key advantages:
Enhanced profile and visibility
Premium accounts get increased profile views and appearance in search results. Your profile will be displayed more prominently in search results and when people view your connections’ profiles. This can help you expand your reach and get found more easily.
Unlimited profile views
With a free account, you can only view limited profiles per month before being prompted to upgrade. Premium allows unlimited profile views so you can conduct extensive research and prospecting.
Advanced search filters
Premium unlocks advanced search filters that let you target your searches by company, job title, location, school, and other criteria. This enables more precise searches for sales leads or job candidates.
InMail messages
Premium includes a number of InMail messages per month that let you directly contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. This facilitates outreach for sales, recruiting, and partnerships.
Who’s viewed your profile
See a list of who has viewed your profile recently so you can better understand your audience and impact. This insight informs networking and helps convert profile views into connections.
Trending content and topics
Premium surfaces trending content, hashtags, and topics happening now on LinkedIn so you can produce relevant content and join timely conversations. This provides an edge for social media marketing.
Learning courses and professional development
Premium includes unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning courses to supplement your skills with specialized training. Some plans also offer coaching sessions and personalized course recommendations.
LinkedIn Premium Plans and Pricing
LinkedIn offers a few different premium plans at varying price points. The features and capabilities increase with the higher-priced tiers.
LinkedIn Premium Career – $29.99/month
The Premium Career plan is LinkedIn’s basic paid tier. Key features include:
- Profile visibility boost with prioritized appearances in search
- Unlimited profile views of other members
- Advanced profile search filters
- 5 InMail messages per month for direct outreach
- See who’s viewed your profile in last 90 days
LinkedIn Premium Business – $44.99/month
This plan builds on the Career offering and adds:
- 25 InMail messages per month instead of just 5
- Trending content and hashtags
- Talent scout suggestions for recruiting
- Analytics on content performance
LinkedIn Premium Sales – $64.99/month
Geared specifically for sales professionals, this tier includes:
- Unlimited InMail messages
- Contact statistics for InMail messages
- Expanded network notifications
- Lead recommendations
LinkedIn Premium Hiring – $99.95/month
For recruiters and HR professionals, top features of this plan include:
- Unlimited InMails
- 6 months of Profile Analytics
- Pipeline management
- Team member administration
- Unlimited candidate insights
Most plans offer discounted annual subscriptions. For example, Premium Business drops from $44.99 per month to $539.88 if paying for the full year up front. Volume discounts are also available if purchasing multiple user licenses.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It for Individual Users?
For individual professionals, the value you get from LinkedIn Premium will depend on your specific goals and how you use LinkedIn.
Here are some scenarios where Premium is likely worth the investment:
You are job searching
The expanded search capabilities, profile visibility, and insight on who’s viewed you can significantly bolster your job search. Premium facilitates connecting with more recruiters and hiring managers.
You are looking to advance your career
Premium helps you build a stronger personal brand and network. Viewing Full Profiles provides insight on peers at target companies, while trending content helps you seize professional development opportunities.
You regularly prospect clients or business connections
The InMail messages and advanced search filters empower targeted outreach at scale to grow your business network.
You want to establish thought leadership
Premium provides data on the top performing content formats and topics. This allows you to create more engaging posts that reach and resonate with your target audience.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It for Companies and Teams?
For companies, LinkedIn Premium can offer even stronger ROI, especially for sales, recruiting, marketing, and leadership functions.
Here are key use cases where Premium is likely to deliver value:
Lead generation and sales prospecting
Premium Sales unlocks powerful tools for identifying and connecting with buyers. From robust search to unlimited InMails, it enhances sales prospecting.
Recruiting and talent sourcing
Premium Hiring provides access to candidate insights while InMail connects with passive prospects. This accelerates building a talent pipeline.
Corporate branding and thought leadership
With content analytics and trending topics, companies can craft compelling content that spreads brand awareness and establishes industry authority.
Market and competitive research
Premium empowers researching target accounts, competitor moves, industry trends, and partnership opportunities more efficiently.
Customer and employee engagement
Premium provides data to refine content targeting and personalize interactions with both customers and employees.
Should You Buy an Annual LinkedIn Premium Subscription?
Annual subscriptions unlock significant cost savings compared to monthly plans. For Premium Business, the annual price is $539.88 versus $44.99 per month, over 40% in savings.
For professionals and teams who regularly use LinkedIn Premium features, an annual plan often makes financial sense. You also don’t need to worry about renewing each month.
However, a monthly subscription offers more flexibility if you only need Premium temporarily for a specific initiative or short-term goal. The monthly fee also allows testing whether Premium delivers enough value before committing to an entire year.
Here are some best practices around Premium subscriptions:
- Evaluate how extensively you use Premium features now in deciding monthly vs. annual.
- For annual plans, review needs before renewal to confirm still worth the spend.
- Consider if volume discounts for multiple seats make an annual plan more cost-effective.
- Don’t overpay month-to-month if know you’ll use Premium long-term.
Should You Choose Premium Business or Premium Career?
For professionals, a key decision is whether the mid-tier Premium Business plan offers enough extra value over entry-level Premium Career.
Here’s an overview of the core differences:
| Feature | Premium Career | Premium Business |
|---|---|---|
| InMail Messages per Month | 5 | 25 |
| Who’s Viewed Your Profile | Last 90 days | Last 90 days |
| Trending Content & Hashtags | ✖ | ✔ |
| Content Analytics | ✖ | ✔ |
The extra InMails and content analytics unlock significantly more prospecting and thought leadership capabilities.
However, if you only occasionally need InMails or don’t publish much content, Premium Career likely offers sufficient value. The20 InMail difference may not justify double the monthly price.
Evaluate your specific networking and content goals to decide if Premium Business is worth the step up. The expanded features make sense for power LinkedIn users but likely overkill for more casual needs.
Should You Pay for LinkedIn Premium or Focus on Using LinkedIn for Free?
One of the most important calculations is whether investing in LinkedIn Premium provides more value than rigorously optimizing use of free tools.
LinkedIn’s extensive capabilities and large audience create major opportunities even without paid upgrades. Here are a few best practices for succeeding with free LinkedIn:
- Craft a compelling, keyword-rich profile that signals expertise.
- Proactively network by inviting connections, joining groups, and messaging contacts.
- Build authority by regularly publishing engaging content.
- Participate actively in discussions and expand visibility.
- Export data to Excel for segmentation and targeting.
- Use saved searches and alerts to identify prospects.
With the right strategy, you can drive powerful results without Premium. But if needing to search extensively, message prospects at scale, or gain deeper audience insight, the paid tools can accelerate success.
Evaluate whether your goals require Premium capabilities or if strong free usage could suffice. In many cases, investing effort in improving LinkedIn skills and practices delivers substantial gains without upgrade costs.
Conclusion
In evaluating the worth of investing in LinkedIn Premium, consider your specific objectives and current LinkedIn usage. Premium provides the greatest value when you need expanded capabilities like InMails, analytics, and advanced searches to achieve networking, prospecting, recruiting, or thought leadership goals.
For professionals, Premium Career or Premium Business typically offer the ideal set of features for individual needs at reasonable price points, while sales leaders can benefit from the Premium Sales specialized tools. Companies with recruiting, corporate branding, or lead gen priorities can gain major upside from Premium Business or Premium Hiring plans.
While Premium unlocks powerful functionality, focused effort on optimizing free tools can also drive results. Weigh the trade-offs in productivity and outcomes between paid and free plans. For frequent LinkedIn users with clear objectives, Premium provides compelling benefits that likely justify the subscription fees. But more casual users often find continuing to build their strategy around free features delivers sufficient value without the expense.