Yes, there is a limit on the number of messages you can send per month on LinkedIn. The free Messaging allowance is limited to 30 messages per month for basic members. If you are a Premium subscriber, the messaging allowance goes up to 150 messages per month.
Messaging limits for basic LinkedIn members
If you have a free basic account on LinkedIn, your messaging abilities are limited to only 30 messages per month. This means you can send up to 30 messages to other members via the LinkedIn messaging platform per calendar month.
The 30 message per month limit applies specifically to messages sent using LinkedIn’s own messaging platform. It does not include InMail messages, which are treated separately.
With the basic 30 message per month allowance, you can send messages to any of your 1st degree connections on LinkedIn without needing an introduction. You cannot message 2nd or 3rd degree connections unless you pay to get introduced via InMail.
If you try to send more than 30 messages in a month as a basic member, you will get an error notification telling you that you have reached your monthly messaging limit. At that point, you will not be able to send any more messages until the next month.
Increasing messaging limits with a Premium subscription
To increase your LinkedIn messaging allowance beyond 30 messages per month, you need to upgrade to a Premium account. LinkedIn Premium subscriptions unlock more messaging capabilities.
With a Premium Career subscription, your messaging limit goes up to 150 messages per month. The Premium Career tier costs $29.99 per month.
With a Premium Business subscription, you get 250 messages per month. This tier costs $64.99 per month.
Finally, Premium Sales Navigator has a messaging allowance of 500 messages per month. It costs $79.99 per month.
Therefore, if you frequently need to message lots of connections, upgrading to a Premium plan can be worthwhile. The higher tiers remove the 30 message per month barrier.
Does the limit apply to group messages?
Yes, group messages also count toward your overall monthly limit. For example, if you send a single message to 10 people, it will use up 10 of your 30 allotted messages.
This applies no matter whether the group message is sent to connections, group members or colleagues from your company who you are not directly connected to.
Therefore, you need to be strategic about group messaging if you are on a basic account. Sending large group messages can eat into your limit very quickly.
Does the limit apply to received messages?
No, the messaging limit only applies to sent messages. You can receive as many messages as people want to send you without hitting a limit.
Replying to received messages also does not count toward your monthly allowance. You can reply to messages freely without each reply eating into your limit.
The only thing that counts toward the limit is when you are the sender initiating a new message to another member. Replies and received messages are unlimited.
Messaging etiquette to avoid limitations
Here are some tips to make the most of your limited monthly messaging allowance if you are on a basic LinkedIn account:
- Avoid sending unsolicited messages to people you do not know. Focus on only messaging connections who know you.
- Personalize each message instead of blasting generic messages.
- Only message people when you have a specific purpose, don’t message just to say hi.
- Reply promptly if you receive messages, since replies don’t count toward your limit.
- Limit group messages to key topics relevant to the whole group.
- Track how many messages you have remaining each month.
- Upgrade to Premium if you consistently hit the 30 message limit.
Seeing your messages sent and remaining
You can check how many messages you have sent already within the current calendar month, and how many remain available before you hit the limit.
On LinkedIn’s desktop site, hover over Messaging in the top menu bar. It will show a count of messages sent and remaining. For example “26 messages sent | 4 remaining”.
On LinkedIn’s mobile app, tap into any messaging conversation, then tap your profile icon at the top. The messages sent and remaining for the month will display here.
Keeping an eye on this counter can help prevent accidentally going over the limit.
What happens when you reach the limit?
If you try to send a message after reaching your monthly limit, you will get an on-screen notification that you’ve reached the cap. The message will not be able to send.
The notification will tell you to wait until the next month when your message allowance resets. It may also prompt you to upgrade to Premium.
While you can still receive and reply to messages freely, you will not be able to initiate any new messages until the 1st day of the next calendar month.
Does the limit reset monthly or annually?
The LinkedIn messaging limit resets every calendar month, not annually. For example, if you use up all 30 messages in April, your allowance will reset back to 30 again on May 1st.
Therefore, the limit applies on a rolling 30 day basis rather than a yearly basis. Take care not to go over the cap just before the end of the month.
Can you buy extra messages?
There is no way to directly buy extra messages beyond the monthly limit within the basic LinkedIn plan. The only official way to get more messages is upgrading to Premium.
Some third-party browser extensions claim to allow basic users to send unlimited messages. However, LinkedIn’s terms of service prohibit using automated messaging tools.
To permanently increase your messaging allowance, a Premium paid subscription is the only officially endorsed option.
Other LinkedIn messaging limits
Beyond the overall monthly message cap, LinkedIn does enforce some other limitations:
- You can only message up to 500 unique people per month. This prevents overly spammy behavior.
- You can only start conversations with your 1st degree connections. Need an introduction via InMail for 2nd and 3rd degrees.
- You can only send 30 connection requests per day via messaging.
- Your messages may be throttled if sending too frequently. Recommended max is 20 per hour.
Following LinkedIn’s messaging best practices can help avoid hitting any of these barriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does LinkedIn notify you when you are nearing the limit?
LinkedIn does not proactively notify you as you approach the 30 message per month threshold. You need to manually monitor your messages sent/remaining from the app or site.
Can I message on LinkedIn without a limit?
The only way to message without a monthly limit is upgrading to a Premium account. Free basic members are capped at 30. There is no setting to enable unlimited messaging on a free account.
What happens if I go over the limit?
You will get an error message if trying to send a message after passing the 30 monthly limit. No messages will actually be sent until the limit resets the following month.