LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. The platform allows users to create professional profiles, connect with other professionals, join groups, follow companies, apply for jobs, publish articles, and more.
While a lot can be done with a LinkedIn account, free accounts do have some limitations compared to premium paid accounts. Understanding these limitations can help you decide if upgrading to a paid account is worthwhile for your needs.
Limited profile views
One of the biggest limitations of a LinkedIn free account is the number of profile views you can see per month. With a free account, you can only see the last 5 profile views. This makes it hard to track who has been looking at your profile over time.
Premium accounts let you see all profile views from the last 90 days. This allows you to better understand who your profile is reaching and if your networking efforts are working.
Limited search filters
LinkedIn free accounts have limited search filters when looking for other members. You can only filter by location, company, school, title, and non-profile fields like skills and groups.
Paid accounts unlock more filters like years of experience, company size, when someone joined LinkedIn, gender, and more. This allows you to laser target the right people during searches.
Limited InMail messages
InMail is LinkedIn’s internal messaging system that lets you contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. This is useful for directly reaching recruiters, prospects, potential business partners, and others.
Free accounts can only send 5 InMail messages per month. Premium accounts start with 30 InMails per month. More InMails can be purchased if needed.
No LinkedIn Elevate
LinkedIn Elevate is a content publishing tool only available to premium users. It provides analytics on your posts and recommends ideal posting times for your network.
Free accounts miss out on the post analytics and guidance that could help reach more people with your posts.
Limited article reads
Free account holders can only read the first 300 words of long-form LinkedIn articles. The rest is paywalled for premium members.
If you regularly read long articles on LinkedIn, a free account will limit how much you can actually consume. Paying for premium gives unlimited full article access.
No access to LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is the site’s built-in library of over 16,000 courses across business, creative, and technology topics. It’s only available for paid members.
Free accounts don’t have access for learning new skills through LinkedIn Learning. Upgrading gives you this useful learning platform.
Can’t view full profiles
Here’s an annoyance of free accounts: you can only view truncated versions of other user profiles. Only premium members can expand profiles to see the full overview, experience, education, skills, and more.
Seeing full profiles is useful for vetting connections and leads. With a free account you have limited intel on people.
Limited profile recommendations
LinkedIn offers profile recommendations to upgrade areas like summary, experience, and skills. But free members only receive 3 recommendations per section.
Premium unlocks unlimited recommendations so you can fully optimize your profile and increase visibility in search results.
Restricted LinkedIn News
LinkedIn News is the platform’s business and industry news section. But free members can only read 10 articles per month.
Upgrading provides unlimited access to stay on top of important news through LinkedIn’s curated feed.
No Lead and Company Insights
Premium accounts unlock lead and company insights to get real-time stats on prospects and accounts as you interact with them.
Free accounts don’t get to see how companies and leads engage with your content and profile over time.
Limited saved searches and alerts
Saved searches and job alert emails can only be set up for 3 total searches/alerts with a free account.
Premium extends this to 25 job alerts and 25 saved searches. Helpful for closely monitoring jobs, companies, and people.
No access to salary data
LinkedIn provides granular salary data but only for premium members. Free accounts can only see very high-level aggregate salary ranges.
Accurate salary data can be useful for negotiations and ensuring you receive fair compensation. Free members don’t get access to this data.
No OpenCandidate
OpenCandidate lets you discreetly signal to recruiters that you’re open to being contacted about job opportunities. It’s only available on paid accounts.
Free members don’t have access to this recruiting feature to privately find career options.
Conclusion
In summary, free LinkedIn accounts have limitations around:
- Profile views
- Search filters
- InMail messages
- Elevate
- Article reads
- Learning access
- Profile visibility
- Recommendations
- News articles
- Insights
- Saved searches
- Salary data
- OpenCandidate
For occasional users, a free account may be enough. But frequent LinkedIn users often find premium features like unlimited profile views and InMail worthwhile.
The expanded search filters, additional profile recommendations, and access to complete profiles create a much more robust experience.
Overall, free accounts are great for getting started but premium unlocks the full power of LinkedIn for business, recruiting, networking, and learning. Understanding the key limitations above can help decide if upgrading makes sense for your personal needs and professional goals.
Feature | Free Account | Premium Account |
---|---|---|
Profile Views | Last 5 only | Last 90 days |
Search Filters | Limited | Advanced filters |
InMail Messages | 5 per month | 30+ per month |
LinkedIn Elevate | No access | Full access |
Article Reads | 300 words max | Unlimited |
Learning Access | No access | Full access |
Profile Visibility | Truncated | Full profiles |
Recommendations | 3 per section | Unlimited |
News Articles | 10 per month | Unlimited |
Insights | No access | Full access |
Saved Searches | 3 max | 25 max |
Salary Data | Limited access | Full access |
OpenCandidate | No access | Full access |
FAQ
How many profile views do you get with a LinkedIn free account?
With a free account you can only see the last 5 profile views. Premium accounts can see all views from the last 90 days.
Can you message anyone on LinkedIn without premium?
No, free accounts can only message connected members. Premium accounts have access to InMail to contact anyone.
Is LinkedIn News available on free accounts?
LinkedIn News is limited to 10 articles per month on free accounts. Premium provides unlimited access.
Can you see full profiles on LinkedIn without premium?
No, free members can only see truncated versions of other profiles. Full profiles are only viewable by premium members.
Do free accounts get access to LinkedIn Learning?
No. The premium subscription is required to get access to LinkedIn Learning courses.
Next Steps
To recap, while free LinkedIn accounts are useful, premium unlocks key features for professional networking and development. Consider upgrading if you want:
- Full profile visibility
- Expanded search power
- Unlimited InMail
- Complete news access
- Robust insights
- More saved searches
- Granular salary data
- Access to Learning
Not sure? Try a free one month trial of premium to experience the key benefits and see if the expanded capabilities are worth it for you.