LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. It allows people to connect with colleagues, find jobs, follow companies, and grow their careers. LinkedIn offers two types of accounts – Basic and Premium. While both account types provide access to the core LinkedIn platform, Premium accounts unlock additional features and benefits. This article will compare the key differences between LinkedIn’s Basic and Premium accounts to help you decide which option is right for you.
Overview of LinkedIn Basic and Premium Accounts
LinkedIn Basic Account
The LinkedIn Basic account is free to create. It provides access to core LinkedIn features such as:
- Creating a professional profile
- Connecting with other members
- Joining groups
- Searching for jobs
- Receiving InMail messages
- Seeing profiles of up to 3rd degree connections
With a Basic account, your profile will appear in search results and you can build up to 500 1st degree connections.
LinkedIn Premium Accounts
LinkedIn offers three types of premium, paid accounts:
- Premium Career – $29.99/month
- Premium Business – $49.99/month
- Premium Sales – $64.99/month
Premium accounts provide everything in the Basic plan plus advanced features such as:
- Seeing profiles of any LinkedIn member without restriction
- Contacting any LinkedIn member through InMail
- Seeing who viewed your profile
- Additional profile visibility in search
- Advanced search filters and preferences
- Creating customized analytics reports
The specific benefits vary slightly between the Career, Business, and Sales premium options. We’ll explore the key differences in more detail next.
Comparing Features of Basic vs. Premium Accounts
Let’s closely examine how the capabilities of LinkedIn’s Basic and Premium accounts differ across some of the platform’s most popular features:
Profile Viewing
| Feature | Basic Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|
| View profiles in your network | Up to 3rd degree connections | Unlimited |
| View profiles outside your network | Name, headline, and thumbnail photo only | Full profile |
| See who viewed your profile | Last 5 profiles only | Last 90 days of viewers |
Premium accounts let you browse the full profiles of any member on LinkedIn regardless of your connection. Basic accounts restrict profile viewing access to direct connections and up to their 3rd degree networks.
Searching and Alerts
| Feature | Basic Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced search filters | Limited | Robust filtering |
| Job search alerts | 3 alerts | Unlimited alerts |
| InMail alerts when a new job is posted | No | Yes |
Premium opens up LinkedIn’s advanced search functionality with filters for skills, company, title, location, and more. You can also set unlimited alerts for relevant new job postings.
Messaging and Communication
| Feature | Basic Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|
| InMail messages per month | 0 | 30-100 depending on plan |
| Contact anyone on LinkedIn | No | Yes, via InMail |
| Saved searches and alerts | 3 | 25 |
InMail is LinkedIn’s internal messaging system that lets you contact any member even if you’re not connected. This is only available with Premium. You also get more saved searches and alerts.
Branding and Visibility
| Feature | Basic Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|
| Profile photo background branding | No | Yes |
| Profile featured in search ranking | Standard | More prominent |
| Who’s viewed your profile | Last 5 viewers | Last 90 days |
Premium accounts get your profile prime placement in LinkedIn’s search results. You can also add custom background branding to your profile photo.
Insights and Analytics
| Feature | Basic Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|
| Customized profile analytics | Limited insights | Robust analytics dashboard |
| See content and follower analytics | No | Yes |
| Compare your profile views | No | Yes, by industry and location |
Premium unlocks a full analytics dashboard for monitoring profile views, followers, and content engagement. You can benchmark your impact against peers.
Who Should Get a Premium LinkedIn Account?
Here are some of the main types of LinkedIn users who may want to upgrade to a paid Premium account:
Job Seekers
Premium Career helps job seekers stand out in the competitive market with profile branding, expanded discoverability in recruiters’ searches, and unlimited InMail to contact hiring managers.
Business Owners and Executives
Premium Business provides analytics on company page visits plus advanced tools for broadcasting updates, following trends, and touching base with key connections.
Sales Professionals
Premium Sales maximizes LinkedIn for lead generation with saved searches, expanded InMail, lead recommendations, and insights to track campaign ROI.
Networking-Focused Users
For anyone focused on expanding their professional network, Premium’s unlimited profile viewing and InMail messages are invaluable for connecting with new contacts.
Remote/Freelance Professionals
Premium helps remote workers and freelancers get discovered and hireable regardless of geographic location by boosting LinkedIn visibility and direct outreach.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn’s free Basic account provides helpful access to networking and career opportunities, Premium unlocks the full power of LinkedIn through enhanced profile visibility, unlimited messaging, robust analytics, and more.
For job seekers, salespeople, business owners, freelancers, and networking-focused professionals, the benefits of a paid Premium account can significantly expand your career or business prospects on the world’s top professional networking platform.
Evaluate the unique features that Premium offers against the monthly or annual cost to determine if the investment is worthwhile. Many users find it more than pays for itself through the additional exposure, outreach capabilities, and insights gained.
With 722+ million members, LinkedIn is your global hub for professional connections and opportunities. Premium access helps you maximize LinkedIn’s potential to advance your career or business objectives.
