LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides users with additional features and benefits beyond the free basic account. The service costs $29.99 per month for basic Premium, or $59.99 per month for Premium Career. In this article, we’ll examine the key reasons why LinkedIn charges $40 per month for its Premium service.
Access to Full Profiles
One of the main reasons LinkedIn Premium costs $40 per month is because it allows you to view full profiles of other users, even if you’re not connected. With the free account, you can only view partial profiles of members who are outside your network. Premium lets you see the entire profile, including experience, education, skills, accomplishments, interests, and groups. This helps when researching contacts for sales prospects or recruiting.
InMail Messages
Premium includes a monthly allowance of InMail messages that let you directly contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. This is useful for reaching out to potential clients, partners, or hires. With a free account, you can only message your 1st-degree connections. Being able to message anyone provides more opportunities for networking and business development.
Search Filters
Premium unlocks advanced search filters that let you target your searches by company, title, location, industry, seniority level, and other criteria. This is helpful for finding contacts who meet specific requirements when building a targeted list. The basic free search is more limited.
Profile Badges
Premium profiles can display badges signaling that they have certain skills, expertise, or achievements verified by LinkedIn. For example, there are skill assessment badges for proficiency in software programs and languages. Having these badges can improve your visibility and credibility.
Learning Courses
LinkedIn Learning comes bundled with Premium and provides access to over 15,000 professional development courses. These courses can help you gain new skills and advance your career. Learning courses cover topics like leadership, software, creative skills, data science, and more.
Salary Insights
The Premium Insights tab provides data on average salaries for specific job titles and locations. This gives you helpful context when negotiating salaries or considering new job opportunities. Salary insights are not available with the basic free account.
Open Rate Statistics
Premium shows you open rates for messages and InMail, so you can see how well your outreach is performing. This data isn’t provided with the free version. The open rates give you an idea of how relevant your messages are to recipients.
Larger Search Results
When searching for people, jobs, content, and other items, Premium displays more results per page than basic accounts. This allows you to browse through more potential matches faster without having to click through as many pages.
Premium Badges on Your Profile
Having a Premium badge on your profile signals to others that you have an upgraded account. This subtly conveys extra credibility, professionalism, and network value. The badge shows you have access to Premium features.
| Feature | Free Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|
| View Full Profiles | Only for 1st Connections | All LinkedIn Members |
| InMail Messages | Limited to 1st Connections | Message Anyone |
| Advanced Search Filters | Limited Filters | Robust Filters |
| Skill & Expertise Badges | Not Available | Display Badges |
| LinkedIn Learning Courses | Not Included | 15,000+ Courses |
| Salary Insights | Not Included | Role & Location Data |
| InMail Open Rates | Not Included | See Your Open Rates |
| Search Results Per Page | Limited Results | More Results |
| Profile Badge | No Badge | Premium Badge |
No Advertisements
Unlike the free version, Premium has no ads throughout the LinkedIn experience. This provides for distraction-free browsing and messaging. Advertisements can clutter the interface and disrupt your workflow.
Who Gets Value From Premium?
While Premium has universal appeal, the paid service tends to provide the most value for these users:
Recruiters and HR Professionals
Premium’s recruiting-focused tools like InMail, advanced filters, profile badges, and open rates help attract and engage talent more efficiently.
Sales Professionals
Sales teams can use Premium to research prospects deeper, message decision-makers directly, and see who’s engaging with messages.
Business Development Professionals
Premium supports business development efforts through more search filters, expanded network reach, and open rate tracking.
Marketers
Marketers leverage Premium for lead generation and networking with targeted demographics outside of their current connectivity.
Active Networkers
For those actively networking, Premium facilitates connecting with the right people faster and monitoring engagement.
Job Seekers
Premium empowers the job hunt through unlocked profiles, networking beyond connections, and skills/expertise badges.
Premium Business and Sales Solutions
In addition to Premium, LinkedIn offers higher-priced subscriptions for enterprise and sales:
Premium Business
Premium Business costs $57.99 per month with an annual contract. It offers everything in Premium plus Company Pages, employee spotlights, analytics about visitors and followers, and advanced search filters for Company Pages.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator pricing starts at $64.99 per month with an annual contract. It includes customized lead recommendations, saved lead lists, contact management tools, conversation insights, and other sales-focused features.
Free vs. Premium Features Comparison
Here is a full overview comparing LinkedIn’s free account with their Premium service:
| Feature | Free Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|
| View Full Profiles | Only 1st Connections | All LinkedIn Members |
| InMail Messages | Limited to 1st Connections | Message Anyone |
| Advanced Search Filters | Limited Filters | Robust Filters |
| Expertise & Skill Badges | Not Available | Display Badges |
| LinkedIn Learning Courses | Not Included | 15,000+ Courses |
| Salary Insights | Not Included | Role & Location Data |
| InMail Open Rates | Not Included | See Your Open Rates |
| Search Results Per Page | Limited Results | More Results |
| Profile Badge | No Badge | Premium Badge |
| Advertisements | Yes | No Ads |
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth the Cost?
At $40 per month ($480 per year), LinkedIn Premium represents a significant investment. Is the paid service worth the price? Here are some key points to consider:
Depends on Your Needs
Premium is most worthwhile if you will regularly use features like InMail, advanced searches, open reporting, etc. The value depends on your professional needs.
Cost Per Use Case
Breaking down the $40 monthly fee – it costs about $1 per day to get expanded networking capabilities. Analyze if that $1 per day will provide increased value.
Free Version Still Helpful
You can still benefit from LinkedIn without Premium. The free account offers core functionality for building connections and basic profile management.
Trial First
Try Premium free for 1 month to evaluate the features. This gives you firsthand experience to judge the benefits.
Student Discounts Available
Students can get Premium for $14.99 per month, making it much more affordable to access the additional capabilities.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Premium offers a robust set of features aimed at empowering networking, recruiting, career development, sales prospecting, and job seeking. The $40 per month pricing provides full access to these capabilities without advertisements or limits. While the free account still offers core value, Premium provides extensive extras for those who will utilize the expanded tools regularly. The monthly fee may be worthwhile depending on individual professional needs and use cases. Trying a 1-month free trial can provide helpful insight into the service’s real-world value. Students can also access discounts making Premium more affordable. Overall, LinkedIn’s premium service gives unlocked potential and extras, but needs to align with each user’s specific networking requirements to be worth the ongoing investment.
