LinkedIn Premium Gives You More Access, but Is It Worth It?

Are you looking for a new job? Or, maybe you are searching for sales leads? LinkedIn is an excellent resource for connecting with other business professionals, finding a job, or determining who makes the buying decisions at a company.

Over 875 million people use LinkedIn, and 39 percent of users pay for LinkedIn Premium. But is LinkedIn Premium worth it? Keep reading to find out!

LinkedIn Premium is a paid subscription upgrade to the free business networking platform that enables you to connect with LinkedIn users outside your network. With the free version of LinkedIn, you have access to the contact information of all those who you are "linked in" with, and you can also send them messages through LinkedIn’s InMail.

However, you don’t have this access to people outside your network (i.e., 2nd and 3rd) connections. You have to be a premium member to get contact information and send InMails to people that aren’t in your LinkedIn network.

There are four plans for LinkedIn Premium membership, which differ depending on how you want to use your LinkedIn account. The premium plans LinkedIn offers include:

Career - This plan is specifically designed for people looking for a job. It's the least expensive premium plan at $39.99 per month or $239.88 per year. With the Career plan, you can send five InMails a month to people outside your network and see who has viewed your profile within the last 90 days. You are limited in the number of profiles you can browse. You also get more detailed information on job postings, like how you rank among other applicants for the job, what the competition for the job looks like, and additional insights into the position.

Business - This plan is similar to the Career plan, with more benefits. You get 15 InMail credits per month, can see who has viewed your profile within the last year, and can browse an unlimited number of profiles outside your network (this is limited in the Career plan). The cost is $69.99 per month or $538.88 per year.

Sales Navigator Core - This plan is designed for sales professionals who want to use LinkedIn to prospect new customers. It provides you with 50 credits per month plus access to LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator platform to generate and save leads. The cost is $99.99 per month or $959.88 per year.

Recruiter Lite - On the flip side of the LinkedIn Career plan, which helps people find jobs, Recruiter Lite helps recruiters find qualified candidates. The plan includes 30 InMail credits per month and unlimited profile browsing. The cost is $169.99 per month or $1,679.88 per year.

LinkedIn allows you to try one of its Premium subscriptions for free for one month. You can sign up through “Manage Premium account” under “Subscriptions and payments” in the “Account preferences” of your profile settings.

You will have to give your credit card information to take advantage of the free month because, at the end of the month, you will be charged for the regular monthly paid subscription price.

Another advantage of LinkedIn Premium over the free plan is that you can access LinkedIn’s online educational platform, LinkedIn Learning. The platform offers over 5,000 business development courses and provides personal recommendations on which ones may help further your career. Once you’ve completed a course, you can post it to your LinkedIn profile for recruiters to see.