With ongoing tech industry layoffs intensifying competition for job opportunities and the rapid rise of AI driving broader job insecurity, 2025 is proving to be a challenging landscape for job seekers.
Amid these shifts, LinkedIn remains a critical tool for professionals aiming to stand out and for businesses seeking cost-effective hiring solutions. But with every dollar carrying more weight, many are asking: Is LinkedIn Premium genuinely worth the cost, or is the free version enough?
To help you make an informed decision, we break down LinkedIn Premium pricing for Career and Business plans in 2025. We’ll also compare the features of LinkedIn’s paid memberships to its free offering so you can clearly see what you gain—or might not need.
Additionally, we’ll outline who benefits most from each LinkedIn Premium plan to help you choose the best option for your goals. Read on for a comprehensive guide to LinkedIn Premium costs in 2025 and our professional insights on whether it’s the right investment for you.
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How Much Does LinkedIn Premium Cost?
A LinkedIn Premium Career subscription costs $29.99 per month or $239 annually if you choose to pay upfront. This plan offers a range of valuable benefits, including featured applicant status, InMail messaging capabilities, and access to LinkedIn’s AI-powered tools. Designed specifically for job seekers, it’s an ideal option for those looking to boost their competitive edge on the platform.
For businesses, LinkedIn Premium Business is available at $59.99 per month or $575.88 per year. This plan helps companies improve their hiring success by providing detailed candidate insights, increased profile visibility, and AI-driven recommendations and strategies.
While these are LinkedIn’s primary Premium plans, the platform also offers several other specialized packages, each tailored to different professional needs and budgets. If you’re interested in exploring all available options, we’ve summarized the full range of LinkedIn Premium plans below.
LinkedIn Pricing Plans at a Glance (2025)
- LinkedIn Basic: LinkedIn offers a forever-free version called LinkedIn Basic, providing essential networking features without any cost.
- LinkedIn Premium Career: Designed for job seekers aiming to advance their careers, LinkedIn Premium Career costs $29.99 per month and unlocks tools to enhance job applications and personal branding.
- LinkedIn Premium Business: This service is ideal for business owners and leaders seeking to attract top talent and grow their organizations. It costs $99.99 per month.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core: Built for professionals focused on lead generation and client acquisition, Sales Navigator Core costs $99.99 per month.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced: This product is targeted at sales professionals needing comprehensive access to LinkedIn’s full sales toolkit. It is available for $149.99 per month.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced Plus: This plan includes advanced CRM integrations and is designed for enterprise-level sales teams. Pricing is customized based on individual business requirements.
- LinkedIn Recruiter Lite: Aimed at individual recruiters and small hiring teams, Recruiter Lite is LinkedIn’s entry-level recruitment solution, priced at $170 per month.
- LinkedIn Recruiter: Tailored for professional services and staffing firms, LinkedIn Recruiter costs $835 per month and offers higher candidate search limits and additional hiring tools.
- LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn’s educational platform helps users build business, technology, and creative skills. LinkedIn Learning plans start at $19.99 per month.
How Much Does LinkedIn Premium Cost Per Month?
The cost of LinkedIn Premium varies depending on the plan you choose.
- LinkedIn Premium Career, designed for job seekers, is priced at $29.99 per month.
- LinkedIn Premium Business, tailored for business owners and managers, costs $59.99 per month.
How Much Does LinkedIn Premium Cost Per Year?
The annual cost of LinkedIn Premium depends on the selected plan:
- LinkedIn Premium Career costs $239 per year, which is ideal for job seekers and individual professionals.
- LinkedIn Premium Business is designed for business owners, managers, and teams and costs $575.88 per year.
LinkedIn Basic Explained
LinkedIn offers a free Basic membership for users who want to build and maintain a professional presence online without any cost. LinkedIn Basic is an excellent choice for individuals aiming to strengthen their online visibility, expand their professional network, and explore new job opportunities.
LinkedIn Basic key features
Key Features of LinkedIn Basic
With a LinkedIn Basic membership, users can access a range of essential networking and career-building tools, including:
- Create and build your professional identity online
- Search for and view other LinkedIn profiles
- Connect with and grow your professional network
- Request and provide recommendations to colleagues and peers
- Request up to five introductions at a time through mutual connections
- Receive InMail messages from Premium users
- View who has visited your profile over the past five days
- Conduct up to 100 profile searches
Limitations of LinkedIn Basic
- While LinkedIn Basic provides valuable functionality at no cost, it does come with some restrictions:
- You cannot send direct messages (InMail) to users you’re not connected with
- Profile view history is only available for the most recent five days
- Search capabilities are limited compared to Premium plans
Who should use LinkedIn Basic?
Thanks to its free access, LinkedIn Basic is an excellent fit for casual job seekers, students, and small business owners looking to build connections and maintain a professional presence online.
However, the platform’s search limitations and InMail restrictions make it less ideal for active job seekers who need advanced outreach capabilities or for larger businesses managing extensive recruiting efforts.
LinkedIn Premium Career Explained
LinkedIn Premium Career is the platform’s dedicated subscription plan for job seekers. It includes all the features available with LinkedIn Basic, along with a range of expanded tools and exclusive new capabilities. Notably, access to LinkedIn’s latest AI-powered features requires a Premium subscription.
According to a recent LinkedIn survey, job seekers using LinkedIn Premium were hired twice as fast as those relying solely on the free plan. This makes LinkedIn Premium Career an excellent choice for individuals who want to accelerate their job search and gain a competitive advantage.
Please keep reading to discover the key benefits of LinkedIn Premium Career and how they are designed to help users grow their professional network and unlock new career opportunities.
Premium Profile Badge
With LinkedIn Premium Career, users have the option to add a gold badge to their profile picture and search results. This badge not only helps you stand out among other job applicants but also signals to recruiters that you’re serious about networking and exploring new career opportunities.
More profile searches
Unlike LinkedIn Basic, which imposes monthly search limits, the Premium Career plan offers unlimited profile searches. This allows job seekers to explore profiles beyond their immediate connections—up to third-degree connections—and significantly expand their professional network.
More InMail Options
Users on the Premium Career plan can also take advantage of InMail, which allows them to message individuals outside their immediate professional network. Unlike traditional messaging platforms, InMail ensures that the recipient can view your profile and detailed professional history, providing a clear context for your outreach.
According to LinkedIn data, individuals who send InMail are 4.6 times more likely to receive a response compared to standard email. This feature is a powerful tool for boosting your visibility and making meaningful connections with potential employers, co.lleagues, or business partners.
Featured Applicant Status
With LinkedIn Premium, you receive personalized job recommendations where you’re considered a top applicant by recruiters. Additionally, when you apply for these roles, you’re highlighted as a “Featured Applicant,” which helps your application stand out. This status ensures your application is prioritized over those of non-Premium members, giving you a competitive edge in the hiring process.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Premium Career users gain unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, the platform’s comprehensive e-learning library. This provides personalized learning content designed to help users advance in their careers. The library offers a wide range of courses across seven languages, covering topics such as creativity, diversity and inclusion, leadership, and management.
See Who Has Viewed Your Page
While LinkedIn Basic members can only view profile visitors from the past five days, LinkedIn Premium users enjoy expanded visibility. They can see the names and job titles of everyone who has viewed their profile over the last 90 days. Additionally, Premium users receive valuable insights into how these visitors found their profile, providing actionable data to help optimize their profile and boost their overall visibility.
Who should use LinkedIn Premium Career?
With its advanced professional features, LinkedIn Premium Career is an excellent choice for job seekers who are serious about increasing their visibility and securing opportunities quickly. It’s also a valuable option for professionals focused on achieving their career goals, provided they’re ready to invest in the plan’s monthly cost.
LinkedIn Premium Business Explained
LinkedIn Premium Business is the platform’s premium subscription designed specifically for business owners and managers. This plan offers several advantages over the free tier, including access to detailed analytics, enhanced sales tools, and improved networking capabilities. Below, we explore some of the key features that make LinkedIn Premium Business a powerful tool for growing your business.
LinkedIn Premium Business key features
- 15 InMail messages per month
- Unlimited profile searches
- Access to LinkedIn Learning
- View who’s checked out your profile for 90 days
- Detailed business insights
LinkedIn Premium Business is a powerful tool for leveraging the platform’s networking, marketing, and sales capabilities. It’s particularly beneficial for sales teams focused on optimizing prospecting, lead generation, and lead management. However, for teams with more advanced sales needs, Sales Navigator might be a better fit. For just $40 more per month, Sales Navigator offers 50 InMail credits, custom lead alerts, and enhanced boolean search queries, providing even deeper functionality.
Who should use LinkedIn Premium Business?
If you’re a business owner or manager aiming to enhance your hiring capabilities and expand your professional network, LinkedIn Premium Business is a valuable investment. However, for teams focused on boosting sales performance, LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers more advanced features tailored to sales optimization and lead management.
Why Is LinkedIn Premium So Expensive?
At $29.99 per month for the job seeker package and $59.99 per month for the business package, LinkedIn Premium isn’t the cheapest option. However, as the default professional network in the business world, LinkedIn offers an unparalleled platform to enhance your visibility, grow your professional network, and connect with recruiters or potential candidates.
According to CareerBuilder, the average job search for someone earning a $50k salary costs around $40k in lost wages and expenses. Given these costs, paying for LinkedIn Premium is a wise investment for job seekers who are serious about securing opportunities quickly.
The same holds for businesses seeking to attract top talent. With hiring being one of the most significant expenses for companies; it’s understandable why LinkedIn charges premium benefits like unlimited profile browsing, company insights, and enhanced visibility.
Frequently Asked Question
How much does LinkedIn Premium cost in 2025?
In 2025, LinkedIn Premium will offer various plans. The LinkedIn Premium Career plan costs $29.99 per month, while the LinkedIn Premium Business plan costs $59.99 per month. Other plans, such as Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Recruiter, are also available at different price points.
What’s the difference between LinkedIn Premium Career and LinkedIn Premium Business?
LinkedIn Premium Career is ideal for job seekers, offering features like unlimited profile searches, InMail, and personalized job recommendations. LinkedIn Premium Business is designed for business owners and managers, providing enhanced networking tools, business insights, and greater visibility for company profiles.
Is LinkedIn Premium worth it for job seekers?
Yes, LinkedIn Premium Career can be a valuable investment for job seekers. It offers features that increase visibility, such as InMail access, the ability to see who’s viewed your profile for 90 days, and priority job recommendations, all of which can help secure job opportunities faster.
What features come with LinkedIn Premium Career?
LinkedIn Premium Career offers several key features, including InMail messages, unlimited profile searches, LinkedIn Learning access, Featured Applicant status, and insights into who has viewed your profile for up to 90 days.
How much does LinkedIn Premium cost per year?
The annual cost for LinkedIn Premium Career is $239, while LinkedIn Premium Business is priced at $575.88. Choosing the yearly plan provides a discount compared to the monthly subscription rate.
What is LinkedIn Premium Business, and who is it for?
LinkedIn Premium Business is aimed at business owners and managers. It includes features like unlimited profile searches, detailed business insights, and enhanced visibility tools, making it an excellent choice for companies looking to attract talent and optimize their business strategies.
Does LinkedIn Premium help with job applications?
Yes, LinkedIn Premium Career makes job applications stand out by marking them as a “Featured Applicant.” This feature increases your chances of being noticed by recruiters and hiring managers, prioritizing your application over others.
Conclusion
LinkedIn Premium remains a valuable investment in 2025 for both job seekers and businesses looking to enhance their professional presence. The platform’s various subscription plans, including Premium Career and Premium Business, offer a wide array of features designed to improve visibility, expand networks, and optimize hiring or job search processes. While the costs of $29.99 per month for job seekers and $59.99 per month for businesses may seem steep, the benefits—such as unlimited profile searches, InMail messaging, LinkedIn Learning access, and advanced business insights—make it a worthwhile investment for those serious about advancing their careers or growing their businesses.