Account Types for LinkedIn: Free vs. Premium vs. Sales Navigator

LinkedIn is one of the largest social networks, which helps develop brands and professionals, establishing them as authorities in their industry and connecting them to the right people and opportunities.

With LinkedIn comes the opportunity to operate different account types. On other social networks, you have just the free version and probably just pay for ads. That is different from LinkedIn, as there are various account types to choose from.

LinkedIn is the platform to be on for jobs, business development, lead generation, career advancement, and professional networking.

Because LinkedIn recognizes that people have varied needs and use LinkedIn for different reasons, it offers a variety of account kinds. While some may require it to locate new employment opportunities, others may require it to locate possible employees or prospects.

The Basic Free account, LinkedIn Premium, and Sales Navigator are the three main categories of LinkedIn accounts.

These accounts have their different features which will now be examined.

LinkedIn Free Account

If you are just getting started on LinkedIn, the free account is still very much okay. That there are different types of accounts doesn’t mean the free account has nothing to offer.

The free LinkedIn account comes with a variety of useful features to help you build a large list of connections.

From your 1st and 2nd Degree connections, you can build a professional network. You can also build connections with leads and colleagues.

You may send and receive InMail messages, search for and visit profiles, send and receive connection requests, and send and receive messages from your contacts.

Outgoing messages get no credits with a free account. And you can only store a certain number of searches.

LinkedIn Premium Account

The LinkedIn premium account comes with so many features which you won’t get with the basic version of LinkedIn. This is the best bet for anyone looking for a way to grow their network.

If you've tried the basic account and would like to grow your network and make the most out of LinkedIn, you should upgrade to a premium account.

Having tried the free version, and desiring to upgrade to the premium account, one may want to be slow with the decision, as there can be a level of uncertainty not knowing if the premium account would be worth it.

LinkedIn on the other hand has factored in this problem. All paid LinkedIn subscriptions, including premium accounts, come with a one-month free trial period.

With the free trial option, you can examine to see if it is what you really want before you make an upgrade.

With a paid subscription, you can gain access to information about jobs, wages, and even who visits your profile. Each month, you'll receive 5 InMail credits and a max of 1000 results from advanced searches.

The LinkedIn premium plan includes two types: premium career and premium business.

Premium Career Account

The LinkedIn premium career plan is for people who are career-focused, such as individuals looking for jobs or those who want to progress in their careers.

With this particular account, they get noticed and establish a connection with other professionals in the industry.

Not only will you get seen with this account type, but you will also be noticed by recruiters in search of people to fill in certain roles. It also lets you examine your position in comparison with other applicants. 

The idea is to make the job search and application process easier. One thing a career plan can help you with, is to discover what areas you need to improve in order to gain an advantage over others.

Premium Business Account

The LinkedIn business account was developed for those who desire to push their business on a larger scale. 

The purpose of a LinkedIn premium business account is to assist you in connecting with your target audience, leads, and prospective partners who can help your company expand.

You can make a connection with the appropriate people and make sure you get your message across with the premium business plan. As a result, if you're a business owner trying to expand, a LinkedIn business account is a great starting point.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Account

The LinkedIn Sales Navigator account is a sales tool that is automated. Those who are already familiar with LinkedIn Automation will understand it. 

It's meant to help you identify the best leads and build connections with customers and prospects. With the LinkedIn Sales Navigator account, you get 20 InMail credits per month as well as lead referrals. You can also save your searches and leads using it.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team Account

The Sales Navigator Team account includes a variety of seats as well as team-focused features. Advanced features include the ability for many users to interact via PointDrive presentations, sync CRM integrations, track usage reporting, and more.

The great benefit of joining the Sales Navigator Team is that you get 50 InMail credits every month and 5000 saved leads.

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite Account

The LinkedIn Recruiter Lite account is ideal for hiring without having to deal with a lot of paperwork. 

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is a fantastic tool for finding, engaging with, and maintaining a network of possible job prospects.

It includes 30 InMail credits each month, 20+ search saving tools, and job and InMail performance reports, among other things.

LinkedIn Recruiter Account

Hiring managers who are actively looking for job candidates should have a LinkedIn Recruiter account.

This account includes extensive search and filtering capabilities to help you identify, find, and filter the best candidates for the roles you need someone to take over.

150 InMail credits per month, 40+ search filters, hiring team communication, and analytics on recruiter pipeline, performance, and usage are all included in the LinkedIn Recruiter account.

FAQs

Which LinkedIn account is the cheapest?

The free account is the cheapest LinkedIn account because it doesn’t involve any cost at all.

What is the most preferred account type?

Each account type was set up for different purposes, depending on what the user intends to achieve.

The preferred type of account varies for different users. Once you know what you want to achieve, you find the best possible account type for it.

Is LinkedIn worth paying for?

Paying is completely worth it if you want to use LinkedIn's services to make new connections and explore new prospects.

However, you should resist upgrading to a premium plan if you haven't used all of the basic account functions.