LinkedIn Premium costs $39.99 to $170 per month, depending on the plan.
Here's every current plan at a glance:
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Premium Career | $39.99 | ~$29.99 |
| Premium Business | $59.99 to $69.99 | ~$47.99 |
| Sales Navigator Core | $99.99 to $119.99 | ~$79.99 |
| Sales Navigator Advanced | $149.99 to $159.99 | ~$119.99 |
| Recruiter Lite | ~$170 | ~$119 |
Two things explain the ranges. LinkedIn has been rolling out price increases cohort by cohort, so long-time subscribers often still pay the old rate ($29.99 for Career, $59.99 for Business) while new signups see the higher one. And prices vary slightly by country and currency. The number that counts is the one on your own checkout page: LinkedIn shows it before you confirm anything.
What each plan is for
Premium Career ($39.99/month) is the job-seeker plan: 5 InMail messages per month, the full "who viewed your profile" list, Top Applicant insights on job posts, and LinkedIn Learning included.
Premium Business ($59.99 to $69.99/month) adds more InMails, unlimited profile browsing, and company growth insights. It's aimed at founders and business development, though many people on it would honestly be fine on Career.
Sales Navigator Core ($99.99 to $119.99/month) is a different product: advanced lead search filters, lead lists, alerts on saved accounts, and 50 InMails. If prospecting on LinkedIn is your job, this is the plan built for it. The Advanced tier adds team features and CRM sync.
Recruiter Lite (~$170/month) is for hiring: candidate search filters, projects, and 30 InMails. Serious recruiting teams usually skip it for the full Recruiter product, which costs several times more.
For a breakdown of whether any of this is actually useful for you, we wrote an honest take in Is LinkedIn Premium worth it?. Short version: worth it for active job hunting and B2B sales, not worth it for reach, feed quality, or growth.
Monthly vs annual billing
Annual billing cuts the price by roughly 20 to 25% on every plan. Premium Career drops from $39.99 to about $29.99 per month, Sales Navigator Core from $119.99 to about $79.99.
The catch: you pay the full year upfront, and refunds on unused months are not something to count on. If you're not sure you'll use it past the next two months (a job search that might end, a sales experiment), stay monthly. Switch to annual only once the subscription has survived a "do I still need this?" check.
Why is LinkedIn Premium so expensive now?
Because LinkedIn raised prices. Premium Career moved from $29.99 to $39.99 per month for new subscribers, and Business followed the same pattern. LinkedIn justifies it with the AI features added to Premium (profile writing suggestions, AI messages, coaching prompts), but the honest answer is simpler: Premium has little direct competition for what it gates (InMail, viewer lists, recruiter visibility), so LinkedIn can price it aggressively.
If your renewal jumped and the new price doesn't sit right, here's how to cancel LinkedIn Premium in two minutes, without losing your profile or connections.
How to get LinkedIn Premium for free
The reliable route is the official free trial: one month, full access, cancel anytime before it renews and you pay nothing. LinkedIn typically offers it once per account, sometimes again after a long break.
Beyond the trial, free access exists but is situational: some universities and career programs give students or alumni Premium or LinkedIn Learning access, some employers cover Business or Sales Navigator seats, and LinkedIn occasionally runs partner promotions with a few free months. If you see a "6 months free" offer floating around, it's one of these partner deals, not a standing program, so check the terms before assuming it applies to you.
And no, LinkedIn Premium is not included with Amazon Prime. That rumor comes from unrelated bundle promotions, there's no standing Prime benefit.
Do you actually need to pay?
Depends on which problem you're paying to solve.
InMail and viewer lists are genuinely gated: if you need them, Premium is the only way. But the two things people most often hope Premium fixes, a better feed and more reach for their posts, are not in any plan. The algorithm treats your posts exactly the same whether you pay $0 or $170.
If your goal is growing on LinkedIn rather than messaging strangers, the money is better spent on understanding what already works for you. MyFeedIn's LinkedIn analytics shows which of your posts actually perform and when your audience engages, which is the data LinkedIn doesn't surface, Premium or not.
Pay for Premium when you have a Premium-shaped problem. For everything else, the free account plus the right tools goes further than the $480 a year you'd spend by default.