I get asked this question nearly every time I talk to people about LinkedIn. Whether it’s 1 on 1 or in a group setting, it almost always comes up.

Before we weigh the pros and cons of LinkedIn Premium, allow me to put it in perspective. I’ve been using the free version of LinkedIn for five years.

Everything I teach on LinkedIn, including profile optimization, strategic engagement, and content creation, can be done using the free version of LinkedIn.

That being said, LinkedIn Premium is being pushed, pushed, pushed on us…which leads us to the $1 million question…

LinkedIn Premium Career is $29.99 per month. LinkedIn Premium Business is $59.99 per month. And since we do mention Sales Navigator here, that option is $99.99 per month.

It’s time to give you the pros and cons of upgrading your LinkedIn account…

Here are a few of the benefits of paying for LinkedIn Premium. I didn’t put them in any specific order:

1. Premium profiles often get higher visibility in search results.
2. You can see everyone who viewed your profile in the past 90 days.
3. With Premium, you can send direct messages to people outside your network.
4. Your website link travels with you in the feed when you comment and post. With the free version, that link stays on your profile.
5. With Premium, you get access to LinkedIn Learning.
6. You get an out-of-office message that you can customize when people DM you.
7. NEW! You can now customize your banner image with multiple images that visitors can scroll through

There may be more benefits to LinkedIn Premium, comment to let me know if I’m leaving anything out. I’m always open to your feedback.

A few people who are using LinkedIn Premium (and Sales Navigator) have told me why they’re paying for it:

“It’s such a small monthly fee I don’t even think twice about it. $100 is written off as a business expense so instead of paying 40% of the $100 in taxes, I just reduce profit and in my eyes it only costs me $60.”

“I get to see everyone who has viewed my profile, so it helps me check in with people who I may have forgotten to get back to, etc. I can also view profiles with no limitations (unlimited profile browsing). It’s also a TON of $.”

“I have LinkedIn Business Premium because it offers more features. LinkedIn Learning for one, it is a valuable resource, as well as getting a better reach and more stats, info, etc.”

and there are a couple of people who are paying for it but may not be for long:

I have Premium, but next year, I’m unsure of what I’ll do as I don’t see huge benefits.

I’ve been using Navigator for the past couple weeks. Not sure if I’ll continue it beyond this month, but I wanted to reach specific people for this inquiry as well as connect with people who fit certain criteria. I’ve used it in the past several times and I wish Navigator didn’t cost as much as it does; I’d stay on it for always if it was more like $49/month.

Now for the other side of the coin.

Here’s what we can do using the free version of LinkedIn:

1. You can still customize your profile to ensure you reach your target audience and ensure those people know what you do.
2. You can still see a few of those people who have viewed your profile. Free accounts get to see five of them.
3. You can still cultivate your feed so you see who you want to see. DM me, I’m happy to tell you how to do this in an audio message.
4. You can comment and react and post content, using the free version.
5. You can still create LinkedIn newsletters. Yep, I earned more than 8500 subscribers to this newsletter, all using the free version.
6. You can still go live on LinkedIn. I hosted LinkedIn Audio events for a year and a half, all using the free version.
7. You can feature everything that you’re doing that’s awesome on your LinkedIn profile, using the free version.
8. You can follow and connect with people using the free version. You get a limited number of personalized connection requests.
9. You can still DM people who you are connected to, you can use audio and video messages in the DMs so people can see you’re human and not AI.
10. You can still look for jobs and attract hiring managers here using an optimized LinkedIn profile.
11. I probably have at least 5-10 more of these but if you want to chime in with benefits of using the free version, feel free to comment.

People who are using the free version of LinkedIn have told me why they’re not paying for it:

“I’m getting out of LinkedIn basic what I need to right now and I feel like the cost is more than what I’d get out of it.”

“I’ve never seen the benefit (of subscribing to Premium)”

Jeff Youngand I are on the same page for this one. We both use the free version of LinkedIn and when asked, we both tell people to use the free version first, get all the benefits of what the free version delivers before you upgrade to Premium.

He told me, “I have the free version because I have never seen anything that I needed to pay for and can always find a workaround when LinkedIn asks me to upgrade to premium.”

I couldn’t agree more. I have the free version because I don’t need all the bells and whistles, I can do everything I need to do using the free version.

LinkedIn Premium can be expensive as can LinkedIn Navigator. Are the benefits worth the price? Use the free version first and then my recommendation is to do the trial to see for yourself.