LinkedIn Premium is obviously expensive and in fact, it’s not for every one. But this hasn’t stopped those that knows it’s worth from using the upgrade on a monthly basis to enhance their market reach and general value on the social marketing platform. The LinkedIn Premium plan starts from $30, $60, $80 and up to $120 per month which gives you more access to some premium features and packages on the platform. But is it worth it?

The upgrade to the Premium version of LinkedIn is like joining an exclusive club that opens you up to more opportunity. For example, a job seeker can get to see people who viewed their profile and get job recommendations which are exclusively tailored to them. Recruiters too can get the same advantage to boost talent hunt while business professionals can get access to a bigger world of advanced market which gives them more opportunity to mingle with prospects and achieve their target goals.

After LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft back in February 2017, the feature for premium features were added on to the platform which is designed to make it better for both existing and new users to get the best hold of the products and services in stock.

Combining the LinkedIn power with the Lynda.com platform which is basically a powerful internet learning tool, you get an exiting technology that can help you progress rapidly in whatever business setup you might be venturing into.

For a fact, LinkedIn is kept increasing and currently, its registered users has recently surpassed 575 millions and lots of tweaks had been done on it’s news feed and also with the messaging interface all making connection with prospects more enjoyable. All these addition and tweaks is part of what had made the platform now more interesting and valuable. Especially the LinkedIn Premium now help you improve the direct outcome through LinkedIn data on businesses, career and education.

“The goal for us on the Premium team is to deliver direct economic outcomes to our members.” Says LinkedIn Product Management and Head of Premium subscription, Gyanda Sachdeva

Here is an overview of what LinkedIn Premium offers and whether it’s right for you.

What to expect from LinkedIn Premium

As of now, there are about four different tiers of the LinkedIn premium version which span from $29.99 to $59.99 per month as a premium offering for Job Seekers as well as $79.99 per month for sales professionals and also $119.95 per month for recruiters with annual billings being discounted on all premium plans.

The Premium Career which is aimed at Job Seekers is the base subscription with a big discount if the user is willing to pay annually rather than monthly. Annually, the fee gets reduced to $239.88 but per month it’s $29.99. Going for this gives you three InMail Messages which is defined as a message that can be sent to anyone on LinkedIn without the need to have a connection with them at first.

Additionally, you get to see the details of people who view your profile and more tools that can help you stand out while recruiters are searching for potential employees.

The medium version of the LinkedIn Premium is the Premium Business which includes about 15 InMail Messages with advanced search filter and unlimited searches in your extended network and additional company data. The Premium Business starts at $59.99 per month but annually, you still get some cut down to about $575.88.

LinkedIn Premium’s Sales Navigator version gives you a lead-builder tool, lead recommendations and real-time insights on existing accounts and leads, as well as 20 InMail messages for $79.99 per month, or $779.88 as a one-time annual payment. Sales Navigator also comes in a multi-seat version, Sales Navigator Team, which includes 30 InMail messages, 25 Out-of-Network profile unlocks, 10 PointDrive presentations and more. Sales Navigator Enterprise offers unlimited seats, 50 InMail messages per month, per seat, 25 Out-of-Network profile unlocks, unlimited PointDrive presentations and advanced admin functionality. Sales Navigator Enterprise also includes Salesforce integration capabilities.

Then the last but not the least is the LinkedIn Premium Recruiter Lite which costs as high as $119.95 per month or simply $1,199.40 if you’re paying annually. This gives you about 30 InMail Messages, advanced search, unlimited visibility of your extended network, automatic candidate tracking and integrated hiring with a recruiting specific design.

Each Premium tier can be demoed for free for one month.

LinkedIn Premium bonus: LinkedIn Learning and LinkedIn Salary

The two services which were launched back in 2016 to analyse and track salaries globally is meant to help Job seekers to understand what their services and professions are worth in the job market. The tools also gives unique overviews on a more timely data all based on specific businesses which includes trends in headcount, geographic expansion, employee turnover and other information useful for competitive analysis.

“Over time we have developed more coverage and precision on some of these data points,” Sachdeva says. LinkedIn is also surfacing this information in new ways, according to Sachdeva. For example, when Premium subscribers look at LinkedIn’s “Who’s Viewed My Profile” feature they will now see more pertinent data on the particular companies whose employees are viewing their profile.

“We are seeing a shift in the mindset going away from just purely job seeking to also optimizing your career,” Sachdeva says. Subscribers who may not actively be seeking a new job could uncover gaps in pay for their profession and use data from LinkedIn Salary to negotiate a better salary in their current position, for example.

Where are LinkedIn Premium subscribers from?

Much of the LinkedIn Premium users are a whooping 39% of the entire 575 Million overall subscribers of the platform based on a data report gotten from a content strategist and consultant Maddy Osman. In the report, LinkedIn Premium is predominantly comprisednof customers in the United States (150 Million), followed by 50 Million in India then 42 Million in China and then 25 Million in UK

Sachdeva says LinkedIn is focusing on ways to grow the business and has no immediate plan to change pricing. “The goal actually has been the opposite where we just want to add a lot more value and keep the price the same with the intention of improving customer [return on investment],” she says.

Is LinkedIn Premium worth so much?

It can be an investment to reach your goal of landing your dream job or recruiting the best candidate for your company or meeting business prospects and thanks to the tried and tested tools that makes these promises real.

According to Mike O’Neil, who has paid for LinkedIn Premium since the day it was initially offered, says the most valuable tools you get with LinkedIn Premium are InMail messages, advanced search and additional results in search queries. O’Neil has built a business around the platform, as CEO of Integrated Alliances, where he consults with and trains managers, marketing teams and sales professionals.

According to O’Neil, the benefit of the LinkedIn Premium isn’t always obvious at the onset. He said the result can be on the long run but it all depends on how good you personally are with the usage of these tools and services at your disposal. O’Neil also said “Once you close your first deal as a result of LinkedIn, it changes everything.”

LinkedIn Premium’s biggest barrier to adoption is cost, according to O’Neil. “The packages being offered now are overpriced in terms of what people are expecting,” he says. O’Neil suggests the market would be more receptive to a $20-a-month baseline business package.

Another user of the LinkedIn Premium is the CEO and founder of Technology Jobs YC, Jack Martin who says that the Premium version of LinkedIn is an incredibly valuable tool especially for people like him.

Martin especially appreciates the capability to search LinkedIn’s entire database and quickly send InMail messages to job candidates.

“The biggest downside is that some individuals are overwhelmed with requests, and it can drive very smart and talented people away from the service,” Martin says.

Other user of this premium version of LinkedIn is Anthony Kirlew, who co-founded a digital marketing agency, Imagine Wow. He too agreed that the LinkedIn Premium is a very great tool that can help in business development. According to him, he said “Many users, especially at the executive level, maintain privacy settings that restrict users from connecting with them,” InMail messages help facilitate connections with these people.

David Coher had also used LinkedIn Premium and he says it provides value for him almost every month. Considering the fact that he needs to always make connection with people every where throughout the cyberspace and real world, the Premium service had helped him connect way more with prospects and people that helped in the increase of his product sales.

“I find that people are more likely to respond to a LinkedIn InMail message than to a traditional email,” he says.

For this reason and others, Coher encourages his peers to sign up for LinkedIn Premium, and it is one of the first things he suggests when someone comes to him for career advice.

“I noticed a marked increase in the number of viewers of my profile once I signed up for the LinkedIn Premium service,” Coher says. “I notice when someone — a vendor, a job applicant, a connection otherwise — has a LinkedIn Premium profile, and it does make an impact on me. I note it as that person cares about appearing professional in their online presence.”

Should you upgrade from Free to Premium?

All depends on what you want. But be rest assured that if you’re seeking on a long term goal and results, then you should switch to LinkedIn Premium which increases your reach and values to ge through to whomever you’re aiming to without stress.

According to O’Neil, he calls LinkedIn Premium the “Best Monthly investment I have ever made” even though users still get plenty of value using the free version of LinkedIn.

“Unfortunately, many people pay for LinkedIn and they don’t put in the effort,” he says. “It’s kind like an athletic club membership.”

O’Neil says the challenge for most people isn’t paying attention to LinkedIn, it’s deciding whether or not to pay for the premium service — and then what to do with it if they make the investment.

“If you might like a better career path, LinkedIn is the centerpiece of that,” he says. But whether you’re using the premium version or freemium version, it all depend on how good you are with following up with your investment and ensuring things go according to your plans and objective key result set.