Overview
Wondering which LinkedIn plan is right for your sales outreach?
LinkedIn offers several subscription levels, and choosing the right one can be confusing. Let’s walk through the different plans and help you understand which one is best for your prospecting strategy.
Key benefits
Clarity: Understand what each LinkedIn plan is designed for.
Better targeting: Avoid limitations that hurt your segmentation.
Efficiency: Choose the plan that supports scalable, high-quality prospecting.
What LinkedIn plans are available?
Linkedin Basic
This is the free account you get when you sign up on LinkedIn.
With this plan, you can:
Reconnect with colleagues and classmates.
Search for and view other LinkedIn profiles.
Receive unlimited messages.
Why it’s not ideal for prospecting
You can only export up to 1,000 leads at once.
Filters are too limited for proper segmentation.
If you plan to run structured, scalable campaigns, you’ll quickly hit limitations and risk contacting leads who are not a good fit for your ICP.
Tip: If you can’t afford Sales Navigator yet, check our guide on segmenting leads for your first LGM campaign to get the most out of Basic filters.
LinkedIn Recruiter
This plan is designed for recruiters, not for sales teams.
With LinkedIn Recruiter, you get:
Advanced hiring filters (languages, tenure, seniority, etc.).
30 InMail credits per month.
Smart Suggestions to recommend top candidates.
Insights on candidate availability.
Centralized hiring data.
Why it's not ideal for sales prospecting
Despite powerful hiring filters, this plan lacks the precision and search capabilities needed for outbound sales.
Also:
You can still only export 1,000 prospects at a time.
It does not provide Sales Navigator’s advanced lead filters.
LGM does not support Recruiter URLs in CSV imports.
Note: If you recruit, consider using Huntool, which integrates natively with LGM to sync candidates to your CRM.
LinkedIn Business
This plan is aimed at small and medium businesses looking to grow their online presence.
With LinkedIn Business, you can:
Create a Company Page.
Access content analytics.
Run ads to reach your target audience.
Why it's not ideal for sales prospecting
LinkedIn Business focuses on branding and content, not on lead search, segmentation, or prospecting workflows.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
This is the ideal plan for sales teams and outbound prospecting.
With Sales Navigator, you get:
Advanced prospect search with powerful filters.
Real-time alerts on target leads and accounts.
Lead and account lists for structured tracking.
Personalized recommendations.
Unlimited InMails for direct outreach.
LinkedIn Basic vs Sales Nav
Filter limitations
Basic provides only 10 filters.
Sales Navigator offers up to 30 advanced filters.
If you want accurate segmentation, Basic simply won’t be enough.
Connection request limits
Until October 2023, both free and paid accounts had identical quotas.
Now, free accounts face new restrictions:
With a free LinkedIn account:
150–250 connection requests per week (no note).
10 connection requests per month (with a note).
Notes are now limited to 200 characters (not 300).
As mentioned by Linkedin in the screenshot, this is a restriction to LinkedIn free accounts
With Sales Navigator:
150-250 connection requests are allowed per week.
If you added a note, no impact on the quota
The note was limited to 300 characters
These restrictions make it nearly impossible to run structured prospecting using a free account.
Why You Should Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator for Your Prospecting Needs
Sales Navigator is built for outbound sales. You get:
Advanced search filters to target your ideal customers.
Recommendation engines to surface relevant leads.
Real-time insights to stay ahead of your competition.
Saved lists and alerts to keep your pipeline warm.
Unlimited InMails for direct conversations.
It saves time, improves targeting, and boosts your chances of reaching the right people at the right moment.
Want to master Sales Navigator?
We have a complete guide on how to use Sales Navigator effectively with LGM to scale your outbound strategy.