LinkedIn Recruiter 2024: Pricing and Cost Differences

LinkedIn is the Facebook + Instagram + Twitter of the professional world. With over a billion users across 200 countries, it’s become the go-to platform for connecting professionals with opportunities. 

However, a big question for recruiters is: How much does LinkedIn Recruiter cost?

If you’ve been searching for straightforward pricing, you’ve probably noticed that getting a direct answer isn’t easy. LinkedIn isn’t exactly upfront about its prices, making things tricky for anyone trying to budget their recruiting tools. That’s where this guide comes in. We’re cutting through the clutter and breaking down the costs of LinkedIn Recruiter in 2024—what you’ll pay, what drives those costs, and whether the investment is worth it for you.

What LinkedIn Recruiter Does

LinkedIn Recruiter is a platform that helps recruiters efficiently find, engage, and manage candidates. It offers access to LinkedIn’s professional network and allows targeted searches using filters like skills, location, and industry. With advanced search tools, InMail messaging, and team collaboration features, LinkedIn Recruiter streamlines the entire hiring process from sourcing to candidate engagement.

LinkedIn Recruiter’s Functioning

LinkedIn Recruiter operates by offering a combination of powerful features that help you find and connect with the right candidates. Here’s how it works:

• Advanced Search Capabilities: Utilize over 20+ filters to zero in on specific candidates based on experience, skills, or current roles.
• Direct Candidate Outreach: Reach out to potential candidates through InMail, a direct messaging system that allows contact regardless of connection status.
• Team Collaboration: Share candidate profiles, track project progress, and manage hiring pipelines collaboratively, ensuring seamless communication across recruitment teams.

LinkedIn Recruiter’s functionality is built for efficiency, helping recruiters manage large pools of candidates while maintaining personal engagement. Each plan has its strengths, which we’ll discuss next.

Key Features of LinkedIn Recruiter

Advanced Search and Filters

It allows you to refine your candidate pool by skills, years of experience, industries, and more. Filtering out irrelevant profiles helps you save time, which is crucial for high-volume recruiting.

Direct Candidate Outreach

With InMails, you can contact candidates directly, regardless of connection status. Each plan offers a set number of InMails:

• Lite: 30 per month
• Professional Services: 100 per month
• Corporate: 150 per month

Bulk messaging in higher-tier plans saves time when reaching out to multiple candidates.

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Collaboration Tools

Share candidate profiles, notes, and project updates across your team. Collaboration becomes more robust as you move up the plans:

• Lite offers basic sharing features
• Professional and Corporate plans include advanced tracking and collaboration capabilities, perfect for teams handling complex hiring needs.

Whether you’re working solo or with a team, LinkedIn Recruiter’s plans and features are built to support different scales of recruitment.

LinkedIn Recruiter Plans

Before you pay, know what you are paying for.

LinkedIn Recruiter has different options depending on your needs. There are three main plans: Lite, Professional Services, and Corporate. 

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite 

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is designed for individual recruiters or small teams. It’s the most affordable option, giving you access to up to third-degree connections, 20+ search filters, and 30 InMail messages per month. If you’re working on a limited budget, Lite could be a good starting point. You’ll have fewer features, but it’s enough to get you searching and reaching out.

LinkedIn Recruiter Professional Services

LinkedIn Recruiter Professional Services is tailored for staffing agencies. It offers more advanced search features, including 40+ filters and insights like candidate skills and tenure, and even spotlights on those open to contract work. You also get 100 InMail messages per month and the ability to share candidate pools with your team. If you need to collaborate and work with multiple clients, this plan steps up your recruiting game.

LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate

LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate is the premium choice for large organizations. You get full access to LinkedIn’s entire network of profiles, advanced search tools, and 150 InMail messages per month. Collaboration features here are even more robust, letting you manage projects, track pipelines, and share insights across your team. If you’re recruiting at scale, this is the plan that gives you the power to do it efficiently.

Texting 150 candidates a month—does it really move the needle? And what about those crucial follow-ups that often slip through the cracks? With Tidyhire’s Ria, personalized follow-ups are done for you in a fraction of the time, ensuring no opportunity is missed.

Quick Comparison 

Search Features

Messaging Features

Collaboration and Organization

With the right option figured out. Now is the time for some numbers.

Price Indications for LinkedIn Recruiter Plans

Let’s get into the actual numbers. While LinkedIn doesn’t publish its prices openly for all plans, we’ve gathered some standard figures from reading reddit posts of users to help you plan your budget for 2024. This obviously might not be factual, but would help you get an idea of a budget.

LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate

The Corporate plan is designed for large teams and companies that need extensive access to LinkedIn’s full range of profiles. It typically costs around $10,000 per seat annually according to some reddit discussions. This plan includes advanced search features, collaboration tools, and 150 InMail messages per month. The price can vary depending on the number of seats you need and your specific negotiations with LinkedIn’s sales team. Some recent discussions quote upwards of $20,000 that do not have single seats anymore. 

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite

Recruiter Lite offers a more affordable option if you’re working solo or in a small team. A single license costs around $1,680 per year or about $170 monthly. For teams needing 2 to 5 seats, the annual cost increases to $2,670 per seat. This plan has more limited features but gives you essential tools like 30 InMail messages and basic search filters.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Many recruiters have recommended starting with a sales navigator in the initial days to keep the costs low and access many features. Enterprise plans cost about $1600/year.

These prices provide a snapshot of what you expect to pay in 2024. Keep in mind, though, that LinkedIn adjusts its pricing based on factors like your location, industry, and the number of licenses you purchase, so your final cost could differ.

Now that you know the pricing, let’s strategize to get the right price for you.

Pricing Strategy for 2024

LinkedIn’s pricing model for Recruiter adapts based on a few key factors. The cost you’ll pay for LinkedIn Recruiter depends on your team size, industry, and where you’re located. LinkedIn uses a market and account-based approach, which means they assess your needs and adjust pricing accordingly.

For example, the more licenses you need, the lower the cost per seat. Large companies often benefit from bulk discounts, which can reduce the overall price. On the flip side, smaller teams might pay a bit more per seat.

Location matters too. Pricing can vary between regions due to differences in market demand and currency fluctuations. Some industries also see different price structures, especially those in competitive sectors with higher demand for top talent.

Understanding these pricing strategies can help you better negotiate your contract or find the right plan that fits your recruiting goals without overspending. Next, we’ll dive into the actual numbers and break down what you can expect to pay for LinkedIn Recruiter in 2024.

You know the price. You know how to get it right. Now, let’s understand what else you should consider before budgeting.

Cost Considerations and Additional Costs

When planning your LinkedIn Recruiter budget, you must consider additional costs beyond the standard subscription fees. These extra expenses can add up, so it’s important to factor them in early.

Cost of Additional InMail Credits

Every LinkedIn Recruiter plan has a set number of InMails per month—30 with Lite, 100 with Professional Services, and 150 with Corporate. But if you need more, you’ll need to purchase additional InMails. These extra credits are priced at around $10 each. So, suppose you’re in a high-volume recruitment period. In that case, you’ll want to budget for the potential cost of extra InMail credits, especially if your outreach strategies rely heavily on direct messaging.

Job Posting Options and Associated Costs

LinkedIn allows you to post job openings, but the visibility of these posts depends on how much you’re willing to invest. Primary job postings are free but may not appear prominently in searches. To ensure your job postings reach the right audience, you may need to promote them with a paid budget. The more you spend, the better your visibility. Additionally, LinkedIn offers a contract-based model for posting jobs, where you pay based on the number of qualified candidates who apply. These promotions and contracts can quickly add up, so it’s wise to plan ahead and decide how much visibility you’re willing to pay for.

These additional costs can significantly impact your overall budget. Whether you’re extending your InMail outreach or boosting your job posting visibility, it’s important to consider these factors when deciding on a LinkedIn Recruiter plan.

If LinkedIn Recruiter isn’t the right fit, several alternatives might better suit your needs. Depending on your recruitment strategy, they might offer more flexibility or automation.

Alternatives to LinkedIn Recruiter

If LinkedIn Recruiter isn’t quite the right fit for your hiring needs, several alternatives could offer better value or more suitable features for your recruitment strategy.

1. Tidyhire

Tidyhire uses AI to transform and streamline the entire recruiting process, automating tasks like candidate sourcing, outreach, and personalized follow-ups. Starting at just $99 per month, it's a cost-efficient solution that empowers recruiters to handle more with less effort, without compromising on the personal touch that’s key to successful hiring. Tidyhire’s intelligent Recruiting Agent, Ria, taps into a vast network of over 700 million candidates across multiple platforms, delivering highly qualified profiles directly to your inbox. By automating routine tasks, Tidyhire allows you to concentrate on strategic initiatives, making it a powerful tool for enhancing efficiency and optimizing recruitment efforts. Whether you're an individual recruiter or part of a team, Tidyhire offers flexible plans designed to meet your needs and help you focus on what truly matters—finding the right talent.

2. Free LinkedIn Techniques

You can still use LinkedIn’s vast network of professionals without paying for LinkedIn Recruiter. Mastering Boolean search strings allows you to narrow your candidate pool based on specific criteria such as job titles, skills, and locations. X-ray searching via Google can also help you find LinkedIn profiles outside the platform’s limitations, allowing you to tap into LinkedIn’s database without a premium account.

3. Job Boards (Indeed, Glassdoor, etc.)

Job boards like Indeed and Glassdoor can be great alternatives for recruiters focusing more on attracting active candidates. These platforms draw applicants already looking for new roles, reducing the time spent on sourcing. While job boards don’t offer the same search capabilities as LinkedIn Recruiter, they can be a more budget-friendly option for businesses that rely on inbound applications rather than outbound sourcing.

Each of these alternatives can suit different recruiting styles and budgets, whether you’re looking to automate your process or focus on attracting candidates who are actively seeking new opportunities.

Each alternative offers unique advantages, whether you're seeking AI automation with Tidyhire, budget-friendly LinkedIn techniques, or job boards like Indeed and Glassdoor for active candidates. There's an option for every approach. Let’s wrap it up with a quick recap.

Conclusion

LinkedIn Recruiter offers a powerful set of tools for finding and engaging with top talent, but it comes with a price tag that requires careful consideration. From Lite to Corporate plans, each option brings different levels of access, collaboration, and outreach capabilities tailored to various recruiting needs. The costs in 2024 reflect LinkedIn’s market and account-based pricing model, which adjusts depending on your industry, location, and the number of licenses you require.

When deciding whether LinkedIn Recruiter is the right investment for your business, it’s important to weigh the value it brings against your recruiting goals. If you need advanced search capabilities, access to a large professional network, and detailed reporting, LinkedIn Recruiter could be the tool that enhances your hiring process. However, for those looking for a more automated, AI-driven solution, Tidyhire offers a compelling alternative.

Ready to transform your recruiting strategy with AI? Start your free trial with Tidyhire today and let Ria handle the heavy lifting, so you can focus on building the right team. Book a Call.