LinkedIn InMail: Costs, Credits & Limits Per Plan (2026)
Quick answer: InMail credits come bundled with a paid LinkedIn plan. Premium Career gives 5/month, Premium Business 15/month, Sales Navigator (Core and Advanced) 50/month, and Recruiter Lite 30/month. Credits accumulate up to a cap, and you get a credit refunded if the recipient replies within 90 days. Messaging someone with Open Profile enabled is free and never touches a credit. Sponsored InMail (now Message Ads) is separate and costs roughly $0.25-$1.00 per send through LinkedIn Ads.
Jump to: Credits by plan · How credits actually work · How to get more InMail · Message Ads costs · Free alternatives · FAQ
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InMail Credits by LinkedIn Plan
Credit allotments below are from LinkedIn Help: InMail message credits and renewal process. Prices are the current 2026 US monthly rates and are cohort-based (long-time subscribers often keep older rates), so treat them as ranges, not exact quotes.
Credit counts: verified against LinkedIn Help (July 2026). Prices: current US rates cross-checked with our LinkedIn Premium pricing guide; LinkedIn is mid-rollout on a consumer price increase, so your exact rate depends on when and where you subscribed. Recruiter Corporate pricing is quote-only, and its accumulation cap is not published cleanly, so we flag it rather than invent a number.
Watch the Recruiter Lite row: its cap is 120, which is 4x the monthly allotment, not the 3x that applies to every other plan. Most guides copy the 3x rule across the board and get this wrong.
What Is InMail?
InMail lets you message anyone on LinkedIn, even people you are not connected with. Regular members can only message their 1st-degree connections. InMail bypasses that limit.
Each InMail you send costs one credit, drawn from your monthly allotment. The important part, which the next section covers, is that the credit is often not permanently spent.
You send 10 InMails this month. 4 people reply within 90 days. How many credits did you actually spend?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
How InMail Credits Actually Work
This is where most guides are vague. Here are the three mechanics that decide how far your credits really stretch, all verified against LinkedIn Help.
1. Credits accumulate up to a cap
Unused credits roll forward month to month, but only up to a ceiling. For consumer and Sales Navigator plans that ceiling is 3x your monthly allotment:
- Premium Career: 5/month, accumulates up to 15
- Premium Business: 15/month, accumulates up to 45
- Sales Navigator (Core or Advanced): 50/month, accumulates up to 150
- Recruiter Lite: 30/month, accumulates up to 120 (the 4x exception)
When new credits arrive that would push you over the cap, LinkedIn expires the oldest credits first to make room. So hoarding credits past the cap does nothing. Credits also disappear if you cancel or downgrade.
Example: Premium Business gives 15/month. Use 5 in month one and you carry 10 forward. Keep under-spending and you top out at 45, then any further monthly grants beyond that are lost.
2. A reply within 90 days refunds the credit
Every InMail that is accepted, declined, or responded to directly within 90 days of being sent is credited back to your account. A "Quick Reply" counts, and so does a "not interested" decline. This is the single biggest lever on your real InMail budget: a message that gets any response effectively costs nothing.
3. Open Profile messages are free
If a recipient has Open Profile enabled (Premium members can turn it on, shown by a badge on their profile), anyone can message them for free. It opens a normal message box, does not require a connection, and does not consume an InMail credit. This is a legitimate way to stretch outreach well past your monthly allotment.
How to Get More InMail
There are only a few honest ways to increase your effective InMail volume:
- Upgrade the plan. The jump from Premium Business (15) to Sales Navigator (50) is the biggest single step for outreach volume.
- Earn refunds. Write messages that get replies. Every response inside the 90-day window returns the credit, so a high reply rate multiplies your effective sends.
- Target Open Profiles. Free messages to Open Profile members never touch your balance.
- Let credits accumulate. If you are ramping up, bank credits toward the cap before a big outreach push.
You cannot buy individual InMail credits as a standalone add-on; they come with a subscription tier.
Sponsored InMail (Message Ads) Costs
Sponsored InMail, now called Message Ads, is a paid advertising format, not part of your InMail credits. Your message lands directly in a user's inbox and is billed through LinkedIn Campaign Manager.
Per-send pricing is auction-based and varies, so treat the range as a planning estimate rather than a fixed rate.
Message Ads vs InMail Credits
You want to send a product announcement to 5,000 potential buyers. What should you use?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
How to Check Your Remaining Credits
- Click Me (top right) then Settings & Privacy
- Go to Account preferences then Subscriptions & payments
- Your InMail credit balance is displayed
You can also see it while composing a new InMail. LinkedIn shows the remaining credit count at the top of the message window.
Free Alternatives to InMail
You do not always need a credit. These reach people for free:
The last method takes more time but usually converts better than cold InMail.
Tips to Improve InMail Response Rates
A short, specific message beats a long pitch. Practical guidelines:
- Subject line: short and personalized
- First sentence: reference something specific (a recent post, company news, a mutual connection)
- Length: keep it well under 100 words
- Ask: one clear question, not a wall of information
- Timing: mid-week mornings in the recipient's timezone tend to land better
- Follow up: one polite follow-up after about a week if there is no reply
Because a reply refunds the credit within 90 days, a higher response rate directly lowers your real cost per conversation.
Which InMail subject line is most likely to get a response?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
FAQ
How much does one LinkedIn InMail cost?
InMails are bundled with a paid plan, not sold individually. The cheapest plan with InMail is Premium Career at $29.99-$39.99/month for 5 credits. Effective cost per message drops sharply once you account for the 90-day reply refund and free Open Profile messages.
Do I get InMail credits back if someone responds?
Yes. Every InMail that is accepted, declined, or responded to within 90 days of being sent is credited back to your account, according to LinkedIn Help. A quick reply or a "not interested" both count as a response.
How many InMail credits do I get per month?
Premium Career gives 5, Premium Business 15, Sales Navigator Core and Advanced 50 each, Recruiter Lite 30, and Recruiter Corporate 150. These are the current allotments listed in LinkedIn Help.
Can I send InMail without LinkedIn Premium?
No. InMail requires a paid plan. Free accounts can still use connection requests, group messages, and Open Profile messaging instead.
Do unused InMail credits expire?
Credits accumulate up to a cap, which is 3x your monthly allotment for most plans (and 4x, or 120, for Recruiter Lite). Beyond the cap the oldest credits expire first, and all unused credits are lost if you cancel or downgrade.
How much do LinkedIn Message Ads cost?
Message Ads (formerly Sponsored InMail) cost roughly $0.25-$1.00 per send on a cost-per-send model, with a minimum daily budget around $10. They are billed through LinkedIn Campaign Manager, separate from InMail credits.
Does messaging an Open Profile use an InMail credit?
No. If a member has Open Profile enabled, anyone can message them for free without a connection and without spending an InMail credit. It is one of the best ways to stretch outreach past your monthly allotment.
Related LinkedIn Guides
- LinkedIn Premium Pricing: All Plans Compared
- How to Cancel LinkedIn Premium
- LinkedIn Connection Message Templates
- LinkedIn Introduction Message Guide
- LinkedIn Post Boosting Guide
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