LinkedIn gives 5 InMail credits per month on Premium Career, 15 on Premium Business, 30 on Recruiter Lite and 50 on Sales Navigator Core 1. Credits arrive every month and unused ones build up to a cap for each plan. A credit comes back when the person accepts, declines or responds within 90 days 1. LinkedIn says it does not offer a plan with unlimited InMail credits 1. So when you want to reach more people each month than your credits cover, the answer is other channels and more capacity, not a bigger InMail plan.
01 How many InMail credits each LinkedIn plan gets per month
InMail lets you message someone you are not connected to, and each message uses one credit. The number of credits depends on the plan you pay for. These are the monthly numbers on LinkedIn's help page as it read on the day this guide was written.
Basic accounts are not on that list: LinkedIn describes InMail as a Premium account feature 1. If you are on a plan that is not listed here, the box where you write an InMail shows how many credits you have left.
02 When InMail credits renew, and how many you can save up
LinkedIn's wording is "You'll receive a new allotment of InMail message credits every month, on the first day of your billing cycle" 1. The date comes from the day your plan started. Sales Navigator is the exception: its credits renew on the first day of every calendar month, whatever your billing date is 1.
Unused credits carry over, up to a ceiling. Once you reach it, a new month adds nothing until you spend some.
Two things empty the balance. It becomes zero when a Premium subscription is cancelled, and credits do not move with you when you upgrade to a different account type 1. Credits from a Premium plan also cannot be used to send InMail in Sales Navigator or Recruiter 1.
03 How you get an InMail credit back
A credit is not always spent for good. LinkedIn credits an InMail back when the person accepts it, declines it or responds to it within 90 days of it being sent 1. A quick reply counts as a response. A message that is still pending counts as neither accepted nor declined, so that credit stays spent 1.
There is one more rule that shapes how you use them: you cannot send a second InMail to the same person until they respond to the first 1. An InMail is one attempt, not the start of a sequence.
Put together, this means credits spent on people who answer cost you nothing, and credits spent on people who ignore you are gone. The best way to stretch a month of credits is to send fewer messages to people with a real reason to reply.
04 Open Profile messages do not use a credit
Some people can be messaged without a connection and without a credit. A Premium subscriber can switch on Open Profile, and LinkedIn describes it this way: "Open Profile feature allows other LinkedIn members to message you for free, without using InMail messages" 2.
So before you spend a credit, check whether the person has an Open Profile. Part of almost any list can be reached this way, and each one is a credit kept for somebody who cannot.
It is not without a limit. LinkedIn notes that members with basic accounts can only send a limited number of Open Profile messages each month, and it does not give the number on that page 2.
05 What to do when a month of credits is not enough
If you want to talk to a few hundred new people a month, no plan's credits will cover it. Buying a bigger plan helps a little and then stops. These are the ways people add reach, with what is good and bad about each.
LinkedIn itself points in two of these directions. Its page on invitation restrictions says "Use InMail and Groups to network with LinkedIn members you don't know" 3, and the same page warns that an account sending too many invitations can be restricted 3.
- Connection requests. They use no credits, and once someone accepts you can message them as often as the conversation deserves. One account can send about 100 a week, so this has a ceiling too. See the weekly invite limit.
- Open Profile messages first. No credit and no connection needed. Not everyone has it switched on, so it covers part of a list, never all of it.
- Comments, groups and events. A thoughtful comment on someone's post is seen by them and costs nothing. It is slow, and it only works on people who post.
- Email follow-up. A verified work email is a second way to the same person. You need the address, and a cold email has to earn its reply like any other message.
- More people sending. Each teammate has their own invitations and their own credits. It multiplies reach, and it multiplies the coordinating. See running more than one sender.
- Having the outreach run for you. An agency, a hired SDR or a done-for-you service takes the list, the writing and the replies off your desk. You pay for it, and you have to trust someone else with your first impression.
06 Where having it run for you fits, and where it does not
LinkedNav is the last kind of option. It is a done-for-you LinkedIn outreach service: you choose how many prospects you want reached each month, and the team builds the lead list, writes the InMail and connection sequences, manages the inbox and reports weekly. Dedicated sending infrastructure is included.
It fits a founder, a sales team or an agency that needs a steady number of new conversations every month and does not want to manage accounts, credits and follow-ups to get them. How it works has the steps, and what it costs is on the pricing page.
It does not fit everyone. If you send a handful of InMails a month to people you have chosen one by one, your plan's credits are enough and you should keep writing them yourself. The same goes for a recruiter filling one or two roles, or a team that wants to run its own tooling in house.
07 How to choose between these options
Start from the number of new people you want to reach in a month, then ask who does the work.
Whichever way you go, the rule that gives credits back points at the same habit: write to people who have a reason to answer. It makes credits last longer. LinkedIn's advice for invitations is in the same spirit: it suggests adding a personal message that explains why you would like to connect 3.
- Fewer people than your plan has credits: InMail alone is fine. Aim for replies, since each one hands the credit back.
- A little more than your credits: add Open Profile messages and connection requests before paying for a bigger plan.
- Several times your credits, with time to run it: more senders on the team, plus email follow-up.
- Several times your credits, with no time to run it: have it run for you, and compare the cost with hiring someone to do the same work.
- LinkedIn's monthly InMail credits are 5 on Premium Career, 15 on Premium Business, 30 on Recruiter Lite and 50 on Sales Navigator Core 1.
- Unused credits build up to a ceiling for each plan, and the balance becomes zero if you cancel Premium 1.
- A credit comes back when the person accepts, declines or responds within 90 days, so messages that earn a reply cost nothing 1.
- Open Profile messages use no credit, which makes them the first thing to check on any list 2.
- LinkedIn offers no plan with unlimited InMail credits, so reaching more people means more channels or more capacity, not a bigger plan 1.
FAQ Frequently asked questions
Do unused LinkedIn InMail credits roll over?
Yes, up to a ceiling. Unused credits carry into the next month and keep building until you reach the maximum for your plan, which LinkedIn lists on its help page beside the monthly numbers. After that, a new month adds nothing until you spend some. The whole balance becomes zero if you cancel your Premium subscription.
Is there a LinkedIn plan with unlimited InMail credits?
No. LinkedIn's help page says it does not currently offer a subscription plan with unlimited InMail message credits. What it offers instead is a credit back each time a recipient responds. The practical way to send more is to write to people who are likely to answer, and to use Open Profile messages, which do not use a credit.
Do I get an InMail credit back if the person never replies?
No. LinkedIn credits an InMail back when the recipient accepts it, declines it or responds to it inside the window its help page gives. A message that is still pending counts as neither accepted nor declined, so the credit stays spent. You also cannot send that person a second InMail until they respond to the first.
What happens to my InMail credits if I cancel LinkedIn Premium?
They are lost. LinkedIn says any InMail balance becomes zero when a Premium subscription is cancelled, and that credits are not carried over when you upgrade to a different account type. Credits from a Premium plan also cannot be used to send InMail in Sales Navigator or Recruiter, which keep their own balances.
How can I message more people on LinkedIn than my InMail credits allow?
Use the channels that do not need a credit. Open Profile messages are sent without one, connection requests let you message anyone who accepts, and comments, groups and email reach the same people another way. Beyond that, more teammates sending adds capacity, and so does having the outreach run for you by an agency or a done-for-you service.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: InMail message credits and renewal process Read on October 13, 2026.
You'll receive a new allotment of InMail message credits every month, on the first day of your billing cycle.
- LinkedIn Help: Manage your Open Profile settings as a Premium subscriber Read on October 13, 2026.
Open Profile feature allows other LinkedIn members to message you for free, without using InMail messages.
- LinkedIn Help: Types of restrictions for sending invitations Read on October 13, 2026.
Use InMail and Groups to network with LinkedIn members you don't know.
Have your LinkedIn outreach run for you.
LinkedNav is a done-for-you LinkedIn outreach service. You choose a monthly prospect volume, and our team builds the list, writes the sequences, runs the outreach and handles the replies.