LinkedIn InMail is a private message you can send to a LinkedIn member you are not connected to, using a credit from a paid LinkedIn plan. LinkedIn's help page describes InMail messages as ones that let you contact any LinkedIn user without requiring an introduction or contact details 1. A normal message only goes to your 1st-degree connections. A connection request asks first and talks later. InMail lets you open the conversation straight away, within a fixed number of credits each month.
01 What LinkedIn InMail means
LinkedIn has three ordinary ways to reach a person. You can message someone you are already connected to. You can send a connection request, with or without a short note. Or you can send an InMail, which goes to someone outside your network without them having to accept you first.
InMail is a paid feature. LinkedIn's help page puts it plainly: InMail messages are a Premium account feature, and the balance becomes zero when a Premium subscription is canceled 2. Each one you send uses a credit, and each plan comes with a set number of credits a month.
The message lands in the person's LinkedIn inbox, marked as InMail. They can reply, accept, decline or ignore it. If they reply, the two of you can keep talking in that thread as you would in any other conversation.
02 How does LinkedIn InMail work?
You open the person's profile, choose to message them, and write a subject and a body. LinkedIn takes one credit. The composer shows how many credits you have left 2.
Credits arrive on a schedule. On Premium plans they renew every month on the first day of your billing cycle, and for Sales Navigator they renew on the first day of each month 2. Unused credits build up to a cap for each plan rather than growing without end 2.
LinkedIn also gives credits back. Its help page says every InMail message that is accepted, declined or responded to directly within 90 days of being sent is credited back 2. A message nobody answers keeps its credit spent. An automatic reminder goes to the recipient within three days of sending 2.
- Premium Career: 5 credits a month 2
- Premium Business: 15 credits a month 2
- Recruiter Lite: 30 credits a month 2
- Sales Navigator Core: 50 credits a month 2
- A full breakdown of renewal and caps is in the guide to InMail credits per month
03 What is the difference between InMail and a message on LinkedIn?
A normal LinkedIn message is free and goes only to people you are connected to. InMail costs a credit and goes to people you are not connected to. That is the whole difference in who you can reach.
There is a third kind that sits in between. Some Premium members turn on Open Profile. LinkedIn's help page says Open Profile allows other LinkedIn members to message you for free, without using InMail messages 3. So a message to an Open Profile reaches a stranger without spending a credit. The same page notes that members with basic or free accounts can only send a limited number of Open Profile messages each month 3.
- Message: free, 1st-degree connections only
- Connection request: free, asks permission first, counts against your weekly invitation limit
- InMail: uses a credit, reaches people outside your network
- Open Profile message: reaches a Premium member who allows it, without a credit 3
04 InMail or a connection request: which should you send?
LinkedIn itself points people to InMail for strangers. On its page about invitation restrictions, one of its suggestions is to use InMail and Groups to network with LinkedIn members you don't know 4. Invitations to people who ignore them can get an account restricted from sending more, so InMail is the cleaner choice for a cold first message.
A connection request has its own strengths. It is free, and once accepted you can message the person as often as makes sense. But one account sends only about 100 connection requests per week, as the weekly invite limit page explains, and many requests are never accepted.
InMail suits a short list of people you most want to reach, with a message that can stand on its own. A connection request suits a longer list where a slower start is fine. Most teams that do outreach seriously use both.
05 Why InMail runs out, and what people do about it
A credit allowance is small next to most outreach plans. LinkedIn's help page says it does not currently offer a subscription plan with unlimited InMail message credits 2. So when you want to reach more people each month than your credits cover, you need another channel or more capacity. These are the honest options, with what is good and bad about each.
- Write only to people who will answer. Fewer, better messages earn credits back. It does not add reach.
- Message Open Profiles first. No credit is spent 3. Only some members have it turned on.
- Send connection requests alongside. Free, but slower, and capped each week.
- Add senders. More accounts, each with its own allowance, as covered on the multiple senders page. More to manage.
- Follow up by email. No LinkedIn limit at all, if you can find a verified address.
- Hire an SDR or an agency. Someone else does the work. Costs more, and quality varies.
- Have the outreach run for you. A done-for-you service sends at a set monthly volume. You give up some control over each message.
06 Where a done-for-you service fits
LinkedNav is a done-for-you LinkedIn outreach service. You buy a monthly prospect volume, and the team builds the list, writes the sequences, runs the outreach and handles the replies.
For InMail, that means messages go out from your own LinkedIn account at the volume you chose, and you do not have to buy the credits or the Sales Navigator membership yourself. The bulk InMail page covers how that works, and the cost is on the pricing page.
It does not fit everyone. If you send a handful of InMails a month to people you already know about, your own Premium plan is enough. If you recruit rather than sell, LinkedIn's Recruiter plans are built for that. And if you want to write and send every message yourself, a service is the wrong shape for you.
07 How to write an InMail that gets an answer
Because a reply returns the credit, a good InMail is cheaper as well as better. Keep it short enough to read on a phone. Say who you are and why you are writing to this person in the first line. Refer to something real about them: their role, a post, a change at their company.
Ask one small question that is easy to answer. Leave the pitch for later. And send it to people for whom your offer plainly fits, because a message to the wrong person is a spent credit whatever you write.
- LinkedIn InMail is a paid private message to someone outside your network, sent with a credit 1.
- A normal message only reaches 1st-degree connections; an Open Profile message reaches a stranger without a credit 3.
- Credits renew monthly, build up to a cap, and come back when the person answers within 90 days 2.
- LinkedIn does not offer a plan with unlimited InMail credits, so volume needs other channels or more capacity 2.
- LinkedIn suggests InMail and Groups for people you don't know, rather than invitations 4.
FAQ Frequently asked questions
Is LinkedIn InMail free?
No. InMail is a feature of paid LinkedIn plans such as Premium, Sales Navigator and Recruiter, and each message uses a credit from a monthly allowance. Messaging your own connections is free, and so is writing to a Premium member who has Open Profile turned on.
What is the difference between InMail and a message on LinkedIn?
A message goes to someone you are already connected to and costs nothing. An InMail goes to someone you are not connected to and uses a credit. Both arrive in the person's LinkedIn inbox, and a reply to either becomes a normal conversation.
Do I get my InMail credit back if they reply?
Yes. LinkedIn credits back an InMail that is accepted, declined or responded to within 90 days of sending. If the person never answers, the credit stays used. That makes a well aimed message cheaper than a broad one.
Can I send an InMail without Premium?
Not a true InMail. You need a paid plan with credits. Without one you can still message your connections, send connection requests with a note, and message members who have turned on Open Profile, within the monthly limit LinkedIn sets for free accounts.
Is InMail better than a connection request?
It depends on the list. InMail lets you start the conversation straight away and is what LinkedIn suggests for people you don't know. A connection request is free and lets you keep messaging after it is accepted, but it is capped each week and many are never accepted. Many teams use both.
Sources
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Help: Understand InMail credits in Sales Navigator Read on October 16, 2026.
InMail messages are private messages that enable you to connect with any LinkedIn user without requiring an introduction or contact details
- LinkedIn Help: InMail message credits and renewal process Read on October 16, 2026.
Every InMail message that is accepted/declined or responded to directly within 90 days of it being sent is credited back.
- LinkedIn Help: Manage your Open Profile settings as a Premium subscriber Read on October 16, 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 16, 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.