How Many InMail Credits Do You Get Per Month? LinkedIn Plans Compared
LinkedIn InMail lets you message people you're not connected with, but every plan has a monthly credit limit. Here's exactly how many InMail credits per month you get on each LinkedIn plan, plus rollover rules and tips to maximize your credits.
InMail credits by LinkedIn plan
| LinkedIn Plan | InMail Credits / Month | Max Rollover | Approximate Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 | — | $0 |
| Premium Career | 5 | 15 | $30/mo |
| Premium Business | 15 | 45 | $60/mo |
| Sales Navigator Core | 50 | 150 | $100/mo |
| Sales Navigator Advanced | 50 | 150 | $150/mo |
| Recruiter Lite | 30 | 90 | $170/mo |
| Recruiter | 150 | 450 | $835/mo |
How InMail credits work
Rollover rules
Unused InMail credits roll over for up to 90 days. After that, they expire. This means the maximum credits you can accumulate is 3x your monthly allotment.
Credit-back on replies
If someone responds to your InMail within 90 days, you get the credit back. This is LinkedIn's way of rewarding relevant, personalized messages. Mass InMail blasts waste credits; thoughtful outreach gets them refunded.
Open Profile messages
Some LinkedIn members enable "Open Profile," which means you can InMail them without using a credit. Look for the gold "Open" badge on their profile.
You have Sales Navigator Core (50 credits/month) and haven't used any InMails in 3 months. How many credits do you have?
Correct! Credits roll over for a maximum of 90 days (3 months). With Sales Navigator Core at 50/month, your cap is 150 credits.
Credits roll over for up to 90 days. So the maximum you can accumulate is 3x your monthly allotment: 50 x 3 = 150 credits.
InMail vs. cold email: which is better for outreach?
| LinkedIn InMail | Cold email | |
|---|---|---|
| Open rate | 50–70% | 40–60% |
| Response rate | 10–25% | 5–15% |
| Cost per message | $1–6 (depending on plan) | <$0.01 |
| Monthly volume limit | 5–150 messages | Unlimited (with proper setup) |
| Personalization | Manual only | Automated + manual |
| Best for | High-value sales prospects, recruiting | Link building, partnerships, scale outreach |
| Follow-up sequences | No built-in automation | Fully automatable |
InMail is effective for high-value, one-to-one outreach when you need to reach a specific person. But for link building, partnership outreach, or any scenario where you need to contact more than a handful of people per month, it's better to run a cold email campaign. Cold email is significantly more cost-effective and scalable. Browse our sales prospecting email templates for ready-to-use examples.
Tips to maximize your InMail credits
- Personalize every message. Generic InMails waste credits because they don't get replies (and you don't get the credit back). Reference their recent post, role change, or company news.
- Target Open Profiles. Messages to Open Profile members don't cost credits. Filter for them in Sales Navigator.
- Keep it short. 3–4 sentences. InMail has a 1,900-character limit, but shorter messages get better response rates.
- Connect first when possible. A connection request with a note is free. Reserve InMail for people who don't accept connection requests. Once you have hundreds of connections, a tool like LeadDelta helps you tag and filter them so you remember who's who.
- Use email for scale. If you need to reach 50+ prospects, email outreach is more practical. Tools like Wiza can extract verified emails from the same LinkedIn profiles you're browsing, or see Wiza alternatives for options that don't require Sales Navigator. Find their email address and use a proper outreach workflow.
- Time it right. InMails sent on weekday mornings (Tuesday–Thursday) get the best response rates.
For meeting requests specifically, see our meeting request email templates. For the latest on InMail policies, see LinkedIn's official InMail guide.
Unlimited outreach without InMail limits
MentionAgent finds prospects, looks up their email addresses, and sends personalized outreach automatically. No InMail credits needed, no monthly limits.
Start Getting Mentioned For $99/moYou need to contact 200 bloggers for a link building campaign. Should you use InMail or cold email?
Right! Even with Sales Navigator (50 credits/month), it would take 4 months to reach 200 people. Cold email lets you reach all 200 in a single campaign.
Cold email is the clear winner for scale. InMail's volume limits (5–150/month depending on plan) make large campaigns impractical. Save InMail for your top 10 highest-value prospects.
Frequently asked questions
How many InMail credits do you get per month?
It depends on your LinkedIn plan. Premium Career: 5/month, Premium Business: 15/month, Sales Navigator Core: 50/month, Recruiter Lite: 30/month, Recruiter: 150/month. Free LinkedIn accounts get 0 InMail credits.
Do unused InMail credits roll over?
Yes, unused credits roll over for up to 90 days (3 months). After 90 days, unused credits expire. The maximum you can accumulate is 3x your monthly allotment.
Do you get InMail credits back if someone responds?
Yes. If the recipient responds within 90 days, you get the credit back. This encourages relevant, personalized messages rather than mass outreach.
What's the difference between InMail and regular LinkedIn messages?
Regular messages can only be sent to 1st-degree connections. InMail lets you message anyone on LinkedIn, even without a connection. InMail supports longer messages and has better deliverability.
Is InMail better than cold email for outreach?
InMail has higher open rates but is far more expensive per message and limited in volume. Cold email is better for outreach at scale, especially for link building. InMail works well for targeted recruiting and high-value sales prospects.