LinkedIn Recruiter comes in two versions: Recruiter Lite, bought online, and Recruiter, sold on a quote. LinkedIn does not publish the price of either on its plan comparison page. What sets them apart: the number of InMails, the search filters, network access and the integration with your ATS.
Here is what each version includes, how to get your price, and the alternatives for sourcing on LinkedIn without a Recruiter licence.
Article checked on 11 November 2026, against LinkedIn's Recruiter Lite and Recruiter comparison page.
What Recruiter Lite and Recruiter include
LinkedIn offers two recruitment plans. Recruiter Lite is for the recruiter who needs finer search and wants to write to people outside their network. Recruiter is for a team: more filters, the whole network, projects shared between consultants and a link with the ATS. The table reflects what LinkedIn shows on its comparison page.
| Recruiter Lite | Recruiter | |
|---|---|---|
| InMails | 30 per month | More |
| Filters | More than 20 | More than 40 advanced search filters |
| Network reach | Up to the third degree | The whole LinkedIn network |
| Tracking | Not mentioned | Pipeline statistics |
| ATS integration | Not mentioned | Yes |
| Purchase | Online | Through the sales team |
Both versions are for finding and contacting candidates. Tracking the recruitment itself (process, client submissions, placement) stays in your ATS.
LinkedIn Recruiter: what price, and how to get it
LinkedIn shows no price on its recruitment plan comparison page. For Recruiter Lite, the price appears at online checkout and depends on the country, the currency and the commitment length. For Recruiter, it is negotiated with a sales representative, based on the number of licences and the contract length.
The amounts you read on blogs vary from one site to another, because they mix dollars and euros, monthly and annual billing, or date from older pricing. We quote none of them here.
To get your actual price:
- Recruiter Lite: from your LinkedIn account, open the Premium plans page and choose the recruiting plan. The price is shown before payment, with the monthly or annual option.
- Recruiter: use the contact form on the comparison page. Have the number of licences, the length and your ATS integration needs ready: they drive the price.
- Compare against cost per hire. A licence is judged by the number of placements it helps you make, not by its monthly price alone.
Recruiter Lite or Recruiter: how to choose
Recruiter Lite is enough for an independent recruiter or a small team that mostly searches profiles and writes InMails. Recruiter becomes useful when several consultants work the same searches, share projects and want to connect LinkedIn to their ATS. The volume of InMails also weighs in the choice.
Three questions settle it:
- How many consultants source at the same time? A shared project stops two people approaching the same candidate.
- How many messages to strangers per month? If your outreach mostly goes through invitations and connections, InMails matter less.
- Where does your history live? If your conversations and notes are in your ATS, the integration avoids double entry. Otherwise, a profile found on LinkedIn has to be copied by hand.
Alternatives to LinkedIn Recruiter
A Recruiter licence is one way among several to source on LinkedIn. A free account with good Boolean search, a Premium or Sales Navigator account, job board CV databases and your own talent pool cover much of the need. The choice depends on your outreach volume and the roles you fill.
The free account and Boolean search. LinkedIn's search bar accepts AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks and parentheses. A well-built query narrows results without paid filters. See our guide to Boolean search on LinkedIn.
Premium and Sales Navigator. They add InMails and filters. Sales Navigator is designed for sales prospecting, but some recruiters also use it to map the target companies of a search.
Job board CV databases. For profiles who are actively looking, a job board's CV database gives you available candidates with an up-to-date CV.
Your talent pool. It is the cheapest source: candidates you have already met, with their notes and contact details. Searching your own records first is part of any method of sourcing in recruitment.
AI sourcing tools. Tools such as Kalent or Profilr look for profiles from a job description. In Marvin, the profiles they find can be sent to your projects.
In Marvin
Marvin's AI sourcing starts from a description of the profile you are looking for. It searches your talent pool first, then the LinkedIn profiles your agency has already retrieved, then, with your LinkedIn account connected, live on LinkedIn, and ranks each profile against the role. It is included in the Suite plan.
A free LinkedIn account is enough to connect LinkedIn to Marvin, sync conversations and run sequences of invitations and messages. InMails and voice notes require a paid account: Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter. With the Chrome extension, a LinkedIn profile becomes a candidate record in your talent pool.
A profile's email and phone number come from a separate enrichment that you run when you need it, using your credits. See finding a candidate's phone number or email.
FAQ
How much does LinkedIn Recruiter cost?
LinkedIn does not publish prices on its plan comparison page. Recruiter Lite is bought online and its price is shown at checkout, depending on country and commitment length. Recruiter is negotiated with the LinkedIn sales team, on a quote.
What is the difference between LinkedIn Recruiter and Recruiter Lite?
Recruiter Lite gives 30 InMails per month, more than 20 search filters and access to the network up to the third degree. Recruiter adds more than 40 advanced filters, access to the whole LinkedIn network, pipeline statistics and an integration with your ATS.
Can you source on LinkedIn without a Recruiter licence?
Yes. A free account lets you search with Boolean operators and write to your connections. A Premium or Sales Navigator account adds InMails and filters. The main limit is InMails and invitations with a note, which LinkedIn restricts on free accounts.
Is Recruiter Lite enough for an independent recruiter?
Often, yes. A solo recruiter or a small team mainly uses search, InMails and tracking a few projects. The full version pays off when several consultants share projects and the ATS integration becomes necessary.