LinkedIn Premium price in Germany: plans and whether it is worth it

LinkedIn Premium in Germany starts at 29.98 EUR a month. The paid version adds tools for direct outreach, extra job data, profile insights and LinkedIn Learning.

For expats, LinkedIn Premium Career can come in handy during an active job search, especially when you want to contact recruiters directly or target specific companies. However, sometimes a free subscription tier is enough. In this article, we'll help you decide whether Premium is worth buying or not.

LinkedIn Premium prices in Germany

Premium Career costs 29.98 EUR per month or 179.88 EUR per year, but there are more expensive plans for different needs (as of 2026, verify at LinkedIn.com). 

Plan	Monthly price	Annual price	Best for
Basic	Free	Free	General networking and job search
Premium Career	29.98 EUR	179.88 EUR	Job seekers
Premium Business	52.49 EUR	407.88 EUR	Networking and business use
Premium All-in-One	66.99 EUR	683.88 EUR	Small business owners
Sales Navigator Core	120.99 EUR	1,088.88 EUR	Sales and lead generation

Prices were collected in September 2026. LinkedIn notes that the final price can vary because of VAT (Mehrwertsteuer), promotions or the platform used to subscribe.

Buying annual subscriptions is a good way to save. Annual Career works out at about 14.99 EUR per month, compared to 29.98 EUR for monthly billing. Still, a full year is only worth it if you expect to keep using a premium membership. If you are job hunting for two or three months, monthly billing can be cheaper overall.

Sales Navigator and other specialist plans are mainly built for sales teams and companies rather than job seekers.

Payment options in Germany

In Germany, you can pay for LinkedIn Premium by debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Other options depend on the subscription and currency. For example, SEPA Direct Debit is available for LinkedIn Premium Career and Premium Business, while Sofort supports EUR transfers. PayPal may also appear at checkout for Premium purchases.

If you have moved to Germany and got a German bank card, you can use it for more than local subscriptions. 

For example, you may transfer funds home to support your family or cover expenses back there. With Profee, you can send money from Germany to 90+ destinations. Over 95% of our transfers arrive within minutes, so your money will reach the destination quickly (delivery time can vary depending on the destination, payment method and receiving bank). Check the current rate on profee.com or in the Profee app. 

LinkedIn Basic: for a normal job search

LinkedIn Basic is free and sufficient for most newcomers – it covers job applications, company follows, and messaging existing connections without any cost. The plan includes a LinkedIn Job Seeker Badge on your profile, which signals to recruiters that you are actively looking. You can also:

• build and update your profile;

• search for jobs;

• connect with recruiters and professionals;

• post, comment, and grow your visibility.

For many newcomers, that is enough to get started. At some point, though, you will probably want to know who has been looking at your profile – or write to someone you are not connected to yet. Basic doesn’t give you much there.

Premium Career: for active job seekers

LinkedIn Premium Career is built around job search, recruiter outreach and extra information about vacancies. The subscription tier also covers:

• 5 InMail credits per month;

• longer profile-view history;

• applicant and job-match insights;

• additional search and application tools;

• LinkedIn Learning;

• private browsing;

• profile-writing support;

• AI-based career and job features.

More about the features 

InMail

InMail is LinkedIn’s private messaging feature for contacting people outside your network. With a free account, you can message only people you are already connected to. Premium Career gives you 5 InMail credits per month, which you can use to write directly to a recruiter, hiring manager or another LinkedIn member without waiting for them to accept your connection request.

InMail is handy when you find a job you really want and know who is hiring for it. For example, if you spot a role in Munich and find the recruiter on LinkedIn, you can message them directly instead of waiting for a connection request to be accepted.

Job insights

The job insights help when you have a long list of vacancies and need to narrow it down. LinkedIn shows how closely your profile matches a role and gives you more information about other applicants. That can make it easier to focus on jobs where your background fits better.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning includes courses on tech, business, languages and other professional skills. If you are building your German-market CV from scratch and need to add something concrete, finishing a course and showing it on your profile is a small but visible signal.

"The future of work belongs not anymore to the people that have the fanciest degrees or went to the best colleges, but to the people who are adaptable, forward thinking, ready to learn, and ready to embrace these tools. It really kind of opens up the playing field in a way that I think we've never seen before." – Ryan Roslansky, CEO of LinkedIn, October 2025.

Open Profile Feature

The Open Profile Feature lets anyone on LinkedIn message you for free. You can enable or disable the Open Profile Feature in your profile settings at any time.

LinkedIn Basic vs Premium Career

Basic handles the job search itself, while Premium Career gives you more ways to reach people and more data around the search.

Feature	Basic	Premium Career
Search and apply for jobs	Yes	Yes
Create a profile and network	Yes	Yes
Message existing connections	Yes	Yes
InMail	No regular credits	5/month
Applicant insights	Limited	Yes
Profile viewer history	Limited	Up to 365 days
LinkedIn Learning	No full access	Yes
Private browsing	Limited	Yes

If you only browse vacancies and submit applications, Basic already does most of the work. Once you start contacting recruiters, checking who looked at your profile and using LinkedIn as part of a wider networking strategy, Premium becomes more reasonable.

Premium Business: for freelancers and consultants

Premium Business is aimed at networking, client work and business research rather than a standard job hunt. The tier includes many Career features, but increases the InMail allowance to 15 messages per month and adds broader search and business-focused tools.

Premium Business is relevant if you:

• freelance in Germany;

• work as a consultant;

• use LinkedIn to find clients;

• research companies before outreach;

• build a professional network as part of your work;

• contact new leads regularly.

Opinions on LinkedIn Premium 

For most job seekers, Premium seems to work best as a short-term tool during an intensive search.

InMail is probably the strongest reason to pay. If you have found a recruiter or hiring manager for a role you really want, you can message them directly instead of waiting for them to accept your connection request. Reddit user Dramatic_Suspect_526 puts things this way:

• “It might make a huge difference if one is able to directly communicate with hiring managers and decision makers.”

Applicant insights can save time when you are looking at lots of roles. LinkedIn shows where your profile looks like a stronger match. It helps when you are new to the German market and still working out which jobs are realistic for your experience, language level and background. Reddit user SmeltingMyWords101 highlighted exactly that:

• “The feature most worth it to me allows you to see which job postings you’re a Top Applicant for.” 

For most job seekers, Premium Career works as a short-term boost, but not a subscription you keep all year. If you mostly browse jobs and apply in the usual way, Basic already does a lot.

Free trial and cancellation

LinkedIn may offer you a free Premium trial, and you can cancel the subscription at any time. If you cancel a paid subscription, it stays active until the end of the billing period. A free trial works differently: cancel it early and Premium access may stop straight away (as of 2026, verify at LinkedIn.com).

You still need to add a payment method for the trial, and LinkedIn will start charging automatically when it ends unless you cancel first. To avoid the first payment, LinkedIn says to cancel at least one day before the renewal date. 

To cancel Premium bought on LinkedIn:

1. Sign in to LinkedIn.

2. Open the Premium cancellation page.

3. Find your Premium plan.

4. Click Cancel subscription.

5. Confirm the cancellation.

If you bought Premium through the Apple App Store, cancel it in your Apple subscriptions. If you paid through Google Play, cancel it there or through LinkedIn.

More tips:

• How to open a German bank account for non-residents.
• Cheapest mobile plans in Germany by usage: Compare options and save money on data.

FAQ: LinkedIn Premium in Germany