How Many LinkedIn InMail Credits Do You Get Per Month in 2026? (+ A Hack to Send 800 InMails For FREE)
TL;DR
LinkedIn InMail credits range from 5/month (Premium Career) to 150/month (Recruiter). Credits roll over for up to 3 months and are refunded when recipients reply. The open profile hack lets you message a significant portion of your prospect list for free, without using any credits. For mass outreach without credits, connection requests with personalized notes are your best free alternative. Subject line tips for job seekers are at the end.
How Many LinkedIn InMail Credits Do You Get Per Month?
LinkedIn allocates InMail credits monthly based on your subscription tier:
| Plan | Monthly Credits |
|---|---|
| Free | 0 |
| Premium Career | 5 |
| Premium Business | 15 |
| Sales Navigator Core | 50 |
| Sales Navigator Advanced | 50 |
| Recruiter Lite | 30 |
| Recruiter (Full) | 150 |
These credits reset on your billing anniversary each month. If you're on Sales Navigator and your billing date is the 15th, your 50 credits refresh on the 15th of every month.
Can I Buy InMail Credits on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn doesn't currently offer a way to purchase InMail credits separately from a subscription upgrade. If you need more credits, you need a higher-tier plan.
The most direct path: moving from Premium Business (15 credits) to Sales Navigator (50 credits) more than triples your monthly allocation. The price jump is significant, but if you're doing serious outreach, the math usually works out.
How to Bypass the Monthly InMail Limit Without Premium?
If you're on a free LinkedIn account or want to reach people without spending InMail credits, you have two main options:
1. Connection requests with personalized notes: For prospects who are 2nd-degree connections, a connection request with a personalized note (up to 300 characters) doesn't cost any credits. The response rate is often comparable to InMail for warm audiences. The limitation: the person needs to accept the request before you can continue the conversation.
2. LinkedIn Groups messaging: LinkedIn allows you to send a direct message to any group member, even if you're not connected. This is free and doesn't require InMail credits. If you're in the same group as your prospects, this is one of the most underused free outreach channels on the platform.
3. Open Profile messaging: The most powerful free alternative (covered in detail below).
What Really Are InMail Credits?
InMail credits are LinkedIn's currency for paid cold outreach. Each InMail you send to someone you're not connected to costs one credit.
The credit system has one important mechanic that most people overlook: LinkedIn refunds credits when recipients reply. Any reply counts, positive or negative. A "not interested" reply refunds your credit just as much as a "yes, let's talk" reply.
This means your effective monthly capacity is higher than the raw credit count if your response rate is good. The math:
- 50 credits with a 20% response rate = 50 messages sent, 10 replies, 10 credits refunded = effectively 60 messages worth of reach
- 50 credits with a 5% response rate = 50 messages sent, 2.5 replies, 2.5 credits refunded = effectively 52.5 messages worth of reach
Improving your response rate isn't just about getting more conversations. It's about stretching your credit budget further.
How to Mass InMail People Without Using Credits?
The Open Profile Hack
This is the most underused feature in LinkedIn outreach. When a LinkedIn member enables "Open Profile," they're signaling that anyone can message them for free, without using InMail credits.
Open Profile is available to Premium subscribers, and a meaningful portion of active LinkedIn users have it turned on. This includes many founders, executives, consultants, and people who are actively building their network.
How to tell if someone has Open Profile: on their profile page, you'll see a "Message" button even if you're not connected, and the message won't prompt you to use a credit.
If 30% of your prospect list has Open Profile enabled, you can message them without spending a single credit. On a list of 200 prospects, that's 60 free messages. Those 60 free messages free up credits for the 140 people who require them.
Tools like Outly automatically detect open profiles in your prospect list and route free messages to them. This happens in the background, so you don't have to manually check each profile before sending.
Why This Is a Game-Changer
The math on open profile detection is compelling. If you're running a campaign of 800 prospects and 30% have Open Profile enabled, that's 240 free messages. At 50 InMail credits per month, that's nearly 5 months of credits saved.
For teams doing high-volume outreach, this isn't a minor optimization. It's the difference between running out of credits mid-campaign and having enough to reach your entire list.
The key is automating the detection. Manually checking 800 profiles for Open Profile status would take hours. Outly does it automatically as part of the campaign setup.
LinkedIn InMail Subject Line Tips for Job Seekers
If you're using InMail for job searching rather than sales, the subject line strategy is slightly different. Recruiters and hiring managers receive dozens of InMails per week. Your subject line needs to stand out immediately.
What works for job seekers:
Reference the specific role: "Application for [Job Title] at [Company]" is clear and direct. Recruiters know immediately what you want.
Lead with your most relevant credential: "10 years in enterprise SaaS sales — interested in [Role]" puts your value proposition in the subject line.
Mention a mutual connection: "Referred by [Name] for [Role]" — if you have a genuine referral, lead with it. Social proof in the subject line dramatically increases open rates.
Reference something specific about the company: "Your recent expansion into [market] — interested in contributing" shows you've done your homework.
What to avoid:
- "Exploring opportunities" (too vague)
- "Passionate professional seeking new challenges" (generic)
- "Quick question" (sounds like a sales pitch)
- Anything that could apply to any company or any role
The goal is to make the recruiter think "this person is relevant" before they even open the message. Your subject line should answer: "Why should I read this?"
Conclusion
InMail credits are a limited resource. The teams that get the most out of them treat them like a budget, not a tap.
The open profile hack is the single biggest lever for stretching your InMail reach. Check for open profiles before sending. Use connection requests for 2nd-degree connections. Save your credits for the high-value prospects who require them.
And remember: every reply refunds a credit. The best way to get more reach from your existing credit allocation is to write better messages that get more replies.
Ready to automate your LinkedIn outreach and maximize your InMail ROI? Outly automatically detects open profiles, routes free messages to them, and manages your outreach sequences within LinkedIn's limits. Plans start at $39.99/month. Get Started Free
