What is a LinkedIn InMail, and how do credits work?
An InMail is a message to a LinkedIn member you are not connected to, and it costs a credit. Credits come with a Premium plan, refresh on the first day of your billing cycle, and accumulate up to a cap of three months’ worth. A credit is returned when the recipient accepts, declines or replies within 90 days of you sending it.
How many credits does each plan get?
These are LinkedIn’s published figures. The monthly allowance arrives on the first day of your billing cycle; the cap is the most you can hold at once if you do not spend them.
- Premium Career
- 5 a month, accumulating to 15
- Premium Business
- 15 a month, accumulating to 45
- Sales Navigator Core
- 50 a month, accumulating to 150
- Recruiter Lite
- 30 a month, accumulating to 120
Do unused credits expire?
Not immediately. They roll forward up to three times the monthly allowance, which is where every cap in the table above comes from. Past that, new credits stop accruing until you spend some, so a Sales Navigator seat that sends nothing for four months has not banked 200 credits. It has 150.
When do you get a credit back?
When the person responds. LinkedIn’s wording is that every InMail accepted, declined or responded to directly within 90 days of being sent is credited back, and that a quick reply counts as a response.
A message that is simply ignored is not refunded. That is the mechanism most people miss, and it changes how you should think about the allowance: 50 credits a month is a floor rather than a ceiling if the messages are good enough to answer.
What LinkedIn does not offer
An unlimited plan. LinkedIn states plainly that no subscription includes unlimited InMail credits. Any tool advertising unlimited InMails is either describing Open Profile messages, which are free and are not InMails, or describing something LinkedIn does not sell.
Where Gelee fits
Gelee treats credits as the scarce thing they are. It checks for an Open Profile first, because that message is free, and spends a credit only where there is no cheaper way to reach the person.
Common questions
How many InMail credits does Sales Navigator include?
Sales Navigator Core includes 50 a month, accumulating up to 150 if unspent. LinkedIn publishes both figures.
Do InMail credits roll over?
Yes, up to three times the monthly allowance. Premium Career caps at 15, Premium Business at 45, Sales Navigator at 150 and Recruiter Lite at 120.
Do I get an InMail credit back if nobody replies?
No. The credit returns when the recipient accepts, declines or responds directly within 90 days. A pending message earns nothing back.
Can I send an InMail with a free LinkedIn account?
No. InMail requires a Premium plan. A free account can still message an Open Profile member, which does not use a credit.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: InMail message credits and renewal process
- LinkedIn Help: InMail messages
- LinkedIn Help: Send an Open Profile message
LinkedIn changes these without announcing it. This page was last checked on 1 September 2026. If something here no longer matches what you see, the source above is the one that decides.
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