Pick the channel by your relationship to the person, not by which message feels more important. A normal message reaches your 1st-degree connections for free, while an InMail is the paid route to someone you are not connected to (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). Everything else in the choice follows from that difference: what it costs, what the recipient has to do to hear from you, and where the touch belongs in a sequence.
The delivery difference
LinkedIn splits messaging into two worlds.
Inside your network, messaging is free. LinkedIn states you "can message your 1st-degree connections or LinkedIn Pages for free" (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). The conversation opens like any inbox thread.
Outside your network, you have three realistic routes, and LinkedIn lists them together: the person is a Premium member who enabled Open Profile; you share a LinkedIn Group; or the person is a current coworker (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). InMail is the fourth route, and it is the only one that requires a paid subscription.
There is also the connection request itself. LinkedIn lets you attach a personalized note to a connection request, which is neither a free in-network message nor an InMail (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). It is a third option worth weighing on its own.
What each option costs
| Route | Who it reaches | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Message | 1st-degree connections and Pages | Free (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)) |
| Open Profile message | Premium members who enabled Open Profile | Free (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)) |
| Connection request with a note | Anyone you can invite | Not an InMail; limited to three personalized notes a month on a standard account (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)) |
| InMail | Any member who accepts InMail | One credit from a paid LinkedIn subscription (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)) |
The connection-request note limit is the detail that changes sequencing. On a standard account you can add a personalized message to "up to three connection requests per month," and each message can run to 200 characters (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). LinkedIn also states that Premium members can send unlimited personalized invitations, though connection request limits may still apply (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). If you are not on Premium, the note is a scarce resource, and that scarcity is worth planning around rather than discovering halfway through a week.
Reply expectations
Be careful with the common claim that InMail "gets better replies." LinkedIn publishes no comparable reply rate for InMail versus a connection note, and no source here supports a ranked claim like that. What LinkedIn does document is a mechanic rather than a rate: a credit comes back when the recipient accepts or responds. LinkedIn states you receive a credit back "if a recipient accepts your InMail message" (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)).
What you can reason about is effort, not rate. LinkedIn states that a recipient who replies to a personalized invitation can reply without accepting your invitation (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)), so a connection note can produce a reply on the same terms as an InMail and does not force an accept-or-ignore choice. The asks still differ in context, and reply behaviour will vary by audience rather than by channel quality. Test it on your own list rather than trusting a number from a vendor blog.
Where each step belongs in a sequence
This is the decision that matters more than the channel comparison itself. Sort your targets by the cheapest route that still gets a real answer.
- Already connected. Use a normal message. It is free and lands in an inbox the person reads.
- Open Profile or shared group. Take the free route first. LinkedIn states you can message an Open Profile member for free (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)).
- Not connected, standard account, few personalized notes left. Weigh the connection note against the InMail, not against nothing.
- Not connected, high-value target, no free route. These are the people InMail is for.
A simple decision rule
Ask three questions in order.
- Can I reach this person for free? If yes, do that and keep the credit.
- If not, is a connection request with a note appropriate? If you have spare notes and the person is likely to accept, start there.
- If the person is not connectable right now, or the first touch has to stand alone, spend the InMail.
The rule keeps the same shape whether you send from one account or several. It also makes the cost visible: every InMail you send consumes one credit, and LinkedIn states extra credits cannot be bought outside the monthly allotment (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). How many you can send in a month is your available balance, not just the monthly grant: in Sales Navigator unused credits roll over up to 150 total and a qualifying reply returns a credit (Sales Navigator Help (opens in a new tab)), so a quiet month can carry credits into a busier one.
The limit to keep in mind
Premium InMail credits and Sales Navigator credits do not cross over. LinkedIn states that "Premium InMail message credits can't be used to send InMail messages on Sales Navigator or LinkedIn Recruiter" (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)). If you run both subscriptions, decide which balance a given contact should draw from before you start writing, because you cannot move the credit afterwards.
If you are comparing outreach tools, Visit Clapa. If you still need the definition, start with what an InMail is, then read the step-by-step send instructions.
FAQ
Is it better to send an InMail or a connection request?
It depends on what the person will accept. A connection note is free but limited to three personalized notes a month on a standard account, while an InMail reaches a non-connection immediately at the cost of one credit (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab), LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)).
Why do some LinkedIn messages say InMail?
Because the sender reached you outside your network using an InMail credit from a paid subscription, rather than sending a free message between connections.
Can you tell if someone read your InMail?
The help pages reviewed here do not document a read receipt for InMail, so treat "no reply" as the only signal you can act on.
Can you trust InMail on LinkedIn?
InMail is a documented LinkedIn feature, not a workaround. The limits are published: one credit per send, a monthly allowance, and no separate top-up (LinkedIn Help (opens in a new tab)).
Sources
- LinkedIn Help, "InMail Messages": https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a543895 (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, "Send messages on LinkedIn": https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a554575 (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, "Send an InMail Message": https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a546814 (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, "Personalize invitations to connect": https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a563153 (opens in a new tab)