As essentially a social media platform for businesses and freelancers alike, Linkedin has long been a popular website.
Since they merged with Lynda back in 2017 to create Linkedin Learning, they have also managed to create one of the most successful online course platforms on the entire internet, with more than 16,000 incredible courses.
Whether you’re a tech wizard, a business buff or a creative trailblazer, there’s something for you, each course led by teams of highly skilled professionals and industry experts alike.
With one-time payments, monthly, annual and team plans available, there are a whole host of different pricing options to suit a variety of needs and budgets.
Suitable for use by individuals, but also as learning platforms for employers, colleges and universities, administrators, even government agencies, millions of users have already joined the platform.
Will you be one of them? Let’s find out…
Table of Contents
Unfortunately, every course that Linkedin Learning offers must be paid for, whether on an individual basis or by using one of their subscription plans.
However! If you’d like to take one (or several) courses for a spin, you’re more than welcome to a test drive with their one month free trial!
Simply register and supply your payment information to gain full access to thousands and thousands of courses. As long as you cancel within a day of your trial ending, you’re not going to be charged a penny.
The worst that will happen if you forget to cancel is you’ll be charged for a month – it’s possible to get that refunded, but you might have to wait a few weeks for that transaction to come through.
Do note that if you cancel your trial without continuing on with the course or program, you won’t be eligible for another free run for the next twelve months. Be sure to use every last day of access you can get!
That being said, if you are already a member of Linkedin Premium, you can access all of the Linkedin Learning courses and materials as part of your subscription.
Before we get into the differences between each plan LinkedIn Learning offers, let’s discuss what you’ll get regardless of which subscription you go for:
Don’t just read about a topic – actually put your newly found skills into practice, and utilize the many exercise files and course quizzes to test your knowledge and consolidate everything learned so far.
Once you’re all done with the course, you’ll receive an official certificate – not only is this great for your Linkedin profile, but excellent to send to potential employers alongside your resume.
One issue that many online learning platforms face is inaccessibility – not at Linkedin Learning. Every video has been fully transcribed, which is especially helpful for those who absorb information better when reading or are non-native English speakers.
Study whenever and wherever you want to – with offline viewing, condensed bite-sized videos or full, in depth content, to suit your own preferences, it’s possible to pick up where you left off 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no hassle.
Receive regular updates and recommendations on new and upcoming courses that might suit you, tailored specifically to your interests, skillsets and employment. What more could you ask for?
With a clear and easy to navigate interface that’s easily viewed and accessible to those using a screen reader, their well crafted approach to course design means everything is clearly labeled, signposted and indicated.
Struggle with motivation? Thanks to their system, simply choose how many minutes per week you’d like to commit to studying (15, 30, 60 or 120), as well as easily track how much time (in hours) you’ve completed of a course, or what time remains.
Monthly | Annual | Individual | Team | |
Number of courses | One (chosen from 5,000+) | Over 16,000 | Over 16,000 | Over 16,000 |
Cost | One off payment between$20-$50 (individually priced courses) | $19.99 permonth (billed annually) | $29.98/month (billed monthly) | Get in touch for a personalized, non-commital quote |
Certificated | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Personalized recommendations? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Captioned videos? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Available to view offline/on the app? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Refund process | 30 day money back guarantee | None | None | None |
Of course! Should you no longer wish to use your subscription or finish your desired courses before your month is up, you can cancel it at any time, night or day.
Unfortunately, this cancellation will only come into effect after your current subscription period has ended.
That means if you still have 8 months left, you won’t be able to get a refund for the cost of those remaining months, as no refunds are provided by the service whatsoever, so beware!*
*In certain jurisdictions or situations, LinkedIn may offer a refund – these are more clearly outlined in their full refund policy, but include for instance the fact that citizens in the European Union are “entitled to a full refund during the 14 days after the subscription service begins”
Cost: between $20 and $50
Not a fan of subscription services, or only planning to check out a single course that Linkedin Learning offers? Then the one time payment is definitely for you – just as the name suggests, it involves a single transaction.
Plus, unlike with the monthly and annual subscriptions, if you find you aren’t actually satisfied with the course you’ve paid for, you can receive a full no questions asked refund as long as you apply within the first thirty days of purchase!
Unfortunately, the number of courses available to access individually is smaller, though still considerable at more than 5,000 – it is their hope that eventually, the entire learning library will be accessible on a case-by-case basis, though this is up to some of the early creators from Lynda themselves.
Once purchased, the course is yours to watch as many times as you like, as well as being welcome to reuse any materials, tests and exercises supplied alongside the audio-only or visual content.
Prefer to access your content on the go? Simply download the Linkedin Learning app and access your course individually whenever you want, from anywhere in the world!
Based on not just your Linkedin profile, but the way you use the website and interact with others, Linkedin Learning will actively analyse your skills (those listed and those you don’t have) in order to recommend relevant courses, thus leading to an improvement in your overall professional abilities.
Cost: $29.98 per month or $19.99 per month (charged annually)
Everything that you receive in both the monthly and annual plans, course-wise, is exactly the same. The only difference is huge savings in price!
Although you have to pay in one lump sum, by opting for the annual subscription you will save a whopping 33% on overall costs in comparison to the monthly plan.
As well as all of the above features in a one-time purchase, users on a paid subscription have complete access to the full library of more than 16,000 courses, for less a month than the cost of some purchased individually.
Not only that, but by subscribing at either price point, you also receive complete access to everything that Linkedin Premium has to offer, which has nothing to do with your courses but will certainly be helpful for your career!
Features offered on a Premium plan include:
Cost: Contact the Linkedin Learning team for a personalized quote
As well as serving individuals, if you’re an employer, business owner or academic, you can access regularly updated and personalized opportunities for online learning and also provide them to your entire company – or specific individuals who need them.
By requesting a free demo, you’ll be able to consult with an official Linkedin Learning representative, who will not only explain how using their software stands to benefit you and your staff, but also how the content can be customized to suit the accessibility needs of every single individual you employ.
Not only will you have unlimited access to all of the courses and content, but anybody you provide details to will be able to study from anywhere in the world, using either a PC, Mac, cell phone or compatible smart device.
Obviously, we can’t estimate how much this will cost you, as it involves a number of factors including how many members are on your team and what your wants and needs are. Simply contact Linkedin for more information!
Congratulations! Selecting the course (or courses) you want to study is the first step to learning a brand new skill, or improving an existing one!
You can pay for your course, whether individual or as part of a plan, with all of the usual methods. These include:
Most currencies are supported, with 21 options available to you:
The following cards are accepted methods of payment –
According to Linkedin, you may be able to claim the cost of your subscription (or a course) back as expenses from your employer. It depends totally on their guidelines for expenses, but it’s definitely worth a shot, right?
LinkedIn is a popular social networking site available for businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, offering the opportunity to find jobs, connect with colleagues, and reach out to prospective employees or employers.
In 2017 the platform merged with Lynda to create LinkedIn Learning, where they host more than 16,000 courses to allow users to enhance or adapt their skillset.
While LinkedIn Learning offers a range of pricing options, from one-time payments to monthly, annual, and team plans, you need to pay in order to access the courses, though the first month is free, and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
If you are already a Linkedin Premium member, you have unlimited access to the Linkedin Learning courses and materials as part of your subscription.
LinkedIn Premium is basically an upgrade of the free LinkedIn subscription. There is a ‘Premium Career’ subscription and ‘Premium Business’ subscription.
Premium Career is aimed at entrepreneurs, professionals, graduates, salespeople, and job seekers.
It offers extras such as InMail messages, allows you to view who’s viewed your profile, provides you with interview preparation tips, and gives you access to the LinkedIn Learning courses.
The business subscription is similar but offers company insights rather than interview preparation.
Having access to the thousands of LinkedIn Learning courses is the best thing about LinkedIn Premium, though other than that it isn’t entirely different from the free version, and it’s debatable as to whether it really helps you as an individual or business, as there are ways to generate clients or gain opportunities without LinkedIn Premium.
With this in mind, I’d definitely say it depends on your budget and whether you can justify the cost. Plus, if you want to access a specific course on LinkedIn Learning, you can pay for this separately, so you don’t necessarily need LinkedIn Premium in order to access courses.
Covid has a range of learning resources specifically designed to help people navigate these strange times.
For example, there are 8 learning paths that are free to access, and these include sample courses for job seekers – such as how to recover from a lay-off and tips for interviewing – sample courses for remote workers – such as how to boost productivity and time-management – as well as courses to help manage stress levels through techniques such as mindfulness.
There are also sample courses aimed at managers and leaders at all levels, educators who are teaching online, talent acquisition professionals, sales professionals, and small business owners.
These are great for getting a taste of LinkedIn Learning and finding out whether or not it’s for you before committing to a subscription plan.
LinkedIn Premium is not currently free for students, but the platform does run offers from time to time. In the past, they’ve even offered 12 months of LinkedIn Premium for free for students.
Usually, when LinkedIn offers a student trial, they require you to enter your email from your educational institution to verify your student status.
Aside from this, college students are best suited to the Premium Career package for $29.99 per month. This package allows you to directly message recruiters, compare yourself with other applicants, view salary details on job postings, and see who has viewed your profile.
LinkedIn Premium’s free trial is a great way to see whether or not the platform is for you. If you no longer wish to continue your subscription before your month-long trial is up, you can cancel it at any time.
You won’t get charged until a month after the date you signed up for the free trial, so you can either cancel before this date, or allow your subscription to automatically continue.
After you cancel LinkedIn Premium, you’ll return to a Basic (free) account which will still contain your profile, connections, and other data.
If you want to cancel your Premium subscription, you can only do so from the LinkedIn desktop site or mobile browser, but not from the LinkedIn mobile app.
To cancel your Premium subscription:
Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
Select “Access My Premium” from the dropdown.
Click the “Manage Premium” account button on the right rail.
You’ll be redirected to your Premium Subscription settings.
Under “Manage Subscription”, click “Cancel subscription” and follow the prompts to complete the cancelation.
For iOS users:
If you purchased a Premium subscription from the iTunes store, due to Apple’s privacy policies, you will need to contact the Apple support team for payment inquiries and refund requests.
People looking to take educational and inspiring courses in one or more of three key sectors – Business, Creative and Technology – would absolutely benefit from the use of Linkedin Learning, especially those who are already using Linkedin regularly!
If you’re planning on taking multiple courses, and you feel you would actually utilize and benefit from the Linkedin Premium features, then a monthly or annual subscription is absolutely the right one for you. Plus, it will work out the cheapest!
Those who are only interested in one specific course should probably just pay for them individually – by accepting a free trial, you’ll be able to see just how many courses there are available, and whether you want to pay monthly in order to access the full 16,000+ library or not.
Overall, though, it’s pretty simple to see if a course is going to be worth your time – each one has feedback from every student who has responded after completing the course, with a star rating and statistics to indicate overall satisfaction, as well as written responses. Have a read and decide for yourself – good luck!
Jacob has a background in finance and engineering. Outside of his day job, he is a lifelong learner, who enjoys reading, taking online courses, and writing about what he's learned.
Session expired
Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.