LinkedIn Business Account: What It Really Is, What It Costs and How to Set It Up
By Muhammad Amir, Searcora Digital Ltd · Updated 7 November 2026
Many people look for a separate LinkedIn business account to sign up for, the way some social networks have one. LinkedIn works differently: a business presence is built from a few parts — your personal profile, a free company page, and optional paid plans for selling, hiring or advertising. This page explains each part, what it costs, which ones a business actually needs, and how to set them up.
Types of LinkedIn accounts for business
| Account or plan | What it is for | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Personal profile (free) | Required to create and manage everything else | Free |
| Company page | Your business presence: followers, posts, jobs, staff | Free |
| Premium Company Page | Paid upgrade for the page: badge, button, insights | About $99.99 a month (reported) |
| Premium Business | Networking, InMail and insights for one person | Through Searcora from $30 |
| Sales Navigator | Finding and contacting buyers | Through Searcora from $30 a month |
| Recruiter Lite | Searching and contacting candidates | Through Searcora $50 a month |
| Campaign Manager ad account | Running LinkedIn ads | Pay for the ads you run |
LinkedIn business account vs personal account
A personal profile is a person; a company page is the business. Pages cannot send connection requests or use Sales Navigator, so selling and networking always happen through people’s own profiles, while the page carries the brand, jobs and posts. That is why a “business account” on LinkedIn usually means a company page plus one or more upgraded personal profiles for the people who sell or hire.
How to create a LinkedIn account for your business
- 1. Make sure each person has a personal profile in their real name, written for the buyers or candidates you want — see account setup.
- 2. Create the company page from For Business, then Create a Company Page — the steps are in how to create a LinkedIn company page.
- 3. Add a second page admin so access is never tied to one person.
- 4. Choose the plans you need: Sales Navigator for selling, Recruiter Lite for hiring, Premium Business for networking.
- 5. Set up an ad account in Campaign Manager only when you are ready to advertise.
Which LinkedIn business options do you actually need?
- Every business: a complete company page and strong profiles for the founders and customer-facing staff.
- B2B sales: Sales Navigator for the people who prospect.
- Hiring: Recruiter Lite for whoever recruits, or job posts from the page.
- Brand and reach: steady posting from the page and the founders, then LinkedIn ads when budget allows.
Common mistakes when setting up LinkedIn for a business
- A personal profile named after the business. A brand belongs on a company page; a profile with a company name cannot be followed as a page and looks odd to buyers.
- One admin only. If that person leaves, the page can be locked away; always keep at least two admins.
- An empty page. No logo, no About text and no posts tells visitors the business is inactive — see company page optimisation.
- Staff not linked to the page. Ask employees to select the company in their experience so they appear under People.
- Paying for plans nobody uses. Buy seats for the people who actually prospect or hire, for the months they need them.
How much does a LinkedIn business account cost?
The profile and company page are free. Costs come from the plans you add: through Searcora, Premium Business starts at $30, Sales Navigator at $30 a month and Recruiter Lite at $50 a month, each activated on the person’s own account; LinkedIn’s own prices vary by country and are shown at checkout. Advertising is pay-as-you-go from your own ad account. A small business can run a professional LinkedIn presence for the cost of one Sales Navigator seat. All our services are listed on the LinkedIn marketing agency page.