The LinkedIn API is the official interface that lets applications work with LinkedIn: signing in with LinkedIn, sharing posts, managing ad accounts and company pages, and integrating with Sales Navigator and recruiting tools. Only three open permissions are available without approval. LinkedIn grants all other permissions to vetted developers and partners. The documentation does not include a price list.
As of October 2026. All information comes from the official documentation at developer.linkedin.com it and enter it Microsoft Learn, accessed on October 3, 2026. The labels in the Developer Portal are in English, so they appear here in quotation marks as written.
LinkedIn API programmes at a glance: access, costs and limits
LinkedIn groups its APIs by business area: Consumer, Marketing, Sales, Talent, Learning and Compliance. Each programme has its own access rules.
Programme | Who gets access | Costs | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
Open permissions: “Sign in with LinkedIn using OpenID Connect” and “Share on LinkedIn” | All developers; can be activated under “Products” in the Developer Portal without review | No price listed in the documentation | Daily limit per endpoint; not published, but visible under “Analytics” in the Developer Portal |
Marketing: Advertising API | Developers approved after applying; everyone starts in the Development tier, and you request the Standard tier through a support ticket | No price listed in the documentation | Development tier: unlimited reads for your own ad accounts, editing for up to 5 ad accounts, and creation of 1 test ad account via the API. Standard tier: unlimited creation and editing |
Marketing: Community Management API | Access after applying; apply separately for the Standard tier | No price listed in the documentation | Development tier: 500 calls per app per 24 hours, 100 per member and app, no BATCH_GET calls; integration must be completed within 12 months. Standard tier: no restrictions |
Marketing: Lead Sync, Conversions, Matched Audiences, Events Management | Access after applying; Matched Audiences requires access to the Advertising API | No price listed in the documentation | Not published |
Marketing: Audience Insights, Media Planning | Only developers who meet additional criteria; access to the Advertising API is required | No price listed in the documentation | Not published |
Marketing: Company Intelligence API | Only developers who have already been approved; no new applications | No price listed in the documentation | Not published |
Sales: Sales Navigator Application Platform (SNAP) | Only approved SNAP partners | No price listed in the documentation | Not published |
Talent: Recruiter System Connect, Apply Connect, Apply with LinkedIn, Premium Job Posting | Apply through the Talent Partner Programme | No price listed in the documentation | Not published |
Learning | Separate application via “Request API Access” in the Learning documentation | No price listed in the documentation | Not published |
Compliance | Closed; applications are not accepted | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Sources: Getting Access to LinkedIn APIs,Marketing API Access Tiers,Rate Limiting it and enter it Sales Navigator Display Services, all accessed on October 3, 2026.
LinkedIn API rate limits
Every API call is subject to limits. LinkedIn counts at two levels: how many calls an application can make in total per day, and how many calls it can make per member and application. The counters run over 24 hours and reset each day at midnight UTC. If you exceed a limit, you receive a 429 response.
LinkedIn does not give fixed figures for these limits: “Standard rate limits are not published in documentation.” You can see them in the Developer Portal under “My Apps”, then “Analytics” for your app, but only for endpoints you have called at least once that day. When an application reaches 75 percent of its daily allowance, its admins receive an email, with a delay of one to two hours according to the documentation. Of the pages reviewed here, only the Community Management API Development tier gives specific figures (see table).
LinkedIn API costs: what you actually pay
Neither developer.linkedin.com nor Microsoft Learn lists a price for API access. They describe how to get access, not what you will be charged. That leaves three areas of cost:
- Access itself: You can activate the open permissions in the Developer Portal without review. For all other programmes, approval is the hurdle. LinkedIn reserves the right to select partners at its discretion and, according to the documentation, reviews access to restricted APIs case by case “with no fixed timeline”.
- The LinkedIn products behind it: The Advertising API works with your ad accounts, SNAP requires Sales Navigator, and the Talent programmes are aimed at providers of applicant tracking systems. These products cost money; their prices are not listed in the API documentation.
- The evolution: OAuth integration, token renewal, error handling and keeping up with new API versions. For example, Microsoft Learn lists October 15, 2026, as the retirement date for Marketing API version 202510.
Prices you find online for a “LinkedIn API”, such as pricing tiers per thousand profiles, belong to third-party providers with their own interfaces, not to LinkedIn. Each provider sets its own terms.
What the LinkedIn API can do
Permissions determine what an app can do. According to Microsoft Learn, the three open permissions provide exactly this:
- profile: The signed-in person’s name, headline and photo.
- email: The signed-in person’s primary email address.
- w_member_social: Post, comment and like posts on behalf of the signed-in person.
The Marketing APIs go further: you can manage ad accounts and campaigns, retrieve reports, manage company pages and their posts, sync leads from lead generation forms, transfer conversions, and create events. Roles matter here too: the signed-in person must have the appropriate role on the company page or in the ad account. SNAP partners display Sales Navigator information in their own applications, such as a CRM. The Talent programs connect applicant tracking systems with LinkedIn Recruiter and job postings.
How to get API access
- Create an app in the LinkedIn Developer Portal.
- Under “Products,” add the product you need. Open permissions are active immediately.
- For the Marketing APIs, submit an application there. You start in the Development Tier and apply separately for the Standard Tier later.
- For SNAP, Talent, and Learning, apply through the relevant partner program.
- Set up sign-in with OAuth 2.0 and request only the permissions your use case needs. LinkedIn recommends this too.
Authentication: OAuth 2.0
All access uses OAuth 2.0, in two forms. With Member Authorization (3-legged OAuth), a signed-in person gives consent, and the app acts on their behalf. This is the most common case, and it is how the open permissions work too. With Application Authorization (2-legged OAuth, Client Credentials), the app accesses data that is not tied to a member, without a person signing in. Not every API supports this: the Marketing APIs require Member Authorization. Source: Microsoft Learn: Authentication Overview, accessed October 3, 2026.
Official API, third-party API, automation tool, MCP: four approaches compared
People searching for “LinkedIn API” often aren’t looking for the official API at all. They’re looking for a way to automate work on LinkedIn. These four approaches are often confused:
Option | What you need | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
Official LinkedIn API | Your own development work, an app in the Developer Portal, and approval for most programs | Products that add LinkedIn features for many users: sign-in, sharing, advertising, CRM integrations, and recruiting integrations |
Third-party API | An account and contract with the provider | Accessing data through the provider’s API; the provider sets the scope, prices, and terms |
Automation tool | Your own LinkedIn account and the tool | Your own outreach: visiting profiles, connecting, sending messages and follow-ups |
MCP server | An AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT and a service with an MCP server | Controlling a tool through chat instead of navigating menus |
What the LinkedIn API can’t do
LinkedIn’s list of permissions includes none that allow an app to send connection requests, write direct messages, or search arbitrary profiles on a person’s behalf. The open “profile” permission only provides data about the signed-in person. Only SNAP partners get Sales Navigator information, and they display it in their own applications. So if you want to automate your own outreach or candidate search, the official API won’t get you far.
That’s where CompLeadly comes in. The desktop app runs locally on your computer and works with your own LinkedIn account. You don’t need to apply for partner access. A people search, a Sales Navigator search, or an Excel list becomes your target audience. From there, the app handles profile visits, connection requests, first messages, and follow-ups.
CompLeadly has two interfaces of its own for developers and AI assistants. The REST API is documented with OpenAPI, uses bearer tokens, and allows 100 requests per minute. The MCP server connects Claude to your CompLeadly account via a token and ChatGPT via OAuth. It provides 71 tools for tasks such as managing leads, target audiences, workflows and their schedules, statistics, and webhooks. You use it to control your CompLeadly account, not the LinkedIn API. The API and MCP Server page shows what you can ask your AI to do and how the connection works. For step-by-step setup, see the MCP Access Guide.
Sales, recruiting, job applications: who needs the API
Sales: SNAP is intended for providers that integrate Sales Navigator into their CRM, not individual salespeople. If you do your own outreach, you can use a Sales Navigator or LinkedIn people search as your target audience in CompLeadly. To assess whether Sales Navigator is worth it for you, read LinkedIn Sales Navigator: a worthwhile investment or an overrated sales tool?.
Recruiting: Recruiter System Connect and Apply Connect are aimed at providers of applicant tracking systems, not a recruiter who wants to message candidates. In CompLeadly, Recruiter Lite searches, your pipeline, and saved searches become target audiences using your own Recruiter licence. Read more: CompLeadly for recruiting teams.
Applicants and job seekers: You don’t need API access. You need a well-prepared list of recruiters and hiring managers and a good first message. In CompLeadly, a people search for those contacts becomes your target audience. Profile visits, connection requests with a note, first messages, and follow-ups are available even in the free version, with daily limits such as 2 connection requests and 25 profile visits. Before you start, it’s worth reading Open to Work on LinkedIn.
Read more
The basics of the platform are explained in What is LinkedIn?. If you have problems with your account, go to LinkedIn customer support.
Frequently asked questions: LinkedIn API
Is the LinkedIn API free?
LinkedIn does not publish prices for its APIs. You can activate the three open permissions for sign-in and sharing in the Developer Portal without a review. All other programs require approval and usually a paid LinkedIn product, such as an ad account, Sales Navigator, or Recruiter (as of October 2026).
How do I get access to the LinkedIn API?
You create an app in the LinkedIn Developer Portal and add the product you need under “Products”. Open permissions are active immediately. You request access to the Marketing APIs there; for SNAP, Talent and Learning, you apply through the relevant partner program.
What are the LinkedIn API limits?
Each endpoint has a daily limit per application and per member, which resets at midnight UTC. LinkedIn does not publish these limits, but you can see them under “Analytics” in the Developer Portal. The documentation on access tiers gives specific figures only for the Development tier of the Community Management API: 500 calls per app and 100 per member in 24 hours.
Can I use the LinkedIn API to retrieve data from any profile?
No. The open “profile” permission only provides the signed-in person’s name, headline and photo. Sales Navigator data is available only to SNAP partners within their own applications. The permissions overview does not provide for general profile retrieval.
Can I send messages or connection requests through the LinkedIn API?
LinkedIn’s permissions overview lists no permission for either. The open “w_member_social” permission lets you post, comment and like posts. For your own outreach, you can use a tool like CompLeadly instead, which runs locally using your own LinkedIn account.
What authentication does the LinkedIn API use?
OAuth 2.0. With Member Authorization (3-legged), a person gives consent and the app acts on their behalf. With Application Authorization (2-legged), the app accesses data that is not tied to a member, without a person’s consent. The Marketing APIs require Member Authorization.
