We don’t want to answer this question with just a list of features and prices.

For one thing, there’s more to it than that. 

If you’re here, it’s not because you want a list. Instead, you want insight into whether or not LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is worth the actual investment for your actual organization.

To know that, we think it’s essential to look at the question of worth from both sides.

So, we’ll approach the question by looking at five reasons why Recruiter Lite is worth it and five reasons it isn’t. 

Granted, you may value these things differently, but at least you can both viewpoints into consideration before making any big decisions.

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5 Reasons Why LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is Worth It

LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is a pared-down version of LinkedIn Recruiter. For a more entailed look at the differences between the two, check out our previous blog post. 

Basically, LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is worth it because it shares features with LinkedIn Recruiter. That may be obvious to you but let’s get into more detail on that and why it’s important.

1. You Get Access to the LinkedIn Network, Up to 3rd-Degree Connections

This is the primary reason people consider choosing LinkedIn for their hiring platform – it’s LinkedIn, the largest business-to-business social platform in the world with over 700 million users.

And yes, it’s true that you only get to reach your 3rd-degree connections with Recruiter Lite. 

But that’s okay. Why? Because you’re a recruiter, and you’ve likely already established a solid and far-reaching network on LinkedIn.

Plus, you might argue that 3rd-degree contacts are easier to connect with than anybody beyond that degree. 

2. You Get Powerful Search Capabilities with Over 20 Search Filters

The only thing better than having a massive number of potential candidates you can reach is the ability to search LinkedIn for the detailed information in their profiles.

Finding the right candidate is made easy through granular search filters that include criteria such as:

• Years of experience
• Seniority
• Function
• Company size
• Education and more

Sure, there are more advanced search options in LinkedIn Recruiter (along with the ability to perform Boolean searches), but you certainly have enough filters to find ideal candidates for your open positions with Recruiter Lite.

You can also take advantage of things like the guided search feature, which is a search bar that will contribute data-driven suggestions to search for relevant candidates based on your open position, location, and so on.

Plus, Recruiter Lite’s Smart Suggestions can enhance the scope of your search by offering search filter suggestions so you can hone in on the right hire. 

3. You Can Reach Candidates Directly Through the Platform

Another great benefit of LinkedIn is that it’s designed to be a communication platform. So, you can reach out to talent right from within LinkedIn.

With Recruiter Lite, you’ll be allotted 30 InMail messages per month that you can send to your 3rd-degree connections or people who share a LinkedIn Group with you.

This feature is especially useful when trying to reach candidates who regularly use LinkedIn and respond to InMail messages. However, It may be trickier if this isn’t your preferred way of contacting talent or if they aren’t receptive to InMail. 

What you can’t do through LinkedIn Recruiter Lite (or Recruiter, for that matter) is export candidate contact information. We discuss this more in the “not worth it” section, including an easy way around the problem at the end.

4. You Can Use LinkedIn Recruiter Lite On the Go

Thanks to the mobile version of LinkedIn Recruiter for iOS and Android, you can get a lot of functionality on the go. Since you can use the messenger feature while away from your desk, you can stay on top of your conversations, which are made even easier with the quick reply feature.

You can configure push notifications to your liking and receive instant message alerts or alerts for new candidates appearing in one of your saved searches.

The mobile app also allows you to:

• Run and save searches or access your search history
• Compose InMails using templates
• View and manage job posts
• Save or hide candidates
• Add notes to a candidate’s profile

5. You Get a Lot of Bang for Your Buck

Even without comparing it with competing hiring platforms, LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is more than five times cheaper than LinkedIn Recruiter and you still get the majority of Recruiter’s core features. 

Billed annually, Recruiter is around $9000 per year while Recruiter Lite is only around $1680. Please note that this may differ depending on your organization and your location. For a more detailed look at the pricing and features of LinkedIn Recruiter and Recruiter Lite, check out our previous blog post.

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5 Reasons Why LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is Not Worth It

With the price difference between Recruiter and Recruiter Lite comes a difference in functionality, but to what extent? Again, the answer to the question of why Recruiter Lite is not worth it may differ depending on your usage, but here are a few key points to think about.  

1. You Can’t Access the Full Functionality of Recruiter

This may depend on how you use LinkedIn Recruiter Lite but some recruiters have noted that they feel its imposed limits. You can’t use Boolean search, for example, but some may appreciate not having to learn how to run Boolean searches since the extensive filters do most of the heavy lifting.

A lot of recruiters have criticized Recruiter Lite because of the limit on InMails. It can be easy to quickly go through the 30 allotted per month if you’re sending out more than one or two a day Likewise, you can only save up to 10 searches in Recruiter Lite, so some recruiters have pointed out that adding a few more would lead to a tremendous increase in value.

2. You Don’t Get the Best and Most Complete Hiring Platform

As previously mentioned, why do people invest in LinkedIn Talent Solutions? It isn’t because LinkedIn’s hiring platform is the most polished or sophisticated. It’s because people are buying into the LinkedIn network. They’re spending the money to get access to the promise of 700 million professionals on the platform. 

Recruiter Lite isn’t perfect from a functionality point of view. It can be buggy and uncooperative. Plenty of recruiters will share this with you, but what they’ll also say that Recruiter is somewhat of an industry standard. In other words, they’ll put up with the app to take advantage of its network.

Furthermore, there are other hiring platforms out there that allow you to manage the hiring process from start to finish and everything in between. LinkedIn Recruiter Lite really only gives you the ability to search profiles, reach out to candidates, and somewhat manage the talent pipeline. 

As a recruiter, you know that hiring is much more entailed. And you likely already know that there are other platforms out there that allow you to manage things like legal, compliance, background checks, and so on.

3. You Only Get One Seat

For a very lean operation, only one seat isn’t a problem. For everybody else, you will need a separate account for each person who plans on using Recruiter Lite. Please keep this in mind when factoring the price into your equation to figure out if LinkedIn Recruiter is worth it. 

The full-fledged Recruiter platform offers multiple seats and ways to pool and distribute resources and information, so it might be worth considering if you expect to have multiple users and a greater hiring volume.

4. You Can’t Proceed with LinkedIn Recruiter Without Talking to Sales

Sure, a lot of solutions are gated behind having to talk to a sales representative but, in our experience, recruiters don’t want to jump through hoops just to be able to pursue a platform. This may be a minor point or no issue at all to you, but we did think it was worth mentioning.

5. You Can’t Export Candidate Contact Information… Or Can You?

Every recruiter has a different way of approaching their work. Some prefer to work within LinkedIn’s messaging and InMail systems. Others would rather find candidates on the LinkedIn network, then find ways to reach them via other means. After all, not all candidates are responsive on LinkedIn and some would never respond to an InMail. 

But before you lament the loss of one of your 30 allotted InMail credits for the month, we have good news for you. You CAN export contact information right from LinkedIn with an easy-to-use app called Wiza.

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How Wiza Can Help You Export Candidate Contact Information

Whether you’re using Recruiter or Recruiter Lite, you can take advantage of Wiza’s easy-to-use app.

Even if all you have is a trial of LinkedIn Recruiter Lite, simply create a free Wiza account, build a LinkedIn Recruiter search, and you’re a few clicks away from finding valid contact info like emails, phone number and 30+ data points. Export your results into a CSV or sync directly to your CRM.

Now you have the freedom to approach these candidates on your own terms, using the methods of communications you prefer. 

Maybe your preferred mode of outreach is email. Are you concerned about potentially reaching out to a bunch of inactive email addresses (and the toll it may take on your domain credibility)? Don’t worry – with Wiza’s live SMTP verification, you can know if an email address is deliverable or not. If we can’t verify an email, we give it to you for free!

If that sounds like a tool that might add value to your use of LinkedIn, LinkedIn Recruiter, or LinkedIn Recruiter Lite, talk to us on live chat at our website Wiza.co. Or send us an email at hello@wiza.com. 

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