LinkedIn Sales Navigator was priced at $79/mo in 2018. By 2026 the Core plan is $99/mo and the Advanced plan is $149/mo. Most B2B teams pay it because they think they need it. Most don't.
This article breaks down what Sales Navigator actually gives you, what's free or cheaper, and how to cancel without losing prospecting capability.
What Sales Navigator does (honestly)
- Advanced search filters. Filter LinkedIn by 30+ attributes (seniority, function, company headcount growth, etc.).
- Saved searches with alerts. Get notified when new prospects match your filters.
- Lead and account lists. Save people and companies to lists, track changes.
- InMail credits (50/mo). Message anyone, even if not connected.
- Activity insights. See who recently changed jobs, posted, etc.
- CRM sync. (Higher tier only.)
Why most teams don't actually need it
If you ask Sales Nav users what features they actually use weekly, the list shrinks fast:
- Advanced filters: ~70% of users say yes (the most-used feature).
- InMail credits: ~30% use them; reply rates on cold InMail are ~3-5%, lower than connection requests.
- Saved searches with alerts: ~25% set them up, ~10% actually act on alerts.
- Activity insights: ~15% use them.
- CRM sync: ~5% (most teams use a separate CRM with native LinkedIn enrichment).
So the $99/mo is mostly buying access to advanced filters. Filters that you can replicate with Boolean operators on free LinkedIn search.
The Evaboot trap
Many teams pay Sales Navigator solely because Evaboot (their LinkedIn extraction tool) requires it. The total monthly bill is $99 (Sales Nav) + $9-$139 (Evaboot) = $108-$238/mo for what is essentially "export LinkedIn leads to CSV".
Lead4Linked extracts LinkedIn leads without requiring Sales Navigator. Free 100 leads on signup, no card. Pro plan ($29/mo) covers 1,500 leads/mo. The Sales Navigator subscription becomes optional.
What Lead4Linked replaces
| Sales Nav feature | Lead4Linked equivalent |
|---|---|
| Advanced search filters | Free LinkedIn Boolean search + Lead4Linked extraction |
| Lead/account lists | Lead4Linked Audience Builder |
| Saved searches with alerts | Lead4Linked Post Monitor + signal scraping |
| InMail credits | Connection request + DM (free, higher reply rate) |
| Activity insights | Lead4Linked signal scraping (job changes, promotions) |
| CSV export of leads | Native (8 sourcing methods) |
What Sales Navigator still does better
- Native LinkedIn integration depth. It's a LinkedIn product, so it's deeply integrated.
- Recommended leads. The "Lead Recommendations" feed is occasionally useful for discovering ICPs you didn't search for.
- Account-based selling features. If you're running ABM with deep company-level intelligence, the Advanced plan ($149/mo) has tools Lead4Linked doesn't replicate.
For most B2B teams doing person-level prospecting, those advantages aren't worth $1,188/year per seat.
Cancel Sales Navigator. Try Lead4Linked free.
100 free LinkedIn leads. No Sales Nav. No card. See if you actually need to keep paying $99/mo.
Start freeHow to cancel Sales Navigator
- Go to LinkedIn Settings → Account preferences → Subscriptions
- Click "Manage" next to Sales Navigator
- Choose "Cancel subscription"
- Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period
Before cancelling, export any saved Lead Lists or saved searches you want to keep. Once Sales Nav cancels, those become inaccessible. You can recreate them in Lead4Linked Audiences.
FAQ
Will my LinkedIn account suffer if I cancel Sales Navigator?
No. Sales Navigator is an add-on to your standard LinkedIn account. Cancelling drops you back to your free or Premium plan with no penalty.
What about LinkedIn Premium ($30/mo)?
LinkedIn Premium gives you InMail (5/mo), profile visitor list, "Who viewed your profile" insights, and learning courses. It's $30/mo, much more affordable than Sales Nav, and Lead4Linked works with Premium accounts too.
Is using Lead4Linked instead of Sales Navigator against LinkedIn's TOS?
LinkedIn's User Agreement prohibits scraping that exceeds normal user activity rates. Lead4Linked operates at human-rate Chrome extension speed and only scrapes publicly visible data. We're not affiliated with LinkedIn but we're designed to work within normal usage patterns.
What about LinkedIn Recruiter?
LinkedIn Recruiter is a different product ($170+/mo) targeted at staffing agencies. It includes deeper candidate filtering and InMail credits. Lead4Linked covers the LinkedIn extraction part but not Recruiter-specific features.