Updated: February 2025
How Much Do LinkedIn Ads Cost? (2025 Guide)
Answer in 55 words: Expect LinkedIn marketing ads to average $2–$6 per click (CPC) and $6–$20 per 1,000 impressions (CPM), with job ads running $1–$8 per applicant and minimum daily budgets of $7–$10. Costs spike for senior roles, competitive industries, or narrow targeting, so plan budgets with a calculator before launching.
Mapping your entire spend? Start with the pillar: LinkedIn Costs & ROI.
LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for professional recruiting and high-intent B2B advertising. It offers free job posts but charges when employers promote ads for more visibility. Understanding the real cost of LinkedIn advertising is essential for budgeting, especially when calculating cost per lead or cost per hire. This guide summarises recent data (2024–2025), contrasts the US and Europe, highlights the roles LinkedIn is best for, traces how costs have evolved, and suggests an employer-branding alternative. Need a recruiting-specific deep dive? Head to LinkedIn Job Advertising Costs for cost-per-applicant tables and European labour benchmarks.
Jump to
- How LinkedIn’s Pricing Works
- Pricing Ranges (2025)
- How Cost Is Calculated
- Average Cost per Applicant and Cost per Hire
- Marketing Budget Planning Calculator
- Factors That Drive LinkedIn Ad Costs
- How to Lower Costs (Creative, Audience, Bid Strategy)
- FAQ
How LinkedIn’s Pricing Works
LinkedIn provides a free job post that shows in search results and among a company’s connections. To get more reach, employers can promote the job, pushing it to the top of search results, appearing in job recommendations and sending mobile/email alerts (LinkedIn Business Solutions). Promoted posts operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) model; you set a daily or total budget and are charged when a job seeker clicks your ad (LinkedIn Business Solutions). LinkedIn does not charge for repeated views or views from non-signed-in users. A daily budget example on LinkedIn’s pricing page shows that setting a $10 daily budget for 30 days results in a maximum spend of around $300. The platform recommends keeping posts open for at least five days to attract enough applicants.
Marketing ads follow the same auction model. You bid by objective (impressions, clicks, leads, video views, InMail sends) and pay when your bid wins auctions for your selected audience.
Pricing Ranges (2025)
| Pricing Metric | Typical Range | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum daily budget | $7–$10 per day | Self-serve promoted posts require at least this budget. LinkedIn examples start at $10/day. | LinkedIn, We-Connect |
| Average CPC (promoted job posts) | $1.50–$4.50 | Depends on job title, industry, location; highly competitive roles can exceed $4. | We-Connect |
| Estimated cost per applicant | $1–$8 | U.S. averages around $2.83 per applicant. | We-Connect, FidForward |
| Minimum CPC/CPM for marketing ads | CPC $2.00, CPM $2.00 | LinkedIn Ads require a $2 cost-per-click bid and $100 minimum lifetime budget for inactive campaigns. | WebFX |
| CPC by region (single-image ads) | Americas ≈ $1.70, EMEA ≈ $5.00 | Highlights higher costs in Europe. | Huble |
These ranges explain why LinkedIn’s own pricing page lets employers set any budget and simply promises more views for higher spend.
How Cost Is Calculated
LinkedIn’s algorithm calculates the cost of each click by dividing your total spend by the number of valid views or clicks your ad receives. Prices vary because of competition for similar job titles, location, seniority and targeting. More competition or narrower targeting raises the CPC. Job posts are charged daily and the credit card is billed when the job closes, 30 days from posting or when the account reaches a $500 balance. Employers can choose self-serve ads (flexible budgets and pay-per-click) or sign a contract for high-volume hiring.
For marketing campaigns, costs depend on your bid strategy (automatic vs. manual), relevance score, and landing-page performance. Higher engagement can reduce effective CPC or CPM because LinkedIn rewards quality content.
Average Cost per Applicant and Cost per Hire
LinkedIn job advertising costs only part of the total recruitment expense. To estimate the cost for a hire, you need the number of applicants required to make one hire. Research suggests it takes about 57 applicants to make one hire on LinkedIn. Combining that with the U.S. average $2.83 cost per applicant yields an estimated $161 cost per hire for advertising alone (57 × $2.83). This figure excludes time and onboarding costs but shows how advertising budgets translate into hires.
Advertising is only one component of the cost per hire. Surveys from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and industry benchmarks show that the average cost per hire in the United States rose from $4,129 in 2019 to $4,700 in 2023, a 14% increase. High-demand roles such as cybersecurity, data science and nursing regularly cost $6,000–$12,000 per hire, while executive hires average $28,329. Tech firms spent about $6,000–$8,000 per hire in 2023 and healthcare organisations $9,000–$12,000. These figures include job advertising, recruiter time, interviews, background checks and onboarding.
Cost Differences by Profession and Country
The cost per applicant varies widely by profession and location. Data shows that in the U.S. a job posting for a nurse costs about $1.45 per applicant, software engineers around $2.71 and truck drivers around $4.45. Internationally, the cost per applicant for a remote software engineering role differs dramatically: U.S. $2.71; Canada $1.98; United Kingdom $1.52; Germany $1.45; France $1.31; Japan $1.28; Brazil $0.83; South Korea $0.76; India $0.07. These differences reflect local salary levels and competition—higher-wage countries typically incur higher advertising costs.
For marketing campaigns, similar regional spreads exist. Huble’s 2024 analysis found single-image ads averaged £3.98 (~US$5) CPC in EMEA versus £1.37 (~US$1.70) in the Americas. Budget accordingly when expanding internationally.
Marketing Budget Planning Calculator
| Input | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly budget | $3,000 | Split into awareness, lead gen, retargeting. |
| Target CPL | $200 | Based on LTV and close rate. |
| Expected conversion rate | 5% | Landing page conversion from click to lead. |
| Expected leads | (Budget ÷ Target CPL) = 15 | Sanity check if pipeline goals are feasible. |
| Required clicks | Leads ÷ Conversion rate = 300 | Use to reverse-calc CPC. |
| Maximum CPC | Budget ÷ Clicks = $10 | If CPC exceeds this, refine targeting or creative. |
Download the LinkedIn Ads Budget Calculator (Google Sheet) to plug in your own metrics and stress-test spend before launch.
🗓️ Bonus: Grab our free LinkedIn post scheduler template to plan organic posts that lift CTR and reduce paid spend.
Benchmarks by Ad Format
| Format | Typical CPC/CPM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single Image Ads | $5–$11 CPC | Versatile; CPC varies by audience quality. |
| Document / Carousel Ads | $6–$12 CPC | Higher engagement, great for storytelling. |
| Video Ads | $0.06–$0.20 CPV or $6–$12 CPM | Use for awareness; monitor completion rate. |
| Lead Gen Forms | $50–$200 CPL | Depends on offer and audience. |
| Sponsored Messaging (Conversation + Message Ads) | $0.75–$1 per send | Requires compelling CTA; respect frequency caps. |
| Job Ads (Promoted) | $1.50–$4.50 CPC | Pay per click when promoting a role. |
Factors That Drive LinkedIn Ad Costs
- Competition: More advertisers vying for the same audience increases CPC/CPL.
- Targeting narrowness: Precise filters (job title, seniority, skills) shrink audiences and raise bids.
- Location: Major metros and higher-salary countries cost more than emerging markets.
- Ad relevance: Strong creative and aligned landing pages improve relevance score and lower costs.
- Industry: High-demand fields like tech, cybersecurity, and healthcare push costs upward.
- Engagement history: Accounts with higher CTR and conversion rates often pay less in auctions.
How to Lower Costs (Creative, Audience, Bid Strategy)
- Test creatives weekly. Rotate fresh carousels, documents, and video hooks; Postiv’s scheduler batches uploads so your team can test without burning design hours.
- Broaden where possible. Swap hyper-specific filters for larger lookalike pools; layer interest or skill targeting with seniority to keep relevance.
- Optimise landing pages. Use intent-matched headlines and fast load times; even a 1% conversion lift can unlock cheaper manual bids.
- Use retargeting. Warm audiences convert cheaper; sync CRM segments and website visitors to lower CPL.
- Leverage organic content. High-performing organic posts increase brand familiarity, raising ad CTR and reducing CPC—schedule consistent carousels with Postiv to keep the flywheel spinning.
FAQ
What is the minimum budget for LinkedIn Ads?
Self-serve job promotions and marketing campaigns generally require $7–$10 per day. LinkedIn also enforces a $2 minimum bid for CPC campaigns and a $100 lifetime budget for paused ads.
What are the cheapest countries for LinkedIn Ads?
Costs are lowest in countries with lower salary benchmarks. Expect sub-$1 CPCs in markets like India or Brazil, while the U.S. and Western Europe frequently exceed $4.
Why is my CPC spiking?
Rising competition, stale creative, low relevance scores or aggressive manual bids can all inflate CPC. Refresh creative, broaden targeting, and review suggested bids to stabilise spend.
Employer Branding: A Cost-Effective Alternative
LinkedIn’s own cost-of-hiring guide recommends building a strong employer brand to reduce recruitment costs. When candidates already know and trust your company, you need fewer paid ads to capture their interest. Postiv transforms your knowledge into ready-to-publish LinkedIn posts and carousels so you can build your employer brand at scale. Its AI breaks blank-screen paralysis, provides professional design templates, schedules posts at optimal times, and learns your voice over time. By regularly sharing employee stories, behind-the-scenes culture and thought leadership, you build trust and attract candidates organically—lowering cost per hire and shortening hiring timelines.
Curious whether upgrading to Premium or Sales Navigator will amplify these results? Head to Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It? for an ROI walkthrough before expanding your stack.