LinkedIn InMail or connection request: which to use?
A connection request asks someone to join your network, and once they accept you can message them like any connection. An InMail is a message to someone you are not connected to, and it needs a paid LinkedIn plan that includes InMail credits. For most small businesses, a short personal connection request to someone with a reason to accept is the better first step, with InMail kept for the few people worth paying to reach. This guide compares the two, shows how to write each, and explains the limits Spaces applies.
The three ways to reach someone on LinkedIn
A normal message goes to a 1st-degree connection. Anyone else needs a connection request or an InMail.
| Message to a connection | Connection request | InMail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you can reach | 1st-degree connections | Most members | Members you are not connected to |
| What you need | Nothing extra | Nothing extra, though free accounts get less room for notes | A LinkedIn plan that includes InMail credits |
| What they see | A message in their inbox | An invitation, with your note if you add one | A message, marked as InMail |
| What happens next | A normal conversation | If they accept, you can message them freely | They can reply, ignore it or decline |
| Best for | Everyone you already know | People with a clear reason to connect | A few people worth paying to reach |
When a connection request is the better choice
- You have met the person, at an event, on a call or through a client.
- You share something real: a sector, a town, a mutual contact or a group.
- You want an ongoing relationship, not a single message.
- You are on a free account, or you do not want to spend InMail credits.
An accepted request is worth more than a reply to an InMail, because it lets you keep talking for as long as the relationship lasts. It also builds the network that makes your account look established to LinkedIn.
When InMail is worth it
- The person is outside your network and unlikely to accept a request from a stranger.
- You have a specific, useful reason to write that fits in a few lines.
- You only need to reach a small number of people, so credits go a long way.
- Their profile suggests they welcome messages, for example a recruiter or a buyer who invites contact.
InMail credits come with LinkedIn's paid plans, and how many you get depends on the plan. LinkedIn's help pages set out the current rules, including how credits work when someone replies. Your AI agent can check how many InMail credits the account has left through Spaces.
When to use neither
If someone ignored or declined your connection request, switching to InMail to reach them anyway is rarely a good idea. They have already told you, in their way, that now is not the time. The same goes for people who said they were not interested. Any message to someone who said stop, unsubscribe or similar in that chat.
Neither tool suits a list of strangers. LinkedIn's User Agreement restricts automated outreach, as the box at the top explains, and a long run of ignored requests or unanswered InMails is the kind of pattern that leads to restrictions.
The limits Spaces applies to each
Spaces applies these limits to every LinkedIn account you connect. A message to a connection you have not spoken to before, and an InMail, both count as new conversations. Connection requests have their own limit.
| Action | Spaces limit per account |
|---|---|
| Messages | Up to 100 a day, at least 20 seconds apart |
| New conversations | 8 an hour, 30 a day |
| Connection requests | 15 a day and 100 a week on a free account, 25 a day and 150 a week on Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter, 4 an hour (5 on a paid account) and at least 90 seconds apart (5 a day in week 1, 10 in week 2, 15 in weeks 3 and 4) |
| Notes on connection requests | up to 200 characters and one a week on a free account, up to 300 characters on a paid one |
| InMail | 5 a day on a free account, 20 on Premium and 25 on Sales Navigator or Recruiter, at least a minute apart |
| Profile views | 80 a day, 150 on Sales Navigator and 200 on Recruiter |
| Searches | 30 a day, 40 on Sales Navigator and Recruiter, at least 15 seconds apart |
| Comments | 30 a day |
| Reactions | 50 a day |
| Posts | 3 a day |
| Endorsements | 10 a day |
| Follows, accepted invitations and withdrawals | 40 a day |
| Old invitations | withdrawn for you after a number of days you choose, only if you turn it on |
| Restrictions | if LinkedIn restricts the account or asks for a security check, Spaces pauses everything your agent sends from it for three days and tells you |
New conversations also follow a warm-up after you connect the account. Replies to people who messaged you are not held back at any stage.
| Since connecting | New conversations an hour | New conversations a day |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Week 2 | 4 | 15 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | 6 | 20 |
| After that | 8 | 30 |
What the guidance recommends
This is published provider guidance, written in our own words and last updated on 28 Aug 2026. It is advice, not a promise from the platform, and the platform can change what it watches for at any time.
- Space every action out at random, during working hours, instead of in regular bursts.
- Connection requests: around 80 to 100 a day and about 200 a week on an active paid account. Free accounts get far fewer, especially with a note.
- Profile views: about 100 a day. Other actions such as messages to connections, comments and reactions: about 100 a day each.
- Free accounts: about 150 connection requests a week without a note, and only about 5 notes a month. Notes are up to 200 characters on free accounts and 300 on paid ones.
- InMail to open profiles: 30 to 50 a day at most, and some still need InMail credits.
- Searches: about 1,000 results a day on a normal account and 2,500 on Sales Navigator or Recruiter.
- Start new accounts, and accounts with fewer than about 150 connections, low. Use only real accounts.
Free accounts get far less room for connection requests, especially with a note. If yours is free, keep requests to a few a day and save notes for the people who matter most.
Writing a connection request people accept
A note is optional, but a short personal one helps, especially with people who do not know your name. Here are two examples. Names and details are examples.
| Instead of this | Try this |
|---|---|
| Hi, I help businesses like yours grow. Let's connect! | Hi Dan, we met at the Leeds Chamber breakfast on Tuesday. I enjoyed your point about hiring apprentices. Would be good to stay in touch. |
| I would love to add you to my professional network. | Hi Ruth, I saw your post about moving your practice to a four-day week. I run a small bookkeeping firm in York and have been thinking about the same thing. |
The better versions say how you know them or why you are writing, and they do not sell. The pitch, if there is one, can come later in a conversation once they have accepted.
Writing an InMail people answer
An InMail has to earn a reply from someone who does not know you. Keep it short, make it about them, and end with one easy question.
Subject: Your new Harrogate office
Hi Claire,
Congratulations on opening in Harrogate. I run a small office fit-out company a few miles away and we have done two practices on Station Parade.
If it would help, I am happy to share what we learnt about the parking and planning there. Would a short call next week be useful?
Best,
OwenWrite each InMail for that person. Spaces refuses the same cold message sent to many people, and an InMail that reads like a template rarely gets an answer anyway.
Example: after a request is accepted
Once someone accepts, your AI agent can say thank you and start a real conversation. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| AI agent | Thanks for connecting, Dan. Good to meet you at the Chamber breakfast. How are the apprentice interviews going? |
| Dan | Slowly! We have had a few applications but nobody quite right yet. |
| AI agent | That sounds familiar. Owen ran a small apprenticeship scheme last year and is happy to share what worked. Shall I ask him to drop you a line? |
| Dan | Yes, that would be great. |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Sending the same note with every request. LinkedIn notices, and so does Spaces.
- Pitching in the connection note. Save it for the conversation.
- Using InMail to chase people who ignored your request.
- Leaving hundreds of old requests pending. Withdraw the ones nobody accepted.
- Spending InMail credits on people who would have accepted a simple request.
Notes to give your AI agent
LinkedIn outreach rules:
- Only send connection requests to people I name, with a short personal note that says how we know them.
- Never pitch in a connection note.
- Use InMail only for people I mark as InMail, and check the credit balance first.
- Never message someone by InMail after they ignored or declined a request.
- Write every first message for that person. Never reuse one.
- When someone accepts, thank them and ask one useful question.
- If anyone says they are not interested, thank them and stop.Who you message
Summing up
Use a connection request for people with a reason to know you, and InMail for the few people worth paying to reach. Write both for the person, keep them short and leave the pitch for later. Spaces keeps requests and new conversations inside its limits, but the limits are a ceiling. The accounts that do well on LinkedIn send fewer, better messages.
Pricing
FAQ
Is InMail better than a connection request?
Not usually for a small business. An accepted request lets you keep talking for as long as the relationship lasts, and costs nothing. InMail is useful for a few people outside your network who are worth paying to reach.
Do I need LinkedIn Premium for InMail?
You need a LinkedIn plan that includes InMail credits. How many you get depends on the plan, and LinkedIn's help pages explain the current rules.
Can my AI agent send InMail through Spaces?
Yes, if your plan includes InMail credits. It counts as a new conversation, and your agent can check how many credits are left before sending.
How many connection requests does Spaces allow?
Spaces allows 15 a day and 100 a week on a free account, 25 a day and 150 a week on Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter, 4 an hour (5 on a paid account) and at least 90 seconds apart (5 a day in week 1, 10 in week 2, 15 in weeks 3 and 4). That is a ceiling. Free and newer accounts should stay well below it.
Should I add a note to every connection request?
A short personal note helps with people who do not know you. Free accounts get less room for notes, so save them for the people who matter most. Never send the same note to everyone.
What if someone ignores my request?
Leave it. Do not switch to InMail to reach them anyway. Withdraw old requests that were never accepted, and send new ones only to people with a reason to accept.
Do replies count towards the warm-up?
No. Replies to people who messaged you are not held back by the warm-up at any stage. They do count towards the daily message limit.
Can I message a 2nd-degree connection without InMail?
Not with a normal message. A normal message goes to a 1st-degree connection. For anyone else you need a connection request or an InMail.