How to Use Unlimited People Browsing Free

How to Get and Use Unlimited People Browsing on LinkedIn

If you use LinkedIn to find new hires, land clients, or grow your professional network, you eventually hit a wall. One day you are searching for software engineers in Chicago, and the next, your search results are blurry. LinkedIn replaces profile names with "LinkedIn Member" and tells you that you have reached your commercial use limit. This happens because the platform tracks how you use its search tools. If your behavior looks like you are using the site for profit rather than just casual networking, they restrict your access.

Look, the free version of LinkedIn is generous for basic networking. It lets you find old colleagues and look up people you just met at a conference. Here's the thing: it is not built for heavy-duty prospecting. When you reach that limit, your ability to grow your business through the platform stops until the first of the next month. This is where the Unlimited People Browsing feature comes in. It removes the search caps and lets you view as many profiles as you need.

What Unlimited People Browsing actually does

Unlimited People Browsing is a specific permission level tied to paid LinkedIn subscriptions. It is designed for users who need to perform hundreds or thousands of searches every month. On a free account, LinkedIn typically allows around 300 searches per month before the commercial use limit kicks in. This number is not fixed. The algorithm monitors how often you use advanced filters, how many profiles you view outside your immediate network, and whether you are searching for specific job titles or companies. If these patterns suggest you are recruiting or selling, the limit triggers early.

This feature removes the 300-search cap entirely. You can search for leads or candidates all day without seeing a warning message. Beyond just the number of searches, it also changes how many results you see. Free users are limited to 1,000 total results for any given search - that is 100 pages of 10 results each. If you are looking for a common role like "Account Manager," there are millions of results, but you can only see the first tiny fraction. Unlimited browsing through Sales Navigator increases this to 2,500 results per search, displayed as 100 pages of 25 results.

The feature applies to several different areas of the site. It covers the main search bar, the "People Also Viewed" sidebar on profile pages, and the "People" tab on company pages. It also allows you to use advanced search filters that are usually locked. These filters help you find people by their years of experience, specific seniority level, or the size of the company they work for. Without these filters, you spend hours clicking through profiles that do not fit your criteria.

Access requirements: Which plans unlock unlimited browsing?

You cannot get unlimited browsing on the basic, free version of LinkedIn. There is no setting you can toggle to turn it on. To access it, you must move to a paid tier. LinkedIn offers several different premium plans, but they do not all treat search limits the same way.

• LinkedIn Premium Career: This is the entry-level paid plan. It is mostly for job seekers. It does not technically offer "Unlimited People Browsing." You might get a slightly higher limit than a free user, but you can still hit the commercial use wall if you search too aggressively for business purposes.
• LinkedIn Premium Business: This plan is a step up. It provides more InMail credits and some additional search insights. While it is more lenient than the free version, heavy users may still find themselves restricted during high-volume months.
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: This is the primary plan for unlimited browsing. It is built specifically for sales professionals and lead generation. It completely removes the commercial use limit. It also provides a separate search interface that is much more powerful than the standard LinkedIn search bar.
• LinkedIn Recruiter Lite: Like Sales Navigator, this plan is built for high-volume searching. It is tailored for hiring and offers unlimited views of profiles within your 3rd-degree network.

Practical ways to get access for less

The retail price for Sales Navigator is roughly $720 per year if you pay annually, or about $99 per month if you pay month-to-month. For a small business or a solo freelancer, that is a significant investment. Honestly, many people look for ways to lower this cost. You have a few options depending on your budget and how much risk you are willing to take.

One official option is the LinkedIn Premium free trial. LinkedIn almost always offers a 30-day trial for its Sales Navigator or Business plans. You have to provide a credit card up front, and you must remember to cancel before the month ends. This is a good way to clear a specific project or a seasonal hiring push without spending any money. However, you can usually only use this trial once every 12 months.

Another option is using external search methods, often called "X-ray searching." You can use Google to search LinkedIn by typing "site:linkedin.com/in" followed by the job titles or keywords you want. Google does not have a commercial use limit for LinkedIn profiles. You can browse the results and click through to the profiles. The downside is that you lose all the internal LinkedIn filters, and LinkedIn may still hide the names of people if you are not logged in or if you click too many profiles in a row from an external source.

If the retail price is too high, some users look at third-party providers like AccsUpgrade. They offer LinkedIn Premium and Sales Navigator access for a lower price, sometimes around $40 compared to the much higher retail cost. This is an option if you need the features but cannot justify the full corporate expense. There are tradeoffs to consider. These services often involve joining a team account or using a managed subscription, which means you aren't paying LinkedIn directly. It can be a way to save money, but you should weigh the cost savings against the convenience of a direct, official billing relationship with LinkedIn.

Step-by-step setup for unlimited browsing

Once you have acquired a plan that includes unlimited browsing, you need to know how to use it effectively. If you have Sales Navigator, you should stop using the standard LinkedIn search bar for your deep research. The Sales Navigator platform is a separate environment with its own set of tools.

1. Access the Sales Navigator dashboard: Click the "Sales Nav" icon in the top right corner of your LinkedIn homepage. This opens a new browser tab.
2. Start a Lead Search: Click the "Search for leads" bar at the top. You will see a list of filters on the left-hand side.
3. Apply Advanced Filters: Start narrowing down your list. Use filters like "Geography," "Industry," and "Current Job Title." Because you have unlimited browsing, you can be as broad or as specific as you want.
4. Save Your Searches: If you find a group of people that fits your criteria, use the "Save Search" button. Sales Navigator will then alert you when new people match those criteria in the future.
5. View Profiles: Click on the profiles that interest you. You will notice that you can see full names and details for almost everyone, even those outside your immediate network.

If you are using a Premium Business account instead of Sales Navigator, you will stay on the main LinkedIn site. You just use the standard search bar as usual. The difference is that the "commercial use limit" warning simply won't appear as you browse through pages of results.

Common access blockers and fixes

Even with a paid plan, you might occasionally run into issues where you cannot see the profiles you want. Here are the most common reasons and how to fix them.

The "Out of Network" Block: Even with unlimited browsing, LinkedIn protects the privacy of some users. If a person is a "3rd-degree connection" or further, and they have strict privacy settings, you might only see "LinkedIn Member." This is not a search limit issue. It is a privacy setting chosen by that specific user. The fix here is to try to find a common connection or use an InMail to reach out.

Account Restrictions: If you use automated software or "scrapers" to view hundreds of profiles in a matter of minutes, LinkedIn may flag your account. This is different from the commercial use limit. This is a security block. If this happens, you will see a message saying your account is temporarily restricted. The only fix is to wait for the restriction to lift and stop using automated tools.

Browser Cache Issues: Sometimes you might upgrade your account, but the site still tells you that you are limited. This is usually because your browser is remembering an old version of the page. Log out of LinkedIn, clear your browser cache and cookies, and log back in. This usually refreshes your account status and unlocks the unlimited features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the commercial use limit reset?
Yes. If you are a free user and you hit the limit, it resets on the first day of every calendar month. LinkedIn does not carry over unused searches, and there is no way to "earn" more searches other than waiting for the new month or upgrading your plan.

Can I use the mobile app to bypass limits?
There is some evidence that the LinkedIn mobile app is slightly more lenient with search limits than the desktop site. However, LinkedIn has been closing this gap. Using the app might give you a few extra searches, but it is not a reliable way to get truly unlimited browsing. If you are doing professional-level prospecting, the app will eventually cut you off just like the desktop site.

Do "People Also Viewed" clicks count toward my limit?
Yes. Every time you click a profile from the "People Also Viewed" section or a company's employee list, it counts as a profile view and a search action. If you are on a free account, browsing through these sidebars is one of the fastest ways to hit your monthly limit without realizing it.

A final word on search limits

LinkedIn is a business, and they have designed their search limits to encourage heavy users to pay for the platform. For casual users, the 300-search limit is usually plenty. If you find yourself hitting that wall every month, it is a sign that you are getting real business value from the data on the site. You can try to use Google X-ray searches or the mobile app to stretch your access, but these are temporary fixes. If you need consistent, high-volume access, moving to a plan like Sales Navigator is the only way to ensure your workflow isn't interrupted. Whether you choose to pay the full retail price or look for a discounted option like AccsUpgrade, having the ability to browse without limits is a necessity for modern digital prospecting.