Short answer: LinkedIn Premium Career (A$54.99 a month in October 2026) is worth it if you need to message lots of people you aren't connected with. It won't tell you who's hiring for a job or show you jobs that recruiters only post on their own feeds. If that's what you're paying for, Sidedoor does it for less, and you can still use free LinkedIn to reach out.
Key points
- Premium Career gives you 5 InMail messages a month, applicant and job insights, "who viewed your profile" and LinkedIn Learning.
- Its job tools work on LinkedIn's job board. Many recruiters advertise jobs in their own posts, and Premium doesn't gather those for you.
- Sidedoor finds the jobs that fit you, including ones recruiters post on LinkedIn, and tells you who's hiring for each one. It costs A$10 for 14 days or A$69 for 90 days, paid once (buying opens after the beta).
- The two do different jobs. Plenty of people will use free LinkedIn with Sidedoor; some will want both.
At a glance
Prices checked 21 October 2026 (LinkedIn) and 25 October 2026 (Sidedoor). Australian dollars.
| LinkedIn Premium Career | Sidedoor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An upgrade to your LinkedIn account | A job search tool that watches recruiters and hiring managers for you |
| Finds jobs | From LinkedIn's job board | From recruiters' and hiring managers' LinkedIn posts, plus job listings, matched to your search |
| Tells you who's hiring | Sometimes, when a job shows its poster or hiring team | For every job: the recruiter who posted it, or "Someone hiring" when the poster isn't a recruiter |
| A job you found yourself | No | Paste a LinkedIn, SEEK, Greenhouse or Lever link: likely hiring managers and in-house recruiters (3 credits) |
| Messaging people | 5 InMails a month to people outside your network | Doesn't send messages. You reach out yourself (it shows emails and phones only when people published them in their own posts) |
| Learns what you want | No | Yes: mark jobs "Not for me" with a reason, or show it jobs you wanted |
| Where it works | Worldwide | Australia and New Zealand (beta) |
| Price | A$54.99 a month, or A$323.88 a year | A$10 for 14 days · A$69 for 90 days · A$119 for 3 searches over 90 days. Paid once, no subscription. Free month for beta testers; buying opens after the beta |
Who should pick which
| If you… | Pick |
|---|---|
| Need to message lots of people you're not connected with | LinkedIn Premium |
| Want LinkedIn Learning courses or profile analytics | LinkedIn Premium |
| Want jobs that fit you, including ones recruiters only post on LinkedIn | Sidedoor |
| Keep asking "who do I actually contact about this job?" | Sidedoor |
| Found a job on SEEK and want to know who's hiring for it | Sidedoor (Job by link) |
| Are job hunting outside Australia and New Zealand | LinkedIn Premium (Sidedoor's beta covers AU and NZ) |
| Are in a long, active search and contact a lot of people | Both can make sense |
What LinkedIn Premium does well
Premium is good at one thing free LinkedIn can't do: reaching people you're not connected with. InMail lands in someone's inbox without a connection request, which helps when a hiring manager doesn't accept requests from strangers.
It also shows more about the jobs you look at, such as how you compare with other applicants, and it includes LinkedIn Learning. If you're building skills while you look, that has real value.
Where it falls short for a job hunt
It works inside LinkedIn's job board. Premium's job features help with listings. But a lot of hiring on LinkedIn happens in posts: a recruiter writes "I'm hiring a business analyst in Melbourne, DM me" and that job may never become a listing. It's part of Australia's hidden job market. Premium doesn't collect those posts for you. You'd have to follow the right recruiters and scroll.
It doesn't tell you who to talk to. Some listings show who posted them. Many don't, especially from larger employers and agencies. Working out the hiring manager is still up to you (here's how to find the hiring manager for a job).
Five InMails a month is few if you don't know who to send them to. The credits are most useful once you know exactly who's hiring.
This matters because applying alone often isn't enough. In LinkedIn's own 2025 data, 51% of Australian respondents said they'd been ghosted during a job search, and nearly 60% said they were hearing back less (ACS Information Age, January 2025). Australian employers say people do get hired by going direct: in 2025, 12% of employers who recruited were approached directly by job seekers, and most of those employers hired one of them (Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026). That approach is most common for lower-skilled jobs, so it's a signal, not a promise. Either way, the person deciding has to know you exist.
What Sidedoor does differently
You tell Sidedoor the job you want and where. It finds the recruiters who specialise in your field, checks their LinkedIn posts every day, and combines them with job listings into one feed of jobs that fit you. Each job shows who's hiring: the recruiter who posted it, or a note when the poster isn't a recruiter.
Found a job somewhere else? Paste the link (LinkedIn, SEEK, Greenhouse or Lever, or paste the ad) and Sidedoor works out whether it's hired in-house or through an agency, and suggests up to three likely hiring managers and in-house recruiters, with the reasons.
Your search gets better as you use it. Mark a job "Not for me" and say why, or show it a job you wanted, and it adjusts.
It doesn't need your LinkedIn login, and it never applies or sends messages for you. You decide who to talk to and what to say.
Can you use both?
Yes, and for some people that's the best setup. Sidedoor tells you which jobs to go after and who's hiring. LinkedIn, free or Premium, is how you start the conversation. With free LinkedIn, send a connection request with a short note. With Premium, use an InMail when someone doesn't accept requests.
A short note is enough (more templates in what to message a recruiter after applying). For example:
Hi Sarah, I saw you're hiring a business analyst for the Melbourne team. I've spent five years on Dynamics 365 projects in financial services, most recently at [company]. I'd love a quick chat if you think it's a fit. Have a great week.
Price compared, like with like
For a three-month job hunt, in Australian dollars (October 2026):
| Cost for 3 months | |
|---|---|
| LinkedIn Premium Career, monthly | A$164.97 (3 × A$54.99) |
| LinkedIn Premium Career, yearly plan | A$323.88 (paid up front for 12 months) |
| Sidedoor Job Hunt pack (90 days, 1 search, 300 credits) | A$69, paid once (after the beta) |
LinkedIn often runs free trials and discounts; check what's offered to you. Sidedoor beta testers get their first month free.