Lead Generation

We Tried 21 LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools, So You Don't Have To (Paid + Free)

Discover the ultimate LinkedIn lead generation tool for your business! We tested 21 options so you don't have to.

Saurav Gupta
Founder & CEO
May 8, 2024
Table of contents

You are probably here because:

You’re tired of generating leads manually via LinkedIn. 

OR

You’re confused about which LinkedIn lead generation tool to really begin with. 

OR

You’ve tried to generate leads on LinkedIn but found it too expensive.

I know how you feel. 

Because 4 years back, I was right in your shoes. Interested but clueless. 

I was interested in lead generation but didn’t know where to begin, which tools to use, or how to pick the right tools. 

But after 11000+ followers and $300k+ in revenue sourced from LinkedIn, I figured it out!

my 11K+ followers on LinkedIn

Before I tell you how, let’s talk about why LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn has 1 billion users and over 67 million companies, making it a B2B lead gen powerhouse. 

But tapping into that potential ain't easy without the right tools, so how did I do it?

Nothing much; I spent over 300 hours soaking up LinkedIn articles, YouTube videos, Instagram reels, Facebook group chats—you name it.

Made a bunch of mistakes along the way. And learned from them.

And you are one lucky son of a gun. 

Cause today, I’ll be sharing everything I know about LinkedIn lead generation tools. 

First, I’ll cover what is a LinkedIn lead gen tool? 

Then, we'll dive into the three types of LinkedIn lead generation tools out there.

After that, I'll toss you a checklist for picking the right tool.

And finally, the motherlode: a roundup of LinkedIn lead gen tools, both freebies and paid options.

If you're itching to cut to the chase, you can skip to the end for the top pick. 

If not, then grab your pen and paper, folks, because this info's exclusive. 

You won't find it anywhere else.

side by side comparison of all 21 tools

What is a LinkedIn Lead Generation Tool? 

A LinkedIn lead generation tool helps you generate more leads with the same or less effort by automating your LinkedIn outreach.

But

MANY people think lead generation tools are only about outbound outreach (... however, that's not the whole story.)

Inbound is just as crucial, and specific tools make inbound lead generation easy for you. They engage your target audience to bring in leads effortlessly.

Before I reveal which tool does what, let’s talk about the types of lead generation tools available in the market.

The 3 Types of LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools

The headline already tells you how many types of tools there are in the market. 

Let's read a bit about each one:

1. Outbound LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools

These are tools that help you increase the quality and quantity of your outreach efforts by automating the connection process and allowing for personalized mass outreach.

With this type of tool: 

  • You can save time. 
  • You can ensure your interactions feel naturally human

Regardless of the number of contacts.

Additionally, some tools can send emails, enabling you to conduct multi-channel outreach from one platform rather than using multiple tools.

Tools that allow you to do this are Salesrobot, Waalaxy, Lemlist, Expandi, etc. 

2. Inbound LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools 

These tools aid in building your personal brand on LinkedIn. Confused? Well, let me explain...

Establishing a personal brand enables you to share your insights and connect directly with your target audience. It can even help you capture leads from your competitors.

With these tools:

  • You can craft viral LinkedIn posts
  • You can generate engaging AI-driven comments, and more. 

This enhances your profile visibility, gradually drawing more attention and leads your way without extra effort.
The tools that help you do this are Salesrobot Chrome Extension, Taplio, Authoredup, etc.

Infographic explaining how to generate leads in 2024

3. Native Ads-Based LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools

  • These tools are owned by LinkedIn and serve as both outbound and inbound tools. 
  • They assist in lead generation through ads, messages, dynamic Ads, and Text Ads.
  • However, they're not as effective as the two tools we talked about earlier.
  • Plus, they're pricey and could strain your budget in the long run.

Now that you know THE 3 types of LinkedIn lead generation tools available,  I have a free gift waiting just for you… 

7 Step Checklist To Find the Ideal LinkedIn Lead Generation Tool for You 

The 7 step checklist to help you find the ideal LinkedIn lead-generation tool is ready. 

But I’m not going to serve it to you on a silver platter. 

To get the checklist, all you have to do is simply answer a few questions, and it’s yours. 

So, shall we begin? 

https://sachin-3qbsyuvv.scoreapp.com

Well done on taking that quiz.

If you didn’t take the quiz? 

No worries, it’s okay to slack off on some days. However, don’t slack off when it comes to your LinkedIn lead generation process

Here’s the checklist you wanted:

the 7 step checklist to get lead via LinkedIn.

Now that you've got the checklist, it's time to discover the tools you'll be testing with it.

Top 21 LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools: The Ultimate Collection

To simplify your decision, we've categorized the tools based on the three rankings mentioned earlier. 

Let's jump into the first category of tools without delay!

Outbound LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools

1. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Nav, a subscription-based tool for sales professionals, streamlines lead generation with access to over 10 million profiles. The tool offers 30+ filters to precisely target your niche, saving time by filtering out irrelevant leads. 

Features that stand out: The spotlight feature shows updates from the last 90 days.

Target audience: B2B sales professionals 

Pricing starts at $99/month 

warn
G2 review of Salesrobot

The tool has a 4.3 rating on G2.

2. Salesrobot Cloud Campaigns 

Salesrobot is an AI-powered bot that takes over your manual work of sending connection requests, writing a message, and following up with your prospects. 

Yes, it's our tool, but that's not why we've included it on this list. 

We've added it because over 3000 customers, from small business owners to sales teams at Fortune 500 companies like Akamai, trust and rely on it.

Features that stand out: Helps bypass LinkedIn limits safely

Target audience: Sales teams and agencies

Pricing starts at $99/month 

Our customers find that our tool's flexibility enables them to create targeted and impactful LinkedIn outreach campaigns.

G2 review of Salesrobot

The tool has 4.6 out of 5 rating on G2.

3. Waalaxy 

Waalaxy automates LinkedIn and email prospecting by managing connection invites, follow-up messages, and CRM integration. It simplifies email follow-ups to boost response rates, though setting up email integration may pose challenges.

Features that stand out: Email finder and enrichment features for Business tier plan

Target audience: Sales teams

Pricing starts at €160/month 

warn
G2 review of Waalaxy

The tool has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 on G2.

4. Lemlist 

Lemlist, a cloud-based sales outreach tool that helps extract email addresses and phone numbers from LinkedIn. Also, you can execute multi-channel campaigns effectively.

Features that stand out: Offers many different templates for your particular use-case.

Target audience: Sales and marketing teams

Pricing starts at €39/monthSome users complain that it can be costly because they charge extra to enrich leads with more information:

G2 review of Lemlist

The tool has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 on G2.

5. LaGrowthMachine 

La Growth Machine is a versatile tool for prospecting, sales automation, and lead generation across multiple channels. It enables businesses to connect with new leads through email, LinkedIn profiles, and Twitter effortlessly.

Features that stand out: Lead data enrichment 

Target audience: B2B sales and marketing teams

Pricing starts at €60/month 

warn
G2 review of La Growth machine

The tool has a rating of 4.8 out of 5 on G2.

6. Skylead

Skylead is an all-in-one cloud-based tool for LinkedIn automation and cold email. It's crafted to aid sales reps, SDRs, marketers, recruiters, agency owners, and founders in booking 3x more meetings

Features that stand out: Creates multi channel sequence fast

Target audience: Sales managers and reps

Pricing starts at $100/month 

Danger
G2 review of Skylead

The tool currently has a 4.3 out of 5 on G2.

7. Dux Soup

Dux-Soup is a LinkedIn automation tool designed to assist you in reaching potential clients. With Dux-Soup, you can send personalized connection requests and messages. Plus, it includes an auto-reply feature to respond to messages promptly.

Features that stand out: Low cost LinkedIn automation tool

Target audience: Sales teams

Pricing starts at $14.99/month

info
G2 review of Dux-Soup

The tool has a 4.3 rating out of 5 on G2.

8. Meet Alfred

Meet Alfred is a lead-generation automation tool that streamlines your process. What sets it apart is its ability to manage multiple social media platforms at once, making it ideal for multi-channel campaigns.

Features that stand out: Target several social media platforms at once

Target audience: Sales professionals

Pricing starts at $59/month

Some users were at risk of their LinkedIn account being banned:

G2 review of Meet Alfred

The tool has a 2.4  rating out of 5 on G2.

9. Zopto

Zopto is another LinkedIn automation tool that helps recruiters, sales reps, managers get new leads for their business. 

Features that stand out: LinkedIn automation 

Target audience: Sales and marketing teams

Pricing starts at $197/month

Users found Zopto’s performance to be lower than that of its competitors:

G2 review of Zopto

The tool has a rating of 4.5 out 5 on G2.

10. Expandi

Expandi is an automation tool that streamlines LinkedIn and cold email tasks to help you get new leads and book more meetings.

Features that stand out:  Cloud based platform keeps your account safe

Target audience: Sales teams and agencies

Pricing starts at $99/month

Some users found the lack of email finder and verification to be costly:  

G2 review of Expandi

The tool has a 4 out 5 rating on G2.

11. Linkedhelper

Linked Helper is a long-standing LinkedIn automation tool. It is a Desktop based tool that requires downloading and installation on your device.

Features that stand out: Affordable LinkedIn automation tool

Target audience: Sales professionals

Pricing starts at $15/month

Users found the process of creating outreach campaigns to be complex:

G2 review of Linked Helper

The tool has a 4.5 out 5 rating on G2.

12. Octopus CRM

Octopus CRM is renowned for its LinkedIn lead generation abilities. It helps users generate leads from LinkedIn and organize prospecting tasks. 

Features that stand out: Cheap price haha 😂

Target audience: Sales teams

Pricing starts at $9.99/month 

This tool has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 on G2.

Some users hated the lack of full automation capabilities.

G2 review of Octopus CRM

Next up, we will talk about the 2nd category of LinkedIn lead generation tool, which is…. 

Inbound LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools

If you want leads from LinkedIn, then you need to have a solid posting and commenting strategy.

In 2023, I was able to generate over 400k impressions on my LinkedIn posts!

I even made a video about my strategy and the tools I used.

1. Salesrobot Chrome Extension

It is the Chrome extension of our cloud-based tool that helps write comments on any LinkedIn post quickly. 

Features that stand out: AI-generated comments 

Target audience: Content creators and marketers

Pricing starts at $99/month

Here’s the tool in action: 

AI comment generated via Salesrobot chrome extension

2. Taplio

Taplio is an AI-powered tool that helps your LinkedIn content creation process by generating post ideas.

Features that stand out: Helps you generate post ideas 

Target audience: Marketing and sales professionals

Pricing starts at $65/month

Users found manually reconnecting LinkedIn to be a time-consuming process:

G2 review of Taplio

The tool has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 on G2.

3. Authoredup

AuthoredUp is the top LinkedIn productivity tool for content creators. It refines your posts with writing, editing, and insightful analysis, making it a must-have for LinkedIn users.

Features that stand out: LinkedIn content creation and analytics tool

Target audience: Content creators and marketers

Pricing starts at $19.95/month

4. Supergrow

Super Grow is a LinkedIn personal branding tool that simplifies post ideas, crafts engaging content, and carousels.

Features that stand out: All in one tool for LinkedIn personal branding

Target audience: Content creators and marketers

Pricing starts at $19/month

Some users find it lacking integrations, such as Canva integration.

G2 review of Supergrow

The tool has a rating of 4.9  out of 5 on G2.

5. Lempod

Lempod is a tool that boosts your LinkedIn post views and engagement through automation.

Features that stand out: Increases views and engagement of the posts

Target audience: Marketers

Pricing starts at $9.99/month

Now, we're onto our last four tools featured in...

Native Ads-Based LinkedIn Lead Generation Tools

1. LinkedIn Sponsored Content ads

LinkedIn-sponsored content ads are premium ads sponsored by a company for publication and distribution. Essentially, they seamlessly blend into the platform, avoiding the intrusive feel of typical advertisements.

Features that stand out: Helps capture your prospects' attention by seamlessly blending into the LinkedIn feed

Target audience: B2B Sales and marketing teams

Pricing Information: Pay per click

Example: 

Example of LinkedIn Sponsered Content Ad

2. LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging

LinkedIn's Sponsored Messages are ads sent to specific users through LinkedIn Ads. They let companies send personalized messages to users' inboxes, including greetings, links, and calls-to-action.

Features that stand out: Send direct LinkedIn messages to your prospects

Target audience: B2B Sales and marketing teams

Pricing Information: Pay per click

Example: 

Example of LinkedIn Sponsered messaging ads

3. LinkedIn Dynamic Ads

LinkedIn dynamic ads are a great way to attract clients, find employees, and boost brand awareness. These hyper-personalized ads pull each user's name or profile picture, making them effective.

Features that stand out: Hyper-personalized ads

Target audience: B2B Sales and marketing teams

Pricing Information: Pay-per-click

Example: 

Example of LinkedIn dynamic ad

4. LinkedIn Text Ads

LinkedIn text ads are short, text-based messages displayed on the platform. They feature a headline, brief description, and URL, aiming to engage users and prompt action, like visiting a website. These cost-effective ads help businesses reach their audience and promote products or services.

Features that stand out: Delivers concise message

Target audience: B2B Sales and marketing teams

Pricing Information: Pay per click

Example: 

Example of LinkedIn text ad

And that's the end of the list.

I know it's tough to pick just one tool from so many great options.

To truly grasp the benefits of each tool, you'd need to invest 1-2 hours in understanding each one.

But by the time you decide which tool suits you best, your competition might have taken half of your market share, leaving your business at risk.

You wouldn't want that, would you?

That's why we've conducted the analysis for you, and here's the tool we believe is the best fit for your needs.

Conclusion: Which LinkedIn Lead Generation Tool Should You Choose? And why?

You've explored 21 top LinkedIn lead generation tools, but which one takes the crown?

I will answer this, but let me ask you this:

Can you watch every TV show or movie on Netflix? 

Nope, it's just not possible. 

Similarly, with LinkedIn lead generation tools, there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.

That's why we've picked 3 standout tools, each excelling in a specific category:

1. Salesrobot for Outbound: It's your solution for bypassing LinkedIn connection limits safely and minimizing the risk of account restrictions.

2. Taplio for Inbound: Grow your personal brand across LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) with Taplio, a valuable resource for content inspiration.

3. Sponsored Messaging for Ads: Experience personalized ads landing directly in your prospect’s inbox, tailored uniquely to the audience that needs them.

While we can't guarantee the success of every tool, we can vouch for Salesrobot's reliability and effectiveness.

G2 review of Salesrobot

Keen to explore Salesrobot? Dive in with our 14-day trial - no credit card or phone number required.

Until next time!

GIF image - Until next time

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