# HeyLead vs Sales Navigator

> HeyLead vs LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Sales Navigator is LinkedIn's search tool, with 50+ filters, lists, alerts and 50 InMails a month from US$119.99. HeyLead runs the outreach from your own account. Prices checked 25 September 2026.

This is the Markdown twin of https://heylead.dev/compare/heylead-vs-sales-navigator (the page, in text). Index for agents: https://heylead.dev/llms.txt

Last updated 25 September 2026

Sales Navigator and HeyLead (heylead.dev) do different jobs. Sales Navigator is LinkedIn's own sales search tool: 50+ search filters, lead and account lists, alerts and 50 InMails a month, from US$119.99 a month [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans) [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator). It helps you find people; InMails are sent one at a time, and bulk messaging isn't available [[3]](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a102025). HeyLead runs the outreach itself: it finds people, invites them, writes to them, follows up and answers replies from your own LinkedIn account. You can use both: HeyLead can send from a Sales Navigator seat.

HeyLead is an AI agent for LinkedIn outreach: it finds the right people, writes to them in the voice of your own LinkedIn posts, follows up, and handles replies. It runs from Claude Code, Cursor, any MCP client or a web dashboard.

## Side by side

|  | HeyLead | Sales Navigator |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | An AI agent that runs LinkedIn outreach: people, invitations, messages, follow-ups, replies. | LinkedIn's sales search tool: find leads and accounts, save them to lists, get alerts when they act [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator). |
| Price | Free: $0, one LinkedIn seat, no card. Pro: $29 per connected LinkedIn account per month, monthly, cancel any time. | Core US$119.99 a month or US$1,079.88 a year. Advanced US$159.99 a month or US$1,799.88 a year. Advanced Plus is priced for your team. Prices differ by country and may exclude VAT [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans). |
| Finding people | Buyer personas from a one-line brief, then a LinkedIn search from your connected seat, with Sales Navigator filters when the seat has them. | 50+ search filters, such as function, seniority and years at the company; custom lead and account lists [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator). |
| Sending | Invitations, the opening message and follow-ups go out for you: 20 invitations a day and 100 a week on a free LinkedIn account; 168 and 320 on Premium or Sales Navigator (measured 16 September 2026). Monday to Friday 08:00 to 22:00 in your time zone. Opening messages and follow-ups wait for your approval until you switch to autopilot. Invitations are not held. | InMails must be sent individually; bulk messaging isn't available [[3]](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a102025). |
| InMail | One InMail as a fallback when an invitation stays quiet for 14 days, if you turn it on. | 50 InMail credits a month on every plan [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans). A credit comes back when the person replies within 90 days [[3]](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a102025). |
| CRM | HubSpot is the only CRM sync, from the local client. Meetings book on Google Calendar. | Advanced plans integrate with Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle and more [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans). |
| Teams | Pro: more than one LinkedIn account in one workspace, each billed and capped on its own. One workspace per client, with editor and viewer roles. No white-label. | TeamLink shows shared connections across your team; Smart Links show who engages with what you share [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator). |
| Trial | A free plan instead of a trial, with no card. | A free trial that becomes paid one month after it starts [[4]](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a106102). LinkedIn asks for payment information to start it [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans). |

Checked on 25 September 2026 on LinkedIn's own pages (business.linkedin.com and the Sales Navigator Help Center). Each [n] links to the page the fact comes from; the list is under Sources. Prices and plans change, so check the linked page before you decide. HeyLead wrote this page. If a fact here is wrong, write to [hello@heylead.dev](mailto:hello@heylead.dev) and we correct it.

## What Sales Navigator does better

- Search depth. 50+ filters, saved lead and account lists, and alerts when a lead or account acts [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator). HeyLead's search is built for one campaign at a time, not for working a list of accounts for months.
- It is LinkedIn's own product [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator), inside LinkedIn. Nothing to connect to a third party.
- InMail credits: 50 a month on every plan [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans), returned when someone replies within 90 days [[3]](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a102025).
- CRM integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics and Oracle on the Advanced plans [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans). HeyLead syncs with HubSpot only.
- Team features: TeamLink finds shared connections across your team [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator).

## What HeyLead does differently

- It does the sending. Invitations, the opening message, follow-ups and replies run for you, from the cloud, with your laptop closed.
- You brief it in a sentence, from Claude Code, Cursor, any MCP client or the web dashboard. It drafts the campaign and sends nothing until you press Launch.
- Each message is written for the person, in the voice of your own LinkedIn posts. Replies are answered from your campaign's facts; anything ambiguous is held for you.
- Free is $0 with one LinkedIn seat. Pro is $29 per connected LinkedIn account per month.

A campaign has one of six goals, and the ICP, the fit check and the messages follow it: Sell a product or service, Find a job, Hire people, Find partners or investors, Find a vendor and Research interviews. Hire people, Find partners or investors and Research interviews run on a custom brief until their message sets exist.

HeyLead sends from your own LinkedIn account at a human pace: at most 20 invitations a day and 100 a week on a free LinkedIn account (more on Premium or Sales Navigator), Monday to Friday 08:00 to 22:00 in your time zone, minutes apart. It backs off when LinkedIn pushes back and resumes on its own. You can pause any campaign at any time.

## Choose Sales Navigator if

- Your job is research: building account lists, following alerts, and writing each message yourself.
- You need CRM sync with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics or Oracle [[1]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans).
- You want only LinkedIn's own tools on your LinkedIn account.

## When HeyLead is the wrong choice

- You want to write and send every message by hand. HeyLead writes them; approval mode lets you read openers and follow-ups first, but invitations go out without review.
- You work a fixed list of named accounts over months. HeyLead runs campaigns; it has no account alerts or saved account lists like Sales Navigator's [[2]](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator).
- You need a CRM other than HubSpot, or a calendar other than Google.
- You want nothing on your account that is not made by LinkedIn. HeyLead is not affiliated with LinkedIn.

## Choose HeyLead if

- You want the outreach done, not only the search: people found, invited, written to and followed up.
- You work from Claude Code, Cursor or another MCP client and want to brief a campaign in a sentence.
- You already pay for Sales Navigator: HeyLead sends from that seat at up to 168 invitations a day and 320 a week (measured on two seats on 16 September 2026).
- You want to start at $0, with no card.

## Questions people ask

Is HeyLead a replacement for Sales Navigator?

Not for search. Sales Navigator is LinkedIn's search tool, with 50+ filters, lead and account lists and alerts. HeyLead runs the outreach: it finds people, invites them, writes the messages, follows up and answers replies from your own LinkedIn account. You can connect a Sales Navigator seat to HeyLead and use both.

Does HeyLead need Sales Navigator?

No. HeyLead works with a free LinkedIn account, at most 20 invitations a day and 100 a week. A Premium or Sales Navigator seat raises the ceiling to 168 a day and 320 a week (measured on two seats on 16 September 2026), and HeyLead's search uses the Sales Navigator filters when the seat has them.

How much does Sales Navigator cost compared with HeyLead?

On 25 September 2026 LinkedIn listed Sales Navigator Core at US$119.99 a month and Advanced at US$159.99 a month in the US, with other prices in other countries. HeyLead Free is $0 and Pro is $29 per connected LinkedIn account per month. One does not include the other.

Can HeyLead send InMail?

Yes, as a fallback. With edit_campaign(inmail_fallback="on"), an invitation that has stayed quiet for 14 days gets one InMail. A free LinkedIn seat sends it only to Open Profile members, which costs no credits.

## Sources

Checked on 25 September 2026. LinkedIn's prices on the compare-plans page are US estimates; LinkedIn lists other prices for other countries on the same page.

1. [Sales Navigator: compare plans and pricing](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/compare-plans)
2. [Sales Navigator product page](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator)
3. [Sales Navigator Help: InMail limits and credits](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a102025)
4. [Sales Navigator Help: free trial renewal](https://www.linkedin.com/help/sales-navigator/answer/a106102)

HeyLead is not affiliated with LinkedIn. It reaches LinkedIn through Unipile, which is also not affiliated. LinkedIn's own rules are in the [Terms](https://heylead.dev/terms).

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