A LinkedIn conversation ad lead costs $200 at the median.
The median cost per lead from LinkedIn conversation and message ads is $200. The cheapest tenth of accounts pay $32 and the dearest tenth $1,005, a 32 times spread on the same format.
By Phil Ilic · Published 19 Oct 2026 · From Kiin Labs Report No. 2, LinkedIn Conversation Ads Benchmarks
Kiin Labs (2026). LinkedIn conversation and message ads cost per lead: median $200, $32 at the 10th percentile and $1,005 at the 90th; median open rate 42.6% and $0.42 per send, 8 Sep 2025 to 7 Sep 2026. https://kiin.co/research/linkedin-conversation-ads-cost-per-lead
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Open rate barely matters. Cost per send does.
What a typical account sees
The median message ad account opens at 42.6%, gets a lead from 0.09% of sends, completes the form 41% of the time and pays $0.42 a send. Good is 48.8% open, 0.22% lead rate and $0.23 a send.
What drives cost per lead
Cost per send explains 55% of the difference in cost per lead between accounts; open rate explains 2%. Bidding higher costs 80% more per send and 44% more per lead for the same open rate.
What the cheap accounts do
Retargeting gets 71% more leads per send than cold and runs 36% cheaper per lead than an uploaded list. Message ads open at 49.6% against 40.8% for conversation ads, and the two tie on cost per lead in the same account.
Where the number comes from
Kiin Labs Report No. 2: 263 advertisers. LinkedIn Ads accounts connected to Kiin Intelligence via the LinkedIn Marketing API, 8 September 2025 to 7 September 2026, converted to USD, LinkedIn Audience Network excluded. Every figure is a median across advertiser accounts, and no cell with fewer than seven accounts is published.
Questions about this number.
How much do LinkedIn conversation ads cost per lead?
$200 at the median advertiser account. The cheapest tenth pay $32 and the dearest tenth $1,005.
What is a good open rate for LinkedIn message ads?
48.8% is good and 53.9% exceptional; the median account opens at 42.6%. Open rate explains only 2% of cost per lead, so cost per send matters more.
How much does a LinkedIn message ad send cost?
$0.42 at the median account; $0.33 for message ads and $0.46 for conversation ads across every objective.
Should I bid high on LinkedIn conversation ads?
No. Bidding higher costs 80% more per send and 44% more per lead for the same open rate. Start at the minimum bid.
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