Quick answer
The average LinkedIn connection acceptance rate sits between about 19% and 29% in the largest recent datasets. Expandi's 2026 benchmark of 13.2 million requests puts it at 28.5%. HeyReach counts 21.3% across 50.4 million requests on its own platform. Belkins' own 2025 client campaigns came in at 18.7%. A good acceptance rate is one above the average for your segment: in Expandi's data, 30% or more beats most large industries. Under 20%, check your list and profile before you rewrite the note. All three numbers come from people using automation tools, so read how each was measured before you compare.
The average LinkedIn acceptance rate in three datasets
I'm a GTM consultant working on LinkedIn and email outbound with B2B teams, and "is our acceptance rate normal?" is a question I hear a lot. These are the three benchmarks I trust enough to quote, with what each one actually counted.
| Source | What was counted | Data | Average acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expandi 2026 benchmarks | Accepted ÷ all requests sent, mobile and CSV-uploaded requests included | 13,218,869 requests from 13,302 Expandi accounts, May 2025 to April 2026 | 28.5%, from 17.5% to 40.1% by the sender's industry |
| HeyReach, own platform | People connected ÷ requests sent by its users | 50,406,739 requests, 25 March to 7 August 2026 | 21.3% |
| Belkins, own client campaigns | Invited prospects who accepted | 14,077 prospects across 34 client projects, 2025 | 18.7% |
| Belkins, Expandi platform data | Connections ÷ invites, split by note | 11.5 million requests sent in 2025 | 25.3% with a note, 27.6% without |
Sources: Expandi, HeyReach, Belkins. I checked all three on 14 October 2026.
How each number was measured, and why they differ
- Expandi's 28.5% is a platform average. It covers every account on the tool: agencies, recruiters, founders, good lists and bad ones. Expandi publishes its formula and calls it a sender-side benchmark: the industry split is the sender's industry, not the industry of the people receiving the requests.
- HeyReach's 21.3% is a vendor's own count. It comes from a blog post HeyReach wrote after LinkedIn removed its company page, to show its users kept sending. It gives totals (10,721,715 connected out of 50,406,739 requests) and no method beyond that.
- Belkins' 18.7% is one agency's work. Belkins tracked 14,077 prospects from invite to meeting across its own B2B client campaigns. It's the smallest sample, and the only one where every request was B2B outreach run by one team. For cold outbound to people who don't know you, I'd treat it as the closest comparison.
- The sources overlap. Belkins' large dataset is Expandi's platform data, so the 25.3% and 27.6% come from the same tool as the 28.5%, a year apart. Belkins' headline "26%" average comes from that data too, not from its own campaigns.
None of these counts people sending by hand. And none of them breaks acceptance down by who receives the request, which is the thing you control most.
What is a good LinkedIn connection acceptance rate?
Good means above the average for people like you. Here's how I read a rate, measured on requests that are at least two weeks old, so pending ones have had time to land:
| Your rate | How it compares | First move |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20% | Below all three platform averages. Belkins' own campaigns sat just under, at 18.7% | Check the list, then your profile |
| 20% to 27% | Between HeyReach's average and Expandi's lower industries | Compare with your own segment before changing anything |
| 27% to 32% | Around Expandi's 28.5% and most large industries | Leave it and work on the first message |
| Above 32% | The top of Expandi's table | Good. Check replies to confirm the right people are accepting |
Expandi's industry rows show why one average isn't enough. These are senders' industries, with the number of accounts behind each:
| Sender industry | Accounts | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|
| Staffing & Recruiting | 462 | 36.5% |
| Venture Capital & Private Equity | 107 | 34.9% |
| Marketing & Advertising | 1,115 | 29.4% |
| Information Technology & Services | 1,825 | 28.4% |
| Management Consulting | 976 | 28.0% |
| Computer Software | 1,851 | 27.5% |
| Financial Services | 767 | 26.0% |
| Telecommunications | 61 | 21.8% |
| Apparel & Fashion | 28 | 19.9% |
The extremes you'll see quoted, 40.1% for Broadcast Media and 17.5% for Consumer Electronics, come from 14 and 16 accounts. Expandi itself calls the Broadcast Media figure directional for that reason. A software company at 27% is on benchmark. A recruiter at 27% is about ten points behind its peers.
What moves your acceptance rate, and what barely does
| Factor | What the data shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sender's industry | 17.5% to 40.1%. Most large industries sit between 26% and 30.5% | Expandi |
| Note or blank request | Blank 27.6%, with a note 25.3%. But notes got more replies: 8.2% vs 5.3% | Belkins, Expandi data |
| Sender seniority | C-level 29.4%, Manager 27.3%, Junior/Entry 26.3% | Expandi |
| Sender's company size | 26% to 29% across every size band | Expandi |
| Month | 28% to 30% in most months, 25% in November 2025 | Expandi |
| Who you send to | Not measured in any of these datasets |
So the CEO sending the requests won't save a campaign, and dropping the note buys you a couple of points of acceptance while costing replies. The lever the datasets can't show is the one that matters most in practice: the list. People with a reason to recognise you accept. People who don't, ignore you. The best lead is the one who just did something, like starting a new role, hiring for the team you'd help or posting about the problem you solve.
What to do when your acceptance rate is low
- Measure it properly. Accepted ÷ sent, for each list, on requests at least two weeks old. One blended number across every campaign hides the list that's dragging it down.
- Compare with your segment. Use your industry row, not 28.5%. You may be on benchmark already.
- Check the list. Right title at a company that fits, active on LinkedIn and with a reason to know why you're connecting. If the list was a broad title and industry pull, rebuild it. I go through the filters that find real buyers in Sales Navigator search filters.
- Check your profile. People decide in a few seconds from your photo, headline and latest activity. A headline that says what problem you solve and for whom does more than a clever note. See optimizing a founder's LinkedIn profile.
- Test blank vs note on the same list. Split it in half and compare after two weeks. If you use a note, make it about them.
- Deal with old pending requests. LinkedIn's help page lists invitations that are ignored, "left pending" or "marked as spam" as a reason it restricts invitations. Withdraw the ones you've given up on, knowing you can't invite the same person again for up to three weeks.
- Slow down while you fix it. More volume into a weak list just piles up more pending requests.
A note that gives a real reason to connect:
"Hi Marta, saw you're hiring two SDRs for the Nordics. I work with sales teams on [the problem you solve]. Would be good to connect."
And one that gets ignored:
"Hi Marta, I help B2B companies book 20+ meetings a month with a proven system. Open to a quick call this week?"
The second is a pitch to a stranger, and the stranger has no reason to accept it. More openers in connection request messages that get accepted.
Rule of thumb. Fix the list before the note. A better note on the wrong list barely moves the number, and a low rate is an account risk as well as a results problem.
A high acceptance rate isn't the goal
Acceptance is a gate. Belkins' client campaigns accepted at only 18.7%, yet 17.6% of the people who connected replied and 1.3% of them booked a meeting. A list of people who accept everyone can hit 40% and book nothing. Track acceptance next to reply rate, positive replies and meetings, as I lay out in the LinkedIn outreach metrics that matter.
Key takeaways
- The average LinkedIn acceptance rate is about 19% to 29%: Expandi 28.5%, HeyReach 21.3%, Belkins' own client campaigns 18.7%.
- Expandi's is a platform average by sender industry, HeyReach's is a vendor's own count and Belkins' comes from one agency's B2B client campaigns.
- 30% or more beats most large industries in Expandi's data. Recruiting and VC senders run higher, around 35% to 37%.
- Sender seniority and company size barely move the rate. A note costs about two points of acceptance and wins more replies.
- Under 20%, check the list and the profile before the note, and slow down until it recovers.
FAQ
What is the average LinkedIn acceptance rate?
Between about 19% and 29% in the largest recent datasets. Expandi's 2026 benchmark of 13.2 million requests averages 28.5%, HeyReach reports 21.3% across 50.4 million requests and Belkins' own 2025 client campaigns averaged 18.7%.
What is a good LinkedIn connection acceptance rate?
Anything above the average for your segment. In Expandi's data, 30% or more beats most large industries, while recruiting and VC senders average around 35% to 37%. Under 20% is below every major average.
Why is my LinkedIn acceptance rate so low?
Usually the list: people who don't know you and have no reason to connect ignore the request. Check the list first, then your photo and headline, then test a blank request against a note on the same list.
Does adding a note increase LinkedIn acceptance rate?
Not in Belkins' analysis of 11.5 million requests: blank requests were accepted 27.6% of the time and requests with a note 25.3%. Notes did get more replies, 8.2% vs 5.3%, so use them where you have something specific to say.
Can a low acceptance rate get my LinkedIn account restricted?
It can contribute. LinkedIn's help center lists many invitations being ignored, left pending or marked as spam as a reason it restricts invitations. Sending fewer requests to a better list lowers that risk.