Should I use LinkedIn scraper or the official LinkedIn API?

Both approaches serve different purposes. Here's a breakdown of when to use each.

Use Parseium LinkedIn Scraper when:

You need data flexibility

• Any public profile: Access publicly visible profiles without API restrictions
• Job listings: Extract job postings that may not be available via API
• Company pages: Scrape company information and posts
• Custom fields: Extract exactly what you need in your format
• No approval needed: Start immediately without waiting for API access

Official API limitations

• Deprecated APIs: LinkedIn has sunset many of their data APIs
• Limited access: Official APIs now restricted to partnerships and paid tiers
• High costs: LinkedIn API access is expensive for commercial use
• Approval process: Lengthy application and review process

Use LinkedIn Official API when:

You have access and need integration

• Partner status: You have an approved LinkedIn partnership
• Write operations: Posting content, messaging users (not possible with scraping)
• Enterprise features: Access to Sales Navigator API or Recruiter API
• Official support: Need SLA guarantees and official support

Limited functionality

LinkedIn has significantly restricted their APIs:

• Profile API: Mostly deprecated or requires partnership
• Jobs API: Limited to posting jobs, not comprehensive job search
• Company API: Restricted functionality
• Marketing API: Mainly for ads, not organic content

Reality check

Official API challenges

• Restricted access: Most developers cannot get meaningful API access
• Deprecated features: LinkedIn removed many previously available endpoints
• Enterprise pricing: Remaining APIs are expensive
• Limited data: Available APIs don't provide the breadth of web-scraped data

Scraper advantages

• Immediate access: No approval or partnership required
• Flexible data extraction: Get any publicly visible information
• Cost-effective: Pay only for scraping credits, not enterprise API fees
• No deprecation risk: Works as long as data is publicly visible

Bottom line

For most use cases, official LinkedIn API access is not available to general developers. The APIs that do exist are either:

• Expensive enterprise solutions
• Limited in scope (posting jobs, running ads)
• Require partnership approval

Use Parseium when you need flexible access to public LinkedIn data for lead generation, recruitment, research, or market intelligence. The official API is only viable if you have an existing enterprise partnership or need write operations.

For read-only data extraction from public profiles and pages, scraping is the practical solution.