How to Download LinkedIn Contacts in 2026 (Fast & Easy)

If you’re reading this, chances are, you’re looking for a guide on how to download contacts from LinkedIn.

Well, you’re right on the money!

Because in this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through:

• Why downloading your LinkedIn contacts is still worth it
• A step-by-step guide on how to download LinkedIn contacts into Excel
• What’s contained in the downloaded file, and what’s missing
• Why using an AI SDR is one of the best ways to enrich your contact data and more.

Let’s start by answering the all-important question. 

Why download your LinkedIn contacts?

For starters, your LinkedIn “contacts” and “connections” are two different things.

A “connection” is a person you’ve linked with on LinkedIn. Your “contact,” on the other hand, is that person’s data.. 

We’re talking about their full name, current company, job title, connection date, email address (if they’ve chosen to share it), and profile URLs.

So why download your LinkedIn contacts in the first place? Below are some reasons. 

• It allows you to back up your network: If your account gets restricted or deleted, you won’t lose your contact list.
• It enables you to mine information that you can use elsewhere: You can import the contact file into a CRM, email platform, or outreach tool for efficient prospecting.
• It helps save time on outreach: Instead of scrolling through LinkedIn, you can sort, filter, and organize your connections in Excel or Google Sheets. That way, you can build a sales pipeline or launch a new campaign faster.

What’s the status of the LinkedIn data export feature in 2026?

Indeed, LinkedIn still allows you to download your contacts in 2026.

The data export feature is available in both free and paid accounts, and the process has remained largely unchanged over the years..

It is worth noting, though, that LinkedIn now limits some data due to privacy changes. 

For instance, if a contact hides their email address in their privacy settings, LinkedIn will exclude it from the downloaded file, even if you’re connected—which sets the stage for the next topic.

What info can you actually download?

While you can download your LinkedIn contacts in a few clicks, the platform doesn’t give you everything.

Below is a table summarizing what you’ll get and what’s missing.

What do you need before downloading?

The first thing you need to do before trying to download your LinkedIn contacts is to get the basics right.

Here’s what you need:

A standard LinkedIn account

You don’t need to upgrade to LinkedIn Premium to download your contacts. As stated, the export tool works with any account, including the free version. 

If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, you can create one in a few minutes.

Your login credentials

You must log in to your LinkedIn account to request the export. If you’re not already signed in, LinkedIn will prompt you for your password before letting you download anything.

You can always request a new password if you don’t have it by clicking the “Forgot Password” option on your login page. 

Still, you must enter your username or email to request a new password, so ensure you have either.

Access to the email inbox linked to your account

After you request your download, LinkedIn will send a link to your registered email address. You’ll need to open that email and click the link to access your contact file. If you’ve forgotten which email address is tied to your LinkedIn account, check your settings before starting.

Once you have all three, you’re ready to move forward with the steps to download LinkedIn contacts, which we’ll cover next.

How do you download your LinkedIn contacts

You have a Linked account and are already logged in. Here’s a 5-step process detailing how to download LinkedIn contacts into Excel.

What does the downloaded file look like?

Your LinkedIn contacts will be downloaded as a ZIP file that contains one or more CSV files.

To access your LinkedIn contact, click on the ZIP file and look for a file named Connections.csv. That’s the one that contains your contact info.

Double-click the file to extract it from the ZIP folder. It’ll open using Excel by default, but you can also upload the list to Google Sheets.

The file includes columns with information such as first name, last name, date connected, and others, as shown in the image below.

One thing that you’ll notice quickly is that the data is disorganized and inconsistent.

You’ll therefore want to clean the data before using it. Below are some tips on how to clean LinkedIn contacts exported to Excel

• Remove empty rows or contacts without emails
• Merge the first and last name columns into a full name column
• Filter the list to find specific roles or companies
• Reformat the connection date column if it displays oddly

But there’s something else. 

You’ll also see the following message on the first row of the Spreadsheet. When exporting your connection data, you may notice that some of the email addresses are missing. You will only see email addresses for connections who have allowed their connections to see or download their email address…

We’ll tell you what to do with the blank email column, next.

The email column is blank. Then what?

Emails are the holy grail of LinkedIn contact data, especially if you’re planning to run an outreach campaign or build a sales pipeline. 

But once you download your LinkedIn contacts, you’ll likely find the email column alarmingly blank. That’s normal (there’s already a warning message in the CSV file anyway).. LinkedIn limits the visibility of email addresses, even for first-degree connections.

But why does this happen, and can you do anything about it? Let’s break it down.

Why email addresses may be missing

The primary reason emails are missing in your downloaded contact list is that the platform hides the addresses for privacy reasons.

Therefore, if a connection chooses not to make their email address visible to others, LinkedIn will leave that field blank. In other words, you’ll only see emails from people who enabled that option in their privacy settings.

So, yes, LinkedIn’s privacy measures help protect users. On the other hand, it makes it more difficult to get well-organized and complete contact data for bulk outreach.

Can you do anything about it?

You can’t force LinkedIn to show hidden emails. However, you do have options.

You can, for instance, message a contact directly on LinkedIn and request their email. The problem is, this process is not only intrusive but also unethical. Besides, in most cases, you can only send a handful of direct messages unless you have a premium LinkedIn account.

The best way to access hidden emails on LinkedIn is to use a third-party tool. And, we’ll tell you the rated software to enrich your data in a short while.

But before we do, let’s answer a critical question, one we’ve seen people looking to learn how to download contacts from LinkedIn ask.

Can you download contacts from Sales Navigator, too?

We’ll, not directly. However, there’s a workaround, but you need to understand a few things explained below. 

The Sales Navigator doesn’t have “contacts”

Unlike your regular LinkedIn account, Sales Navigator has “leads.” These are people you’ve manually saved for tracking or outreach in your “Lead List,” and aren’t necessarily your connections. 

And, LinkedIn doesn’t include them in the Connections.csv file containing your contacts’ data.  

Exporting from Sales Navigator vs. standard LinkedIn

The primary difference between exporting data from Sales Navigator and a regular LinkedIn account is that the latter allows you to download your contacts data through built-in functionality. 

Sales Navigator, on the other hand, doesn’t have a native export feature. Sure, you can download your leads’ profile URLs, Notes, and Tags, but nothing more.

So how do you combine lead data from Sales Navigator with your LinkedIn contacts export?

First, export your standard LinkedIn contacts through the process covered earlier.

Next, go to Sales Navigator and open your saved lead lists. Then, you can either;

• Manually copy the lead details into your spreadsheet, or
• Use a third-party tool that syncs with Sales Navigator to automatically pull the data.

That said, we’re in 2026, and manual isn’t a scalable way to do things—which is why we’ve reviewed top data enrichment tools to help you pick one from a point of information.

Best LinkedIn data enrichment tools

There are many data enrichment tools. However, not all are worth your attention. Some are expensive while others are all hype and no substance.

Below, we’ve reviewed the most sought-after data enrichment tools for LinkedIn. To compile this list, we considered the following factors.

• Features
• Accuracy
• Automation
• Price
• User reviews

We’ll start with a quick comparison table.

…and now into the details.

Jason AI SDR

Jason is the best LinkedIn contact data enrichment tool if you’re creating a lead list for outreach or are building a sales pipeline.

Besides enriching your contact data, it identifies high-intent leads, creates custom messages, engages across multiple channels, and automatically books meetings on your behalf. 

Jason, like the name suggests, is an AI-powered SDR that works around the clock to ensure your pipeline is always full and your outbound efforts don’t stall.

Jason AI SDR key features:

• Lead discovery → Jason analyzes over 1 billion data points to find decision-makers and leads interested in your offer. It tracks signals such as hiring intent, technology usage, and behavioral insights.
• Contact enrichment → Jason pulls in verified emails, current job titles, company size, location, and tech stack data. That way, you can quickly turn your  LinkedIn export into a usable lead sheet.
• Multichannel sequences → The system engages prospects through LinkedIn, email, and phone. You can set up automated sequences or let Jason choose based on contact behavior. 
• AI personalization → Jason writes prospect-specific messages using the lead’s public data, your value proposition, and behavior cues. It adjusts tone and content based on the person’s role and industry.
• Automated scheduling → When contacts respond, Jason checks your calendar and schedules meetings instantly. It handles availability conflicts and time zones with no manual input.

Jason AI SDR pros:

• Works 24/7
• Tracks real intent
• Localizes outreach
• Adapts to your strategy
• Offer next-level automation

Jason AI SDR cons:

• May still need human input

Jason AI SDR pricing:

Jason is available in the pricing plans structured as follows:

• Starter Plan = Starts from $300 per month. The plan features include 500 active contacts, access to Jason AI, multichannel outreach, unlimited mailboxes, and done-for-you deliverability.
• Growth Plan = Starts from $1,500 per month. The plan comes with 5,000 active contacts, custom playbooks, and white-glove onboarding, among other features.
• Enterprise Plan = Contact for pricing. The tier supports 25,000 active contacts and includes all features from the Growth plan, plus prompt engineering.

Apify

Apify is the best LinkedIn data enrichment tool if you’re looking for a tool that offers hands-on flexibility on how you scrape data. 

Unlike most solutions, Apify is not a plug-and-play lookup tool. It’s a web scraping platform where you can build, customize, and run scrapers (called “Actors”) for LinkedIn.

Apify key features:

• Prebuilt LinkedIn actors → Allows you to use integrated scrapers to collect profile data, job titles, and company info.
• Custom workflow builder → Enables you to create scrapers for your data source using JavaScript or Python.
• API access → Lets you trigger scrapers programmatically and route enriched data to your endpoint.
• Scheduler → Allows you to run recurring data pulls on your preferred frequency.
• Integration stack → Lets you connect Apify to applications such as Zapier, Slack, Google Sheets, and Pinecone.

Apify pros:

• Large public Actor library
• Scales on demand
• Works with any tech stack
• Active dev community

Apify cons:

• Users report a steep learning curve
• LinkedIn scraping may need proxies

Apify pricing:

Apify offers a monthly subscription model combined with pay-as-you-go pricing as follows.

• Starter Plan = $39 per month. The plan includes $39 in credits for running your own Actors or using the Apify Store. Compute units cost $0.40 each.
• Scale Plan = $199 per month. The plan offers $199 in usage credits and priority support. Compute units cost $0.30 each.
• Business Plan = $999 per month. Designed for high-scale use, the plan boasts $999 in credits and an assigned account manager. Compute units cost $0.25 each.

Captain Data

Captain Data is a good LinkedIn enrichment tool if you need real-time contact data synced into your CRM. It pulls verified emails, phone numbers, job titles, and buyer signals from LinkedIn and Sales Navigator. 

The platform also connects directly to tools like HubSpot and Salesforce, which can help ensure your CRM data is clean and current.

Captain Data key features:

• Email enrichment → The feature uses multiple contact databases to find verified business emails. Captain Data promises up to 90% match rates thanks to this functionality.
• LinkedIn sync → Pulls live data from LinkedIn and Sales Navigator to update job titles, company names, and role changes automatically.
• Multi-source matching → Combines inputs from over 10 contact tools to build a complete profile for each lead, including phone numbers and company info.
• CRM auto-update → Sends enriched contact data into your CRM, such as HubSpot or Salesforce, without manual edits. It also keeps your records current.
• API access → Lets you connect Captain Data to your outreach or lead tools..

Captain Data pros:

• High match rates
• Native CRM sync

Captain Data cons:

• Not beginner-friendly 
• Expensive 

Captain Data pricing:

Captain Data offers three pricing tiers based on usage volume and feature access:

• POC plan = $99 per month. Designed for developers and operators. Includes 2,500 monthly credits, 25 identities, and access to Profiles, Signals, and Engagement APIs.
• Launch plan = $399 per month (billed annually). Geared toward builders managing enrichment at scale. Includes 10,000 monthly credits, 100 identities, and full API access.
• Enterprise plan = Starts at $30,000 per year. Built for high-scale data enrichment. Comes with 250,000 monthly credits, unlimited identities, full API access, and dedicated engineering support.

If you’ve made it this far, you now know how to download contacts from LinkedIn and the best contact data enrichment tools to use. 

Let’s step away from LinkedIn …just a little bit.

Can you import LinkedIn contacts into other platforms?

Yes, you can import your LinkedIn contacts to other platforms.

You see, at times, you want to organize your contacts outside LinkedIn. It could be for backup, syncing with your address book, adding context in your sales system, and so on.

Below, we’ll show you how to import your LinkedIn contacts into other platforms. We’ll also tell you how to use the data and things to watch out for during import.

We’ll cover three platforms— Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Contacts.

How to import into Gmail Contacts

You can import your LinkedIn contacts into Gmail with just a few clicks as follows:

1. Open your Gmail account.
2. Click the Google Apps icon in the top-right corner and select “Contacts.”
3. In the left panel, click “Import.“
4. Choose the LinkedIn Connections.csv file you downloaded.
5. Click Import to finish.

Gmail will now create new contacts based on the names and emails in the file.

How to import into Outlook

If you prefer using Outlook, follow these quick steps to get started:

1. Open Outlook and go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
2. Select “Import from another program or file” and click Next.
3. Select “Comma Separated Values,“ then upload your Connections.csv file.
4. Choose your Contacts folder as the destination.
5. Click “Finish” to start the import.

Note: Outlook may prompt you to map fields, such as “First Name” and “Email Address,” to ensure they match.

How to import into Apple Contacts

Here’s how to add your LinkedIn contacts into Apple’s built-in Contacts app:

1. Open the Contacts app on your Mac.
2. Click File > Import from the top menu.
3. Select your Connections.csv file.
4. Review the fields and confirm the import.

Note — Apple Contacts may require you to save the file in .vcf (vCard) format first. You can do this using a CSV to vCard converter.

How to use LinkedIn data once imported

Once you’ve brought your LinkedIn contact data into your preferred platform, you can put it to work in several ways.

In email tools like Gmail or Outlook, you can use the imported names and email addresses to quickly compose and send personalized messages without switching between tabs. 

You can also set up email groups or filters based on job titles or companies pulled from LinkedIn.

In your phone or address book, having these contacts synced means that their names will appear when people call or email you. It also makes it easier to manage work-related contacts separately from personal ones.

In a CRM, LinkedIn data gives you a head start on relationship building. You can assign tags, set reminders, track follow-ups, and see who’s in your pipeline. 

And, even with partial data such as name, company, and profile URL, you can start segmenting your audience and planning outreach on the right footing.

  …with that covered, let’s return to how to download LinkedIn contacts to Excel, and talk about one important detail you should always keep in mind.

Common problems when downloading LinkedIn contacts (and how to fix them)

Although exporting LinkedIn contacts is straightforward once you learn the ropes, a few things can go wrong.

Below are some common problems you may run into and how to solve them.

How to download your LinkedIn contacts – the bottom line

That said, downloading your LinkedIn contacts only solves one piece of the puzzle.

The real challenge lies in maximizing the data and maintaining an accurate and complete contact list over time.

And because LinkedIn doesn’t always include email addresses or job changes, it’s important to fill in the blanks using a good data enrichment tool.

With Jason AI SDR as part of your tech stack, you can be sure of always having outreach-ready lead sheets. 

Besides, the platform pushes the envelope with personalized messages and automatic meeting scheduling. That way, you’ll manage your contacts more efficiently and, more importantly, convert them into sales.

Want to turn your CSV into a sales pipeline?

Book a Jason AI SDR demo and see how outbound prospecting looks when it’s automated.