Table of Contents
- Key takeaways
- Best LinkedIn analytics tools at a glance
- How I ranked these LinkedIn analytics tools
- Who this list is for
- 1. LinkedIn's built-in analytics
- What it is
- Best for
- Where it falls short
- Who it is best for
- 2. Google Analytics 4 with UTM-tagged links
- What it is
- Best for
- Where it falls short
- Who it is best for
- 3. DemandBird
- What it is
- Best for
- Where it falls short
- Who it is best for
- 4. AuthoredUp
- What it is
- Best for
- Where it falls short
- Who it is best for
- 5. Taplio
- What it is
- Best for
- Where it falls short
- Who it is best for
- 6. Metricool
- What it is
- Best for
- Where it falls short
- Who it is best for
- 7. Publer
- What it is
- Best for
- Where it falls short
- Who it is best for
- Which LinkedIn metrics should you read first?
- What can analytics not see?
- How to choose a LinkedIn analytics tool
- Which account am I measuring?
- Do I need other platforms in the same view?
- Do I want to know about reach or about site visits?
- How much time will I really spend each week?
- What will it connect to?
- Do I need to send reports to someone?
- FAQ
- What is the best LinkedIn analytics tool for founders?
- Is a free tool enough or do I need a paid one?
- Can I see who viewed my LinkedIn post?
- How often should I check my LinkedIn analytics?
- Which metric matters most for a founder?
- Should I track a company page or my personal profile?
- Is it safe to connect an analytics tool to my LinkedIn account?
- How do I track clicks from LinkedIn to my website?
- When to add a human operator
Do not index
Do not index
By Frank Velasquez. I write Your Social Strategy for founders and small agency owners who want LinkedIn to lead to client conversations.
Last updated: October 28, 2026. This update replaces a generic multi-platform guide with a ranked list of seven tools for LinkedIn, each checked on its own official page on October 28, 2026.
BLUF: Start with LinkedIn's own analytics. It scores highest on this page at 94 out of 100, because it is free, it covers your personal profile and its post pages show profile activity and link engagement. Add Google Analytics 4 with tagged links (83) when you want to see visits to your own site. Among the third-party tools, DemandBird (79) and AuthoredUp (74) fit a founder posting under their own name best. Taplio (68), Metricool (67) and Publer (64) make sense if you already want their wider tools or need several platforms in one view. None of the pages I checked describe a way to see which post led to a DM or a call, so I cover that gap near the end.
Key takeaways
- Start with LinkedIn's built-in analytics. It is free, it covers your personal profile, and its post pages include profile activity and link engagement.
- Add Google Analytics 4 with tagged links when you need to see visits to your own site, because LinkedIn's numbers stop at the click.
- A third-party tool earns its place when you want trends over a longer period, reports you can send to someone, or more than one platform in one view.
- Check the account type before you pay. Two tools here describe company pages or several platforms and do not say they cover personal profiles.
- None of the pages I checked describe a way to see which post led to a DM or a call, so that part is a note you keep yourself.
Best LinkedIn analytics tools at a glance
A social media analytics tool collects data about your posts, such as impressions, engagement and follower growth, and turns it into charts and reports. Some work on one platform. Others pull several platforms into one view. This page is LinkedIn first, because that is where a founder posting under their own name starts sales conversations.
Tool | Best for | Falls short | Works with | Price |
LinkedIn's built-in analytics | Seeing reach, profile activity and link engagement on your own posts | Impressions are an estimate and the combined view is rolling out gradually | Your LinkedIn member account | Free |
Google Analytics 4 with UTM links | Seeing which posts send people to your site | Needs a tagged link every time and shows nothing inside LinkedIn | Your website | Free |
DemandBird | One dashboard across LinkedIn and eight other platforms, with brandable PDF reports | Analytics is one part of a wider platform | LinkedIn personal profiles and Company Pages, plus other platforms | Ask the provider |
AuthoredUp | Post-level analytics next to a LinkedIn editor | Its page does not describe site visits and the CSV export it mentions is for saved posts | LinkedIn, as a Chrome extension and web app | Ask the provider |
Taplio | Follower, impression and engagement trends with a shareable report | Analytics sits inside a wider app that also has engagement tools | LinkedIn | Ask the provider |
Metricool | Demographic, content and competitor metrics for LinkedIn pages | Framed around company pages, so confirm it covers your account type | LinkedIn and other platforms | Ask the provider |
Publer | Reach, engagement and click-through rates across platforms | Its analytics page does not spell out LinkedIn personal profiles | Several social platforms | Ask the provider |
How I ranked these LinkedIn analytics tools
Each tool is scored 1 to 5 on five criteria, from the seat of a founder who posts under their own name to start sales conversations. The total is each score times its weight, divided by 5, so the maximum is 100.
Criterion | Weight | What a 5 means |
Shows what led to conversations or site visits | 30% | It shows visits to your own site from the link you posted |
Covers your personal profile | 25% | The official page says it covers personal profiles |
Effort per week | 15% | Nothing to install or connect |
Low account risk | 15% | Nothing connects to your LinkedIn login |
Export and ownership of data | 15% | The official page states a file export of your analytics numbers |
I weighted the first criterion heaviest because a founder is not posting to collect numbers. The goal is a conversation, so the question is what each tool can show about what happens after someone reads.
Every criterion uses a fixed written rule, applied the same way to all seven options.
Shows what led to conversations or site visits. 5 when it shows visits to your own site from the specific link you posted. 4 when its page lists link engagement, clicks, click-through rate or profile activity for each post. 3 when its page lists reach, engagement and follower trends without those.
Covers your personal profile. 5 when the official page states that personal profiles are covered. 4 when it works on your own posts or links, or speaks to individual creators, without naming the account type. 2 when the page is framed around company pages or several platforms and does not say personal profiles are covered.
Effort per week. 5 when there is nothing to install or connect. 4 when you connect or install once and a dashboard does the reading. 3 when every post or link needs a manual step.
Low account risk. 5 when nothing connects to your LinkedIn login. 4 when the page says it uses LinkedIn's official API or does not collect your cookies. 3 when the page does not say how it connects. 2 when the same app also has tools that draft and queue comments or replies for you.
Export and ownership of data. 5 when the page states a file export of your analytics numbers. 4 when the page states reports you can share or export, or a file export of saved posts. 3 when the page I checked does not mention exporting or sharing.
Scores for each tool, out of 100:
Tool | Conversions or visits (30) | Personal profile (25) | Weekly effort (15) | Account risk (15) | Export (15) | Total |
LinkedIn's built-in analytics | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 94 |
Google Analytics 4 with UTM links | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 83 |
DemandBird | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 79 |
AuthoredUp | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 74 |
Taplio | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 68 |
Metricool | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 67 |
Publer | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 64 |
No two tools tied. If they had, the tool that scores higher on the heaviest criterion, what led to conversations or site visits, would go first, and then the one that scores higher on covering your personal profile.
Sources checked: each tool's own official page, linked in its section below, and two LinkedIn help pages for the built-in analytics, all fetched on October 28, 2026. Scores are my judgment from what those pages state, not a lab test. This page is not sponsored, there are no affiliate links on it and no tool paid to be listed. Plans, features and access change often, so confirm on the tool's page before you pay. I left out the demo numbers shown in product mockups and customer testimonials on those pages, because they are marketing screenshots and not facts.
Left out on purpose: Shield, because its site returned a "deployment disabled" error when I checked on October 28, 2026, so I could not verify it. Enterprise suites, because this page is for founders posting under their own name. One change since an earlier version of this list: inlytics.io now redirects to DemandBird, checked October 28, 2026.
Who this list is for
This list is for founders and B2B operators who post on LinkedIn under their own name to start sales conversations, and who want to know which posts are worth repeating. It also fits someone setting up reporting for a founder they support.
Skip it if you manage a brand with a social team across several platforms. Enterprise suites are a different category and are not covered here. Skip it too if you are looking for a tool to draft posts. Best AI tools for LinkedIn content for executives covers that.
1. LinkedIn's built-in analytics
What it is
LinkedIn's built-in analytics live in Analytics & tools. According to LinkedIn's help page on combined post analytics, all members have access to a combined view of how your posts, images, videos, events, polls and articles perform over time. You choose a date range from the past seven days up to the past 365 days, choose impressions or engagements, and export the data to an XLSX file.
Each post also has its own analytics page. Per LinkedIn's help page on post analytics, it covers discovery, in network and out of network reach, profile activity, social engagement, link engagement and viewer demographics, depending on the post type. Only you can view your post analytics.
Best for
A founder who wants to know whether a post reached people outside their network and whether it sent anyone to their profile. Viewer demographics show who your posts are reaching. If you want to sort those readers into groups, the guide on audience segmentation examples is a good next read.
Where it falls short
LinkedIn says impressions are an estimate and may not be precise. Your own views and engagements count toward your post analytics. Demographic data is not available for content you share with only your connections or in Groups. The combined view is being made available gradually and is desktop only for now, so you might not see it yet. It also stops at the click. It does not show what someone did on your website.
Who it is best for
Every founder, as the starting point. If you set up one thing this week, make it a habit of opening these pages.
2. Google Analytics 4 with UTM-tagged links
What it is
Google's help page on URL builders explains how to add utm parameters to the links you share. When someone clicks a tagged link, the parameter values are sent to Google Analytics and appear in the Traffic acquisition report. Google says to always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. For a LinkedIn post, that means a link where the source says linkedin and the campaign names the post.
Google's best practices say to keep names lowercase and consistent, since SpringSale and Spring_Sale count as different values.
Best for
Seeing which posts send people to a page you own. This is the one thing LinkedIn's own analytics cannot show you, because it happens after the click.
Where it falls short
You need Analytics running on the site you link to, and you tag every link by hand. Only tagged clicks are counted. Inconsistent names split one campaign into several rows. It shows nothing about what happens inside LinkedIn.
Who it is best for
A founder who regularly sends readers to a page they own. If you want to put a value on those visits, see how to measure social media ROI.
3. DemandBird
What it is
DemandBird puts analytics from LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Substack, YouTube and Mastodon in one dashboard, with brandable PDF reports. It analyses your posting history to surface your best posting windows. You can tag posts by theme and compare what a typical post in each theme does, using medians instead of averages. Its page says LinkedIn analytics for personal profiles and Company Pages come through the official LinkedIn API, with no scraping and no Chrome extensions. Its page offers a free trial.
Best for
A founder who posts on more than one platform and wants one view, or who needs to send a report to someone else.
Where it falls short
Analytics is one part of a wider platform that also handles content production, scheduling and team collaboration. The analytics page lists reach and engagement measures and does not describe site visits, so pair it with tagged links.
Who it is best for
A founder who writes the same ideas for LinkedIn and one or two other platforms, and wants the numbers side by side.
4. AuthoredUp
What it is
AuthoredUp describes itself as a LinkedIn content creation and analytics tool. It comes as a Chrome extension and web app. Its dashboard gives an overview of your LinkedIn performance, tracks growth and compares periods. The analytics section shows impressions and engagement, a growth timeline and individual post analysis. A posts table can be filtered by type, account or tags. Its page says it does not collect your cookies and that data is hosted in Germany on European-owned cloud infrastructure.
Best for
A founder who wants post-level numbers next to an editor, drafts and a calendar, and who cares about how a tool handles account access.
Where it falls short
The analytics sit inside a wider content studio. Its page does not describe site visits. The CSV export it mentions is for saved posts, and I could not confirm from the page which analytics numbers you can export.
Who it is best for
A founder who posts often and wants writing and measuring in one place, without a login or cookie hand-over.
5. Taplio
What it is
Taplio connects to your LinkedIn account and pulls your posts, followers and impressions into one view. Its analytics page lists follower, reach and engagement trends over any range, a breakdown of your top posts, and a shareable stats report you can send to clients or teammates. The same app has an AI writer and engage tools, and its page offers a free trial.
Best for
A founder who wants trends over time and a report to share, and who would use the writing tools in the same app.
Where it falls short
Analytics is one part of a wider app. Its engage tools can draft and queue comments and replies for you, and its page says nothing posts until you confirm. That is why it scores lowest here on account risk, so read its terms before you connect it. The analytics page does not describe site visits and does not name the account type it covers.
Who it is best for
A founder who already wants an all-in-one LinkedIn app and is comfortable reviewing what it queues before it goes out.
6. Metricool
What it is
Metricool describes LinkedIn reporting in four groups: audience, content performance, growth and competitor metrics. Content performance covers impressions, unique views, clicks, reactions, comments, reposts and engagement rate, and a table of top posts shows click-through rate and follows. Demographic filters include job function, company size, industry, location and seniority. The competitor view shows a competitor's new follower count, engagement rate evolution and number of posts published. Its page explains how to view results as a page admin.
Best for
A person who runs a LinkedIn company page and wants demographic, content and competitor numbers in one place. For a wider look at what competitor numbers can and cannot tell you, see social media competitor analysis.
Where it falls short
The page is framed around company pages. It does not say that personal profiles are covered, so confirm it works for your account type before you pay.
Who it is best for
A founder who also manages the company page and wants competitor context.
7. Publer
What it is
Publer is a multi-platform tool with an analytics dashboard. Its page lists post insights that rank your top posts, reach rate, engagement rate and click-through rate, hashtag analysis, competitor analysis and best times to post based on your audience, competitors and history. Its page offers a free trial.
Best for
A founder who works across several platforms and wants click-through rate and best-time suggestions in one report.
Where it falls short
The part of the page I checked does not spell out LinkedIn personal profiles. Its competitor tracking lists Facebook, Instagram and X, not LinkedIn. Confirm that it connects to your LinkedIn account type before you pay.
Who it is best for
A founder whose main channel is not LinkedIn and who wants one tool across platforms.
Which LinkedIn metrics should you read first?
LinkedIn's pages list a long set of numbers. Treat impressions as a rough sense of reach, since LinkedIn calls them an estimate. Read profile activity, link engagement, comments and sends first, because each one is a person doing something. That is judgment, not a rule from LinkedIn. The in network and out of network split tells you whether a post travelled past your own connections.
For the longer argument on why the dashboard is not where the answer lives, see how to measure LinkedIn success.
What can analytics not see?
Every tool above counts actions on a post. Reactions, comments, reposts, saves and sends are all numbers. On client accounts, the pattern is this: "Most of the sales our clients get come from people who never engage with the content. They just watch." None of the tools on this page have a place to record that.
Two things tell us the content is working. The posts that get people to book or send a DM are basically client case studies. And on calls, prospects quote things the client posted on LinkedIn. When the content gets referenced, we know it is working.
So keep a simple note. Whenever someone mentions one of your posts on a call or in a DM, write down who it was and which post they mentioned. Add the date. After a month you have something none of these dashboards give you, a list of posts people actually talked about, which you can set next to your LinkedIn numbers. A note like this works whoever keeps it.
How to choose a LinkedIn analytics tool
Which account am I measuring?
If it is your personal profile, LinkedIn's built-in analytics already cover it. For anything else, look for a page that says personal profiles are covered. DemandBird does. Metricool and Publer do not say so on the pages I checked.
Do I need other platforms in the same view?
If you post only on LinkedIn, one platform's tool is enough. If you post on several, a dashboard like DemandBird or Publer saves you from opening each platform separately.
Do I want to know about reach or about site visits?
LinkedIn answers reach. Tagged links in Google Analytics 4 answer site visits. They do different jobs, so using both is normal.
How much time will I really spend each week?
A tool you open every week beats a better one you forget. If setup puts you off, stay with the built-in pages and add one tool later.
What will it connect to?
Read how each tool connects. DemandBird says it uses the official LinkedIn API. AuthoredUp says it does not collect your cookies. Taplio has tools that can queue comments and replies, so read its terms.
Do I need to send reports to someone?
If yes, look at the shareable stats report in Taplio or the brandable PDF reports in DemandBird. If no, the XLSX export from LinkedIn is enough for the records you keep for yourself.
FAQ
What is the best LinkedIn analytics tool for founders?
On this page's scoring, LinkedIn's built-in analytics comes first at 94 out of 100, because it is free, it covers your personal profile and nothing needs to connect to your login. Google Analytics 4 with tagged links is second at 83 for showing visits to your own site. DemandBird leads the third-party tools at 79.
Is a free tool enough or do I need a paid one?
A founder posting a few times a week can get far with LinkedIn's built-in analytics and tagged links. A third-party tool starts to make sense when you want reports to share, longer trends or several platforms in one view. Pricing changes often and is not listed here, so ask each provider.
Can I see who viewed my LinkedIn post?
LinkedIn's help pages list members reached as a count and post viewer demographics. They do not describe a list of named viewers. Only you can view your post analytics, so check the post analytics page on your own account for what it shows.
How often should I check my LinkedIn analytics?
Once a week is enough for a founder posting a few times a week. Pick one day and look at the same pages each time. For a weekly tracker layout, see the guide to a LinkedIn analytics dashboard for founders.
Which metric matters most for a founder?
Read profile activity, link engagement, comments and sends before impressions, as covered in the metrics section above. Your own call notes matter alongside them.
Should I track a company page or my personal profile?
If you post under your own name to start conversations, start with your personal profile. LinkedIn's help pages that I used cover member post analytics. Company Page analytics are separate. DemandBird says it covers both, and Metricool's page is framed around company pages.
Is it safe to connect an analytics tool to my LinkedIn account?
It depends on the tool and what it can do once connected. Read how it connects and what it can do for you. DemandBird says it uses the official LinkedIn API and AuthoredUp says it does not collect your cookies. LinkedIn's built-in analytics and tagged links in Google Analytics 4 do not need anything connected to your LinkedIn login.
How do I track clicks from LinkedIn to my website?
Add utm parameters to the link in your post, with a source that says linkedin and a campaign that names the post. Google Analytics 4 shows the values in the Traffic acquisition report. Keep the names lowercase and consistent so the rows do not split.
When to add a human operator
Add one when the numbers look fine and the conversations do not come. Analytics tell you what happened on a post. They do not read your DMs, sit in on your calls or tell you which story to write next. If engagement is up and leads are not, why your LinkedIn content gets engagement but zero leads covers what is missing.
A person can read your last few posts next to your call notes, see which stories people brought up and tell you what to write more of. That is a judgment job, and no tool on this list does it.
If you want a second pair of eyes on what your numbers and your conversations are telling you, you can Book a discovery call.
Written by
Frank Velasquez is Head of Content at Hivemind, a ghostwriting agency, where he manages content for 11 clients. He spent seven years working in marketing in China and now works from Ecuador. He writes Your Social Strategy for founders and small agency owners who want LinkedIn to lead to client conversations.