LinkedIn Ads
Outbrain
| Feature | LinkedIn Ads | Outbrain |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Contact sales | Contact sales |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 3.9 / 5 |
| Best For | b2b-companies, saas-businesses, recruiters, professional-services | content-marketers, enterprise-brands, publishers, agencies |
| Founded | 2005 | 2006 |
| Professional Targeting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sponsored Content | ✓ | ✗ |
| Inmail Ads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Lead Gen Forms | ✓ | ✗ |
| Matched Audiences | ✓ | ✗ |
| Conversation Ads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Document Ads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Event Ads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Native Ads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Smartfeed | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audience Targeting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Conversion Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| A B Testing | ✗ | ✓ |
| Brand Safety | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ LinkedIn Ads Pros
- Unmatched B2B targeting by job title and company
- High-intent professional audience
- Lead Gen Forms reduce friction for conversions
- Document ads and thought leader ads for engagement
✗ LinkedIn Ads Cons
- Highest CPCs and CPMs among major ad platforms
- Minimum daily budget of $10 required
- Smaller audience reach than Meta or Google
✓ Outbrain Pros
- Premium publisher network
- Good content amplification
- Strong audience targeting
- Better brand safety than competitors
✗ Outbrain Cons
- Higher minimum spend
- Lower volume than Taboola
- Requires quality content to perform
The Verdict
LinkedIn Ads is built for b2b companies and saas businesses, with a focus on professional-targeting and sponsored-content. Outbrain targets content marketers and enterprise brands and leads with native-ads and smartfeed.
Both tools use custom enterprise pricing — you'll need to contact sales for a quote, which makes direct cost comparison difficult.
Neither tool offers a free plan, so factor the subscription cost into your decision from the start.
Feature-wise, LinkedIn Ads offers broader built-in capabilities (8 features vs 6), while Outbrain takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.