How to export LinkedIn leads to a Google Sheet or CSV (2026)
LinkedIn leads come from four places, and each exports differently. Here is the real path for connections, Sales Navigator, Lead Gen Forms and search results, with the limits that break each one in 2026.
On this page
- Your own 1st-degree connections export free from LinkedIn's Settings & Privacy page as Connections.csv, which opens directly in Google Sheets.
- Sales Navigator has no native CSV export button for leads, and the only sanctioned exit is CRM Sync on the custom-priced Advanced Plus tier.
- CRM Sync moves Sales Navigator leads into Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales once a day, but it does not carry email or phone fields.
- A Sales Navigator people search shows at most 2,500 results (100 pages of 25), so any export built on search results inherits that ceiling.
- The LinkedIn connections export almost never gives you usable email addresses, because members only share them with connections if they choose to.
It depends on which leads you mean. Your own 1st-degree connections export free from Settings & Privacy as Connections.csv, which opens straight in Google Sheets. Sales Navigator has no native CSV export button; the only sanctioned exit is CRM Sync on the Advanced Plus tier, then export from your CRM. Lead Gen Form leads come out of Campaign Manager. Everything else, like search results for people you don't know, needs a third-party tool, which carries account risk and rarely includes contact data.
Which kind of LinkedIn lead are you exporting?
People say 'LinkedIn leads' and mean four different things. The export path is completely different for each, so start here.
| Lead source | Native export? | Path | Contact data included | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your 1st-degree connections | Yes, free | Settings & Privacy, Get a copy of your data | Email only if the member shares it | Minutes to about a day |
| Sales Navigator searches and lead lists | No CSV button | CRM Sync on Advanced Plus, then export from CRM | No email, no phone | Daily sync after admin setup |
| Lead Gen Form leads (ads) | Yes | Campaign Manager | Whatever fields your form asked for | Check your account |
| Free search results, non-connections | No | Third-party tools only | Varies by tool | Varies |
If you only remember one row: Sales Navigator is the one most people search for, and it is the one LinkedIn deliberately does not let you download.
How do I export my LinkedIn connections to a CSV?
This is the only fully native, free route. It works on desktop only. The mobile app sends you to the desktop site.
The steps
- On desktop, click your photo, then Settings & Privacy.
- Open Data privacy, then Get a copy of your data.
- Choose your archive. Sources disagree on whether you can pick Connections on its own or must take the larger archive, and LinkedIn has changed this screen over time. If you see a Connections checkbox, use it. It is faster.
- Click Request archive and confirm your password.
- Wait for the email. LinkedIn's page says up to 24 hours. In practice it is often minutes. Plan for anything from minutes to about a day.
- Download the ZIP. It holds one file per data type. Open Connections.csv.
Hands-on time is about 5 minutes. The wait is the slow part.
What's in the file
Connections.csv has 7 fields:
| Field | Usually filled? |
|---|---|
| First Name | Yes |
| Last Name | Yes |
| URL | Yes |
| Email Address | Mostly blank |
| Company | Yes, if on profile |
| Position | Yes, if on profile |
| Connected On (date) | Yes |
Phone numbers are never in this export. Email is only there when the member chose to share it with connections, and LinkedIn itself notes some emails may be missing. One vendor puts the share at about 3% of members. We can't verify that number, so treat it as 'most rows will be empty'.
Getting it into Google Sheets
In Google Sheets, go to File, Import, Upload, and pick Connections.csv. Sheets reads UTF-8 without asking, so accented names come through clean. In Excel, use the import wizard and choose UTF-8 encoding, or names like Müller and Sørensen turn into junk. Linked Helper suggests a semicolon delimiter for Excel imports.
One honest note: this is a list of people you already know. It is useful for reactivation and for spotting who changed jobs. It is not a prospecting list.
Can you export leads from Sales Navigator?
Not with a button. Every source we checked agrees on this, and one cites LinkedIn's help centre saying account and lead information cannot be exported to CSV or XLS. The only native CSV in Sales Navigator is the admin Usage Report, which shows seat activity, not prospects. You may see a claim online that Sales Navigator exports saved leads to CSV. It contradicts everything else we found, so we're not repeating it.
The sanctioned route: CRM Sync
CRM Sync is available on the Advanced Plus tier. LinkedIn does not publish the price; it is custom-quoted, so ask your rep.
- An admin opens Admin Settings, then CRM Settings.
- Connect Salesforce, HubSpot Smart CRM or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales. Those are the three supported CRMs. Pipedrive and Zoho are not on the list.
- Sync runs automatically once a day.
- Export to CSV from the CRM side, then import that file into Google Sheets.
The catch is big. The sync does not include email or phone fields. You get names, titles and companies in your CRM, and you still need to find contact details. That is where an enrichment waterfall comes in, and where you should clean the list before you send.
Sales Navigator limits in 2026
These caps apply whether you export natively or through a tool, because tools read what the search displays.
| Limit | Value | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| People search results shown | 2,500 (100 pages of 25) | Consistent across about 8 sources |
| Company search results shown | 1,000 (40 pages of 25) | Reported by Evaboot |
| Lead list size and total saved leads | Sources conflict (1,000, 2,500 and 5,000 all quoted) | We don't know. Check LinkedIn's help page |
| Daily extraction limit | Not published by LinkedIn | Unknown |
If your search returns 14,000 people, you only ever see 2,500. Split by geography, seniority or company size until each slice sits under the cap.
Exporting Lead Gen Form leads
If you run LinkedIn ads with Lead Gen Forms, the leads live in Campaign Manager and can be downloaded there. We did not verify the current retention window or the exact menu path for 2026, so check inside your account before you rely on old leads still being available. Most teams also connect forms to their CRM so leads arrive without a manual download.
What about people you aren't connected to?
For free search results, post likers and commenters, and Sales Navigator lists without Advanced Plus, the only route is a third-party tool. Most are Chrome extensions or cloud scrapers that read the page as you would and write rows to a CSV or Sheet.
Where this breaks:
- Account risk. Scraping sits outside what LinkedIn's terms allow, and LinkedIn does not publish its daily extraction thresholds. Accounts get restricted. We covered the trade-offs in Saava vs PhantomBuster and in lead gen without a Chrome extension.
- Data quality. Scraped rows go stale fast and emails are guessed or enriched separately. See the hidden cost of bad LinkedIn data.
- Volume pacing. Even if the export works, sending to the whole list at once is how accounts get flagged. Our 2026 limits guide covers safe daily volume.
If what you really want is the people who engaged with a post, start with turning post engagement into leads, because the list matters less than the reason they showed up.
Where Saava fits
Saava does not fix the Sales Navigator export problem, and we won't pretend it does. Most people export LinkedIn leads so they can do outreach. Saava finds buying signals on LinkedIn, scores the people behind them against your ICP, and sends outreach from the LinkedIn account or email you connect yourself. If outreach is the point of your spreadsheet, it may let you skip the spreadsheet; if you need the CSV for reporting or a CRM, use the native routes above.
FAQ
Does the LinkedIn connections export include email addresses?
Sometimes. Only for members who chose to share their email with 1st-degree connections. Expect most rows in the Email Address column to be empty, and expect no phone numbers at all.
How long does the LinkedIn data archive take?
LinkedIn says up to 24 hours. Many people get the email within minutes. Plan for anything from minutes to about a day.
Is there a CSV export button in Sales Navigator in 2026?
No. The only native CSV is the admin Usage Report, which covers seat activity. To get leads out, use CRM Sync on Advanced Plus and export from Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Why does my Sales Navigator search stop at 2,500 results?
That is the display cap: 100 pages of 25 people. Narrow the search into smaller slices so each one returns under 2,500.
Can I export straight into Google Sheets instead of a CSV?
Natively, no. LinkedIn gives you a CSV, and you import it with File, Import, Upload. Some third-party tools write directly to a Sheet, with the account risks described above.
If the spreadsheet was only ever a step toward outreach, start a trial