# LinkedIn business card vs ConnectMachine
> LinkedIn announced a digital business card on October 15, 2026. It shows your headshot, your job title and a QR code for your LinkedIn profile, comes in several designs, and can be added to a digital wallet. It is rolling out worldwide over the coming months. ConnectMachine's card does a different job: it puts your phone number and email in the other person's phone in one tap, asks them to share their details back, and keeps notes on everyone you meet. It is free to start, and paid plans cost $5.99 a month.
ConnectMachine is an AI agent for digital business cards and contact management.
Web version of this page: https://www.connectmachine.ai/compare/linkedin-business-card/
## ConnectMachine vs LinkedIn at a glance
| | ConnectMachine | LinkedIn |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What the QR code opens | Your card page, with your phone, email, links and calendar, and a button to save you to contacts. The other person doesn't need to install anything. | Your LinkedIn profile, where people can connect, follow or message you. |
| Phone number and email | On the card if you add them, and saved to the other person's phone in one tap. | Not mentioned for the card. On a profile, contact info follows LinkedIn's visibility settings. |
| Getting their details back | Your card opens with a Share Back form, so the other person can send you their details or skip. | A connection request the other person has to accept. Their details stay inside LinkedIn. |
| Where the contact is saved | In the other person's phone contacts and, if they share back, theirs in your ConnectMachine contacts. Paper cards scan in too (3 scans free, unlimited on paid plans). | In your LinkedIn connections, once the request is accepted. |
| Notes on where you met | Typed and voice notes on every contact (voice notes limited on Free). Cards scanned in one place are grouped into an event. | Private profile notes, for Premium subscribers only. |
| Meeting notes | The AI Note Taker records a meeting, labels the speakers and saves a summary (paid plans). | Not part of this announcement. |
| Finding someone later | Ask the AI Concierge in plain English who you met and where (paid plans). | Open the person's profile to read your note. LinkedIn hasn't described searching across notes. |
| Follow-up | Email and SMS reminders, plus a one-tap follow-up email or text (paid plans). | A note can say when to reconnect. The announcement doesn't mention reminders. |
| Wallet and wrist | Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes (paid plans), and your QR code on Apple Watch (watchOS 10 or later). | Add the card to a digital wallet. LinkedIn hasn't said which wallets. |
| Card design | Pick a card style during setup. Brand colours, fonts, logo and cover image on paid plans. | A range of design options. |
| Availability | Live now on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Mac and the web. | Rolling out worldwide over the coming months. |
| Price | Free plan with up to 4 cards. Individual plan $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year. | Notes need Premium. LinkedIn hasn't said whether the card does. |
| Exporting your contacts | CSV export on every plan, including Free. | The announcement doesn't say whether notes can be exported. |
LinkedIn details come from LinkedIn's announcement of October 15, 2026 and Social Media Today's report of October 18, 2026, checked on October 21, 2026. The card is still rolling out, so this page will change as LinkedIn publishes more.
## Where ConnectMachine stands apart
### Share from your phone, Wallet or Apple Watch
Show your QR code on your phone, as a Wallet pass, or on your Apple Watch, which ConnectMachine has supported since October 2026. The other person scans it with their camera and your card opens in their browser, with your number and email ready to save. LinkedIn's card sends them to your profile instead.
### Get their details back
Your card opens with a Share Back form, so the other person can send you their details right there or skip it. If they hand you a paper card, scan it. If they show you their LinkedIn QR code, scan that too and they're saved as a contact.
### Record the context before you forget it
Walking away, record a voice note: where you met, what you talked about, what you said you'd send. It's saved on that contact, and people whose cards you scan in the same place are grouped into one event. On LinkedIn, the equivalent is a typed note on their profile, if you pay for Premium.
### Find them again a week later
On paid plans, ask the AI Concierge something like "who did I meet at the meetup who was hiring?" and it finds the person and recalls how and where you met. Email or SMS reminders tell you when to follow up.
## Choose ConnectMachine if
- You want to walk away with their phone number and email saved, not a connection request waiting to be accepted.
- You follow up by call, text or email more often than by LinkedIn message.
- You want notes, voice memos and reminders on everyone you meet, searchable and exportable to CSV, free to start or $5.99 a month.
- You want to share from your Apple Watch or Wallet today, without waiting for LinkedIn's rollout to reach you.
## Choose LinkedIn if
- You'd rather people follow your posts and read your work history than call or email you.
- You already pay for Premium and want your notes kept on each person's LinkedIn profile.
## Using it with LinkedIn
### Put LinkedIn on your card
Make a free ConnectMachine card and add your LinkedIn profile link next to your phone, email and calendar. Anyone who scans your card gets all of it.
### Scan LinkedIn QR codes into your contacts
When someone shows you their LinkedIn QR code, scan it with ConnectMachine. They're saved as a contact you can add notes to, and this is included on the free plan.
### Keep your QR code on your wrist
Open ConnectMachine on Apple Watch (watchOS 10 or later), or add your card to Apple Wallet, and your code is ready before you've taken your phone out.
## The verdict
A LinkedIn connection isn't a contact in your phone. LinkedIn's card gets you the connection. ConnectMachine gets you their phone number and email in the same exchange, plus a note on how you met, starting on the free plan. Put your LinkedIn link on your ConnectMachine card and the people you meet get both.
## FAQ
### What is the difference between LinkedIn's business card and ConnectMachine?
LinkedIn's card opens your LinkedIn profile, and what you get back is a connection request the other person has to accept. A ConnectMachine card puts your phone number and email in their phone in one tap, asks them to share their details back, and keeps notes on where you met. For what LinkedIn's card is and how to get it, read our guide to LinkedIn's digital business card.
### Is ConnectMachine a LinkedIn business card alternative?
It works alongside LinkedIn rather than replacing it. Put your LinkedIn link on a free ConnectMachine card and one scan gives people both your profile and your contact details. ConnectMachine is live now, while LinkedIn's card is still rolling out.
### Is the LinkedIn business card free?
LinkedIn hasn't said. Profile notes, announced at the same time, are for Premium subscribers only. ConnectMachine's free plan includes up to 4 cards and notes on every contact, with a limited number of voice notes.
### Does the LinkedIn business card share my phone number and email?
The announcement and early coverage describe a headshot, job title and QR code, but no phone number or email. LinkedIn's existing profile QR code opens your profile and doesn't add your number or email to the other person's contacts. A ConnectMachine card shares them if you add them.
### What are LinkedIn profile notes?
They're private notes that Premium subscribers can add to someone's LinkedIn profile, to remember where they met, what they talked about and when to get back in touch. LinkedIn says they're available worldwide. ConnectMachine keeps notes like these on every contact, starting on the free plan, and lets you record them as voice notes.
### Should you put LinkedIn on your business card?
Yes, if LinkedIn is where you want people to follow up. On a paper card, use a short profile URL or a QR code. On a ConnectMachine card, add your LinkedIn link next to your phone and email so people can choose how to reach you.
### Can I use ConnectMachine and LinkedIn together?
Yes. Add your LinkedIn link to your ConnectMachine card, and scan other people's LinkedIn QR codes into your ConnectMachine contacts, which works on the free plan.
### Does ConnectMachine work on Apple Watch?
Yes. Since version 2.2.7, released in October 2026, you can show your ConnectMachine QR code on an Apple Watch running watchOS 10 or later.
## Keep exploring
- [Digital Business Card](https://www.connectmachine.ai/use-case/digital-business-card.md): A digital business card is the modern replacement for the paper card you used to hand out and hope people kept.
- [QR Business Card](https://www.connectmachine.ai/use-case/qr-business-card.md): A QR business card puts your entire professional identity behind a single square code.
- [Personal CRM](https://www.connectmachine.ai/use-case/personal-crm.md): A personal CRM (personal relationship manager) is an app that stores the people you know together with the context around them: where you met, what you talked about, and when to get back in touch.
- [Apple Wallet Business Card](https://www.connectmachine.ai/use-case/apple-wallet-card.md): An Apple Wallet business card puts your professional details right beside your boarding passes and payment cards, always a swipe away.