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 vs LinkedIn.
What the QR code opens
ConnectMachine: 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.
LinkedIn: Your LinkedIn profile, where people can connect, follow or message you.
Phone number and email
ConnectMachine: On the card if you add them, and saved to the other person's phone in one tap.
LinkedIn: Not mentioned for the card. On a profile, contact info follows LinkedIn's visibility settings.
Getting their details back
ConnectMachine: Your card opens with a Share Back form, so the other person can send you their details or skip.
LinkedIn: A connection request the other person has to accept. Their details stay inside LinkedIn.
Where the contact is saved
ConnectMachine: 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).
LinkedIn: In your LinkedIn connections, once the request is accepted.
Notes on where you met
ConnectMachine: Typed and voice notes on every contact (voice notes limited on Free). Cards scanned in one place are grouped into an event.
LinkedIn: Private profile notes, for Premium subscribers only.
Meeting notes
ConnectMachine: The AI Note Taker records a meeting, labels the speakers and saves a summary (paid plans).
LinkedIn: Not part of this announcement.
Finding someone later
ConnectMachine: Ask the AI Concierge in plain English who you met and where (paid plans).
LinkedIn: Open the person's profile to read your note. LinkedIn hasn't described searching across notes.
Follow-up
ConnectMachine: Email and SMS reminders, plus a one-tap follow-up email or text (paid plans).
LinkedIn: A note can say when to reconnect. The announcement doesn't mention reminders.
Wallet and wrist
ConnectMachine: Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes (paid plans), and your QR code on Apple Watch (watchOS 10 or later).
LinkedIn: Add the card to a digital wallet. LinkedIn hasn't said which wallets.
Card design
ConnectMachine: Pick a card style during setup. Brand colours, fonts, logo and cover image on paid plans.
LinkedIn: A range of design options.
Availability
ConnectMachine: Live now on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Mac and the web.
LinkedIn: Rolling out worldwide over the coming months.
Price
ConnectMachine: Free plan with up to 4 cards. Individual plan $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year.
LinkedIn: Notes need Premium. LinkedIn hasn't said whether the card does.
Exporting your contacts
ConnectMachine: CSV export on every plan, including Free.
LinkedIn: 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.
From the first scan to a week later.
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.
Who should pick which.
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.
Keep LinkedIn, and remember who you met.
Your LinkedIn profile stays where it is. ConnectMachine handles the exchange and what you need to remember afterwards. You can run both in three steps.
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.
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.
The verdict · Tables included, no spin.
Frequently asked questions.
Everything people usually ask before switching from paper. Still curious? See the full FAQ.
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.
Don't wait for the rollout.
Make a free ConnectMachine card in a few minutes, with your LinkedIn link on it, and keep notes on the people you meet from today.
LinkedIn is a trademark of LinkedIn Corporation. ConnectMachine is not affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn. LinkedIn details come from public announcements and may change during the rollout.