LinkedIn Ads vs TLDR

Both platforms reach technical decision makers. Here’s how marketers who run both compare them, and why the best strategies often use both.

Better Together: TLDR + LinkedIn

The smartest B2B marketers don't choose one or the other. They use both channels strategically.

Full Funnel Coverage

The average B2B deal takes 272 days and 88 touchpoints. TLDR builds familiarity across those months. LinkedIn adds retargeting and ABM when buyers engage.

Halo Effect

81% of the B2B buying journey happens before the sales pipeline. Prospects who see you in TLDR are more likely to engage with your LinkedIn ads later. Newsletter presence builds credibility that carries across channels.

Audience Expansion

TLDR reaches technical decision makers beyond LinkedIn: developers, founders, and executives who choose their inbox over the feed.

But if you must choose one...

LinkedIn Ads TLDR
💰 Cost

Auction based pricing. Your costs depend on how many competitors are bidding on the same audience. LinkedIn commands 41% of all B2B ad budgets, making it the most competitive auction in B2B.

Upfront pricing before you book, with no auction surprises.
📈 Results

Varies by campaign, targeting, creative, and budget.

We’ve had customers share fantastic results in our case studies including:

Plaid $382K pipeline 20x ROI
🎯 Reach

1B+ members, but not everyone is active. Still, you get granular targeting by job title, company, and skills.

7M+ tech professionals subscribed across 12 newsletters, including those who don’t engage on social platforms.
👀 Attention

Users scroll passively through an algorithm driven feed. Your ad competes with job posts, personal updates, and viral content for attention.

Every impression is a reader who opted in and opened. 40 to 48% open rates, no algorithm deciding who sees your message.
⚔️ Competition

Unlimited advertisers bidding on the same audience. No cap on how many ads users see.

Max 3 sponsors per issue. Guaranteed share of voice, no crowded feed.

When to Use Each Channel

Different goals call for different approaches

LinkedIn Ads

  • Account based marketing (ABM) targeting specific companies
  • Hyper specific job title or seniority targeting
  • Retargeting website visitors on a professional platform
  • Video ads showcasing product demos
  • Lead gen forms with auto-populated fields

TLDR

  • Reaching tech professionals and decision makers who aren't active on LinkedIn
  • Cost efficient campaigns with predictable pricing
  • Building brand awareness in a trusted, editorial context
  • Driving high quality traffic to landing pages or content
  • Targeting by technical interest (Tech, AI, DevOps, Security, etc.)
  • Generating pipeline with strong ROI

What Advertisers Are Saying

Real results from companies running TLDR campaigns

Redact

3K
Clicks
2x
Lower Cost than LinkedIn

We’ve advertised with LinkedIn, Google, Bing, X, Quora, Reddit – most digital media. When looking at TLDR – traffic results exceeded the expectations set by social platforms. I think LinkedIn is a great comparison. TLDR’s starting price is higher because it’s not programmatic, but they both offer high quality traffic in hard-to-reach niches. If you compare CPCs and traffic quality, our TLDR campaign performed about 2x better for cost.

Read the full case study →

Paragon

2.35M
Impressions
14K
Clicks
Top
Pipeline Driver

TLDR allows us to connect with engineers who aren’t on social media…Our CTO reads TLDR but doesn’t scroll LinkedIn.

– Forrest Herlick, Growth Marketing Manager, Paragon
Read the full case study →

Plaid

$382K
Pipeline
20.1x
ROI

“Because performance for us is based on ROI from our pipeline, we have to be diligent about placing our content with the right target audience.”

– Simone Schnarwiler, Customer Marketing Manager, Plaid
Read the full case study →

Kolena

100+
Webinar signups

On top of being well-known, TLDR has a very firm footing in the space that we’re in. That makes it much easier to allocate ad dollars to them versus a competitor or another channel. They’ve become my go-to. If I have the budget, TLDR is the first channel that comes to mind.

– Pam Ennis, Marketing & Lead Generation, Kolena
Read the full case study →

Reach over 7 million tech professionals

Get your brand in front of developers, product managers, marketers, designers and executives. Copywriting services and campaign performance reports are included at no additional cost.