In short
A LinkedIn carousel is a document post: you upload a PDF, and LinkedIn shows each page as a slide that people swipe through. There is no special carousel feature to switch on. If you can produce a PDF with one idea per page, you can post a carousel.
Why bother? In Socialinsider's 2026 LinkedIn benchmarks (1.3 million posts from company pages, January 2024 to December 2025), native documents had the highest engagement rate of any format at 7.00%, against 4.50% for text posts. That is company pages, not personal profiles, so read it as a direction and not a promise.
Step 1: Pick one idea
A carousel that tries to say three things says none of them. Write the idea as one sentence a stranger could repeat: "Most cold emails fail in the first line." Every slide either proves that sentence or gets cut.
Step 2: Write the slides before you design them
Draft the words first, one slide per line. A workable shape for eight slides:
- Cover: the hook, in about eight words.
- The problem, as the reader would describe it.
- Slides 3 to 6: one point each, with an example.
- Slide 7: the result or the takeaway.
- Slide 8: one thing to do next, such as follow, save or comment.
Step 3: Design it
Most people read carousels on a phone, so the text has to survive a small screen. Keep body text large, use two fonts at most, and keep the same margins on every slide. Use the size LinkedIn displays best, which is 1080 by 1350 pixels (portrait, 4:5). Our page on LinkedIn carousel sizes has the full list.
Step 4: Export as a PDF
LinkedIn accepts PDF, PPT, PPTX, DOC and DOCX for documents, up to 100 MB and 300 pages, and recommends converting to PDF for the best quality. Videos and animations inside the file show as still images.
Step 5: Post it
Start a post, click the plus icon, choose Add a document, upload the PDF and give it a title. The title shows above the slides, so write it like a headline. Then write two or three lines of caption that make people want to swipe. Do not repeat the cover.
Doing steps 2 to 4 with an AI carousel generator
carouselgen does the writing, the design and the export from one prompt. You describe the topic and who it is for, it designs a full deck with its own colours and fonts, and you fix what you dislike by clicking on the element and typing a comment. When you are done, it exports a PDF ready for LinkedIn. You can try it without signing up.
Questions
Is a LinkedIn carousel a PDF?
Yes. LinkedIn shows an uploaded document as a swipeable carousel. PDF is the format LinkedIn itself recommends, because other formats are converted and can lose quality.
How many slides should a LinkedIn carousel have?
There is no rule, and LinkedIn allows up to 300 pages. We start with 8 to 10 and cut any slide that does not carry its own point. The evidence for an ideal number is thin, so test your own audience.
Can I make a LinkedIn carousel for free?
Yes. Google Slides and PowerPoint can export a PDF for free, and carouselgen has a free plan that exports with a small carouselgen.com mark on the slides.
Make this carousel now
Describe it once. The designer lays out every slide, and you fix what you dislike by commenting.
Try for free nowNo sign-up needed to try. The free plan exports with a small carouselgen.com mark.