If you love to learn in your free time, or you want to learn new skills to improve your career prospects, you’ve probably taken a long, hard look through the masses of online learning providers on the web.
HubSpot Academy is one name that comes up time and time again – but is it worth taking their courses, or should you choose another provider instead?
Well, we’ve put HubSpot academy to the test and compiled this comprehensive review to give you all the information you need before choosing a new learning provider.
So, stay tuned to find out everything you need to know about this complete HubSpot Academy review and whether it’s worth it or not.
What Is HubSpot Academy?
HubSpot Academy is a leading online provider of training for businesses and employees alike.
With HubSpot Academy, you can enroll in a variety of courses focused on sales, inbound marketing, customer service, and more.
You can do short courses on a singular topic, take bite-sized lessons, or enroll in a comprehensive course to gain certification.
With HubSpot Academy, you’ll learn from industry professionals and experts on various topics.
It’s impressive, really, considering HubSpot Academy is the leading provider of free online learning – that’s right, you won’t have to pay a penny to take your course or gain your certification!
Employees and businesses love to learn with HubSpot Academy because it’s free, self-paced, and comprehensive, and many employers and educational institutions now recognize certifications.
HubSpot Academy Courses
Has HubSpot Academy piqued your interest? Let’s give you a taste of what to expect.
Here are some of the most popular business aspects that you can take a HubSpot Academy course for today:
- Automation
- Content Marketing
- SEO
- Contact Management
- Email Marketing
- Inbound Marketing
- Social Media
- Reporting and Finance
- Web Design
- Web Development
- Data Privacy
… and many, many more.
With HubSpot Academy, course durations can vary between 40 minutes to 5 hours, depending on the nature of your course.
Each HubSpot Academy course consists of a combination of videos, quizzes, and course material to help you learn, and as expected, most courses are completely self-paced, so you can dip in and out of your HubSpot learning experience whenever you feel like it.
HubSpot Certifications: Are They Worth It?
One of the biggest attractions of HubSpot Academy is its certifications.
Once you’ve completed a course, you’ll automatically become HubSpot certified.
This certificate can be downloaded to your computer and uploaded to your Linkedin account or your resume to show off to future employers.
But what exactly does this mean, and are HubSpot Certifications worth it?
First off, it’s not hard to see why so many people WANT these certifications.
Online certifications don’t always come cheap, especially if you’ve ever considered getting one from another leading online provider like Udemy or Coursera.
Sometimes, you can pay up to 500 USD for a certification (yikes!), but HubSpot offers them for free?!
Although a HubSpot certification is definitely not a substitution for a University or College Degree, most employers DO recognize them.
Ultimately, though, it comes down to your employer – not all workplaces or educational institutions HAVE to recognize these certificates, but most see them as a commitment to your desire to learn.
Many employers and educational institutions also offer HubSpot Academy courses to their employees and students and encourage them to take them to further their education.
HubSpot is also partnered with plenty of big-name universities, including:
- New York University
- Howard University
- Ulster University
- Louisiana State University
- Universidad Tecmilenio
- University of New Hampshire
- Florida International University
- Wayne State University
- Morgan State University
- UMass Amherst
- The University of Auckland
- Sheridan
- Baldwin Wallace University
- Champlain College
And many more!
Why Are HubSpot Certifications Useful?
It’s pretty clear that for a free certificate, HubSpot certifications carry a fair amount of credibility.
If you take one of these free courses, you have nothing to lose! There are also a few useful reasons to gain a HubSpot Certificate, including:
For Professional Development
HubSpot Academy comes highly recommended for professionals looking to reskill or upskill.
There are plenty of practical qualifications you can take, and HubSpot courses can help you keep up to date with the latest trends in sales, marketing, and more, so you can always be at the top of your game.
This is the sort of knowledge that will help you stand out from other candidates if you’re applying for jobs.
Show Off Your Skills
Let’s be honest: gaining any sort of certification is a great way to show off your skills to your employer or potential employers.
If you’ve taken the time to study and gain a certificate in your free time, you’ll also be showing how dedicated you are to the job and your future – something that will earn you plenty of respect.
How Do HubSpot Courses Work?
Taking a course with HubSpot Academy is simple. Simply create your free account, choose the course you want to study, and get started!
Earning your certifications is pretty easy, too.
All you need to do is complete all of the lessons in your course, pass the quizzes and the final assessment, and complete any practical exercises, and you’ll be ready to earn your certificate!
Want a deeper insight into how HubSpot Academy courses work? Let’s take a look at an example.
SEO Certification Course: HubSpot Academy
Although not all HubSpot Academy courses will have the same layout, this example will show you what it looks like to study with HubSpot Academy.
- 6 Lessons
- 26 Videos
- 5 Quizzes
- Total Length: 2:47 hours
This course is split into six modules, including:
- SEO Basics: 4 Videos (20 minutes) and a short quiz
- On-Page and Technical SEO: 8 Videos (54 minutes) and a short quiz
- Keyword Research for SEO: 3 Videos (32 minutes) and a short quiz
- Link Building for SEO: Scaling Your Backlink Strategy: 4 Videos (16 minutes) and a short quiz
- Optimizing Your Website for Rich Results: 3 Videos (29 minutes) and a short quiz
- SEO Reporting: 3 Videos (15 minutes) and a short quiz
- Final Assessment
Most HubSpot Academy courses will follow this exact layout, using a combination of videos, quizzes, and other learning resources to consolidate your knowledge.
If you want your certification, you’ll always have to take a final assessment – this will usually take around 30 minutes to complete; however, it can be longer (or shorter) depending on your course.
With most courses, you’ll also be able to…
- Use the mobile app to complete your training and stay connected
- Use HubSpot study groups to connect with other learners and share your learning experiences
- Retake your exam as many times are you need to
How Long Are Certifications Valid?
Unfortunately, most HubSpot Certifications aren’t valid forever.
The validity period can vary for each course, but most certifications are valid for anywhere between 12 and 25 months.
Once your certification expires, you’ll have to retake your course to become HubSpot certified again.
HubSpot Academy: The Benefits
Now we’ve walked you through the ins and outs of HubSpot Academy, you’ve probably realized just how cool it is.
HubSpot Academy is a valuable resource for online learners, and there are SO many benefits to taking a HubSpot Academy course.
So let’s take a look at some of the most significant benefits below.
It’s Free
Here’s the biggest one – it’s free! It’s free to study, and it’s free to get your certification.
Plus, you’ll be learning from industry experts, AND your certification is recognized.
There aren’t many free online learning providers that are as reputable as HubSpot. Studying with them is a win-win.
It’s Flexible And Easy To Use
There are so many things to love about HubSpot Academy, including how flexible and easy it is to use.
We all want a user-friendly, flexible experience – studying can be challenging enough as it is without the added difficulty of a rubbish interface.
Thankfully, working your way around HubSpot is easy.
Once you’ve opened an account and enrolled in a course, simply click on the My Learning tab, and you’ll find all of your courses and course materials in one place.
Your learning experience will also be self-paced, so there’s no rush to finish up your certification once you’ve enrolled.
Take as long as you want, and make your learning experience fit around your life.
Test Your Knowledge
Although you can do quizzes and read through e-books when you’re studying, most HubSpot Academy courses are video based.
This is fun for visual learners, but if you’re a procrastinator, it’s easy just to sit looking at the screen without absorbing anything.
Thankfully, HubSpot offers different ways for you to test your knowledge (such as quizzes), so you actually FEEL like you’re learning something rather than just listening to someone else talk.
These quizzes do a great job of consolidating your knowledge, and they can make a big difference when it comes to the final assessment.
Are There Any Drawbacks?
There are a LOT of things to praise about HubSpot Academy, but like most things, it doesn’t come without its drawbacks.
Unfortunately, HubSpot isn’t for everyone. Here are a few of the downsides to using HubSpot Academy:
- Some courses feel longer than necessary
- Instructors can move too quickly, which can make it difficult to pass quizzes and assessments
- Some courses that claim to be for beginners cover more in-depth methodology without adequate explanation. This could be confusing for some users
- There’s no option to revisit questions in exams
As you can see, there aren’t many drawbacks to using HubSpot, but these points might be dealbreakers for some learners.
If you’re a complete beginner to digital marketing, for example, expect to be guided through some pretty complex terminology and examples from the get-go.
HubSpot Academy: The Final Verdict
Okay, readers: you’ve made it this far, and now it’s time for our final verdict on HubSpot Academy.
As you can probably tell, we’ve spoken of HubSpot pretty highly. This is because there really are SO many things to love about this platform.
Courses and certifications are free, certifications are recognized, the learning is self-paced, and everything is pretty easy to use.
This is hard to come by.
If you haven’t spent much time researching other learning providers, we’d urge you to have a look around, simply so you can understand just how incredible HubSpot Academy is.
Although these courses aren’t complete degrees, you can pay a STEEP fee to get certified for courses like this with other paid providers.
HubSpot Academy can save learners plenty of cash.
If you’re looking to improve your own professional development, we’d say yes: take one of these courses.
Just remember that they’re not a substitute for an actual degree.
However, taking a HubSpot course and adding an extra certification to your resume or Linkedin can really make a big difference in your job search.
Remember, lots of employers recognize these certificates – not only do they show your skills, but they also show off your commitment, too.
If you’re thinking about taking a HubSpot Course over a degree… definitely not. These courses are for more practical, industry-related skills.
They’re meant to beef out your resume, not substitute significant qualifications!
Final Thoughts
There are so many online learning providers out there, but HubSpot Academy has really made a name for itself.
Many of us look down on and disregard free courses because we think they can’t do anything for us – this isn’t the case with HubSpot.
No, your certification isn’t going to replace big qualifications – but it’s not meant to.
If you want another way to improve your prospects and impress your employers, these certifications are genuinely a fantastic way to do it.
If you’re not completely bowled over by the features of HubSpot, let us ask you one question: what have you got to lose? Seriously?
It’s completely free – there’s no reason not to give it a go and get a recognized certificate in the process!
