Hi, I’m Polina! Formerly, I worked as a senior digital marketing manager and now I am the marketing mentor at Pathrise. I help job-seekers prepare for their future in digital marketing through technical training and 1-on-1s. Check out my review of HubSpot Academy.
- What does HubSpot Academy do?
- Who is HubSpot Academy for?
- What does HubSpot Academy cost?
- Ratings and reviews of HubSpot Academy
- Alternatives to HubSpot Academy
- How does HubSpot Academy compare to Pathrise?
What does HubSpot Academy do?
An education tool from the company that created the HubSpot software, HubSpot Academy is an online resource with free courses in digital marketing, content strategy, and sales. Their courses require 2-7 hours of work each. Students can choose between 2 categories: the first is certification courses and the second is short courses. Certificates, which students earn after successfully completing a certification course, are valid for 1-2 years. After that, students who want to be re-certified can take the courses again. This is useful because they are updated regularly with the latest tools and trends in digital marketing.
For their certification program, HubSpot Academy offers courses that cover inbound marketing, content marketing, growth-driven design, email marketing, social media marketing, and more. Those who take their shorter courses focus on more niche topics, such as ecommerce marketing, search insights report, artificial intelligence in marketing, building an advanced Twitter strategy, and search engine optimization (SEO).
To further their marketing skills, students participate in video tutorials, readings, interactive exercises, and a final exam, which can be taken as many times as needed. If a student does not pass the exam, they can retake it after 12 hours. Then, once their exams are graded, students receive an email that highlights which questions they answered correctly and incorrectly. However, they do not receive the correct answers. As part of the course, students connect with their peers by asking questions and offering assistance on the course discussion board.
Who is HubSpot Academy for?
Current and aspiring digital marketers looking to brush up on the basics, study the latest trends, and advance their current skills can benefit from HubSpot Academy.
What does HubSpot Academy cost? How much work is involved?
The program is free. To register, students create an online profile with their Google account or email address. After they register, students can begin taking courses and start learning.
Ratings and reviews
In general, online reviews of HobSpot Academy are positive. Inc and Convertful included HopSpot Academy on their list of top free marketing courses.
On Quora, one user recommended the program for “those new to marketing, those new to working closely with a sales team, [and] those who like to self educate a lot before trying anything and jumping in.” Another Quora reviewer said that the inbound marketing certification is a good option for new marketers “to show prospective employees they have a working understanding of inbound marketing and HubSpot.” Similarly, one Reddit user said that although “it won’t help you find a job… I recommend it to anyone who is considering a career in marketing, because it does an amazing job explaining all the big picture digital marketing concepts.”
G2 reviewers felt like they learned a lot from the curriculum and the instruction. For example, one student praised the “examples and engaging story-telling”. They said, “the flow of the courses, pieces of information provided, the interactive questions to test your knowledge makes you glued and focused until the end of each chapter.”
But, other G2 grads felt that the video lessons could be tedious and confusing. According to one reviewer, “I disliked videos that were over 7 minutes because after that time, things started to get muddled together. It felt like too much information.”
Alternatives to HubSpot Academy
If you decide not to enroll in HubSpot Academy, there are a fair number of alternative bootcamps and online resources that teach digital marketing.
- Like HubSpot Academy, Skillshare, QuickSprout, Facebook Blueprint, Copyblogger, and SEMRush Academy offers free digital marketing courses in similar topics.
- Similarly, ClickMinded, Pepperdine Graziadio Bootcamps, SDSU Bootcamp, and NJIT Digital Skills Bootcamp have online courses in digital marketing and other topics.
- If you are interested in taking classes through an online learning platform, check out Springboard or Udacity. Both offer courses in marketing and a variety of other topics. Read more about Springboard and Udacity in our reviews.
- Similarly, edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
- In addition, Coursera and Simplilearn are options to further your knowledge in digital marketing and other topics.
- GrowthX Academy is an online bootcamp with courses in growth marketing, UX design, and sales and business development.
- Similarly, Pluralsight, Bootcamp Digital, Digital Creative Institute, Somerville Academy, DeltaV Code School, Kellogg Executive Education, and InternStreet offer tracks in digital marketing.
More alternatives
- One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly. They offer full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics like digital marketing, software engineering, data science, UX design, product management, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- You can also check out Noble Desktop, which offers in-person, as well as online, courses in digital marketing.
- Similarly, Miami Ad School, Loyola University Digital Skills Bootcamp, Jelly Academy, and Highway Education have marketing courses where students can build portfolio projects.
- Students located in the Bay Area or looking to work in Silicon Valley can check out Tradecraft. They have tracks in growth marketing, product design, engineering, and sales.
- Likewise, School16 and GreenFig teach marketing, sales, and product management.
How does HubSpot Academy compare to Pathrise?
HubSpot Academy is an online digital marketing resource for aspiring and current digital marketers who are looking to learn new tools and advance their current knowledge on specific topics, such as inbound marketing and content strategy. They do not, however, provide job-seeking guidance or mentorship.
Pathrise is a full service organization that helps fellows with every component of the job search. Our mentors have years of experience on both sides of the hiring table. Fellows participate in workshops and 1-on-1 sessions. We focus on resume and portfolio building, technical and behavioral interviewing, salary negotiation and more. Our program is flexible. There are only 2-4 hours of sessions per week. Fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions as needed.
Keeping up-to-date on the latest trends and tools is a crucial component of landing a job as a digital marketer. So, fellows in our program should feel free to use HubSpot Academy, as well as our technical workshops, to broaden their marketing knowledge.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. If you are interested in optimizing your job search by working with a mentor, become a Pathrise fellow.
Apply today.
