HubSpot Academy: free marketing and sales courses with certifications
HubSpot says its Academy is a free, self-paced training site open to everyone, with marketing, sales and service courses and certifications. You need to make an account. Free lessons do not mean every software certification can be completed on a free HubSpot plan: some practical exercises require paid software access.
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What it is
HubSpot Academy is an online training site from the software company HubSpot, with video lessons, courses and certifications on marketing, sales, customer service and HubSpot's own software. HubSpot's help centre describes it as "HubSpot's free, self-paced learning and training resource, publicly available to everyone". It is not an AI tool. We included it as a free learning resource, mainly for people learning business skills such as social media, content, SEO and sales.
Is it free?
Learning content is free, but check the requirements for the exact certificate. The Academy courses page says "It's Free", and HubSpot's help centre calls the Academy a free resource open to everyone. The Content Marketing certification page is labelled "FREE Certification Course". You do not need to be a HubSpot customer. HubSpot's help centre says that to sign up you fill in a form that asks for a company name and website, but it does not check them, so you can enter any company and web address if you do not have one.
What you can do with it
- Take courses: the home page lists certification courses such as Social Media Marketing (5 hours), Digital Marketing (3 hours), Content Marketing (8 hours), SEO (4 hours) and Inbound Sales (3 hours).
- Earn certifications: the courses page says its certifications are offered in 5 languages and that over 250,000 people hold one.
- Share your result: the help centre says you can view, download or share completed certifications, and update the name on your badge by changing your name in your account.
- Retake exams: you can retake a certification exam 12 hours after the last attempt, per the help centre.
What to watch out for
- You need an account. Courses sit behind a HubSpot sign-up.
- Some certifications include practical exercises done in a HubSpot account, and some are graded by hand, which the help centre says can take 5 to 7 business days. The current Marketing Hub Software course explicitly requires a Professional or Enterprise subscription for its practical exercises, although videos, quizzes and workbooks are free. Check this before choosing a course; no paid subscription or trial was started for this guide.
- Some courses teach HubSpot's own software. They are most useful if you will use HubSpot. Others cover general skills.
- HubSpot is a company. The training also introduces its products, and its tools may have paid plans. We did not check those prices.
Exams must be completed in one sitting. Leaving or closing the page causes a 12-hour lockout before another attempt. Each learner must submit their own practical exercises, even if another person in the same account has already passed. Certifications also expire: the official validity table lists Content Marketing, Digital Marketing and Inbound Sales at two years, and SEO at one year. Complete practical exercises before the associated exam results expire; passing an exam alone is not enough when exercises are required.
Privacy and data
- HubSpot's privacy policy (last modified 16 September 2026) says HubSpot acts as a controller of your personal data when you sign up for its products and services or visit its websites, and uses it to provide services, contact you about relevant content, and improve and promote its products.
- It says HubSpot also collects some data about people in their professional capacity from public sources and shares it with customers. It gives a form to opt out and delete your data from that dataset.
- The rechecked policy also describes sharing with advertising partners, including email addresses for personalized ads, and offers an opt-out. Retention depends on the data and legitimate business need rather than a single fixed deletion period. Public forum posts may remain after account termination. Read the policy and privacy choices before signing up; no account or deletion request was tested.
India
- We saw no country limit on the Academy pages. We did not test sign-up or the exams from India, and did not check Hindi availability.
Frequently asked questions
Is HubSpot Academy free?
The learning library is free. Some software certificates require paid-plan practical exercises, so check the exact course requirements.
Do I need a company?
No. HubSpot says it does not validate the company name or website on the sign-up form.
Can I retake an exam?
Yes, after 12 hours, per HubSpot.
Sources: HubSpot Academy home, Courses, Content Marketing certification, Academy certification FAQ, Privacy policy. Checked 16 October 2026. Marketing Hub Software requirements · Certification validity
Scoped recheck 24 October 2026: Official Academy home, catalogue, Content Marketing and Marketing Hub Software pages, certification FAQ, validity table and privacy policy rechecked. Clarified free learning versus paid-plan practical exercises, one-sitting exam and 12-hour lockout, personal submissions and expiring badges. Added advertising sharing and non-fixed retention cautions. Original publication and check dates retained. No signup, paid plan, trial, exam, exercise, badge or India-language test.
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