United Kingdom · Marketing · Lead (8-12 years)

Lead Media Planner

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

Start my Lead Media Planner plan, free

Free to start: a plan built for this role, and a Future Fluency module to try first. No card.

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Where should we send it?

One email: what AI is changing in this job, and where to start free. With a link back here. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

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  • Experience bandLead (8-12 years)
  • Direct reports3-5 reports
  • Reports toAssociate Media Director
  • UK framework levelUsually a manager, or the deepest specialist in a team

Also advertised as Media Supervisor · Senior Media Strategist · Media Planning Lead

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

OCNLR Level 4 Diploma in Digital Marketing OCN London · Level 4 · covers 2 of 9 standards
OCNLR Level 4 Certificate in Digital Marketing OCN London · Level 4 · covers 1 of 9 standards
OCNLR Level 4 Award in Digital Marketing Planning OCN London · Level 4 · covers 1 of 9 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Marketing Management for England Pearson Education Ltd · Level 4 · covers 1 of 9 standards
Cambridge OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Certificate in Media Cambridge OCR · Level 3 · covers 1 of 9 standards
Cambridge OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma in Media Cambridge OCR · Level 3 · covers 1 of 9 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Social Media Marketing OCNLR Level 4 Diploma in Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing Planning OCNLR Level 4 Certificate in Digital Marketing
Managing Marketing and Digital Communications Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Marketing Management for England
Production roles in media organisations Cambridge OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Certificate in Media
Production roles in media organisations Cambridge OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma in Media

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
Systems Fluency seeing the whole picture
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Lead Media Planner

5 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Social Media Marketing OCN London · covers 2 of 9 standards Level 4
  2. Digital Marketing Planning OCN London · covers 1 of 9 standards Level 4
  3. Managing Marketing and Digital Communications Pearson Education Ltd · covers 1 of 9 standards Level 4
  4. Production roles in media organisations Cambridge OCR · covers 1 of 9 standards Level 3
  5. Production roles in media organisations Cambridge OCR · covers 1 of 9 standards Level 3
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Lead Media Planner?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skill this role is being asked for

  • Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration for Media
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Lead Media Planner plan as you set up, starting with a Future Fluency module on using AI in your job. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

3What this role really is

A Lead Media Planner shapes strategic direction for major client accounts or large internal campaigns, guiding a small team through complex media challenges.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Basis by Centro / The Trade Desk / Google Marketing Platform (DV360) Expert

Architecting complex campaign structures, building custom audiences, troubleshooting trafficking issues, and training junior staff on platform nuances. You'll be the expert on these platforms.

Kantar Media / Nielsen Ad Intel / Comscore / Similarweb Advanced

Conducting deep competitive Share of Voice (SOV) analysis, identifying 'white space' opportunities, and synthesising data from multiple sources into a cohesive strategic narrative for client presentations.

GWI (GlobalWebIndex) / MRI-Simmons / Nielsen Scarborough Expert

Uncovering non-obvious audience insights, creating nuanced personas, and using advanced segmentation to justify channel and partner selection to clients and internal teams.

Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets (with Power Query) Expert

Utilising Power Query for data cleaning and automation, building dynamic, multi-sheet models for budget allocation and forecasting, and quickly debugging complex formula errors in campaign trackers.

Tableau / Google Data Studio / Datorama Advanced

Designing and building custom, interactive dashboards from the ground up, blending multiple data sources to create a holistic view of campaign performance for both internal and client reporting.

Asana / Monday.com / Slack / MS Teams Advanced

Designing and implementing project plans for complex campaigns, managing team capacity, creating workflow templates for repeatable processes, and ensuring seamless communication across your team and with other departments.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Campaign Strategy & Channel Mix Proposes options based on templates, requires full review and approval. Develops initial strategy, consults manager for feedback, manager approves. Designs strategy, recommends to client/leadership, seeks manager's input on major shifts.
Budget Allocation & Optimisation Executes budget pacing as instructed, reports discrepancies. Manages daily budget pacing, proposes minor optimisations (<£5K shift), requires approval. Recommends significant budget shifts (up to £20K), approves minor optimisations, consults Director on major reallocations.
Vendor Selection & Negotiation Researches vendors, pulls rate cards, no negotiation authority. Communicates with vendors, requests proposals, limited negotiation under supervision. Leads negotiations for standard buys, seeks best rates, informs Director of choices.
Team Management & Development N/A Informally mentors new joiners, no direct reports. Mentors 0-2 junior planners, provides feedback on their work.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Campaign KPI Achievement
How well your team's media plans hit or exceed the primary campaign objectives (e.g., Cost Per Acquisition, Return on Ad Spend, Brand Awareness goals).
Target · Exceed primary KPIs by an average of 10-15% per quarter across your managed portfolio.

If a client's CPA target is £10, your team's campaigns should consistently deliver a CPA of £8.50-£9.00 or better.

Negotiated Value & Efficiency
The extra value you secure from media vendors beyond the base rate card, or how effectively you optimise media spend.
Target · Secure an average of 15%+ in added value (bonus impressions, research, content integration) across all negotiated buys, or demonstrate a 5-10% improvement in effective CPM/CPV year-on-year.

Negotiating a £100K media buy and getting an additional £15K worth of bonus placements or bespoke research at no extra cost.

Budget Accuracy & Pacing
How closely your team's campaigns spend to the allocated budget, avoiding significant over or underspend.
Target · Maintain campaign spend within +/- 2% of the planned daily/weekly/monthly budget across your portfolio, with 100% of budgets fully spent by campaign end.

Managing a £250K monthly budget to spend £248K-£252K, ensuring no money is left on the table or overspent without approval.

Team Efficiency & Automation
How well you implement processes or tools to reduce manual effort for your team, freeing them up for more strategic work.
Target · Reduce time spent on manual reporting or routine tasks by 20% for your direct reports through process improvements, template creation, or automation.

Implementing a new automated dashboard that cuts weekly reporting prep time from 4 hours to 1 hour per planner.

Strategic Influence
Your ability to shape client and internal marketing strategy through compelling media recommendations.
  • Clients or internal stakeholders regularly seek your input on broader marketing strategy, not just media specifics. Your recommendations are frequently adopted and lead to positive outcomes. You're invited to high-level planning meetings and contribute meaningfully beyond your direct remit.
Team Development & Mentorship
How effectively you guide, develop, and empower your direct reports.
  • Your direct reports show measurable growth in their skills and autonomy. They feel supported and challenged. Feedback from your team and HR indicates you're a strong, fair, and effective leader. You successfully identify and prepare team members for promotion.
Problem Solving & Proactive Issue Management
Your knack for anticipating problems and finding smart solutions before they blow up.
  • You consistently identify potential campaign issues (e.g., budget pacing, performance dips, creative fatigue) early and present solutions before they become critical. You're known for finding creative workarounds when standard approaches fail. Clients rarely bring problems to you that you haven't already identified and started addressing.
Client Relationship Management
The strength and trust you build with key client contacts.
  • Clients view you as a trusted advisor, not just a vendor. They openly share challenges and opportunities with you. You receive positive direct feedback from clients or through account management. Client retention rates for accounts you lead are consistently high.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Strategic Impact & Influence

You'll spend a good chunk of your day not just planning, but actively shaping client strategy. This means presenting your ideas, pushing back when necessary, and seeing your recommendations adopted at a high level.

Convincing a major client to shift 20% of their budget into a new, untested channel based on your research, and then seeing it deliver outstanding results.

Problem Solving & Optimisation

You'll be faced with complex puzzles every day: how to reach a niche audience efficiently, how to get more bang for our buck, or how to fix a campaign that's underperforming. Finding those solutions and seeing the numbers improve is a big win.

Diagnosing why a campaign's CPA suddenly spiked, implementing a fix (e.g., audience refinement, bid strategy change), and watching the numbers drop back down.

Team Development & Mentorship

A significant part of your role is guiding your direct reports. You'll get satisfaction from seeing them grow, learn new skills, and confidently take on more complex tasks. Their success is your success.

Helping a junior planner troubleshoot a tricky campaign setup, then seeing them independently lead a similar project a few months later.

What frustrates people
  • Last-Minute Creative Swaps: The media is bought, the launch is tomorrow, and the creative team delivers entirely new ad specs that require re-trafficking everything. It's a nightmare.
  • Attribution Anarchy: Trying to prove the value of your upper-funnel media plan when the performance marketing team's last-click model takes all the credit for conversions. It's an ongoing battle.
  • Vendor Amnesia: The amazing performance and premium service promised by a media partner's sales team mysteriously vanishes the moment the Insertion Order (IO) is signed. You'll chase them.
  • The Reporting Treadmill: Spending 70% of your time pulling numbers and formatting PowerPoint slides for weekly reports, and only 30% actually analysing the data to find insights. It can feel like a grind.
  • Client Indecision: Presenting a brilliant plan, only for the client to ask for 10 minor tweaks that dilute its effectiveness, or worse, delay launch indefinitely.
What this role does not give you
  • A quiet, predictable 9-to-5 schedule; urgent requests happen.
  • Complete control over all variables; you'll deal with external dependencies.
  • Instant gratification for every piece of work; some projects are long-term.
  • A role where you only focus on one specific channel; you'll need to be broad.
  • An environment free from ambiguity; you'll often be charting new territory.

8Who you work with

This role directly impacts client satisfaction and retention by delivering effective media strategies. It also plays a crucial part in developing our junior talent, ensuring a strong pipeline of skilled planners. Your strategic recommendations can influence significant portions of client budgets, often in the hundreds of thousands of pounds, and directly affect campaign ROI.

Inside the business
  • Associate Media Director (your boss)
  • Creative Team Leads
  • Analytics & Insights Team
  • Account Management Team
  • Finance Department
Outside the business
  • Senior Client Marketing Managers
  • Key Media Vendors (Google, Meta, The Trade Desk, publishers)
  • Research & Data Providers
  • External Ad Tech Partners

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • Proven track record of successfully managing complex media campaigns end-to-end for 5+ years.
  • Demonstrable experience in leading and mentoring junior media planners, with a focus on their development.
  • Expert-level proficiency in at least two major media planning/buying platforms (e.g., Basis, The Trade Desk, DV360).
  • Advanced analytical skills, including the ability to build sophisticated models in Excel/Google Sheets and interpret complex data sets.
  • Strong understanding of both digital and traditional media channels and how they work together.
  • Excellent client-facing presentation and communication skills, with a knack for translating technical jargon into clear, actionable insights.

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Data Clean Room Operations

With increasing privacy restrictions and the deprecation of third-party cookies, data clean rooms (like Google Ads Data Hub, Amazon Marketing Cloud) are becoming essential for privacy-safe audience analysis and campaign measurement. As a Lead, you'll need to guide your team on how to effectively use these environments.

Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) · SQL for Clean Room Queries · Data Governance & Access Control · Cross-Platform Measurement & Attribution

  • This week: Read up on the basics of Google Ads Data Hub (ADH) and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC). Understand their purpose and limitations.
  • This month: Complete an online course on SQL for data analysis if you're not already proficient. This will be crucial for clean room work.
  • Month 2: Seek out opportunities to work on projects involving clean rooms. Shadow a more experienced colleague or volunteer to help with data extraction.
  • Month 3: Start experimenting with anonymised datasets (if available) to practice writing queries that could be applied in a clean room context.

Quick win: Familiarise yourself with the privacy policies and data sharing agreements of major ad platforms. Understand what data can and cannot be used for targeting and measurement in a post-cookie world.

Programmatic Creative Optimisation (PCO)

Simply serving the same ad to everyone is outdated. PCO uses data and AI to dynamically generate and optimise creative variations in real-time based on audience segments, context, and performance. As media becomes more personalised, so must creative, and you'll need to lead this integration.

Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) Platforms · Creative Testing Frameworks for Programmatic · Data Signals for Creative Personalisation · Performance Measurement of Creative Elements

  • This week: Research leading DCO platforms and watch demo videos to understand their capabilities.
  • This month: Collaborate closely with our creative team on a campaign where dynamic creative could be applied. Work with them to define the variable elements.
  • Month 2: Design a small-scale A/B test for creative elements within one of your programmatic campaigns. Analyse the results and share learnings.
  • Month 3: Propose a full PCO strategy for a key client, outlining how we could use data to personalise creative at scale.

Quick win: Start thinking about your current campaigns: what are 2-3 creative elements that could be tested dynamically? What data signals could trigger different versions?

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attending industry webinars and conferences (e.g., Adweek, Festival of Media, IAB events) to stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies.
  • Subscribing to key industry publications and newsletters (e.g., Campaign, The Drum, AdExchanger) to keep your finger on the pulse.
  • Actively participating in online forums or professional groups dedicated to media planning and ad tech, sharing insights and learning from peers.
  • Undertaking advanced courses in data analytics, SQL, or Python for marketing if you want to deepen your technical capabilities.
  • Seeking out opportunities to mentor junior colleagues, even informally, to hone your leadership and coaching skills.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration for Media

Competitors are already using Large Language Models (LLMs) to draft campaign briefs, summarise lengthy research reports, and even generate initial media plan frameworks in minutes. Planners who can effectively use these tools will outproduce their peers significantly, freeing up time for deeper strategic thought. This isn't future-gazing; it's happening now.

  • Context Windows & Token Limits
  • Temperature Settings for Creative vs. Analytical Tasks
  • RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) Architectures
  • Output Validation & Hallucination Detection
  • Prompt Chaining for Complex Analysis

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Media Mix Modelling (MMM) & Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA)
  • Audience Segmentation & Persona Development
  • Investment Strategy & Scenario Planning
  • Flighting & Pulsing Cadence
  • Reach & Frequency Analysis
  • Supply Path Optimisation (SPO)

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Senior Media Planner (Internal Promotion)

    3-5 years as a Senior Media Planner

    Skills to master

    • Mastering complex media strategy development, becoming the primary client contact for planning, and informally mentoring junior team members. You'd also need to demonstrate consistent KPI achievement and strong negotiation skills.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently delivering successful, complex media plans for key accounts.
    • Proactively identifying and solving strategic campaign challenges.
    • Receiving positive feedback from clients and internal teams on your strategic contributions.
    • Successfully guiding junior planners on their projects and providing effective feedback.
    • Taking initiative to improve team processes or introduce new methodologies.
  2. 2

    Media Planner from a Smaller Agency (External Hire)

    8-10 years total experience, with 3-4 years in a senior role

    Skills to master

    • Adapting to our agency's specific processes and client portfolio, quickly building relationships with our internal teams, and demonstrating the ability to lead larger, more complex campaigns than previously managed. You'll need to hit the ground running with strategic thinking.

    You're ready to move on when

    • A strong portfolio showcasing leadership of diverse media campaigns across multiple channels.
    • Excellent references highlighting your strategic acumen and team leadership capabilities.
    • Demonstrable experience managing significant media budgets and client relationships.
    • A clear understanding of our agency's values and a proactive approach to integration.
    • Ability to quickly grasp new tools and platforms relevant to our tech stack.
  3. 3

    Client-Side Media Manager (External Hire)

    8-12 years experience, with 2-3 years in a client-side management role

    Skills to master

    • Transitioning from managing agencies to being part of one, understanding the agency-client dynamic from the 'other side,' and adapting your strategic thinking to serve multiple clients. You'll need to leverage your client-side perspective to anticipate needs.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Experience managing agency relationships and understanding their operational challenges.
    • A strong strategic background in media, even if not hands-on buying.
    • Proven ability to translate business objectives into media strategies.
    • Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively within an agency structure.
    • Enthusiasm for the fast-paced, multi-client environment of an agency.

15Where this role leads

The long view: From here, the path can lead to managing larger teams, deepening technical expertise, or taking on wider media leadership roles.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Lead Media Planner is actually changing.

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Social Media Marketing, worked against Lead Media Planner.

Social Media Marketing Level 4

Applied to your work in Lead Media Planner

The objective of this unit is to equip learners with the knowledge and skills to effectively utilise social media for marketing purposes. Learners will understand the role of social media in marketing, identify different platforms and their target audiences, develop social media marketing strategies, create engaging content, manage online communities, and analyse campaign performance.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Lead Media Planner
  • Media Mix Modelling (MMM) & Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA)
  • Audience Segmentation & Persona Development
  • Investment Strategy & Scenario Planning
  • Flighting & Pulsing Cadence
  • Reach & Frequency Analysis
  • Supply Path Optimisation (SPO)
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Lead Media Planner is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Associate Media Director

    3-5 years as a Lead Media Planner

    From L4 to L5

    • High-Level Media Strategy & Vision Setting for multiple accounts/brands
    • Vendor Partnership Management (strategic alliances, contract negotiation)
    • New Business Development & Pitching (contributing to new client wins)
    • Talent Acquisition & Retention Strategies for the wider media team
  2. Principal Media Strategist (Individual Contributor)

    3-5 years as a Lead Media Planner

    From L4 to L5 (IC path)

    • Architecting bespoke, innovative media solutions for highly complex client briefs
    • Developing proprietary media planning methodologies or frameworks for the agency
    • Leading R&D into new media technologies and their application
    • Providing expert-level strategic counsel on a project basis across multiple teams
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, a big chunk of a Media Planner's day is spent on repetitive tasks. Imagine getting that time back to focus on the truly strategic stuff – the thinking, the client relationships, the big ideas. AI isn't here to replace you; it's here to make you a superhuman Media Planner.

We're building an internal AI Productivity Hub, specifically tailored for our Marketing team. Think of it as your personal assistant, ready to tackle the grunt work so you can focus on what you're best at: crafting brilliant media strategies. Here's a peek at how it'll change your day-to-day.

Automated Report Aggregation

Imagine pulling all your performance data from Google Ads, Meta, The Trade Desk, and other platforms into one unified Google Data Studio or Tableau dashboard, automatically. No more manual CSV downloads or wrestling with data blending. This frees up hours of your week.

Anomaly Detection & Insight Generation

Point an AI tool at your campaign data and it'll instantly flag significant performance shifts – 'CPA for the 25-34 female audience in Texas spiked 40% yesterday!' – and even suggest potential causes. You'll move from 'what happened' to 'why it happened' much faster, giving you more time to strategise fixes.

Competitive & Audience Research Synthesis

Need to quickly understand what your competitors are doing or dive deep into audience habits? Use AI to summarise lengthy competitive intelligence reports (e.g., 'Summarise Kantar's Q3 CPG spending report') or synthesise audience data ('What are the top 5 media habits of GWI's 'Affluent Urbanite' segment?'). It's like having a research assistant who reads at light speed.

First-Draft Communications & Commentary

Generate a solid first draft of repetitive communications in minutes. Think RFPs to new media vendors, weekly performance summary emails to clients, or even the initial commentary for your PowerPoint slides. This means less time staring at a blank page and more time refining your message.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Lead Media Planner?

Common routes in include Senior Media Planner (Internal Promotion) (3-5 years as a Senior Media Planner), Media Planner from a Smaller Agency (External Hire) (8-10 years total experience, with 3-4 years in a senior role) and Client-Side Media Manager (External Hire) (8-12 years experience, with 2-3 years in a client-side management role). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Lead Media Planner progress to?

This role can lead on to Associate Media Director (3-5 years as a Lead Media Planner) and Principal Media Strategist (Individual Contributor) (3-5 years as a Lead Media Planner), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Lead Media Planner?

Increasingly, Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration for Media. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 5

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

More jobs in marketing

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.

If you leave this industry

The skills built as a Lead Media Planner transfer across sectors. This can mean client-side roles such as Head of Media, ad tech roles such as Product Manager for a DSP, or broader marketing leadership. Understanding data, strategy and market dynamics carries value across many sectors.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my Lead Media Planner plan, free What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.