UK

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

Head of Digital Marketing

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.

See how AI is changing this job, and get the full read by email.

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As a Head of Digital Marketing, a good place to start on Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration is Planning Automation Across a Department, a free Future Fluency module at Level 5. You'd practise working out what in your department's work could be automated, what should not be, and what to recommend.

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Where should we send it?

One email: what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for, where it leads, 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 reports3-8 reports
  • Reports toDigital Marketing Manager
  • UK framework levelUsually a manager, or the deepest specialist in a team

Also advertised as Principal Digital Marketing Strategist · Digital Marketing Programme Lead · Head of Demand Generation (Digital) · Senior Digital Marketing Lead

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

OCNLR Level 4 Diploma in Digital Marketing OCN London · Level 4 · covers 4 of 10 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Marketing Management for England Pearson Education Ltd · Level 4 · covers 1 of 10 standards
Gateway Qualifications Level 2 Award in Digital Marketing Gateway Qualifications Limited · Level 2 · covers 8 of 10 standards
Gateway Qualifications Level 2 Diploma in Vocational Studies Gateway Qualifications Limited · Level 2 · covers 6 of 10 standards
Gateway Qualifications Level 2 Certificate in Business Gateway Qualifications Limited · Level 2 · covers 6 of 10 standards
Gateway Qualifications Level 2 Certificate in Vocational Studies Gateway Qualifications Limited · Level 2 · covers 5 of 10 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
Managing Marketing and Digital Communications Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Marketing Management for England
Digital Marketing Gateway Qualifications Level 2 Award in Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing for the Digital and Creative Industries Gateway Qualifications Level 2 Diploma in Vocational Studies

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 Head of Digital Marketing

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

  1. Social Media Marketing OCN London · covers 4 of 10 standards Level 4
  2. Managing Marketing and Digital Communications Pearson Education Ltd · covers 1 of 10 standards Level 4
  3. Digital Marketing Gateway Qualifications Limited · covers 8 of 10 standards Level 2
  4. Digital Marketing for the Digital and Creative Industries Gateway Qualifications Limited · covers 6 of 10 standards Level 2
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 Head of Digital Marketing?

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

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration
  • Data Storytelling & Visualisation
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 Head of Digital Marketing plan as you set up, starting with the free Automation Fluency module. No card.

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

Ready to pay? Subscribe for £70 a month

Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

Head of Digital Marketing sets the strategy for a major programme, such as demand generation or account based marketing, and leads a small team to deliver it.

4What you'd actually use

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

HubSpot / Salesforce Marketing Cloud Expert

Designing and optimising complex nurturing sequences, building advanced custom reports, managing lead scoring models, and training junior staff on best practices. You'll be the go-to person for platform capabilities.

Google Analytics (GA4) / Google Tag Manager Advanced

Setting up custom event tracking, conversion goals, and audiences for new campaigns. Debugging complex tracking issues in GTM and creating insightful, programme-level dashboards for performance monitoring.

Ahrefs / SEMrush Advanced

Developing comprehensive SEO strategies, performing technical site audits, identifying content gaps for new programmes, and conducting in-depth competitor analysis to inform strategy.

Google Ads / LinkedIn Ads Expert

Structuring and optimising complex campaigns (e.g., Performance Max, account-based targeting), ensuring robust conversion tracking, and leading A/B tests on creative and landing pages to maximise ROAS. You'll guide your team on best practices.

Asana / Monday.com Advanced

Building and managing detailed project plans and templates for your programmes, overseeing team capacity, identifying bottlenecks, and reporting on campaign progress to your manager and other stakeholders.

Tableau / Looker Intermediate

Connecting various marketing data sources (CRM, ad platforms, GA4) to build custom dashboards that track programme performance and provide actionable insights for your team and manager.

Anaplan / Workday Adaptive Planning Basic

Providing detailed input for budget requests based on your programme's forecasted performance and ROI, and understanding how your spend fits into the wider marketing budget.

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
Digital Marketing Programme Strategy No input, executes tasks defined by others. Proposes tactical adjustments within a defined strategy. Designs and optimises specific campaign strategies within a programme, with manager review.
Team Management & Hiring No direct reports, no hiring input. Provides informal feedback to peers, no formal input on hiring. Mentors junior team members, provides input on hiring profiles.
Budget Allocation & Spend Executes tasks within a pre-defined budget. Monitors own channel spend, flags over/underspend. Recommends budget shifts within a specific channel (e.g., PPC), up to £5K, with manager approval.
MarTech Tool Selection & Vendor Management Uses assigned tools. Suggests minor improvements to existing tool usage. Evaluates new features within existing tools, provides recommendations.

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.

Marketing-Sourced Pipeline Value
The total value of sales opportunities that originated directly from your digital marketing programmes.
Target · Generate £1M - £3M in Marketing-Sourced Pipeline per quarter (this varies by business size, of course)

Q3 saw £2.5M in pipeline attributed to your demand generation programme, exceeding the £2M target by 25%.

MQL to SQL Conversion Rate
The percentage of marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) that sales accepts as sales-qualified leads (SQLs).
Target · Maintain or improve MQL to SQL conversion rate by 15% year-on-year, aiming for 25%+

Last month, 28% of MQLs from your programme were accepted by sales, up from 24% the previous quarter, showing improved lead quality.

Blended Cost Per Lead (CPL)
The average cost to acquire a single marketing-qualified lead across all your digital channels.
Target · Keep blended CPL below £150, with specific targets for each channel

Achieved a blended CPL of £135 in the last quarter, £15 under target, by optimising LinkedIn Ads and improving organic search performance.

Organic Search Visibility & Traffic
Growth in non-branded organic traffic and keyword rankings for strategic terms.
Target · Increase organic traffic to key landing pages by 20% year-on-year and achieve top 3 ranking for 5 new high-value keywords.

Saw a 22% increase in organic traffic to our 'product comparison' pages and secured a #2 ranking for 'best CRM for SMEs' in Q2.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) for Paid Channels
The revenue generated for every pound spent on paid advertising campaigns.
Target · Maintain a minimum 4:1 ROAS across all paid digital channels, with specific targets per campaign.

Our Google Ads campaigns delivered a 4.5:1 ROAS last month, generating £4.50 in revenue for every £1 spent.

Strategic Programme Design & Execution
The effectiveness and foresight in designing and executing complex digital marketing programmes.
  • Programmes consistently deliver against objectives
  • clear, well-articulated strategies
  • proactive identification of new opportunities
  • successful integration of multiple channels and tactics
  • positive feedback from your manager on strategic thinking.
Team Leadership & Development
Your ability to guide, mentor, and develop your direct reports, fostering a high-performing and engaged team.
  • Direct reports consistently meet or exceed their KPIs
  • positive feedback in 1-to-1s and performance reviews
  • successful delegation of tasks
  • visible growth in team members' skills and confidence
  • low team attrition rates.
Cross-Functional Influence & Collaboration
How effectively you work with other teams (Sales, Product, Content) to achieve shared goals and secure necessary resources.
  • Regular, productive meetings with Sales leadership
  • Product team prioritising marketing-driven feature requests
  • joint planning sessions with Content team for campaign alignment
  • positive feedback from peers on collaboration and problem-solving.
Data Integrity & Reporting Quality
Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of marketing data, and the clarity and actionability of your reports.
  • Dashboards are always up-to-date and accurate
  • no discrepancies found in data audits
  • reports provide clear insights and actionable recommendations, not just raw numbers
  • proactive identification and resolution of tracking issues.

7Would you like it

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

What people enjoy
Making a Tangible Business Impact

You'll get a real kick out of seeing your demand generation programme directly contribute to pipeline growth or your ABM strategy land a significant new client. You're motivated by clear, measurable results that impact the company's bottom line.

Seeing the Sales team close a deal that started as a lead from a campaign you designed and led.

Ownership and Strategic Autonomy

You thrive when you're given a problem and the freedom to figure out the best way to solve it, rather than being told exactly what to do. You'll enjoy defining the strategy for your programme and leading your team to execute it.

Being given a budget and a target, and then being trusted to design and implement the multi-channel strategy to hit it.

Building and Developing a Team

You genuinely enjoy guiding and mentoring junior and senior specialists, helping them grow their skills, and seeing them succeed. You'll find satisfaction in shaping a high-performing digital marketing team.

Watching a specialist you've mentored confidently present their campaign results to a senior audience.

What frustrates people
  • The Attribution Black Box: You'll spend weeks building a sophisticated multi-touch attribution model, only to have the Head of Sales say, 'I don't believe it, my gut says cold calling works best.'
  • Sales Complaining About Lead Quality: This is a law of physics. No matter how much you improve the MQL-to-SQL rate, the feedback from some sales reps will always be 'these leads are junk.' You'll need a thick skin and a data-driven response.
  • The 'Urgent' Executive Request: Expect the CEO to forward an article about a new marketing trend (e.g., 'We need a TikTok strategy!') on a Friday afternoon, derailing your team's entire plan for the following week. You'll need to manage expectations and prioritise.
  • Budget Scrutiny: You'll have to defend every pound of your budget with complex ROI models, while other departments sometimes get theirs approved based on headcount. Be ready to justify everything.
  • Algorithm Whiplash: Waking up to find a Google or Facebook algorithm update has cut your traffic or lead flow by 30% overnight, and you have to explain it to the board. It happens, and you'll need to react quickly.
  • MarTech Hell: Your tech stack has 15 different tools that were promised to integrate seamlessly. They don't. You will spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get data from one system to another. It's a reality of modern marketing.
What this role does not give you
  • A quiet, predictable routine with no surprises. This role is anything but.
  • The luxury of working in a silo. You'll be constantly interacting with other teams.
  • Guaranteed success for every single campaign. Some will fail, and you'll need to learn from them.
  • A role where you only execute. You're expected to think strategically and lead.

8Who you work with

This role directly impacts our ability to generate qualified leads and build pipeline, which is fundamental to our revenue growth. You'll be accountable for a significant portion of our marketing spend and the ROI it delivers. Your strategic decisions will shape how we acquire customers digitally, influencing our market position and overall business trajectory. Getting this right means a healthier sales pipeline and a stronger brand presence.

Inside the business
  • Digital Marketing Manager (your direct boss)
  • Head of Content and Head of Product Marketing (your peers, you'll work closely with them)
  • Sales Leadership (critical for lead quality and alignment)
  • Finance Business Partner (you'll need to justify your budget to them)
  • Product Management (to make sure our campaigns align with product releases)
Outside the business
  • Key Digital Agencies (PPC, SEO, creative—you'll manage these relationships)
  • MarTech Vendors (for tools like HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud)
  • Industry Peers (for benchmarking and staying ahead)

9What you need before you start

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

  • Proven track record of managing and optimising multiple digital marketing channels (e.g., PPC, SEO, Email, Social) to deliver measurable results.
  • Demonstrable experience in designing and executing full-funnel digital campaigns, from awareness to conversion.
  • Previous experience managing a small team or mentoring junior marketers, with a focus on their development and performance.
  • Strong analytical skills, including the ability to build custom reports and interpret complex data from various sources (e.g., GA4, CRM, ad platforms).
  • Experience managing a marketing budget, including forecasting and reporting on spend and ROI.
  • A solid understanding of B2B marketing principles and the sales cycle (if applicable to our business model).
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience presenting to senior stakeholders.

10What to practise next

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

MarTech Stack Integration & Optimisation

As our marketing tech stack grows, understanding how to make all the tools 'talk' to each other seamlessly becomes paramount. Poor integration leads to data silos, wasted effort, and inaccurate reporting. You'll be key in ensuring our tech works as one.

API fundamentals · Data warehousing concepts · CDP (Customer Data Platform) principles · Workflow automation tools (e.g., Zapier, Workato)

  • This week: Map out our current MarTech stack. Which tools are connected? Which aren't?
  • This month: Research CDP solutions and how they solve common integration challenges.
  • Month 2: Identify one manual data transfer or process that could be automated using a tool like Zapier.
  • Month 3: Propose a small project to improve a specific integration point within our current stack.

Quick win: Identify one piece of data you manually move between two marketing tools and research if a native integration or a simple Zapier automation exists.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attending industry webinars and virtual conferences (e.g., BrightonSEO, Marketing Week Live) to stay current with trends.
  • Subscribing to leading digital marketing publications and newsletters (e.g., Search Engine Land, MarketingProfs, Adweek).
  • Participating in online communities or forums for digital marketing professionals to share insights and learn from peers.
  • Taking advanced courses on specific topics like multi-touch attribution, advanced analytics, or AI in marketing.
  • Networking with other marketing leaders to exchange ideas and best practices.

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

Competitors are already using Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT and Claude to draft ad copy, generate content ideas, and even summarise performance reports in minutes, not hours. Marketers who master this will outproduce their peers 3:1.

  • Context windows and token limits
  • Temperature settings for different tasks
  • RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) architectures for proprietary data
  • Output validation and hallucination detection
  • Prompt chaining for complex analysis

Data Storytelling & Visualisation

With more data than ever, the ability to turn complex spreadsheets into a compelling narrative is critical. Leadership doesn't want raw numbers; they want to understand the 'so what?' and the 'what next?'.

  • Narrative Structure for Data
  • Visualisation Best Practices
  • Audience-Centric Reporting
  • Actionable Insights vs. Observations

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Multi-Touch Attribution Modelling
  • Demand Generation Funnel Architecture
  • CLV:CAC Ratio Optimisation
  • Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) Frameworks
  • Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy (B2B focused)
  • Full-Funnel Content Strategy

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

    From Senior Digital Marketing Specialist

    3-5 years as a Senior Specialist

    Skills to master

    • At the Senior Specialist level, you'd have mastered specific channels (e.g., PPC or SEO), led complex campaigns end-to-end, and started informally mentoring junior team members. You'd be very strong on execution and optimisation.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently hitting individual channel or campaign KPIs.
    • Taking initiative to identify new opportunities or solve complex problems within your remit.
    • Proactively sharing knowledge and best practices with peers and juniors.
    • Demonstrating strong analytical skills and the ability to present data-driven recommendations.
    • Successfully managing small projects with minimal supervision.
  2. 2

    From Digital Marketing Consultant (Agency Side)

    8-10 years in agency roles, with 3-5 years at a senior consultant level

    Skills to master

    • You'd bring a broad understanding of various industries and digital strategies, having worked with multiple clients. You'd be strong in client management, strategic planning, and presenting solutions. The key is translating that client-facing experience into internal programme ownership.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully led digital strategy for multiple clients, demonstrating measurable ROI.
    • Managed client relationships and expectations effectively.
    • Developed and presented comprehensive digital marketing plans.
    • Comfortable with budget management and resource allocation across client projects.
    • Proven ability to adapt strategies to different business contexts.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This role can lead to a director level position overseeing a whole business unit, or a specialist path designing marketing technology systems.

16Pay and demand

Pay & demand

Typical pay £94,135 a year Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional), under the Open Government Licence v3.0

The figure is the median for full-time employees in the ONS occupation this job title codes to (Marketing, sales and advertising directors), from the April 2025 survey, about six months old when published, as ASHE always is. It is that occupation's middle, not this role's. Half earn more.

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 Head of Digital Marketing is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

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 Head of Digital Marketing.

Social Media Marketing Level 4

Applied to your work in Head of Digital Marketing

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
Head of Digital Marketing
  • Multi-Touch Attribution Modelling
  • Demand Generation Funnel Architecture
  • CLV:CAC Ratio Optimisation
  • Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) Frameworks
  • Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy (B2B focused)
  • Full-Funnel Content Strategy
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.

17The 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

Head of Digital Marketing is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. Digital Marketing Manager (L5)

    3-5 years in the Lead Head of Digital Marketing role

    This is a step up to managing a larger team (including other Leads or Senior Specialists), owning a broader function (e.g., the entire Digital Marketing department), and being accountable for a larger P&L (£500K-£2M). You'll set the vision for the entire digital marketing strategy.

    • MarTech Stack Architecture Making strategic decisions about our core marketing technology platforms and their integrations.
    • Vendor & Agency Portfolio Management Overseeing all external marketing partnerships and ensuring they deliver value.
    • Talent Acquisition & Development Attracting, hiring, and developing top marketing talent across the entire team.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, digital marketing is full of repetitive tasks and endless data analysis. What if you could offload some of that grunt work and focus on the strategic stuff that truly matters? Our AI Productivity Hub is designed to do just that, giving you back precious hours every week.

As a Lead Head of Digital Marketing, your time is gold. You should be strategising, leading your team, and influencing stakeholders, not drowning in ad copy variations or manual report generation. Our AI tools aren't here to replace you; they're here to make you and your team exponentially more effective, faster, and more creative. Think of AI as your super-powered assistant, ready to tackle the tedious bits.

Ad Copy & Creative Automation

Use AI tools (like Jasper or AdCreative.ai) to generate dozens of variations of ad headlines, body copy, and even initial image concepts for your A/B tests. This isn't just about speed; it's about breaking through creative blocks and accelerating your testing cycles. You'll spend less time writing and more time analysing what actually works.

Predictive Lead Scoring & Segmentation

Leverage AI models within your CRM/Marketing Automation platform to analyse thousands of data points (demographics, firmographics, behaviour) to predict which leads are most likely to convert. This means your team focuses on the 'hot' leads, making sales happier and improving MQL-to-SQL rates. No more guessing which leads are worth chasing.

Competitor & SERP Intelligence

Use AI-powered SEO tools (like Surfer SEO or Clearscope) to quickly analyse competitor content strategies at scale, identify 'striking distance' keywords, and generate AI-driven content briefs. These briefs outline exactly what's needed to rank for a target search query, saving your content team hours of manual research and ensuring our content is always optimised.

Performance Reporting & Narrative Crafting

Connect your analytics platforms (GA4, HubSpot) to an AI tool that can automatically draft the first version of your weekly or monthly performance reports. It'll summarise key trends, identify anomalies, and even suggest potential causes. This turns raw data into a business narrative much faster, freeing you up to add the strategic insights and recommendations.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Head of Digital Marketing?

Common routes in include From Senior Digital Marketing Specialist (3-5 years as a Senior Specialist) and From Digital Marketing Consultant (Agency Side) (8-10 years in agency roles, with 3-5 years at a senior consultant level). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Head of Digital Marketing progress to?

This role can lead on to Digital Marketing Manager (3-5 years in the Lead Head of Digital Marketing role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Head of Digital Marketing?

Increasingly, Prompt Engineering & LLM Integration and Data Storytelling & Visualisation. 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.

Read the Zavmo manifesto to understand how you will be taught Meet your tutors

Or try another one

18Where 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 involved apply across industries, from e-commerce and SaaS to financial services and healthcare. Digital marketing principles carry over even where channels and tactics differ. Strategic programme leadership, team development and data-driven decision-making are useful in most 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 free Automation Fluency module 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.