United Kingdom · Public Relations Communications · Mid-Level (2-5 years)

Media Relations Specialist

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, a real day, 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.

  • Experience bandMid-Level (2-5 years)
  • Direct reportsNo direct reports
  • Reports toSenior Media Relations Specialist or Media Relations Manager
  • UK framework levelUsually a coordinator, or early in a professional job

Also advertised as PR Specialist · Communications Executive · Public Relations Officer

Built on an analysis of 43,079 real UK job descriptions · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

Start with a free Future Fluency check, tuned to Media Relations Specialist

Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this role rather than a generic one. About five minutes, and no card.

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1What this role really is

This role is all about getting our story out there. You'll be the one building relationships with journalists, crafting pitches that actually get read, and making sure our brand gets talked about in the right places. It's a hands-on job where you'll own the pitching process and see your work published.

2What you'd actually use

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

Cision Communications CloudIntermediate

Building targeted media lists, distributing press releases via PR Newswire, and pulling basic monitoring reports to see who's talking about us.

Muck RackIntermediate

Finding journalists, researching their recent articles, tracking our pitch open rates, and creating basic media lists for specific campaigns.

Meltwater / BrandwatchBasic

Monitoring for brand mentions, running pre-configured reports, and identifying high-priority mentions that need to be flagged to the team.

Tracking referral traffic from specific media placements and reporting on basic metrics like pageviews and sessions that come from earned media links.

Slack / MS TeamsIntermediate

Actively using channels for real-time updates, sharing media clips with internal teams, and coordinating rapid responses to breaking news or media inquiries.

Asana / TrelloBasic

Managing your personal tasks, updating progress on campaign activities, and keeping track of deadlines for pitches and press releases.

3What 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 inWhere you are nowThe step above
Media List Creation & TargetingBuilds lists based on specific instructions and pre-approved criteria from a senior team member.Independently researches and builds targeted media lists for specific campaigns, identifying relevant journalists and outlets. Seeks manager approval for Tier 1 targets.Defines the overall media targeting strategy for multiple campaigns, identifying key publications and journalists. Approves all Tier 1 media lists.
Pitch Angle & MessagingDrafts pitches using approved templates and messaging frameworks. All pitches are reviewed before sending.Develops compelling pitch angles and drafts original pitches for Tier 2/3 media, aligning with overall messaging. Seeks manager review for sensitive topics or Tier 1 pitches.Defines core messaging and narrative for major campaigns. Approves all pitches for key announcements and high-stakes media.
Spokesperson BriefingAssists in compiling briefing documents and Q&As under direct supervision.Prepares comprehensive briefing documents and key messages for spokespeople for routine interviews. Attends briefings and provides feedback to spokespeople.Leads spokesperson training and prepares executives for high-profile or sensitive media engagements. Provides strategic counsel on interview approach.
Crisis ResponseMonitors for mentions during a crisis and flags immediately. Does not interact with media.Assists in drafting holding statements and media Q&As during a crisis. Helps with media monitoring and initial outreach to clarify facts, always under strict manager supervision.Plays a lead role in crisis communication, developing and executing response plans, managing media inquiries, and advising leadership on messaging.

4How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, honestly: the hard targets, how often each one is actually looked at, and the quiet human signals that never make it onto a dashboard.

Secured Media Placements (Tier 2/3)
The number of articles, interviews, or mentions you secure in relevant Tier 2 and Tier 3 media outlets.
Target · Roughly 5-10 placements per month, though this can vary by quarter and campaign.

You successfully pitched our new product feature to 'TechCrunch UK' and 'Business Insider', resulting in two dedicated articles in a single month.

Pitch Open & Response Rate
How many journalists open your emails and, more importantly, respond positively to your story ideas.
Target · Aim for a 30%+ open rate and a 10%+ positive response rate (even if it's a 'no, but...').

Out of 50 pitches sent, 18 were opened (36%), and 7 received a reply showing interest (14%).

Key Message Pull-Through
The percentage of your pre-defined key messages that actually appear in the final published articles.
Target · We're looking for at least 70% of your primary messages to be included in secured coverage.

After pitching our CEO for an interview, the resulting article included 3 out of 4 of our core talking points about market trends.

Media List Accuracy & Freshness
How up-to-date and relevant your media lists are for specific campaigns.
Target · Maintain >95% accuracy for contact details and ensure lists are reviewed/updated at least quarterly.

Your list for our FinTech product launch had zero bounced emails and every journalist on it actively covered financial technology.

Journalist Relationship Quality
The strength and authenticity of your relationships with key reporters in our industry.
  • Journalists proactively reaching out to you for comments or insights. You're getting 'inside scoop' on their upcoming stories. They respond to your pitches even if they're not taking the story. You're building a network, not just sending emails.
Story Identification & Framing
Your ability to spot newsworthy angles within our company and frame them in a way that appeals to the media.
  • You're regularly bringing fresh story ideas to the team, not just waiting for them. Your pitches show a clear understanding of what a journalist's audience cares about. You can take a dry product update and make it sound exciting.
Proactive Issue Spotting
How well you use media monitoring to identify potential negative trends or emerging issues that could affect our brand.
  • You're flagging early signs of negative sentiment or competitor news that we should respond to. You don't just report on what happened
  • you anticipate what *could* happen. You're using Meltwater to its full potential.
Internal Collaboration & Briefing Quality
How effectively you work with internal teams and prepare spokespeople for media interactions.
  • Internal teams see you as a helpful partner, not just someone who asks for things. Spokespeople feel well-prepared for interviews, and their feedback on your briefings is consistently positive. They trust your advice on how to talk to the press.

5Would you like it

The honest version. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Seeing Your Work Published

You get a real kick out of seeing an article in a major publication that you helped make happen. It's that tangible result of your efforts, knowing you've influenced the conversation.

Spotting our CEO quoted in 'The Times' on a topic you pitched them for, or seeing a product review in a tech blog you secured.

Building Meaningful Relationships

You enjoy the process of connecting with people, learning about their work, and becoming a trusted resource for journalists. It's about the long game, not just transactional interactions.

A journalist you've worked with before reaches out to you directly for an expert comment because they trust your insights and responsiveness.

Being at the Forefront of News

You thrive on being close to the action, knowing what's happening in the industry and helping to shape the public narrative around our company. You're always on top of current events.

Being the first to know about a major company announcement and being instrumental in how that news is shared with the world.

What frustrates people
  • Spending hours on a personalised pitch only for it to be completely ignored by a journalist.
  • Internal stakeholders (especially product or marketing) thinking their minor feature update is a global headline, and you having to explain why it's not.
  • The inevitable Friday afternoon crisis: a negative story breaking just as you're about to log off for the weekend.
  • An executive going off-script in an interview, creating a scramble to clarify or mitigate the damage before publication.
  • Constantly having to justify the value of earned media to those who only see the direct ROI of paid advertising.
  • Doing everything right, but the journalist still frames the story in a way you didn't intend, and you can't change it.
What this role does not give you
  • A predictable 9-to-5 schedule (sometimes news breaks, and you're on call).
  • Guaranteed immediate results for every effort you make.
  • Complete control over the final published narrative.
  • A role where you only interact with people who already agree with you.

6Who you work with

Your work directly influences our public perception and brand visibility. Good media relations means more trust, more credibility, and ultimately, more customers. You're essentially our frontline ambassador to the press, shaping how the world sees us.

Inside the business
  • Marketing Team (especially Content and Product Marketing)
  • Product Development (for new features and launches)
  • Executive Leadership (for company announcements and thought leadership)
  • Legal & Compliance (for sensitive messaging)
Outside the business
  • Journalists (Tier 1, 2, and 3 media)
  • Industry Bloggers & Influencers
  • Wire Services (like PR Newswire)
  • Media Monitoring Vendors

7What you need before you start

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

  • Proven experience (2-5 years) in a media relations, PR agency, or in-house communications role.
  • A strong portfolio of secured media coverage, ideally in Tier 2/3 publications.
  • Demonstrable ability to write compelling press releases, pitches, and other media materials.
  • Experience using media monitoring and media database tools (e.g., Cision, Muck Rack, Meltwater).
  • A good grasp of what makes a story newsworthy and how to tailor messages for different audiences.

8What to practise next

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

Advanced Media Monitoring & Analytics

Simply pulling basic reports isn't enough anymore. We need to go deeper into sentiment analysis, competitive benchmarking, and really understand the nuances of our Share of Voice. This requires a more expert hand with tools like Meltwater or Brandwatch.

Crafting complex boolean search queries for precis · Setting up custom dashboards for sentiment, messag · Benchmarking our coverage against key competitors. · Identifying and tracking influencers beyond tradit

  • This month: Spend an hour weekly exploring advanced features in Meltwater/Brandwatch. Look up tutorials.
  • Next quarter: Work with your manager to design one custom monitoring dashboard for a specific campaign.
  • Month 3-6: Take an online course on advanced media analytics or social listening.
  • Month 6-12: Present a quarterly competitive media analysis to the team, highlighting insights beyond basic clip counts.

Quick win: Set up a new, more granular search query in your monitoring tool for a specific product or competitor. See what new insights it uncovers.

9Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Attending industry webinars and conferences (e.g., PRCA, CIPR events) to stay current on trends.
  • Subscribing to key industry newsletters (e.g., PRWeek, The Drum) and reading relevant media outlets daily.
  • Networking with other PR professionals and journalists to expand your contacts and learn best practices.
  • Taking online courses in advanced writing, digital analytics, or specific PR software features.

10How the AI economy is changing work like this

Before we ask anything of you, here's what we can already say about AI and work of this kind:

The new skill this role is being asked for: Data-Driven Storytelling

Journalists are increasingly looking for data and unique insights to back up stories. Simply having a 'new product' isn't enough; they want to know the 'why' and the 'impact' backed by numbers. Plus, we need to show the business impact of our PR efforts more clearly.

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

Your PlanIllustration

Built for Media Relations Specialist

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

  1. Journalism PracticesPearson Education Ltd · covers 2 of 10 standardsLevel 4
  2. Produce promotional material for the music industryPearson EDI · covers 2 of 10 standardsLevel 3
  3. Journalism for a Digital AudienceNCTJ Training · covers 2 of 10 standardsLevel 3
  4. Communicate with individuals about promoting their health and wellbeingFuture (Awards and Qualifications) Ltd · covers 2 of 10 standardsLevel 3
  5. Public Relations and Media RelationsPearson Education Ltd · covers 2 of 10 standardsLevel 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.

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.

Data-Driven Storytelling

Journalists are increasingly looking for data and unique insights to back up stories. Simply having a 'new product' isn't enough; they want to know the 'why' and the 'impact' backed by numbers. Plus, we need to show the business impact of our PR efforts more clearly.

  • Identifying compelling data points within company
  • Visualising data simply for media consumption (e.g
  • Connecting PR outcomes (e.g., brand mentions) to b
  • Using tools like GA4 more deeply to track PR's imp

AI-Assisted Content Creation & Research

AI tools are already here, and they're getting better. They can drastically speed up research, drafting, and personalisation. Those who learn to use them effectively will be far more productive and impactful.

  • Prompt engineering for generating pitch ideas, hea
  • Using AI for rapid research on journalist beats an
  • AI tools for summarising long articles or intervie
  • Ethical considerations and hallucination detection

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Narrative Development & Message Framing
  • Media Landscape Analysis
  • Earned Media Strategy & Execution
  • Reputation Management (Reactive)
  • Spokesperson Preparation (Support)

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

    Media Relations Coordinator (L1)

    1-2 years

    Skills to master

    • Building accurate media lists, drafting basic pitches from templates, thorough media monitoring, administrative support for campaigns, understanding news cycles.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently accurate media lists and coverage reports.
    • Ability to draft clear, concise internal communications.
    • Proactive in identifying and flagging relevant media mentions.
    • Demonstrates initiative in learning about the industry and our products.
  2. 2

    Junior PR Agency Account Executive

    2-3 years

    Skills to master

    • Client management basics, multi-client juggling, high volume pitching, media relations for diverse industries, understanding client objectives.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully managing media relations for 2-3 small clients simultaneously.
    • Proven ability to secure coverage in various sectors.
    • Strong organisational skills to handle multiple deadlines.
    • Good understanding of how PR contributes to client business goals.
  3. 3

    Journalist / Editor (transition)

    Variable, often 2-4 years in journalism

    Skills to master

    • Deep understanding of news values, editorial processes, journalist motivations, strong writing and interviewing skills, existing media contacts.

    You're ready to move on when

    • A clear desire to move to the 'other side' of the media fence.
    • Excellent network of journalist contacts.
    • Demonstrated ability to identify compelling narratives.
    • Understanding of how to translate company objectives into newsworthy stories.

11Where this role leads

The long view:Your career path is really yours to shape. We're here to provide the opportunities, support, and learning environment to help you get there, whatever 'there' looks like for you. If you're driven, curious, and committed to telling great stories, the possibilities are pretty vast.

Pay & demand

Pay and demand for this role will appear here, each figure traced to a named authoritative source (e.g. the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, under the Open Government Licence). We don’t show numbers we can’t attribute.

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 Media Relations Specialist is actually changing. In about two minutes, the free confidence check asks where you stand on each of the ten. That's the whole check, and it's what makes the plan yours rather than generic.

12The team that's yours

No two people are taught the same way. This is one-to-one, not one-to-many.

Zavmo is a hyper-personalised AI learning platform. Twelve virtual tutors, each with a different way of teaching, and one orchestration agent that picks the right one for the moment. So every single lesson is shaped around you, your role, and the way you learn. Not a course everyone sits through. A conversation built for you, and no one else.

…and nine more, matched to you after your first chat. Meet all twelve

13What it feels like

A conversation, not a course

Because your tutor knows your role, your projects and your last session, learning sounds like this. And it's different for every single person:

Journalism PracticesLevel 4

Applied to your work in Media Relations Specialist

By completing this unit, learners will be able to create news stories for various media formats, based on research and analysis, while adhering to legal, ethical, and professional journalistic responsibilities and industry protocols.

How the thinking builds
  1. Remember
  2. Understand
  3. Apply
  4. Analyse
  5. Evaluate
  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.

One to one, not one to many

No two people run this the same way

A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.

  1. Your actual work Every lesson is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
  2. What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
  3. The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
  4. How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
  5. Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.

See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.

DemonstrateIllustration

Evidenced on your work in Media Relations Specialist

You do not finish by watching something. You finish by showing it on the work you already do, against the measures this job is judged on.

  • Secured Media Placements (Tier 2/3)The number of articles, interviews, or mentions you secure in relevant Tier 2 and Tier 3 media outlets.You successfully pitched our new product feature to 'TechCrunch UK' and 'Business Insider', resulting in two dedicated articles in a single month.Roughly 5-10 placements per month, though this can vary by quarter and campaign.
  • Pitch Open & Response RateHow many journalists open your emails and, more importantly, respond positively to your story ideas.Out of 50 pitches sent, 18 were opened (36%), and 7 received a reply showing interest (14%).Aim for a 30%+ open rate and a 10%+ positive response rate (even if it's a 'no, but...').
  • Key Message Pull-ThroughThe percentage of your pre-defined key messages that actually appear in the final published articles.After pitching our CEO for an interview, the resulting article included 3 out of 4 of our core talking points about market trends.We're looking for at least 70% of your primary messages to be included in secured coverage.
  • Media List Accuracy & FreshnessHow up-to-date and relevant your media lists are for specific campaigns.Your list for our FinTech product launch had zero bounced emails and every journalist on it actively covered financial technology.Maintain >95% accuracy for contact details and ensure lists are reviewed/updated at least quarterly.
These are this job's own measures, with its own targets. Nothing is marked evidenced, because nobody has started this yet. Yours would fill in from the work you bring.

Your passport

This isn't a certificate you file away. It's a passport to the life you're designing.

Every credit you earn and every fluency you build adds up: evidence where it counts, carried with you. Zavmo keeps the map: where you are, where you're heading, and the next step, at your pace, around your life. From Media Relations Specialist to Senior Media Relations Specialist (L3), and whatever you decide comes after.

Level 3 · in progressAI Fluency→ Senior Media Relations Specialist (L3)→ your design
Where this takes you

Your career path is really yours to shape. We're here to provide the opportunities, support, and learning environment to help you get there, whatever 'there' looks like for you. If you're driven, curious, and committed to telling great stories, the possibilities are pretty vast.

See Your Progress GrowIllustration
Media Relations Specialist
  • Narrative Development & Message Framing
  • Media Landscape Analysis
  • Earned Media Strategy & Execution
  • Reputation Management (Reactive)
  • Spokesperson Preparation (Support)
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.

14The 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

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

  1. This is the natural next step, where you'll take on more complex campaigns and start mentoring others.

    • Leading media strategy for specific product launches or initiatives.
    • Building relationships with Tier 1 journalists and editors.
    • Developing comprehensive message houses and Q&As.
    • More in-depth media training for spokespeople.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, media relations can be a grind. But imagine if you could cut through the noise, personalise pitches faster, and spot trends before anyone else. That's where AI comes in. It's not about replacing you; it's about making you a PR superpower.

We're not talking about sci-fi here. We're talking about smart tools that can handle the repetitive stuff, giving you more time to build those crucial journalist relationships and craft truly impactful stories. Think of AI as your super-efficient assistant, freeing you up for the strategic, human-centric work that really matters.

Pitch Personalisation Assistant

Use AI to quickly analyse a journalist's recent articles, social media activity, and beat. It'll then suggest 3-5 hyper-personalised angles for your pitch, making it far more likely to get their attention. No more generic 'Dear Journalist' emails.

Real-time Sentiment Analysis

AI-powered monitoring tools (like Brandwatch or Meltwater) can instantly scan thousands of online mentions during a product launch or a crisis. You'll get real-time sentiment analysis, allowing you to spot negative trends or emerging issues and react much faster than if you were doing it manually.

Journalist Discovery Engine

Forget endless manual database searches. AI can help you find the most relevant journalists for super niche topics. It analyses article content, not just bios, to find reporters covering 'sustainable FinTech in emerging markets' even if that exact phrase isn't in their official profile.

Executive Briefing Summariser

Feed an hour-long interview transcript or a dozen complex articles into an AI tool. It'll spit out a one-page executive summary with key quotes, themes, and recommended talking points. This means your spokespeople are prepped in minutes, not hours, and you look like a genius.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Media Relations Specialist?

Common routes in include Media Relations Coordinator (L1) (1-2 years), Junior PR Agency Account Executive (2-3 years) and Journalist / Editor (transition) (Variable, often 2-4 years in journalism). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Media Relations Specialist progress to?

This role can lead on to Senior Media Relations Specialist (L3) (2-3 years in this role), depending on the skills you build.

What level is a Media Relations Specialist in the UK?

This role aligns to RQF Level 3 on the UK framework, a guide to the depth of qualification it maps to, not a hard entry bar.

What new skills matter most for a Media Relations Specialist?

Increasingly, Data-Driven Storytelling and AI-Assisted Content Creation & Research. These are the areas where the higher-paid, future-proof work is heading.

The honest bit

You’ve started things before

Most of them were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.

There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.

And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.

What it costs

Less than one coaching session. Every month.

A single career-coaching hour costs more than a month of this, and it ends when the hour does. Zavmo doesn't. It's £70 a month, about £2.30 a day, for a companion that knows a Media Relations Specialist, works on the job you actually do, and keeps going at your pace rather than a timetable's.

  • Searching and planning stay free. You only pay when you start learning.
  • Your credits are yours. Regulated, and they don't vanish when a subscription ends.
  • Cancel any time and billing stops. No notice period, no minimum term.

Your path, personalised

You have the map. Walking it is the part we do together.

This route runs to 10 national skill standards. That is a real journey.

Zavmo shapes a learning experience as unique as you are. It fits how you learn, your pace and the work you already do. Every step stays benchmarked to recognised national standards. That’s the plan for becoming a Media Relations Specialist: personal to you, and it still counts. The first steps are free.

Independent research finds well-designed intelligent tutoring performs nearly as well as one-to-one human tutoring: VanLehn (2011), Educational Psychologist.

A private tutor in the UK averages £35–40 an hour . Zavmo is £70/month.

A real plan on learn.zavmo.ai: Ofqual-regulated units, credits, and a three-month run at your own pace.
Start free No commitment. See your first steps free.

15Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 3

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

Other roles in Public Relations Communications

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

If you leave this industry

The skills you'll gain here are highly transferable. You could move into PR for different industries (e.g., consumer tech, healthcare, non-profit), or transition into broader marketing, content strategy, or even investor relations roles.

Not sure this is the right direction?

Work out what you actually want from work first, then come back and see which roles fit it. Takes about ten minutes.

This role profile is © 2026Growth 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. Build my plan, free Here's the first ten minutes: a 2-minute confidence check → your personalised roadmap → meet the tutors matched to you. No card, cancel any time. 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.