Free doesn’t always mean valuable, but sometimes it does.
When looking for affiliate marketing courses, it’s rare that you’ll find a free course that’s organize and provides practical value. Most premium courses can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Affiliate Academy by Voluum appears to be a promising option, offering a complete affiliate marketing training course for free.
But is this free course worth your time investment? And what’s the catch?
I signed up and went through the course myself to see just how much value it provided for beginner affiliates looking for free education.
As an experienced affiliate marketer who has gone through numerous paid and free training programs, I’ve thoroughly checked out what Voluum’s Academy courses offer so I can help you make an informed decision.
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What is Affiliate Academy by Voluum?
Voluum has long been recognized as an industry leader in affiliate marketing tracking software, serving thousands of successful affiliates worldwide. Their Affiliate Academy is a natural extension of their expertise, designed for beginners who want to build a solid foundation in affiliate marketing.
The course is delivered through a modern, user-friendly platform that works seamlessly across desktop and mobile devices. You can expect to invest about 20-25 hours to complete the entire curriculum, though the self-paced format allows you to move through the material as quickly or slowly as you need.
Lead instructor at Affiliate Academy, Agnieszka Hirsz, gives you clear explanation and instructions in short videos usually around 3-4 minutes. There are text lessons and quizzes throughout as well.
The Affiliate Academy is split into three courses, two for beginner level, and one for intermediate.
- How to start affiliate marketing (beginner level)
- Set up your first campaign (beginner level)
- Campaign optimization (intermediate level)
The course focuses on practical, data-driven marketing strategies, something you’d expect from a company specializing in tracking and analytics. From the first course module, the content appears to be crafted for complete beginners, requiring no previous marketing experience or technical background.
You might be asking why the course is free? Well, naturally, you’d be expected to use the Voluum tracking software so that’s the benefit they get out of giving you something of value for free.
Finally, if you have no interest in paid ads, then this may not be for you. However, it’s a free course and there is a lot you can learn from just going through the lessons, especially in the first module.
The Hidden Cost of “Free”
Voluum has been offering this free course since 2021. Although marketed as a comprehensive free course for beginner affiliates, there is actually a hidden cost (the catch) behind this generous offer. It’s actually a a sophisticated sales pitch for Voluum’s own tracking tools.
Here’s where the course becomes problematic for beginners. Starting from the second module, the content becomes heavily dependent on Voluum’s tracking platform.
The course essentially requires you to use their tool, which isn’t cheap and doesn’t come with a free trial. I checked the pricing page and the smallest billed amount would be the Pro plan pricing for individuals – $149/month!
For a beginner just learning affiliate marketing, this is a massive, unexpected financial barrier. The course presents paid marketing strategies as the primary path, completely overlooking organic and lower-cost marketing approaches that are far more accessible to newcomers.
For what it is, the training is actually very good. But, unless your intention was to get Voluum tracking before stumbling upon Affiliate Academy or you have a marketing budget for paid ads, then this isn’t the “free” training for you.
Key Limitations for Beginner Affiliate Marketers
While the first module of the course may have some value for beginners, the second and third modules depend heavily on the direction you wish to take.
The course is heavily skewed towards paid marketing (specifically media buying), a strategy that’s financially risky for beginners with limited budgets.
Additionally, the course isn’t very useful after the first module unless you decide to invest in Voluum, which starts at $149/month or close to $1500 of you decide to pay for a year.
Course Strengths (Pros)
The professional production quality does stand out. The instructor presents each lesson in a clear, well-explained manner, making complex concepts easy to understand. The course platform itself is intuitive and clean, allowing you to focus entirely on learning.
There is a lot of practical, actionable instruction in each lesson whether video or text, ensuring you’re not just accumulating knowledge, but also building skills you can use immediately. Each module includes quizzes and real-world applications, helping you transition from theory to practice seamlessly.
Potential Drawbacks (Cons)
While the production quality is professional, it masks a fundamental problem. The course is more of a sales funnel than a genuine educational resource.
The videos are well-produced, but they eventually lead to a dependency on Voluum’s expensive tools.
Who This Course is Good For
- Affiliates with big marketing budgets
- CPA network affiliates who want to learn media buying
- Those already committed to using Voluum’s tracking platform
Who Should Avoid This Course
- Beginners with limited budgets
- Those looking for organic marketing strategies
- Affiliates unwilling to invest in expensive tracking tools
Conclusion
Affiliate Academy by Voluum does present some value for the right type of affiliate. It is actually a good course that is very well produced.
However, it also seems to be marketing tool designed to funnel beginners into an expensive ecosystem. While some information can be gleaned, the course’s true intent is clear – to convert free users into paying customers of their tracking platform.
To provide some context, I was looking at a list that recommended free and paid affiliate marketing courses and Affiliate Academy was one of them.
If you’re a beginner affiliate marketer, save your time and potential future expenses. Only the first module of Affiliate Academy’s course is useful but is actually standard for any course teaching you affiliate marketing. After that, the course material is heavily dependent on Voluum’s expensive tracking tool.
As an alternative, a good free start would be signing up to this training website. On the free plan, you’ll get some beginner lessons and a business hub with a website and everything you need to build it out based on your interest. You can ready my 2025 review of this course here.
