We earn commissions from some links on this site. Here is exactly how that works, what it means for our reviews, and why it never influences our ratings.
⚖️ The short version
Some links on SkillsToPivot go to affiliate programs. If you click one and then buy something, we may earn a commission. This costs you nothing extra. Our reviews are always independent — commissions never determine our ratings, recommendations, or editorial content.
An affiliate link is a URL that contains a unique tracking code. When you click one and then make a purchase on the destination website within a certain window of time (typically 7–30 days), we receive a small commission from the company you bought from.
Here is an example of how it works:
Important: You are never charged more by clicking an affiliate link. The price you see is the price you pay, whether you arrive via our link or go directly to the platform's website.
We currently have affiliate relationships with the following platforms and networks. This list may change as we add or remove partners:
Coursera hosts the Google Career Certificates, IBM courses, and thousands of other programs we review. When we link to a Coursera course or certificate, those links may be affiliate links. Commission rates vary by program.
CompTIA certifications (Security+, A+, Network+) are reviewed on our site. Links to CompTIA exam vouchers or study materials may be affiliate links.
We occasionally link to Udemy courses in comparisons and category pages. Some of these links may be affiliate links through the Udemy affiliate program.
Links to edX courses and professional certificates in our comparison articles may be affiliate links.
We may add additional affiliate relationships with other accredited online learning platforms over time. This page will be updated to reflect any new partnerships.
Commissions vary by platform and are typically a percentage of the sale price or a flat fee per enrollment. We do not know in advance whether any particular visitor will make a purchase, and commission amounts do not influence what we write about or how we rate products.
We receive commission data from affiliate networks — this includes aggregate information about clicks and conversions from our site. We do not receive any personal information about you from affiliate platforms beyond what is necessary to verify that a commission is owed.
Affiliate income helps us keep SkillsToPivot free and ad-free. Without it, we would need to either charge for access or rely on advertising, which would create different conflicts of interest.
We have a strict editorial independence policy. Here is what that means in practice:
No company can pay us to write a review, positive or negative. All reviews are initiated by our editorial team.
If we publish sponsored content, it will be clearly labelled as such. We currently do not publish sponsored content.
A platform paying higher commissions does not get a higher rating. We have reviewed platforms we don't have affiliate relationships with.
Every review on this site includes a genuine "cons" section. If a certificate isn't worth it, we say so — even if we have an affiliate link to it.
Every page with affiliate links includes a notice. We don't bury disclosures in footers or use confusing language.
If a free option is genuinely better for a reader's situation, we say so — even if linking to a paid option would earn us more.
Every certificate review on SkillsToPivot uses a consistent scoring methodology. Ratings are determined by our editorial team based on:
These scores are applied consistently regardless of whether we have an affiliate relationship with the platform. Read our full Methodology page for more detail.
We aim to be transparent about affiliate links throughout the site:
rel="sponsored" HTML attribute on affiliate links to signal their nature to search engines and browsers.In accordance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's guidelines on endorsements and testimonials (FTC Endorsement Guides), we disclose material connections between our site and any companies whose products or services we review or recommend.
SkillsToPivot complies with FTC disclosure requirements by:
If you are a visitor outside the United States, similar disclosure requirements may apply under your local laws (e.g. the UK's ASA guidelines, Australia's ACCC requirements, or the EU's UCPD). We aim to meet or exceed these standards globally.
If you have questions about our affiliate relationships, how we earn money, or whether a specific link on our site is an affiliate link, please reach out. We are happy to be transparent about it.
Contact us via our contact page or email hello@skillstopivot.com.
Related policies: Privacy Policy · Editorial Policy · Our Methodology