Does the "required" software pay them a commission?
When a course tells you that you must use one specific piece of software, billed every month, ask a quiet question: does the seller get paid when you sign up for it? Very often the recommendation is not neutral. The seller earns a recurring commission on that subscription for as long as you keep paying, which means the real, durable revenue sits behind the course, in the tools, not in the course fee you saw.
The tell. A named tool presented as essential, usually a monthly subscription, with no disclosure that the seller earns from your signing up, and no cheaper or free alternative ever mentioned.
Why it works. It is framed as helpful, the recommendation of an expert who only wants you set up properly, so the financial interest behind it stays invisible. The recurring cost gets normalised as simply the cost of doing business.
The check. Look for an affiliate disclosure. Ask whether the method genuinely needs that exact tool, or just any tool of its kind, and then search the tool's name with the word "alternative" to see what else does the job, often for free. A recommendation that survives all three is probably honest. One that collapses the moment you look for a cheaper route was never really about the work.
The limit. Recommending tools is normal, and earning an affiliate commission is not illegal. The tell is the combination: an undisclosed incentive, a "you must use this" framing, and silence about any cheaper path. In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, hiding the fact that a recommendation is paid for is itself a banned practice under the fake-review and concealed-incentive rules.
What honest looks like. A tool suggestion with the commission disclosed, a clear statement of what the method actually requires, and an acknowledgement of the free or cheaper options. Then run proof you did not make yourself.
Common questions
- The course says I must use one specific tool. Should I?
Ask three things first. Does the seller earn a recurring commission when you sign up? Does the method really need that exact tool, or just any tool of its kind? And what comes up when you search the tool's name with the word "alternative"? A recommendation that survives all three is probably honest.
- Is it legal for a course to take commission on software it requires?
Earning an affiliate commission is not illegal in itself. Hiding it is the problem. Presenting a tool as essential while concealing that you are paid for every signup is a banned practice in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, especially when no cheaper or free alternative is ever mentioned.
Sources
- Failing to disclose that a recommendation is paid, or concealing that a review was incentivised, is a commercial practice considered unfair in all circumstances. · Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20, paragraph 13 (consumer review manipulation)Checked 3 June 2026