What does HubSpot's S-1 say about agency partners?
It says agencies and the clients they referred were a large share of the business. In its S-1 registration statement, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 25 August 2014, HubSpot counts one combined group: "marketing agency partners and customers referred to us by our marketing agency partners". That group represented approximately 42% of HubSpot's customers as of 30 June 2014, and 33% of its revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2014.
The same filing gives the scale around those figures. HubSpot had 11,624 customers on 30 June 2014 and more than 1,900 marketing agency partners worldwide. It describes the agencies as using HubSpot in their own businesses and also, on a commissioned basis, referring customers to it.
| What the S-1 measures | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing agency partners plus the customers they referred, as a share of all customers | About 42% | As of 30 June 2014 |
| The same group, as a share of revenue | 33% | Six months ended 30 June 2014 |
| New customers that came from inbound sources | About 93% | Second quarter of 2014 |
| New leads that came from inbound sources | Over 85% | Second quarter of 2014 |
| Total customers | 11,624 | As of 30 June 2014 |
| Marketing agency partners | More than 1,900 | S-1 filed 25 August 2014 |
Read the wording closely. The 42% counts agencies that are customers themselves as well as the clients they sent, and the filing does not split the two. The inbound figures describe new customers and new leads in one quarter, while the partner figure describes the whole customer base. The S-1 does not say how the groups overlap, so the numbers should not be added together or set against each other.
Why did agencies sell HubSpot?
Because HubSpot gave them a new service to sell and paid them for referrals. The S-1 says agencies partnered with HubSpot to offer new inbound marketing and sales services to their clients, grow revenue per client, win new clients and move more of them onto retainers. Elsewhere it says agencies use HubSpot to shift their revenue mix towards more retainer-based business with a recurring revenue stream.
The payments worked in two ways, according to the filing:
- The client buys the subscription. HubSpot pays the agency a commission of the subscription sales price and records it as a sales and marketing expense.
- The agency buys the subscription. HubSpot nets the payment to the partner against the revenue it recognises, because the agency is then the customer.
The S-1 does not state the commission rate. It does show that partners did work HubSpot would otherwise have had to do. The risk factors say that if agencies stopped providing services to customers, HubSpot would have to provide them itself, either by growing its own team or by hiring other third parties, which would increase operating costs. The same section says HubSpot's rate of growth depends on the continued participation of its agency partners.
In our reading, that is the part of the model a small company can copy: the partner earns twice, once from the referral and again from the service work around the product.
What was Website Grader, and how far did it go?
Website Grader was HubSpot's first free diagnostic tool, launched in February 2007. A HubSpot company blog post describes it as giving a website an inbound marketing score from zero to 100, built from website traffic, SEO, the blogosphere, social media and other factors, with basic advice and a comparison against competitors. The post says HubSpot built it to generate buzz, organic and viral traffic, inbound links and leads for its software.
Every milestone below is HubSpot's own figure:
| When | Milestone (company-reported) | Where HubSpot said it |
|---|---|---|
| February 2007 | Website Grader launches | HubSpot company blog |
| June 2009 | Over 1 million website and blog URLs graded | HubSpot company blog |
| Seven months after June 2009 | Over 2 million website URLs graded | HubSpot company blog |
| 2011 | Replaced by Marketing Grader | Editor's note on the 1 million post |
| 7 August 2015 | Redesigned Website Grader launches; HubSpot says the tool has evaluated 4 million websites since 2007 | HubSpot CMS blog |
| 20 October 2026 | Website Grader and an AI Search Grader both listed as free tools | HubSpot free tools page |
The 2 million post shows no date on the page today; it dates itself by saying the 1 million mark came seven months earlier, in June 2009. By then HubSpot ran a family of graders, including Twitter Grader, Facebook Grader and Press Release Grader. The 2015 version asked for a website address and an email address, then returned a score from 1 to 100 and a report. That is the lead capture step in plain view: a useful answer in exchange for a contact.
Which mattered more, the free tool or the partners?
HubSpot's records don't say, and a careful reader shouldn't guess. The S-1 says HubSpot attracted over 40,000 new leads a month through its blog and other content, free tools, social media following, search rankings and personalised website and email content. It lists free tools as one source among several and gives no separate figure for them.
The partner channel is the one the filing measures directly: about 42% of customers and 33% of six-month revenue sat with agencies and the clients they referred. The grader's numbers are counts of websites graded, which show reach but not sales.
For a small company the two fit together. A free tool gives prospects a reason to talk to you. A partner already has prospects and needs something to sell them. Hand the partner your tool and both channels feed each other. That pairing is our suggestion; HubSpot's filing does not describe agencies running its graders.
What does a small team's version look like?
One free check that takes you minutes, and five partners who already serve your buyers. You don't need software for either in the first month.
The grader. Pick one question your buyers ask about their own business that you can answer from public information. For a cold email agency it might be whether a domain's sending setup looks ready for outreach. For a LinkedIn consultant it might be whether a founder's profile is ready for outbound. Write five checks worth 20 points each, so the result is a score out of 100, as HubSpot's was. Do the first 20 by hand. A form that asks for a website and a work email is enough, which is the same exchange HubSpot's 2015 version made.
The partner offer. Write a one-page offer for agencies or consultants whose clients match yours. Say what they earn on each referred customer (your number; HubSpot's rate isn't in its filing), what they deliver around your product, and what you deliver. HubSpot's S-1 says agencies partnered with it to offer new services and move more clients onto retainers, so name the service your partners could sell.
Keep the two groups apart in your records from the start. HubSpot's headline figure combined agencies that were customers with the clients they referred; you will want to know which is which. If you have no marketing hire to run this, our post on marketing without a marketing team has a weekly rhythm it can slot into.
This week: grade 10 sites and talk to 5 agencies
Here is a five-day test sized for a team of one to five. The numbers are our suggestion, not a benchmark.
Monday: write the five checks
Choose the question, write five checks worth 20 points each, and write one sentence of advice for a pass and a fail on each. Test it on your own website first.
Tuesday: grade 10 sites by hand
Grade five current customers and five prospects you already know. Send each a short report: the score, the three fixes that matter most, and a line offering a call. Note which reports get a reply.
Wednesday: put up a form
A one-page form asking for a website and a work email, promising the report within one working day. Add a source field so every request is tagged as grader in your CRM.
Thursday: list 20 partners
List agencies, freelancers and consultants whose clients match your customers. Start with the ones your current customers already pay. Write the one-page partner offer.
Friday: talk to five of them
Offer each partner free grades for three of their prospects, run under your name or theirs. Ask what service they could sell around your product. Score each conversation with the same rules you use for leads; our lead scoring framework needs no data team.
After 30 days, count three things: grader requests, calls booked from grader reports, and customers referred by partners. Those are the only numbers that tell you whether either channel deserves more time.
Frequently asked questions
What share of HubSpot's customers came through agency partners?
HubSpot's 2014 S-1 says marketing agency partners and the customers they referred represented approximately 42% of its customers as of 30 June 2014, and 33% of its revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2014. The figure counts the agencies themselves as well as the clients they referred, and the filing does not split the two.
What was HubSpot's Website Grader?
Website Grader was HubSpot's first free diagnostic tool, launched in February 2007. It gave a website an inbound marketing score from zero to 100 based on traffic, SEO, the blogosphere, social media and other factors, with basic advice. HubSpot says it built the tool to generate buzz, traffic, inbound links and leads for its software.
How many websites did HubSpot's Website Grader grade?
HubSpot reported over 1 million website and blog URLs graded by June 2009, and over 2 million seven months later. When it launched a redesigned Website Grader in August 2015, HubSpot said the tool had evaluated 4 million websites since 2007. All three figures are company-reported.
Does HubSpot still offer Website Grader?
Yes. As of 20 October 2026, HubSpot's free tools page lists Website Grader, described as checking performance, SEO, mobile responsiveness and Core Web Vitals in under 60 seconds. The original tool was replaced by Marketing Grader in 2011, and a redesigned Website Grader launched in August 2015. HubSpot also lists an AI Search Grader.
How did HubSpot pay its marketing agency partners?
HubSpot's 2014 S-1 says it paid agency partners a commission of the subscription sales price. When the client bought the subscription, HubSpot recorded the commission as a sales and marketing expense. When the agency bought it directly, HubSpot netted the payment against revenue. The filing does not state the commission rate.
Sources
- HubSpot, Inc. Form S-1 registration statement (SEC EDGAR) (filed 25 Aug 2014)
- HubSpot blog: Website Grader Analyzes Over 2 Million Sites (no date shown on page (dates the 1 million mark to June 2009); checked 20 Oct 2026)
- HubSpot blog: Website Grader Evaluates Over 1 Million URLs (no date shown on page; checked 20 Oct 2026)
- HubSpot CMS blog: How to Get a Personalized Assessment of Your Website (published 7 Aug 2015)
- HubSpot: Free business tools (checked 20 Oct 2026)