HPC Practice Test

The Hootsuite Platform Certification is taken by individuals who want proof they can use Hootsuite. The exam has 50 multiple-choice questions and a 60-minute limit. This page gives you free practice sets by topic, three worked questions, a study plan and answers to common questions.

HPC Exam at a Glance

What the HPC is and how it works

According to Hootsuite Academy, “How to Use Hootsuite (Platform) certification exam - 50 multiple choice questions and you have 60 minutes to complete it. The minimum passing grade for the exam is 75%.”^[1]

The Hootsuite Platform Certification (HPC) is offered through Hootsuite Academy. The exam is called "How to Use Hootsuite (Platform)" on the official site. It is delivered online and is self-paced, so you can work through the courseware on a schedule that suits you.

The exam has 50 multiple-choice questions and a 60-minute time limit. The minimum passing grade is 75%.

Hootsuite Academy is designed for individual learners. If several people on a team want the certification, each person enrolls with a separate account.

You can retake the exam until you pass. Hootsuite encourages you to review all of the courseware before you try again, which is sensible advice: a retake works best when you know which topics cost you points the first time.

Once you pass, you automatically receive an email with your certificate. The certification does not expire, so there is no renewal to schedule.

Hootsuite has not published a verified list of content areas that we could confirm, so we do not present an official topic blueprint here. Our practice sets are grouped by common themes, such as strategy, content, advertising, analytics and platform security. Check the Hootsuite Academy FAQ and your course pages for the current exam details, because the official source is the final word on any rule.

Worked examples: how to reason through HPC questions

These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.

Example 1

Question: During a social media audit, what should a team do first with each existing profile it finds?

1. Delete any profile with under 1,000 followers
2. Record who owns it, its purpose, and how it performs
3. Switch the profile's handle to match the company domain
4. Boost its top post to see how it performs

Answer: B. Record who owns it, its purpose, and how it performs

Explanation:

The correct answer is to record who owns each profile, its purpose, and how it performs. An audit is a fact-finding step, so you first build an inventory that later decisions can rest on.

Deleting profiles with under 1,000 followers is wrong because it acts before you know why the profile exists; a small account may serve a niche purpose. Changing the handle to match the company domain is a branding fix, and it comes after you know what you have. Boosting the top post spends money and tells you little about the profile as a whole.

Rule to remember: inventory and understand first, then decide what to keep, fix or retire.

Example 2

Question: Which is a security best practice when connecting a company's social networks to Hootsuite?

1. Authorize with company-controlled credentials and use organization ownership
2. Use one intern's personal login for every network
3. Post the network passwords in a shared stream
4. Turn off two-factor authentication on all networks

Answer: A. Authorize with company-controlled credentials and use organization ownership

Explanation:

The correct answer is to authorize with company-controlled credentials and use organization ownership. That way access belongs to the business, not to one person, and it survives staff changes.

Using one intern's personal login for every network ties the company's accounts to a single individual who may leave. Posting network passwords in a shared stream exposes them to everyone who can see that stream. Turning off two-factor authentication removes a key protection against account takeover.

Rule to remember: company-owned access, shared safely, with the strongest sign-in protection left switched on.

Example 3

Question: Which approach is recommended for implementing implementation planning changes?

1. Making all changes at once without testing
2. Following a structured change management process with testing
3. Implementing changes only during peak hours
4. Skipping documentation to save time

Answer: B. Following a structured change management process with testing

Explanation:

The correct answer is to follow a structured change management process with testing. Changes are planned, tested and documented before they reach everyone, so problems show up early and can be reversed.

Making all changes at once without testing means any fault affects everything and is hard to trace. Implementing changes only during peak hours puts the most users at risk if something fails. Skipping documentation saves a little time now but leaves nobody able to explain or undo the change later.

Rule to remember: change in controlled steps, test first, and write down what you did.

How to use these practice tests

Start with the official Hootsuite Academy courseware, since the exam is built on it. Work through it at your own pace and note each topic you find unclear.

Then take one practice set at a time. Begin with the sets closest to everyday Hootsuite use: Strategy and Planning, Content Creation and Curation, Social Media Advertising and Analytics and Reporting. After each set, read every explanation, including those for questions you got right, and write down the rule behind each miss.

Next, move to Security Fundamentals, Team Management and Collaboration and Implementation Planning. Go back to the courseware for any area where you keep missing questions, then retry that set.

Before test day, do a set in one sitting with the 60-minute limit in mind, so the pace feels familiar. Our questions are written by us and are not real exam questions, so use them to check understanding, not to memorize answers.

Sources & last verified

1. Hootsuite Academy — number of questions, time limit, passing score, retake policy (official source). “How to Use Hootsuite (Platform) certification exam - 50 multiple choice questions and you have 60 minutes to complete it. The minimum passing grade for…” Verified Oct 28, 2026.

How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.