Free Online Courses and The Best Websites to Find Them

Free Online Certificate Programs and Courses

If you are a lover of knowledge who likes to enroll in online courses, you will agree with me that most quality courses are not budget-friendly or affordable for low-income earners.

Luckily, there are many places online where you can take courses only without paying any money.

You can also get certificates of completion from some of these websites without spending a dime. In this post, we are showing you the 27 best places to find free courses online.

Whether you want to enroll in health, beauty, engineering, or any type of course, there are always places you can get these courses online for free. Most of these courses are of high quality and are provided by very reputable organizations from all parts of the world.

Did you know? The first online course was created by the University of Toronto in 1984.

What are Free Online Courses?

Free online courses are courses that are fully delivered online to students without any monetary requirement. Free online courses usually contain recorded videos, text materials, and pictures, but they sometimes involve live classes.

Free Online Courses and The Best Websites to Find Them

Coursera

The biggest online learning platform with over 100 million learners just like you. Coursera partners with some of the top universities and institutions in the world, including Google and Yale University to provide free courses to learners.

With over 2,600 online courses you can enroll in without paying, Coursera is a great place to quench your taste for knowledge and add more qualifications to your resume.

Don’t worry about your schedule if you are a busy person because Coursera offers you the chance to study at your own pace and achieve your career goals.

edX

edX is an online platform that hosts thousands of free massive open online courses, the institution was founded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

If you are looking for some quality university-level online courses you can enroll in without paying, then edX is the best option for you because all courses on edX were created by high-quality and reputable institutions.

The courses on edX cover various topics and subjects, and most of them are self-paced and free.

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is an online learning platform founded by The Open University and SEEK Limited back in 2012.

This website hosts many free courses from some of the best universities in the world, including Leeds University, University of Reading, and King’s College London.

If you want to enroll in some courses for the sake of knowledge, FutureLearn is a great place to start.

Also, if you want to add some certifications to your qualification, the platform got you covered with a lot of free online courses with certifications.

Most of the certifications available on FutureLearn are sponsored by individual institutions and universities, but some of them were developed by its management.

Alison

Talking about places you can save money on online courses as a person with a small budget, we can’t skip Alison, an online learning website with a hundred percent of courses completely free.

The management at Alison believes that knowledge should be free, though you have to part with some token if you want a certificate for any course you complete.

Alison is the best place to find short online courses because most of the courses available on the website can be completed within 10 hours. In addition to the free knowledge you gain on Alison, you can make some dollars by referring your friends to the platform.

Oxford Home Study Center

Unlike most other online learning platforms that only offer you free study for the courses they provide, Oxford Home Study Center also offers you free certificates of completion for over 150 courses available on the website.

The system used on this platform puts you in charge of your study, you study when you want to, and you can also take study breaks at any period. The institution is not in any way affiliated with Oxford University.

The courses available at Oxford Home Study Center are registered with the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), the government institution responsible for qualifications, examinations, and assessments in England.

Skillshare

Just as the name implies, it is a community learning platform where you get to learn from others and also teach them what you know. As the popular saying goes: “no man is an island”, Skillshare is a place to share your knowledge and expertise with others.

Some users on Skillshare decide to teach others what they know for free, so they host free online classes to share their knowledge.

If learning from people with first-hand experience sounds like a great idea to you, you can have a look at the platform.

Udemy

Unlike Coursera where only reputable institutions are allowed to add courses, private instructors are accepted on Udemy.

Founded only in 2010, the platform has over 54 million students and 71,000 instructors offering free and paid courses.

There are over 500 free courses available on Udemy, and you can complete them online. The courses are grouped based on the topic and are available in 75 languages, so you don’t have to worry much if you are not so good at English.

LinkedIn Learning

Do you want to work on your personal development and find courses online courses too costly? You don’t have to bother about that anymore because that is exactly what LinkedIn Learning offers.

LinkedIn Learning Online has a collection of free courses that will help you gain some of the most important skills for success. Some of the courses also have certificates, these important courses are grouped into the following categories:

  • Courses for job seekers
  • Courses for remote workers
  • Courses for managers and leaders
  • Courses for managing stress
  • Courses for educators
  • Courses for talent acquisition professionals
  • Courses for sales professionals
  • Courses for small business owners

Udacity

If you would want a learning platform where you can study without limits or restrictions, Udacity might be the best choice for you. It is more like a free-for-all learning platform offering massive open online courses.

If you like the idea of learning on Udacity exploring the free courses archive will be a great way to start your online learning journey with Udacity.

If the thought of a lawless online learning community where everyone does just as it pleases them is what fills your mind right now, then you are completely wrong.

Udacity just gives you more freedom to take bold steps in your education, because the name Udacity was coined from the word audacious.

Chopra

We are not going to let our spiritual brothers and sisters feel unimportant, so we have got something of interest to them. If you fancy healthy spiritual and personal well-being, Chopra is a place to nourish your spiritual life.

The platform host many free online classes on meditation and wellbeing. If you welcome the idea of developing your spiritual life on Chopra, I will suggest you start with the free guided meditation by Deepak Chopra himself.

Google Digital Garage

Have you been thinking Google doesn’t have its own online learning websites? You are completely wrong, Google has multiple online learning platforms through which it offers completely free online courses to students.

Like other of Google’s online learning platforms, Google Digital Garage was created to help people acquire some of the most in-demand digital skills.

If you want some free training in some of the most wanted skills of the future, your journey should start on the platform.

Google Learning

Almost, if not all of Google’s courses are available on Coursera, yet some people prefer to enroll for these courses directly through the main website. If you are one of those who prefer taking these courses directly from the website, this post still covers your interest.

Google Learning is like a joint platform for all of Google’s online learning platforms, there you will find all the free online learning materials, courses, and other resources provided by Google to support students and educators.

Open Learn

Open Learn is part of Open University, it is a program that aims to provide students with free college-level online courses. If you can’t afford the low-cost degree programs from the university, then these free courses are for you.

There are more than 700 open courses available to you on Open Learning, the courses are categorized under 8 major subject groups:

  • Health, sports, and psychology
  • Education and development
  • History and the arts
  • Languages
  • Money and business
  • Nature and environment
  • Science, maths, and technology
  • Society, politics, and law

W3Schools

W3Schools is an educational website for coding, it is meant for web developers, software developers, and anyone who is interested in coding. If you want free online training on coding, W3Schools is the best option for you.

Did you notice the external link icon beside every external link on this website? I did not use a WordPress plugin or pre-written code to put them and I did not pay anyone to do that.

I learned to make the code for that myself using free learning resources available on W3Schools Online Web Tutorials and other websites.

If you are interested in learning to code online, I recommended you start with CSS because I found it easy to learn.

Biblical Training

Biblical Training offers free online classes in bible study, so if you are interested in studying the Bible as a Christian or Non-christian, it is a good community to start your journey. I enrolled for a course on the website and I found out it was quite easy to navigate.

You can start your study together with a group of other students who will serve as your study companies and help you understand your coursework.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is an online learning platform for maths, physics, chemistry, biology, and other sciences. It started with free online mathematics courses and it now includes other sciences, but it still remains a non-profit organization and has no fees.

Khan Academy is suitable for anyone who wants to learn online, including kids and adults. In its early years, the community was only meant for kids struggling with reading and mathematics.

When you register at Khan Academy, you will get access to its educational videos and other educational resources.

Open Culture

Open Culture is an educational website with thousands of free learning resources, including audiobooks, e-books, and videos.

The website hosts about 2,000 courses from some of the best universities in the world, including, Stanford University, Harvard University, and Yale University.

Open Culture provides learning material for kids between kindergarten and grade 12, but a majority of the materials are meant for adults. The website offers courses in more than 50 different subjects, including the following:

  • Business
  • Language learning
  • Communication
  • Design Demography
  • Health
  • Education
  • law
  • Literature

The language lessons on Open Culture include 48 languages, so it is a great place to learn a new language online.

MIT OpenCourseWare

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) provides free online learning material to the public through the MIT OpenCourseWare program. The learning materials distributed through the program include courses, e-books, and teaching resources.

The courses available at MIT OpenCourseWare are college-level courses taught by professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The courses are categorized under many topics, and the most interesting topics among them are the following:

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environment and sustainability
  • Programming
  • Matrix calculus
  • Transportation

With over 2,500 high-quality courses on the website, it is certainly one of the online learning websites where you can study without paying.

Connections Academy

Connections Academy is a tuition-free online learning platform offering courses to students between kindergarten and grade 12 (K-12). It is only for students who are yet to enter a university or college.

With over 100 thousand students already enrolled in the school, it is safe to say it has gained popularity over the year as a go-to online school for K-12 students in the United States.

Unlike regular learning platforms, Connections Academy serves as an online public school, giving students an interactive online learning environment. Students who enroll in the school can easily interact and build connections with fellow students and teachers.

Stanford Online

Stanford University provides an online library and courses for the public at no cost through Stanford Online. The courses available at Stanford online are grouped into 4 major categories:

  • Health and Medicine
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • Arts and humanities

With Stanford University being one of the best universities in the world, Stanford online is a home of quality online courses. If you want to explore Stanford Online, I will recommend you start with the Stanford online courses.

Open Yale Courses

Open Yale Courses is an online learning platform created by Yale University. On Open Yale Courses, you will get access to open courses without paying any fee. You can also access the courses through iTunes or Coursera if you wish to do so.

The courses are recorded by Yale University professors in the classroom, so they are actually online college courses and made available to people for free. At Open Yale Courses, you will study at your own pace without any interruptions or limits.

Professional and Lifelong Learning

Professional and Lifelong Learning (PLL) is a program created by Harvard University to make university education more accessible and affordable to students all over the world.

At first glance, you will think the program is a premium one and only affordable to the rich, but that is a myth. PLL has a list of courses you can enroll in for free, there are 130 of these courses. To enroll in any of the courses, see PLL free courses.

The duration of the courses ranges between 1 day and 11 weeks, but most of them take just 4 weeks to compete.

Working Skills Center

Working Skills Center (WSC) is a non-profit organization located in Ontario, the organization gives training to immigrants in Canada, especially women.

The organization aims to empower immigrants and make them employable, so if you are an immigrant or unemployed person in Canada, you should contact them.

At Working Skills Center, you will get the support you need to go through the process of immigration to employment. You will have access to certificate programs and diploma programs through the organization without any charges.

Most of the courses and programs available at the Working Skills Center are aimed at helping you improve your computer skills.

Canvas Network

Canvas Network is an online learning platform for teachers at different levels of education. Most of the courses on hosted on the website are meant for teachers in K-12 and a part of them are meant for those in higher education.

The website hosts some open online courses available to everyone without any requirements, the courses are created by reputable universities, institutions, and individuals.

Certification Programs Online

Don’t get confused here, Certification Programs Online doesn’t create or host any online courses, rather the platform helps you find the best one. There are thousands of courses online and it is not always easy to find the right one, so the platform helps you sieve out unwanted courses.

On Certification Programs Online, you will learn the best place to find any type of course you want based on one or more of the following characteristics. The categories of courses and certifications are usually based on the following factors:

  • Duration
  • Type of provider
  • Provider
  • Subject

If you like the idea of someone else researching for you, then Certification Programs Online is a great place to start. When you subscribe to the newsletter or browser notifications, you will get notified of new articles just after they are published.

Digiskills

Digiskills is an online platform where you can learn digital skills, it was founded by the government of Pakistan to help Pakistan youths. Though the platform was created for Pakistani citizens, it is open to everyone who wants to learn.

If you looking to learn any digital skill without spending money, Digiskills is will make a great choice for you. The skills you can learn on Digiskills include the following:

  • Content creation
  • Content marketing
  • Freelance

Massive Open Distance E-learning

University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) offers online courses to students in the Philippines, the platform is meant for Philippine citizens.

You can enroll for courses on the platforms if you are quite inquisitive, in the process of registering on the platform, you will be required to choose your location (you know what to do).

UPOU is an accredited university, so the courses it offers are high-quality college-level courses, and these courses are also free. The courses are offered through the Massive Open Distance E-learning programs.

Do you still want some online courses listed by name? See our list of the best 545 free online courses with printable certificates. Or looking for some short certification? we have some articles to help you in your search.

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