Top 10 Best Websites For Free Online Courses With Certificates
Are you looking for the best free online courses websites with certificates? Look no further because you are at the right place. Some online certificates are completely free, some come with hidden charges, while some have their price tags clearly stated on them in order to guide your decisions. In some cases, the course providers do not make their free courses completely free; they attach the prices to the certificates. In this case, you would be forced to purchase the certificates after taking the courses. Interestingly, the certificates cost between $20 – $300, depending on the course of its provider, as well as whether you want the digital copy emailed to you or a hard copy sent to your doorstep via post.
If you are looking for the best online courses that will cost you nothing, except your time and commitment, we have compiled them here for you. They are not just free, they also offer free, printable certificates. You would not need to pay any hidden charges anywhere. All that is required of you is to come and learn!
Below are the top 10 best websites for free online courses with free certificates:
1) Linkedin formerly Lynda (Lynda.com)
This is the largest online course with a variety of courses. Linkedin offers a one-month free trial with more than 13 000 available courses and free certificates attached to them. They are also one of the topmost reliable and well-grounded online learning platforms. They cover all the basics with a catalogue of video courses to deliver their lectures. They also deliver their courses with quizzes and interactive sessions.
Furthermore, their courses are taught by top industry professionals with their courses thoroughly vetted before releasing them for teaching. Therefore, students learn with the confidence that they are getting reliable and relevant information from the platform. There are also apps available on Android and iOS for learning on the go.
At the commencement of the course, Linkedin offers a month-free trial which means you can learn for one month without any charges. You are also entitled to free, printable certificates for the online course.
Available courses at Linkedin include:
Cloud Computing
Data Science
Marketing
Finance and Accounting
De vOps
IT
Animation and Illustration
Audio and Music
Web Software Development
Graphic Design
Photography
Business Strategy
HR
Project Management
CAD
AEC
Video / Photo Editing
Mobile App Development
HTM / JAVA / SQ
Leadership Management
2) Alison
Alison is great at IT, Science and Coding. Not just that, they offer free courses that are not below 1000. However, some certificates are made free for some courses, while others go for a fee. This online learning platform has over 13 million students committed to learning, with over 2 million graduates. Alison does not actually create their own course, rather they operate as a platform that organises free courses and made available to their learners.
The only problem with Alison is that some of their courses are in written contents only, with no video or downloadable apps for smartphone users. So, if you are someone who does not mind the format the courses are provided, you can give it a try, as long as you can absorb their lectures.
Alison certificates are downloadable and printable, though not all are free. In case you wish to receive a hard copy version of the certificates, there is a price for that. The good news is that you will always be mailed your copy whenever you request it.
The categories of some of the courses provided by Alison include:
Business
IT
Health
Languages
Math
Lifestyle
Science
Humanities
Marketing
Design
Web Development, and so on.
3) Microsoft Learning
Microsoft learning is great for Microsoft related jobs. The courses offered at the platform are above 30 and the certificates are free for some courses, while others are not free. Those who want to acquire more upgraded skills, with more job prospects are encouraged to give this online learning platform a try. Though Microsoft Learn focuses more on Microsoft products, systems and software, with most of the courses revolving around Azure and Dynamics 365. They offer varied courses for both beginners and advanced users.
The Microsoft certificates are accredited and recognized by employers. With the accreditation, you can seek digital nomad jobs if you wish to work while on transit. Other courses available by Microsoft Learning include:
Administration
AI Engineering
Business Analysis
Business US
Data Engineering
Functional Consulting
Solution Architect
Web Developing
4) Udemy
Udemy is great for Marketing and Design. There are about 823 available courses at Udemy with free certificates for all the courses. It does not just provide free courses, there are free videos available for individual courses. The certificates are also downloadable and printable and are offered upon the completion of your course.
The tutors of Udemy are also vetted so as to ensure the learning materials are accurate and reliable. Some of the available courses at Udemy include:
AWS
Blockchain
Blogging
Digital marketing
Excel
Java
Spanish Language
Social Media Marketing
Linux
Microsoft Dynamics 365
HTML
PowerPoint
Python
Salesforce
Dropshipping
Premiere Pro
iOS
Graphic Design
Programming
Mobile Developing
NetDevOps
Final Cut Pro, and so on
5) Oxford Home Study
Oxford Home Study is great for Management with 15 available courses. The courses are free with free certificates for all the courses. The platform is known for diploma distance educational courses, as well as free online courses. There are other hundreds of courses available, but they come at a fee.
All you need to do is to sign up and learn any of their available 15 courses, after which you will receive a certificate upon completion. The courses include:
Business Management
Customer Service
Construction Management
Fashion Design
Hotel Management
HRM
Internet Marketing
Management
PR
Project Management
Risk Management
Starting a Business
Supply Chain Management
Tourism and Travel
6) Open Learning
Open Learning provides both free and paid courses. The available courses are above 1 300 with certificates included for some courses. It is noteworthy that the platform is relatively new, though one of the most popular for the past three years. More than one million people have used the Open Learning platform since its inception. They operate almost the same way as Alison. They offer a catalogue of courses from universities, colleges and some online learning platforms.
The free certificates offered by Open Learning is dependent on the course provider. Some course providers made their certificates free, while others attach a certain sum to them. Another point is that it is left for the learner to search through the collection of courses to know which ones have free or paid certificates.
Some of the free online courses offered by Open Learning include:
Blockchain
Design
English
Cybersecurity
Understanding Coffee
Growing Global Business
Japanese
Ecotourism
AR & VR
7) Pluralsight
Pluralsight is great for developers. They offer a 10-day free trial for their courses worth over 1 400. All courses come with free certificates as well. Certificates are offered to users via email once they complete their course. If you are able to complete the course within the 10-day trial period, you won’t have to pay a dime for it.
Pluralsight employs the services of the best mentors and teachers to handle their courses. In addition, it has partnered with some largest companies in the world like Google, Oracle, Unity, Adobe, as well as Microsoft in delivering their courses.
Available courses at Pluralsight include:
Java
JavaScript
Pythons
C#
Angular
Microsoft Azure
IT Networking
SQL
Oracle
Tableau
Android
Malware Analysis
Architecture
Cloud Computing
Cyber Security
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Machine Learning
Software Development, and so on
8) Free Code Camp
They are great for those who wish to learn how to code. The courses all come with no price and the certificates are free for their 100+ courses. New users sign in to Free Code Camp to learn Coding. HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Databases, GitHub, Node.js, React.js and D3.js are also learnt at the platform.
There are also thousands of free videos, articles and interactive sessions at this online learning platform. As your assignment, you will be required to code websites and software for non-profit organisations. Examinations are also undertaken by students before they are qualified to obtain their certificates. You can see that you will gain experience while you are taking the course. This is a great reason to rush to Free Code Camp.
Some of the courses you can get at the platform include:
Responsive Web Design
Algorithms and Data Structure
Information Security and Quality Assurance
Data Visualisation
Front End Libraries
APIs
9) Google Digital Garage
The platform is great for Digital Marketing students. There are 100 available free courses, with free certificates for some and paid certificates for others. Google is not just a platform for searching just anything, it also has a platform for online learning.
The beautiful aspect of it is that most of the courses come at no price including free certificates. That is not all, there are free videos on the learning platform with unlimited access and no time limit. This means that you can learn at any time you choose.
The courses come with interactive sessions and learners are engaged throughout the learning period. Upon completion, you will be offered an accredited Google certificate that is downloadable. This is great for your resume or CV. The categories of available courses include:
Digital Marketing
Business Security
Social Psychology
Big Data
Productivity
Machine Learning
Business Communication
Artificial Intelligence, and so on.
10) Facebook Blueprint
This is a Digital Marketing course with Facebook. It has about 400 free courses with free certificates offered at the end of the examination. Those using Facebook have a lot to benefit from this platform. You do not just take this course, you are required to take an examination as a proof of participation, as well as showcasing that you understood the course properly.
The examinations are 5 in total and have areas of specialization like API integration, technical implementations, pixel ads, campaign management, and others. Once the courses are completed and examinations passed, the students are offered the Facebook Blueprint certification. Those that can participate in this great offer include freelancers, social media marketers, digital agencies, as well as those who seek new jobs.
