Top Free Online Courses and Continuing Education 2026
You want to continue your education online for free and also earn a certificate? In this article, you will learn which course providers are truly free and whether they also offer a certificate.
Over 500 free online courses | with certificate?
You want to continue your education online for free and maybe even earn a certificate? In this article, you'll find out which course providers are truly free and whether they offer a certificate.Who offers free online courses?
Knowledge generally costs money, yet there are actually some free online courses and platforms.These providers exist:
- Free platforms, also called MOOCs (massive open online courses). Massive stands for a large number of participants, Open means the courses often have no admission restrictions.
- University lectures available online for free.
- Other platforms and courses, often as time-limited offers.
Are the online courses really free?
As mentioned, there are indeed free courses, and they are funded in different ways:1. Free platforms (MOOCs)
- Registration and participation in a MOOC are usually free.
- Only if you want an optional certificate at the end of the course will you be asked to pay.
- The participants who pay or donate for a certificate make it possible to offer the course for free to all participants.
2. Video lectures from universities
- Many universities make their lectures available online for free.
3. Other platforms and online courses
- These are often offered by companies. The companies hope to gain more attention or sell other products.
- E-learning platforms with free trial periods.
Top free online courses | with certificate?
The e-learning platforms listed here offer a large number of courses and a wide range of topics. The description states whether the providers offer a certificate or a confirmation of participation.OpenHPI
- The e-learning platform of the Hasso Plattner Institute offers many free courses. To participate in the courses, you just need to create an account on the platform.
- The courses consist of: videos, reading materials, self-tests, quizzes, final exams.
- 📜You can receive a confirmation of participation, a transcript, or a paid qualified certificate.
Open vhb
- The Virtual University of Bavaria offers free online courses consisting of texts, quizzes, and mostly videos.
- 📜After completing a course, you can often download a free confirmation of participation. I came across Open vhb through a comment on this post ; )
KI-Campus
- KI-Campus is an e-learning platform from the German Stifterverband and offers free content in German and English.
- The courses are offered by various companies and universities, e.g., by IBM or TU Darmstadt. The learning content includes videos, texts, and infographics; after completing some lessons, there are module tests to check what you've learned.
- 📜At the end of a course, you can download a free certificate.
Google Digital Garage
- The online course platform from Google offers many free online courses.
- 📜The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing course also offers a free certification.
FutureLearn
- FutureLearn has around 10 million learners and offers online continuing education courses on a wide range of topics.
- The courses in the "short online courses" category are free in the basic version (without a certificate).
- The courses usually last several weeks and take several hours.
- The course language is English.
- 📜Certificates and actual academic degrees require payment.
Coursera
- Coursera, with over 77 million course participants worldwide, is the largest provider of MOOCs. The e-learning provider was founded in 2012 by two computer science professors from Stanford University. The learning platform therefore offers many learning content from well-known universities.
- By signing up for free and selecting Audit mode, you can attend a course for free.
- Some courses can only be viewed with the premium version, and you need to start a free trial subscription for that. You should be careful not to fall into the subscription trap here.
- The course language is mostly English.
- 📜Certificates cost extra.
You can find more info about Coursera in the article about my experiences with Coursera.
edX
- The MOOC platform edX works similarly to Coursera and provides access to over 2500 courses.
- The course language is mostly English.
- 📜When you click on "Enroll Now," you can choose whether you want to receive a paid certificate or just be a free course participant (audit).
Studyflix
- The e-learning platform offers short animated videos for students, schoolchildren, and trainees.
- The videos are free, but there are ad breaks between videos.
- An alternative to Studyflix might be the YouTube channel Simpleclub.
- 📜No certificates or proof of participation.
Opencourseworld
- Offers mostly free courses.
- There are relatively few courses on the platform.
- 📜Certificates are paid.
Iversity
- The online learning portal of Springer Nature Publishing.
- Among the many paid courses, you can also find some free ones—just set the search filter to MOOCs.
- 📜The certificates cost extra, as is often the case.
Oncampus
- Offers online continuing education courses, degree programs, and online training.
- Within the extensive range of Oncampus, you can also find free video courses and continuing education offerings.
- 📜Badges and continuing education certificates are available.
Kadenze
- The MOOC platform offers a lot of learning content for creatives.
- The course language is English.
- 📜Most continuing education courses are available for free in a stripped-down version with less content and without a certificate.
OpenLearn
- Is part of the Open University and offers a huge number of free e-learning courses.
- To participate in the courses, you first have to somewhat tediously type all your data into a registration form, after which you can access all free courses.
- 📜At the end of the course, you receive a proof of participation to download.
Alison
- The training platform Alison was founded in Ireland and offers many different subject areas.
- In the free version, however, you always have to watch rather annoying ads to proceed to the next chapter.
- In my opinion, the courses also don't always have very high quality.
- 📜Free certificates are available for some courses.
Khan Academy
- Online courses on mathematics, computer science, and natural science topics are offered. The platform is primarily aimed at students.
- 📜No certificates
Udemy
- Udemy actually offers paid courses, but there are also some free ones on this page.
- 📜Certificates are only available for paid courses
Video lectures from universities:
English-speaking universities:- Harvard
- Yale
- Stanford
- 600 free courses - provided by 190 universities - A list created by Class Central
- 1500 free online courses from universities - An article created by Open Culture
Other platforms and online courses:
📚Books summarized
Blinkist
- The app summarizes the key points of non-fiction books in short texts and audio contributions.
- In the free Basic version, there is a selected summary free every day.
Getabstract
- Works similarly to Blinkist, here too you get compressed book summaries.
- For students, access is completely free for a whole year.
🖥️Programming and coding
Bitdegree
- BitDegree is an e-learning platform built on blockchain.
- Occasionally you can find free programming courses here.
JetBrains Academy
- Helps you learn programming languages practically.
- The JetBrains Academy offers a free trial period.
- Courses in beta status are completely free because they are still in development.
Freecodecamp
- Freecodecamp is completely free, including all courses for learning to code.
- 📜After completing all courses in a category, there is a free completion certificate.
Codecademy
- Codecademy teaches you programming in online courses.
- In addition to the premium version, there are many free courses.
Tip: On Classcentral a list of free programming and IT certifications has been created.
🎨Creative courses
Skillshare
- Skillshare offers many high-quality produced courses for creative minds.
- Via my link you can test the platform for 14 days free*.
CreativeLive
- The learning portal offers thousands of courses for creative minds.
- The live online courses themselves are free.
Adobe
- Adobe sends a free livestream on Behance daily.
- Creative professionals show their work and explain Creative Cloud tools.
🛒Marketing courses
Facebook Blueprint
- Facebook Blueprint offers free online training in the marketing area.
- 📜Certificates are possible, but cost extra.
HubSpot Academy
- The software provider HubSpot offers free video courses on marketing, design, and sales.
- To register at the HubSpot Academy you need a company domain.
- The courses are available in German, English, French, and Spanish.
- 📜You can download certificates for free after the course ends.
Found the right course?
I hope you found the online course that suits you. If you haven't found anything yet, here is again a list of 10 top online courses compared. I find it a bit unfortunate that there are hardly any online courses with a free certificate. Most providers charge an extra fee between €30 and €100 or even more. Support this blog by sharing this post if you liked it. Can you think of any more free courses or platforms? Write them in the comments and help the community. I also appreciate broken links and feedback ; ) I do not guarantee that the courses or certificates are really free, as the providers could change that at any time.Table of contents
Your continuing education AI advisor
✨ Ask the AI about courses
Use the AI search to compare courses, prices, certificates and funding options in one place.
Your question is sent to our AI service provider. Please don't enter personal data. Privacy policy
Free
1 hour 21 minutes
No certificate
German
Filters:
Categories:
Provider name:
Coursera (10)
openHPI (9)
Alison (4)
HubSpot Academy (4)
Open VHB (3)
show 35 more
Duration:
Location:
Online (76)
Language:
English (39)
German (35)
German/English (1)
Certificate:
Certificate - free (32)
Certificate - paid (27)
No certificate (16)