Top Free Online Certification Courses to Pursue

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Mar 03, 2022 02:22 PM IST | #Skill Development

The notion that paid online courses are standardised and free courses are not has begun to change in recent years. When Elon Musk referred to Youtube and Reddit as platforms, where one can learn almost anything, one really has to give the devil his due. (The devil here means the idea of ‘free learning’) The idea of free learning from the internet has started much before these popular platforms. And today it has expanded. You have an infinite number of free online courses and certifications. MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) by top industry experts and institutes have popularised online learning.

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Now you have the opportunity to study courses from elite institutes around the world and you can do it from your couch! But is that all there is? Should you take any course? This is where the feasibility of free online courses with certificates comes in. It doesn’t matter whether you are a fresher or a working professional, you will always want to manoeuvre yourself in this ever changing landscape of careers. New skills are created or coming along and you don’t want to be left behind. Can you afford them all? Perhaps not. Then what should you do?

Let us take a look at the differences between paid and free online courses with certificates

Difference between Paid and Free online courses

Basics	Free online course	Paid online course
Duration and pace	Self-paced / Time specific	Self-paced / Time specific
Certification	Depends on the provider	Certification guaranteed
Cost	Completely free	Inexpensive to expensive
Curriculum	Unstructured / Structured	Structured curriculum
Learning Mode	Self-study	Help from instructors
Practical application	Self-study	Hands-on application projects
Networking	None or depends on the provider platform	peer network

Now before you make a conclusion, here is a suggestion. Take a free course on the subject you want to enhance your knowledge and skill.See how it goes. And oftentimes, that acquired skills will land you jobs. (This might be a good time to mention that top companies such as Google, Apple, Penguin, IBM, etc. no longer mandate their employees to have a college degree! This is not a case made for dropping out of college, but just to point out that skills matter more and not the credentials always! )

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And if you are still not satisfied and your employer requires a specific qualification (for e.g.: IT professionals sometimes require updated certifications which cost some money), then go for that paid course. But test the waters first with these amazing collections of free online courses with certificates!

Now let us take a look at our online Courses & Certifications from Top Providers that are offered for free.

Course	Offered by	Duration	Cost
Google Cloud Platform Fundamentals for AWS Professionals	Google via Coursera	9 weeks	Free
Advanced Android with Kotlin	Google via Udacity	2 months
VR Software Development	Google via Udacity	1 month
Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python)	UM–Ann Arbor via Futurelearn	6 weeks	Free
COVID-19 Critical Care: Understanding and Application	The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh , Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Edinburgh via Futurelearn	6 weeks	Free
Introduction to Applied Linguistics and TESOL	University of Leicester, Leicester via Futurelearn	6 weeks	Free
Probability and Statistics in Data Science using Python	UC San Diego via Edx	10 weeks	Free
Financial Market Analysis	International Monetary Fund via Edx	7 weeks	Free
English for Journalists, Part 1	UC Berkeley via Edx	5 weeks	Free
English for Journalists, Part 2	UC Berkeley via Edx	5 weeks	Free
Introduction to Analytics Modeling	Georgia Tech via Edx	16 weeks	Free
Creative Coding	NYU via Edx	14 weeks	Free
Robotics: Basics and Selected Advanced Concepts	IISc Bangalore via Swayam	12 months	Free

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Note: the above data is collected and compiled by the Careers 360 team.

Conclusion

These free online courses with certificates in India and around the globe means one thing. That education is becoming free. While most of these courses allow you to audit and require fees for certification, you still get access to the full learning material. And once you learn the skill, even without the certification you can land jobs. And also there are platforms such as Alisona nd Udacity where you can take amazing courses for free.

Not to mention providers such as udemy and linkedin which offer inexpensive courses created by industry experts. As the saying goes, the world is your oyster and what will your verse be? So take some of these free online courses with certificates and follow your dream career! Are you still confused? Then take your time and go through our online course comparison to have a better grasp on what to choose. All the best!

Explore Popular Platforms Certification Courses

Edx Courses & Certifications	Swayam Courses & Certifications
Coursera Courses & Certifications	Edureka Courses & Certifications
Simplilearn Courses & Certifications	Udacity Courses & Certifications
Futurelearn Courses & Certifications	Upgrad Courses & Certifications
Great Learning Courses & Certifications	Talentedge Courses & Certifications

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Do I get full access to these free online courses with certificates?

This depends on the course provider. For Swayam courses, you can take the course and if you wish to have the certificate, you will pay a small fee. Whereas Alison provides free courses. When it comes to Coursera, Edx, etc. there is financial aid as well as auditing facilities available.

2. What are the benefits of these free online courses with certificates?

The main benefit is that they are free of cost. The second would be that all of these courses are provided by reliable, reputed providers who go through a thorough examination of each course. These free online courses with certificates are created by industry experts and institutes. And what’s more, for most of these free certification courses, self-paced learning is adopted. Hence you get to choose the pace of your study.

3. Are there any online degree or diploma courses that are offered for free?

Most providers don’t offer free full-fledged courses. But do take a look at out collated list of online degree courses and online diploma courses.

4. What is the duration of these free certification courses?

The duration can vary due to different course providers, the difficulty of level of course, etc. There are also specialised free certification courses which are very short. On an average these free certification courses can range from a few days to a few months.

5. Are there any costs at all for these free certification courses?

This would also depend on the course as well as the course provider. For example, Udemy offers specific free certification courses that are completely free. Other times, they offer very inexpensive courses, which you should also check out. When it comes to Alison, all the courses are free. There are also providers such as Swayam (Govt. Initiative) which offers free online courses with certificates in India.