Price: 1-month free trial
Courses available: 13,000+
Certification: Free certificates included for all courses ✅
Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning) is one of the most well established and trusted online course providers.
Lynda made it into the #1 position, because they cover all the bases.
Firstly, Lynda has one of the largest catalogs of online video courses, which is well over 13,000
Secondly, their courses are taught by vetted industry professionals, so students know they are getting relevant and reliable information.
When it comes to consuming course content, it is extremely engaging with videos, quizzes, interactive lessons and more. Lynda also has Android and iOS apps for learning on the go.
As for the price, Lynda/ LinkedIn Learning offers a 1-month free trial with no commitments or upfront cost. Instant win!
During that trial period, users can take any online course and still receive a printable certificate for free. Simply cancel after you’re done! Happy learning!
- Cloud Computing
- Data Science
- DevOps
- IT
- Web/ Software Development
- Business Stradegy
- HR
- Project Management
- Marketing
- Finance & Accounting
- Animation & Illustration
- Audio & Music
- Graphic Design
- Photography
- Web Design
- CAD
- Video/ Photo Editing
- Mobile/ App Development
- HTML/ Java/ SQL
- WordPress
- Leadership & Management
- AEC
Price: Free
Courses available: 823
Certification: Free certificates included for 823 courses ✅
Next is another well-established provider by the name of Udemy. While this provider predominantly provides courses for a fee, Udemy also has a great range of free video courses to choose from. 823 to be exact.
As an added bonus of selecting from one of their free online courses, users can also download and print a certificate of completion once done (it is sent via email).
Much like Lynda, Udemy also vets their tutors to ensure that the best learning material is available for students.
Some of their most beloved course topics that have been taken by millions of students include:
- Spanish Language
- Blogging
- Microsoft Dynamics 365
- Digital Marketing
- Linux
- Social Media Marketing
- Excel
- Blockchain
- PowerPoint
- Python
- HTML
- AWS
- Salesforce
- Java
- Dropshipping
- Premiere Pro
- iOS
- Graphic Design
- NetDevOps
- Final Cut Pro
- Mobile Development
- Programming
3. Alison (Great For IT, Science, Coding)
Price: Free
Courses available: 1,000
Certification: Free certificates included for some courses ✅
Do you know what free online course provider has over 13 million learners, 2 million graduates, and 1,000 courses? Ding, ding, ding! It’s Alison!
Unlike Lynda/ LinkedIn Learning and Udemy who create their own courses, Alison works more as a platform that organizes hundreds of free courses available all over the internet.
Some of their most popular course categories are IT, business, languages, health, humanities, science, marketing, lifestyle, math, design, web development and many more!
The major downside to Alison however, is that not all of their courses are in video format. They also don’t have a smartphone app for mobile learning either. So depending on how you absorb learning material, this might be a deal-breaker.
As a silver lining, Alison does provide a digital certification of completion (for some courses only) which you can download and print whenever you please. They also provide a paid service for receiving a hard/ digital copy of the certification as well!
4. Google Digital Garage (Best For Digital Marketing)
Price: Free
Courses available: 100+
Certification: Free certificates included for some courses ✅
While we all use Google on a daily basis, most users don’t realize that Google also has a full-fledged course platform for online learning.
As for the price… There no none! Most of these Google Digital Garage courses are completely free with included modules, no time limits, unlimited access, and videos.
Once users have completed their chosen course, they will also receive an accrediated Google certificate that can be downloaded and put on a CV or resume.
Courses are also quite interactive which keeps users engaged and eager to learn more.
Categories and classes include:
- Digital Marketing
- Productivity
- Business Security
- Business Communication
- Social psychology
- Google Cloud Platform
- Big Data
- Machine Learning
- AI
5. Oxford Home Study (Great For Management)
Price: Free
Courses available: 15
Certification: Free certificates included in 15 courses ✅
While this provider is better known for their diploma distance education courses, they also offer up a hand full of free online courses.
This small selection of free courses (15 in total) include a free certificate with no hidden fees or nasty surprises. Simply sign up, start learning, then receive a certificate of completion once done.
While the included course lineup is quite limiting, there are hundreds of other courses to choose from. Just note that the courses outside of the below list do come at a price.
Here are the 15 courses that Oxford Home Study provide for free:
- 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. Openlearning (University Quality Learning)
Price: Free + Paid
Courses available: 1,300+
Certification: Free certificates included in some courses ✅
While this provider is relatively new (when compared to Lynda and Udemy), their popularity has surged in the past few years.
As of writing this, they now have over 1 million people that have used their platform for learning online.
One way to think of Openlearning is much like Alison. Instead of producing the classes and courses themselves, they instead offer a collection of courses from universities, colleges and learning platforms from all over the internet.
While Openlearning offers mainly paid courses, they also do have a great lineup of free courses to choose from. As for the free certification, it entirely depends on the third-party provider who is running the course. But in most cases, they do supply a printable certificate, but users will have to dig through their library of classes to see which ones do.
Here are some of the free online course categories and topics OpenLearning covers:
- Design
- Blockchain
- Understanding Coffee
- Growing a Global Business
- Physics
- Cybersecurity
- English
- Japanese
- Ecotourism
- AR & VR
7. Microsoft Learn (Great For Microsoft Related Jobs)
Price: Free
Courses available: 30+
Certification: Free certificates included in some courses ✅
If you are seeking out a career in working with Microsoft products, then Microsoft Learn is right up your alley!
Just like Google Digital Garage, Microsoft also offer up their own online learning platform for those wanting to excel their skills and job prospects.
While the Google classes are broader, Microsoft Learn focuses only on Microsoft products, systems, and software. Most of the modules and classes revolve around Azure and Dynamics 365 with multiple variations depending on whether you are a beginner or advanced user.
Following the grain of this guide, all courses are free and also include an industry-recognized Microsoft certification/ accreditation.
There are also complimentary classes for such jobs as:
- Administrator
- AI Engineer
- Business Analyst
- Business USer
- Data Engineer
- Data Scientist
- Developer
- Functional Consultant
- Solution Architect
8. Facebook Blueprint (Digital Marketing With FB)
Price: Free
Courses available: 400+
Certification: Free certificate included after taking an exam ✅
So it came as no surprise that Facebook too has an extensive library of free courses, training, and classes for those using their online properties.
What makes this platform different from the rest is that students can take any of the 400+ micro online classes. However, instead of instantly receiving an accreditation or certificate, students will have to undertake an extensive exam to show what they’ve learned.
As for the exams, there are 5 in total, each specializing in a particular area from Facebook pixel ads, marketing, campaign management, API integrations, and technical implementations.
Once a student has studied some of the free online classes and takes the exam, they will then be presented with a Facebook Blueprint certificate! For digital agencies, freelancers or new job seekers, this is hugely valuable!
9. Saylor.org
Price: Free
Courses available: 323
Certification: Free certificates included for all courses ✅
Founded in 1999, Saylor has helped 100,000’s of students to gain employment, advance their careers, bolster their qualifications and upskill for free.
Being a non-profit organization, Saylor is an incredible platform with over 323 fee courses to choose form. They even supply free printable certificates upon completion of all of their courses.
While almost every other course provider on this list has video class content, Saylor is laid out in a more textbook manner. Students go through each chapter and then answer a quiz to progress in the course.
As for the types of courses that Saylor provides, here is just a small taste:
- Art History
- Biology
- Business Administration
- Chemistry
- Communication
- Computer Science
- Economics
- Philosophy
