[2022] Massive List of Thousands of Free Certificates and Badges
In this article, the Class Central team has come together to compile the single largest collection on free certificate courses available online.
Certificates can be important incentives for learners to enroll in online courses and complete them. At the beginning of the modern online course movement, major platforms like Coursera, edX, and Udacity offered free certificates. But by 2015, paid certificates had largely replaced free ones.
However, universities like Harvard and Stanford still provide some free certificates. And so do platform like Courses and FutureLearn from time to time. Finally, companies like Google and Microsoft have also started offering free certificates to promote their products.
To keep track of free certificates scattered across the web, we’ve compiled the list below. And we’ll keep updating it as we discover new free certificate offerings. If you know of more, please share them in the comments!
Quick Links
The following platforms, companies, and universities offer free certificate courses. Click on one to jump to the corresponding section and see their offerings:
More Online Courses
And if you don’t find what you need in the long list below, either browse Class Central’s extensive catalog of 90,000 online courses or have a look at our curated collections:
To see all our compilations, visit Class Central’s Collections.
Free Certificates from Google
If you look for “Google” on Class Central, you will find Google and Google Cloud courses offered via online learning providers such as Coursera or Udacity. But Google also offers online courses through their own platforms and other third-party platforms. These are aggregated in their “Grow with Google” platform, which includes many courses with a free certificate.
So I looked through Google’s different learning platforms and compiled all their offerings. Then, I filtered the list to keep only Google’s free certificate courses.
Here is what I found: 600+ courses with free certificates and badges offered by Google. Topics include online business, digital marketing, Google analytics, and Google cloud.
Here are a few examples:
Harvard Free Certificates
Class Central’s @manoel wrote a comprehensive guide explaining how to earn a free certificate in CS50, Harvard’s Introduction to Computer Science, and in the other courses in the CS50 lineup, which includes the courses below.
To get the certificate for free, you’ll want to take the courses through Harvard OCW. For more details, head to Class Central’s CS50 in-depth guide. We also have course-specific guides: Harvard CS50 certificate and Harvard CS50 Python certificate.
The core course is one of the world’s most popular MOOCs with over 3.7 million enrollments on edX. It is also one of the Best Free Online Courses of All Time on Class Central.
Stanford Medicine Free Certificates & CME Credit
Stanford Medicine offers a flurry of online learning resources in the medical field, from podcasts to full-fledged courses, that include free certificates of completion.
Learners also have access to a formal transcript from Stanford, listing all the training they’ve completed. And if you work in healthcare, you can earn continuing medical education credit (CME credit) via the platform.
Here are some of Stanford free certificate offerings:
For more details on how to earn a free certificate from Stanford, head to our article: Stanford Medicine Offers Courses with Free Certificate & CME Credit.
Free Certificates from LinkedIn Learning
Class Central’s @suparn searched LinkedIn Learning’s catalog of 9,000+ courses and 425 learning paths (which consist of a set of bundled courses) and identified the ones which are available for free and offer a free certificate.
Here is what he found: 160 courses and 22 learning paths offer free certificates, which represents 750+ hours of free online learning resources. You can find the list of learning paths below. And here’s the complete list of LinkedIn Learning free certificate courses.
A LinkedIn Learning certificate is available once you complete videos, quizzes, or exams. To earn a certificate for a learning path, you need to complete all individual courses in the path.
Free Certificates from Microsoft Learn
Microsoft offers over 1960 free modules and 430 learning paths to learn about its products, such as Office 365, Visual Studio, Windows, SQL Server, and Azure. Once you finish a courses’ tutorials and quizzes, you’ll earn a badge on your learner profile.
Free Certificates from IBM Cognitive Class
IBM Cognitive Class offers over 80 courses and 20 learning paths in data science, AI, big data, cloud computing and blockchain. It also provides a virtual lab environment allowing users to practice what they’ve learned in the courses. You can earn a badge or certificate of completion when passing 70% grade of each course.
Free Certificates from Salesforce Trailhead
Trailhead is a free learning platform launched by Salesforce. It provides learning materials mainly in Salesforce related skills. You can also find topics outside of Salesforce such as Blockchain, iOS App Development, or even Civic Engagement in the US and Contact Tracer Roles and Responsibilities.
900+ modules and 100+ hands-on projects are accessible free of charge on the platform. Guided learning paths such as trails, superbadges, and career paths are offered based on modules. You can even discover or curate personalized trails with trailmixes. After finishing all of the units in each module, you can get a free badge in your profile.
Open University Free Courses
The Open University offers 800 free online courses via their OpenLearn platform. And these include free certificates of completion, and sometimes, badges.
Having completed a bachelor’s degree with the Open University, I can attest to the quality of their courses, which cover a wide variety of subjects, ranging from arts and language to science and technology.
Here are some of the courses you can take on OpenLearn:
For more details on how to earn a free certificate on OpenLearn, head to our article: 800+ Open University Free Certificates.
800 Free Digital Marketing Certificates
Digital Marketing is a broad domain that includes search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, email marketing, online public relations, and more.
Class Central’s catalog of Digital Marketing courses has grown to 1500 courses, but most of them require you to pay for a credential. So I decided to dig deeper and research free certificates related to Digital Marketing.
After tracking down as many free certificates as I could, including certificates from companies like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn Learning, Twitter, and Semrush, here is what I found: 800 Free Digital Marketing Certificates and Badges.
Here are a few examples:
Free Certificates from freeCodeCamp
freeCodeCamp is a nonprofit that can teach you how to code online for free. It includes thousands of hours of learning content exploring topics ranging from web development to machine learning. The content is structured into certifications. Each is dedicated to a particular topic and leads to a free certificate of completion.
Here are the certifications currently offered by freeCodeCamp:
Free Certificates from FutureLearn
FutureLearn offers 50+ online courses with a free “digital upgrade”, which includes unlimited access to the course and quizzes. A digital Certificate of Achievement will be available upon completion. Here’s the full list:
Free Certificates from Coursera
Coursera offers 6 free courses about COVID-19 that include a free certificate (Expiring Dec 31st, 2022). Before trying to enroll, please wait for the promo banner to load at the top of the Coursera page, so you’ll be able to redeem the course for free.
Here is the list:
Update: The following offer expired. We’ll update if more certificates become available. Update (May 19, 2021): [Ends June 2021] 60 Free Certificates From Coursera for a Limited Time.
You can also find 1600+ free courses on Coursera. They are, however, only free-to-audit. To earn a certificate you need to pay.
Free Certificates from MATLAB Academy
MathWorks, the company behind the MATLAB programming language and software, offers 13 free online courses through their MATLAB Academy platform.
The courses introduce learners to the MATLAB language and tools — with a focus on machine learning — and MathWorks’ specialized software, such as Simulink.
Most notably, MATLAB Academy courses include a free certificate of completion as well as an accompanying progress report.
Here are all the free courses currently offered on MATLAB Academy:
For more details on how to earn a free MATLAB certificate, head to our article: 20+ Hours of MATLAB Courses with Free Certificate.
Free Certificates from Kaggle
Kaggle is an online community for data scientists and machine learning practitioners. You can build your own data science and machine learning projects with over 50,000 public datasets and 400,000 public notebooks through a no-setup Jupyter Notebooks environment. Kaggle has run over 500 open competitions for learners and experts to grow data science skills. It also provides 16 free step-by-step practical courses to help you learn basic data science like Intro to Machine Learning or Feature Engineering. You’ll earn a completion certificate when you finish a course.
Free Certificates from DataCamp
30+ free courses with certificates in Python and R. Courses are designed into interactive document-based learning mode. A Statement of Accomplishment is available to download when you pass each chapter of the course.
Free Certificates from University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania offers 4 free certificate courses:
Three of these courses have been ranked among Class Central’s Best Free Online Courses of All Time. After completing the final quizzes of each course module, participants are eligible to download certificates of completion.
Free Certificates from HackerRank
HackerRank provides 21 free Skills Certification Tests including Angular, Java, Javascript and Python to help learners get certified in technical skills. Upon successfully clearing an assessment, you can promote yourself using the HackerRank certificate to peers and employers.
Free Certificates from Reaktor & University of Helsinki
The Department of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki offers several free online courses through their independent MOOC platform MOOC.fi. 8 of the 17 free courses provide
Free Certificates from Redis University
Redis University offers 7 free certificate courses to learn how to use Redis. You can earn a certificate by achieving a combined score of 65% or more on the weekly homework and the final exam before the course ends.
Free Certificates from openHPI
The MOOC platform of the Hasso Plattner Institute, openHPI, offers 70+ free certificate courses in computer science and digital technologies. Upon completion of a course, you may receive a Record of Achievement or a Confirmation of Participation.
Free Certificates from OpenSAP
OpenSAP offers 200+ free certificate courses in business and technology. You can earn a Confirmation of Participation by completing at least half a course, or a Record of Achievement by scoring at last half the points on all graded assignments.
Free Certificates from Canvas Network
60+ courses focussing on professional development (PD) for educators are free to enroll. Free badges and certificates are available though the instructor or the institution. Canvas Network does not issue a certificate.
Free Certificates from Marginal Revolution University (MRU)
Marginal Revolution University (MRU) now provides 18 economics courses and series to everyone for free. Learning videos are also available on Youtube Channel. You will earn a certificate on your MRUniversity profile if you pass the final exam of a course you will earn the certificate on your MRUniversity profile.
Free Certificates from Twitter
Twitter Flight School allows you to learn about video advertising on Twitter. You can earn the badge by completing a series of training courses and achieving 80% or higher on a final assessment.
Free Certificates from Great Learning
Great Learning offers 90+ free certificate courses in a wide variety of subjects like artificial intelligence, data science, programming, cloud computing, and digital marketing. A free certificate is available once you complete all videos and quizzes, and claim the final course certificate.
Free Certificates from upGrad
upGrad offers 30+ free tech programs. These include courses in data science, programming, web development, and management. An e-Certificate of Completion is provided in 30 days after you successfully finish all the modules within your program. Your phone number is required while registering a course and you may receive calls and messages from upGrad.
Free Certificates from Hubspot Academy
Hubspot Academy offers 20 free certificate courses in digital marketing. You can earn a certificate after completing all videos, quizzes, and exercises, and passing the certification exam.
Free Certificates from SEMRush Academy
SEMRush Academy offers 30 free certificate courses in digital marketing covering topics such as SEO, consent marketing, and competitive research.
Free Certificates from MongoDB University
MongoDB University Certificate: MongoDB Basics by @suparn
MongoDB University offers 13 courses with free certificates. You will receive a proof of completion if you achieve a grade of 65% or better on graded materials such as quizzes, labs, and a final exam.
Free Certificates from Y Combinator Startup School
Y Combinator’s Startup School offers a free online program that includes 16 courses where founders explain how they built their startups. To get certified, you need to complete the entire curriculum, participate in a group session, and submit company updates 8 weeks in a row.
Free Certificates from GitLab
GitLab offers free certification programs to grow your tech professional skills. To earn a certificate, you have to score 80% or higher on all the quizzes and assessments.
Free Certificates from Saylor Academy
Saylor Academy offers 100+ college level courses with free certificates in History, Business, Chemistry, Economics, Computer Science, and many more. To earn a free certificate, you have to pass a final exam with a grade of 70% or higher.
Free Certificates from Jovian.ai
4 free self-paced courses in Data Science with Python from Jovian.ai. After completing all weekly assignments and the course project, you can earn a verified certificate of accomplishment for free.
Free Certificates from Chinese University MOOC
Chinese University MOOC offer over 9,000 free certificate courses in Chinese. It also offers over 400 free courses with certificates in English on its global platform.
Free Certificates from Edraak
185 free courses and specializations with free certificates in Arabic. You can apply to issue a certificate after completing all learning materials and quizzes.
Free Certificates from Gacco
Gacco offers 90+ free courses with certificates in Japanese. Some courses are currently open to enroll; some are currently archived.
Free Certificates from Stepik
Stepik, an interactive computer science education platform in Russian, offers 100 free courses with free certificates. You can automatically receive a certificate after completion of the course.
Free Certificates from OpenWHO
Open WHO offers 240+ self-paced courses with free certificates in epidemics, pandemics, and health emergencies. Courses are translated in three to five different languages. There are two types of certificates: learners can earn a Certificate of Participation simply for completing the course, and a Record of Achievement if they score at least 80% on all grade assignments.
Free Certificates from FAO elearning Academy
The FAO elearning Academy offers 140+ free courses in food and nutrition security, social and economic development, and sustainable management of natural resources. A Digital Badge Certification is granted for some courses by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, after passing the final evaluation with a score of 75% or more.
Free Certificates from UN CC:e-Learn
The UN CC:e-Learn platform offers 39 free courses with certificates in climate change. Once you complete all learning materials and pass the final quiz with a score of at least 70%, a Certificate of Completion will be available for download on the course’s Certification page.
Free Certificates from Philanthropy University
PhilanthropyU offers 30+ free courses with free certificates. To get a Certificate of Achievement, you need to score at least 50% on all quizzes and assignments.
Free Certificates from Global Campus of Human Rights
The Global Campus of Human Rights offers several MOOCs. One ongoing MOOC Promoting and Protecting Human Rights: a Global Overview offers free enrollment and certificate. Upon completion of the course material, you can earn a Certificate of Completion.
Free Certificates from +Acumen
Acumen offers 15 free scheduled team certificate courses about social change. You can receive a Statement of Accomplishment after submitting all of the required assignments before the final day of the course.
Free Certificates from International Training Centre
ITCILO offers 30 free certificate courses in sustainable enterprise development, labor laws, and gender equality in the workplace. Certificates or badges can be earned by meeting each course requirements.
Free Certificates from CISCO Networking Academy
Cisco offers 12 free self-paced courses with certificates covering topics such as networking and programming.
Free Certificates from University of Urbino
The University of Urbino offers 9 courses with free certificates. A certificate and a badge can be obtained after completing all the learning materials and passing the online tests.