Are you interested in free online courses for latest skill set or self development? That’s great! to help you out we have compiled this list of “Top 10 free online courses platforms”.

What is an Online course? An online course is a way of acquiring new skill virtually or from the comfort from your own home. Online education is not new, it’s the modern version of distance education(approx 150 years old). However, the technology is relatively new.

In today’s era, online education has become a new normal. Demand for online education websites is increasing all over the world. No matter where you are, you can complete your education along with a completion certificate. Now, what could be better than this?

There are many advantages of online courses like: Flexibility, convenience, Cost-effectiveness, etc. Yes! one of the best advantages of pursuing an online education is that, it’s much more affordable than the traditional ones even sometimes absolutely Free.

Top 10 Free Online Courses Platforms

1. Coursera

Coursera offers online courses, specializations, and degrees in a variety of subjects. It works with world leading universities and other organizations for quality courses.

Coursera courses are free to access but if you wish to earn a Course Certificate, you will need to pay. However, there are few courses that are completely free with certification. Account registration is free for everyone and after that you can choose to continue with either paid or free courses, as per your needs.

It also offers full master’s and bachelors degrees from reputed institutions.

2. Edx

The edX platform is a great source for learning new skills and refining knowledge. It offers both free and paid Online Courses. if you don’t want to pay you still get quality instruction. Edx has diverse collection of courses and topics and all it courses have a rigorous design and are well taught.

The platform offers courses created by MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and many other world recognized universities. Most of the course material is available to study for free on edX, however there are premium certification and features available for paid users.

Edx also provides financial assistance (upto 90%) for certificates based on the eligibility of the candidate.

3. Khan academy

The Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization (100% free) that provides free video tutorials, practice exercises and instructional videos. The material can also be accessed through mobile applications. The company was founded in 2008 by Mr. Salman Khan.

Khan academy aims to provide and make education available to anyone and everyone around the world free of cost. It covers various topics including maths, physics, chemistry, biology, history, grammar, economics & finance, computing, and electrical engineering.

4. Udemy

Udemy offers free and paid instructional courses on a variety of topics for professionals and students. If you want to learn a new skill or develop a current one, Udemy is a great option for learning.

The prices are quite reasonable and it also offers 30 day happiness guarantee and they refund you straight away when you pay for a class that you are unhappy with.

If you’re willing to learn, this is a great and cheap way to do it in your free time. Users can study any topic at any time, and every course purchase includes lifetime access to the classes.

5. Alison

Alison has over 1000 courses available, all absolutely free to complete, and new courses are added weekly. They offer Certificate courses, Diploma courses and Learning Paths.

There are a complete range of courses available all free of charge and all covering a number of areas from maths to business and health so anyone can further their career prospects with an extra qualification. Once you have completed your course, you can download your learner record as proof of your achievement (It’s free). But, for digital certification you need to pay. You could also refer your friends to Alison and may earn FREE Digital Certificates and Digital Diplomas.

6. Google Digital Garage

If you’re looking for a free online digital marketing course then Google digital garage would be great choice for you.

The Digital Garage is a non-profit nationwide programme from Google that offers free digital marketing skills training online. With about 26 topics, each with their individual comprehensive course materials (articles and videos), this is a great path to climb to digital proficiency.

It includes various modules covering introductory digital marketing, search engine marketing, search advertising, display advertising, mobile, social, analytics, etc.

The Digital Garage is absolutely free, self-paced, and come with a free certification at the end of the course.

7. Harvard Open learning

This platform offers a wide range of courses from Arts & Design, Business & Management, and Computer Science to Economics, Mathematics, Medicine, etc. It’s also important to note that this platform offers free courses as well as ones that require admissions and/or fees.

8. Lynda

This platform has more than 4000+ video courses and you could access all of them for US$24.98 a month. Lynda.com also offers a free trial version that you could use for a period of 30 days to see if the platform is a good fit for you. 

You can learn everything from Designing to Photography, Audio and Music to marketing, programming and web development.

Lynda also offer flexible, cost-effective group memberships for your business, school, or government organization.

9. Udacity

This platform teaches skills that meet industry standards at a price that’s much lower than that of traditional schools and colleges. 

Udacity also offers free online courses and content that you can register for free and start learning. Udacity’s provides you up-to-date practical knowledge and, they focus on real world skills that are currently most relevant.

10. MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW)

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a free  web-based publication of all MIT course content.  It has around 2400 courses. MIT OpenCourseWare makes the materials used in the teaching of almost all of MIT’s subjects available on the Web, free of charge.

Its like an open library where you can find several undergraduate and gradate level courses free of cost.

Free online courses portal by Government of India

1. Swayam

It provides all the lessons (Video lectures), taught in classrooms from Class 9 till post-graduation completely online. This portal can be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

All the courses are interactive, prepared by the best teachers in the country, and are available free of cost.  Courses delivered through SWAYAM are available free of cost to anyone, however learners wanting a SWAYAM certificate should register for the final exams that come with a minimal fee.

Website: https://swayam.gov.in/

2. NPTEL

National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is a project of MHRD created to provide quality education to anyone interested in learning from the IITs. – free of cost – for anyone to enroll and learn from. The certification involves writing an exam that is proctored and conducted in 120 cities across India. 

From 2018 summer onward, NPTEL has started offering internships to the exam toppers with the respective course instructors.

The above are some of the best platforms to learn and enhance your knowledge at your own time and pace. While some of these courses are free, there are a couple of that require a some amount to be paid.