Free Udemy Courses | Not to miss out on in 2021

Udemy was launched in 2010 by its founder Eren Bali. The platform has more than 300 million students taught in 65 languages and home to more than 150,000 languages. The headquarters of Udemy is located in San Francisco and has 5 satellite offices all over the world.

Udemy offers close to 600 free courses on a wide range of subjects from categories like “Web Development” to “Personal Productivity”. Its free courses give you a taster of Udemy’s paid courses. 

How To Register With Udemy?

To register with Udemy is completely free. The interface of the platform is really easy-to-use and navigate around. I have put together a step by step guide on the registration process:

1. Open a browser and visit www.udemy.com
2. Click Sign Up in the top right corner
3. Add your Full Name, Email and Create a Password
4. You’ll be sent a confirmation email

Udemy Sign Up

Once you are signed up you can begin by clicking on Categories and then start to browse the courses on offer. You are then able to use the Filter selector to be more specific in your search.

Udemy Filter Selector

Udemy’s Free Courses

Udemy made quite a significant change to its free courses as of April 2020. The platform used to offer thousands of free courses. Currently, you can find just under 600 courses for free on its platform. You may be thinking darn, I missed out on a bunch of free courses. Well, that is true, but have you considered that quantity doesn’t always mean quality. This is just one of the reasons that Udemy made the change to its free courses, so that learners really distinguish the value between free and paid courses.

Udemy browse free courses

Udemy’s new free courses are more limited than its paid courses, which makes sense, especially when you are trying to differentiate between free and paid courses. The new free courses must be no more than 2 hours of video content, and their option to direct message and QA with the teacher and other students is not available any more. The objective of the free experience is to get a taste of the topic and the instructor before deciding on whether you want to commit to a paid course or not.

The free Udemy courses that are currently being offered are the following;

• Web Development: 64 free classes
• IT & Software: 41 free classes
• Personal Transformation: 33 free classes
• Programming Languages: 23 free classes
• Microsoft: 22 free classes
• Network & Security: 19 free classes
• Personal Productivity: 18 free classes
• 3D & Animation: 15 free classes
• Digital Marketing: 13 free classes
• Web Design: 13 free classes
• WordPress: 17 free classes
• Excel: 13 free classes
• HTML: 10 free classes
• Meditation: 9 free classes
• Goal Setting: 8 free classes
• Javascript: 8 free classes
• HTML5: 7 free classes
• Investing: 6 free classes
• Blender: 5 free classes
• Blockchain: 5 free classes
• C#: 5 free classes
• CSS: 5 free classes
• Entrepreneurship Fundamentals: 5 free classes
• SEO: 5 free classes
• Adobe Illustrator: 4 free classes
• Amazon AWS: 4 free classes
• Email Marketing: 4 free classes
• Fitness: 4 free classes
• Game Development Fundamentals: 4 free classes
• Git: 4 free classes
• Java: 4 free classes
• Marketing Strategy: 4 free classes

> Check out all of Udemy’s free courses here

In short, the main advantages of studying on a free Udemy course are the following;

• Learn something new for absolutely ‘nada’
• Courses are for all with no prior knowledge needed
• Get a taste of what a paid course is like
• Not a big commit as under 2 hours of video content

Examples Of The Most Popular Free Udemy Course

Below are the 5 most popular free Udemy courses based on previous students ratings.

Code Your First Game: Arcade Classic in Javascript on Canvas – You will learn how to program a complete game and all you need is a text editor and a web browser. Learning how to display, position, and move filled shapes and much more. It has a 4.6 rating and the course has been taken by over 300,000 students.

> Check out Code Your First Game: Arcade Classic in Javascript on Canvas here

7 Scientifically Proven Steps to Increase Your Influence – You will learn the science of charisma through 7 science-based steps which will increase your impact, influence and income. It has a 4.5 rating and the course has been taken by close to 300,000 students.

> Check out 7 Scientifically Proven Steps to Increase Your Influence here

A Mini Course on Time Management – You will learn 7 steps that you can use immediately to become more productive and master time management. It has a 4.4 rating and the course has been taken by just over 200,000 students.

> Check out A Mini Course on Time Management here

Introductory Photography Course – In this 2 hour 37 minutes of on-demand video you will learn the fastest way to get off ‘Auto’ mode and unlock the creative potential of your camera. It has a 4.7 rating and the course has been taken by just over 250,000 students.

> Check out Introductory Photography Course here

Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables – The Beginner Course – You will learn how to start analyzing data with Excel’s most powerful data analysis tool, Pivot Tables, in this 50-minute on-demand video. It has a 4.6 rating and the course has been taken by close to 150,000 students.

> Check out Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables – The Beginner Course here

Udemy Paid Courses

After trying out one of Udemy’s free courses, you may decide that you want to see how a paid course compares. Udemy’s individual courses range from $10.99 to $199.99. Much of the time, its paid courses are heavily discounted, sometimes costing only 10% of what the original cost would have been. Some argue that this is a marketing strategy, but all the same you will be getting a bargain. Plus if a course is costing you under $20 it isn’t a huge financial commitment.

The main advantages of learning with a paid Udemy course are the following;

• Certificate of completion
• Courses are affordable making it accessible for most
• 30 day money-back guarantee
• Access to course via the Udemy app
• Udemy is a legit and recognized elearning platform

Udemy certificate example

Once completing a paid Udemy course you will receive a completion certificate. Do keep in mind this isn’t an official accredited certificate and may not be recognised by potential employers.

Alternative Free Courses

Udemy is not the only elearning platform that offers free courses. If you can’t find exactly what you are looking for on this platform, then I have put together some alternatives for you to consider.

Coursera

Coursera works with top universities and businesses to create its courses. It will allow you to learn for free on the majority of its courses when you choose the audit the course option. The only difference is you won’t receive an accredited certificate on course completion.

Coursera offers free courses

After you have chosen the free audit course, you will have the option to upgrade to a paid certificate at any time during the audit period. Beware, there are some degrees and specializations that don’t offer the free audit option.

Read Coursera Review

Visit Coursera.com

edX

Like Coursera, edX offers a free course Audit option. Its courses are partnered with prestigious universities and companies like Harvard and Berkeley. With the free audit option, you will be granted access to all course materials except graded assignments, and like Coursera you won’t be awarded a certificate.

edX offers free courses

Once you have completed the edX free course material, you will no longer have access to the course. If you do decide to upgrade to a verified certificate you will have the option to upgrade.

Read edX Review

Visit edx.com

Skillshare

Skillshare offers more than 3,000 courses for free with its free account. Its courses are focused on creatives like designers, artists and entrepreneurs.

Skillshare offers free courses

As well as its free courses, Skillshare has the option of the paid monthly or yearly subscription. Its monthly subscription is $19 a month and the yearly subscription is $99 annually which you can try out for a 1-month free trial.

Read Skillshare Review

Visit Skillshare.com

Final Thoughts: Free Udemy Courses

If your goal is to learn something new or discover a new hobby, then Udemy is definitely the right platform for you. It has a decent amount of free courses for you to try to get a taste of the instructor and platform, that its worth your time.

And let’s face it, if learning on a free Udemy course isn’t right, then you can simply try out one of the alternative platforms. Or if you decide to splash some cash and opt for a paid Udemy course, this won’t leave you out of budget as its paid courses are reasonably priced and self-paced, so you can fit it into your schedule.

> Try Udemy for free

Please, leave a comment below if you have any questions, and I’ll do my best to try helping you out.

Catherine Cooke

Hey. I am Catherine and have been working as a freelancer for many years now and I believe that you are in charge of your own destiny. If learning a new skill or having a career change is something you want to do, then there is no better time than the present. If you have a question please feel free to ask me anything or leave me a comment.