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 7000 free courseson a wide range of subjects from categories like “Finance & Accounting” to “Lifestyle”. What makes its free courses even more appealing is the fact you get lifetime access meaning you can retake or review the course countless times.
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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:
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 offers a wide diverse range of free courses with nearly 7000 to choose from. The best way to find all its free courses is by using the filter system. Once you have clicked on its categories within the filter section you can scroll down to Price where you can select the Free option(see image below).
Udemy Free Filter Selector
I thought it would be helpful for you to have a breakdown of the Topic’s that are offering completely free courses at Udemy.
Development: 2,181 free classes
Business: 1,576 free classes
Finance & Accounting: 463 free classes
IT & Software: 1,593 free classes
Office Productivity: 356 free classes
Personal Development: 1,603 free classes
Design: 875 free classes
Marketing: 870 free classes
Lifestyle: 341 free classes
Photography: 161 free classes
Health & Fitness: 571 free classes
Music: 310 free classes
Teaching & Academics: 1,485 free classes
Please note: that you can only receive a certificate of completion on a paid course. Free courses do not offer any certificates.
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
Retake and revise the course as many times as you please
Courses are self paced so you can set your own schedule
Widest selection of free courses compared to other platforms
Examples Of The Most Popular Free Udemy Course
I have listed below the 5 most popular free Udemy courses based on student ratings.
Web Design for Web Developers: Build Beautiful Websites! – To learn web design in 1 hour with 25+ simple-to-use rules and guidelines. You will have immediate access to the course e-book. You will learn how to make text look professionally designed and the correct use of colours and images. It has a 4.4 rating and the course has been taken by over 400,000 students.
Overcome & Develop Any Habit: Use Full Potential in Life – To learn to terminate poor habits from your life and develop healthy ones to achieve your goals and live to your full potential. You will learn how to maintain new good habits and make sure unhealthy habits don’t visit you in the future. It has a 4.4 rating and the course has been taken by over 22,000 students.
Online Business Academy eCommerce – To learn how to create your own Shopify store. You will learn how to import items from AliExpress and create your own Facebook Ads. It has a 4.4 rating and the course has been taken by over 10,000 students.
Cloud Computing With Amazon Web Services – A beginner’s guide to learn Cloud Computing with AWS. To learn how to create virtual servers in cloud, configure monitoring services, configure storage services in cloud and much more. It has a 4.2 rating and the course has been taken by over 100,000 students.
Adobe InDesign Made Easy. A beginners Guide To InDesign – To learn how to use Adobe InDesign to build comprehensive page layouts. It is a beginners course to learn the basics of Adobe InDesign. It has a 4.4 rating and the course has been taken by over 90,000 students.
After trying out one of Udemy’s free courses you may decide that you want to see how a paid course compares. Udemy mainly works on a pay per course approach with individual courses ranging from $19.99 to $199.99. I have to say one thing that many people argue is that when you pay for something you truly commit to it. This isn’t true for all but financial commitment does create an incentive to complete the course.
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 recognised 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.
If you wanting to read a more comprehensive review on Udemy then check it out here.
Alternative Free Courses
Udemy is not the only elearning platform that offers free courses. So if you can’t find what you are looking for there. Then check some of my other elearning platform suggestions for free courses.
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 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.
Like Coursera, edX offers a free course Audit option. It’s 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 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.
Skillshareoffers more than 2,000 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 $15 a month and the yearly subscription is $99 annually.
If your goal is to learn something new like a hobby, then Udemy is definitely the right platform for you. It has such a diverse pool of free courses to pick from that I am sure you will find something for you.
And let’s face it if learning on a free Udemy course isn’t right then it can’t really go that wrong. If you do decide at any point it isn’t for you there is always the option to choose from one of its other 7000 free courses or alternatively check out one of the other elearning platforms I have suggested.
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.
