Free Courses With Real Certificates: Google, AWS, More

freeCodeCamp is a nonprofit, and everything it offers is free, certifications included. It is rebuilding its curriculum around one big program called the Certified Full Stack Developer, made up of smaller certifications you earn along the way: Responsive Web Design, JavaScript, Front End Libraries, Python, Relational Databases and Back End Development and APIs.

The new certifications are stricter than the old ones. For the new Responsive Web Design certification, which went live in December 2025, you build five certification projects and then pass a 50-question exam in freeCodeCamp's free desktop exam app. The app is designed to flag cheating for human review. The older project-only certifications stay available as legacy options for now.

• What you get: a verified certificate with a public link.
• Time: large. freeCodeCamp describes the full stack curriculum as six blocks of roughly 300 hours each.
• Employer value: well known among developers, and the projects matter more than the certificate itself. Link your projects on your CV.

CS50 is Harvard's famous introduction to computer science, and it has spin-offs for Python, AI, web programming, SQL, cybersecurity and more. The trick is that there are two certificates. The CS50 Certificate is free and comes from the CS50 team itself. The verified certificate on edX costs money.

To get the free one, you must score at least 70% on every problem set and on the final project. You submit work through CS50's own tools, and the certificate is issued at a unique URL you can share.

• Deadline: CS50x 2026 started on January 1, 2026, and its final deadline is June 30, 2027. Work you finish in 2026 carries over if the course is extended.
• Time: self-paced. Most people take many weeks, since each problem set is real programming work.
• Employer value: the Harvard name helps, and finishing CS50 shows persistence. The free certificate and the paid one confirm the same requirements.

Kaggle, the data science community owned by Google, runs short, practical courses that you complete in the browser. Every course you finish gives you a free certificate of completion. Courses include Python, Pandas, Intro to Machine Learning, Intermediate Machine Learning, SQL, Data Visualization, Deep Learning and Computer Vision.

• Time: a few hours each. Intro to Machine Learning is listed at about 3 hours.
• How to find the certificate: open the Kaggle Learn page, pick the Completed tab, and click View Certificate. You can share it straight to LinkedIn.
• Employer value: light on its own. Pair it with a public Kaggle notebook or competition entry, which says far more.

Microsoft Learn has thousands of free modules, and Applied Skills are the credentials built on top of them. Instead of a multiple choice exam, you get a live virtual lab with a scenario and a list of tasks, like configuring Azure resources or building a Copilot Studio agent. You do the real work, and the lab is scored automatically.

• What you get: a Microsoft credential on your Learn profile that you can share.
• Time: beginner labs give you 30 minutes, intermediate and expert labs give you 45 minutes, and you can ask for a little extra time. Add a few hours of free Learn modules to prepare.
• Expiry: Microsoft says Applied Skills credentials do not expire, though it can retire old ones.
• The catch: Applied Skills are not the same as Microsoft Certifications. Those are proctored exams that cost money, and role-based ones must be renewed every year. Microsoft sometimes runs challenges that give exam discounts or vouchers (its Credentials AI Challenge ran from January 20 to March 2, 2026), but none was open on its official pages when we checked.

AWS gives away two kinds of free credentials. On AWS Skill Builder, you finish a learning plan and pass its assessment with at least 80% to earn a Knowledge badge on Credly. There are also badges for AWS Cloud Quest. AWS says most of its badges are free to earn, though some need a program membership, so check the Earning Criteria on each badge's Credly page.

AWS Educate is AWS's free program for learners. You sign up with just an email, no credit card, from age 13. It has self-paced training, free hands-on labs and shareable badges. Learners 18 and over also get the AWS Educate Job Board.

• The catch: the real AWS Certifications are paid. AWS lists foundational exams like Cloud Practitioner at $100, associate exams at $150, and professional and specialty exams at $300. Passing one gets you 50% off your next exam.
• Free voucher routes: AWS Educate's Emerging Talent Community (18+) has at times let members trade activity points for exam vouchers, but stock comes and goes. We could not confirm on an official AWS page that free vouchers were available in September 2026.
• Employer value: the badges show interest and basic knowledge. Cloud Practitioner or an associate certification is what recruiters search for.

Google's cloud training platform, formerly called Google Cloud Skills Boost, is now Google Skills. It offers more than 80 skill badges in Google Cloud and AI. You earn a badge by completing hands-on labs in a real Google Cloud environment, and badges are verified by Google and shareable through Credly.

Labs cost credits, but the free Starter subscription gives you 35 credits every month. Google says that is enough to earn a skill badge each month through its Innovators community. Some courses need no credits at all. University students can also request 200 free credits.

• Time: varies by badge, from a few labs to a full learning path.
• The catch: the Google Cloud certification exams are separate and paid. Google Skills' paid annual plan includes certification vouchers, but that is not free.
• Employer value: a skill badge proves you did the hands-on work, which is useful for cloud roles. A Google Cloud certification carries more weight.

Cisco's Networking Academy runs free, self-paced online courses in networking, cybersecurity, Python and more. Depending on the course, you get a certificate of completion, a statement of attendance or a digital badge.

• Short option: Introduction to Cybersecurity is a free, beginner course of about 6 hours.
• Longer option: the Junior Cybersecurity Analyst career path takes about 120 hours and ends with a digital badge.
• The catch: the courses prepare you for Cisco certifications like CCST and CCNA, but those exams are paid.
• Employer value: Cisco is a trusted name in networking, and its badges are a sensible first step for help desk and network roles.

IBM SkillsBuild is completely free and covers AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud and professional skills. When you finish the required learning, quizzes or exams, you get a digital credential on Credly that you can add to LinkedIn or your CV. Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals is one of the better known ones.

• Who can join: high school students (13 to 18), university students and adult learners (18+). Each group has its own catalogue.
• Employer value: a recognised brand badge for entry-level learning. Best used as a starting point next to a project you built.

Skillshop is Google's free training site for its ad and analytics products. You can get certified in Google Ads (Search, Display, Video, Shopping and Measurement), Google Analytics and more. These are the certifications agencies and advertisers actually ask about.

• Cost: foundational certifications are free. Google has said its newer, proctored professional certifications will charge a fee, but they were only offered in a limited pilot.
• Time: a few hours of training per certification, then an online exam.
• Expiry: Skillshop certifications are valid for one year unless the certificate says otherwise, so you have to retake them.
• Employer value: high for digital marketing jobs. Google Ads certification also counts toward the Google Partners program for agencies.

HubSpot Academy's certifications are free and online. Popular ones include Inbound (3 hours), Digital Marketing (3 hours), Social Media Marketing (5 hours), Content Marketing (8 hours) and Inbound Sales (3 hours). There are also software certifications for HubSpot's own tools.

• Expiry: strategy certifications such as Inbound Marketing, Digital Marketing and Content Marketing last two years. Software and implementation certifications usually last one year. You renew by retaking the course and exam.
• Employer value: well known in marketing, and very useful if the company uses HubSpot.

Semrush Academy runs free courses in SEO, content marketing, social media and Semrush's own tools. You take a certification exam at the end and download a personal certificate if you pass.

• Attempts: up to three tries per exam. If you fail all three, you can try again after a month.
• Expiry: one year from the date you pass.
• Employer value: a nice extra for junior SEO and content roles. Real rankings you achieved count for more.