Free AI learning from the world’s best AI universities
In 2026, AI is not a niche skill. It is how people write, research, build and decide, and by 2040 it will be as ordinary as spreadsheets are today. The good news is that the organizations building AI also teach it, often for free. This page is our definitive directory: every provider below has a free way in, and every course carries an honest cost label and an honest note on whether it gives a certificate or badge. We checked each link, and where we could not confirm something, we say so. Time estimates are ours unless the provider states them.
What you’ll be able to do
Find the right door
Pick a provider that matches your level, your goal and your budget, in a few minutes, not a few weekends.
Read cost labels honestly
Tell a free certificate from a free course, a free-to-audit course and a paid one before you click.
Earn something you can show
Choose the free badges and certificates that are confirmed, and know which courses simply teach without one.
Start with no experience
Begin with plain-language courses that need no coding and no maths, then step up when you are ready.
Build with real tools
Move into hands-on courses on agents, language models and deep learning when you want to make things.
Guide younger learners
Find free AI curricula for kids, teens and teachers, ready to use in class, at a club or at home.
Quick index
Jump straight to a provider, or narrow the list with a filter.
Ordered to help you choose: start with plain-language AI literacy, move to the big technology companies, then to builder courses and universities, and finish with kids and classroom resources.
Elements of AI
Best for: Complete beginners who want the big picture of AI with no math and no coding.
Introduction to AI (Part 1)
You earn: Understanding of what AI is, what it can and cannot do, and how it affects daily life. A completion certificate is available (see the FAQ for how to get it). Cost:Free course · certificate terms: see FAQ · Time: About 30 hours (est.) · Level: Beginner
You earn: Hands-on look at the algorithms behind AI; basic Python is recommended. The FAQ mentions payment methods for the Building AI certificate, so treat that certificate as possibly paid and check before you start. Cost:Free course · certificate may carry a fee (not confirmed) · Time: About 50 hours (est.) · Level: Intermediate
Coach’s note: Created by MinnaLearn and the University of Helsinki.
Anthropic Academy
Best for: Anyone who wants to work well with AI, from first-time users to developers building with an API.
Claude 101
You earn: Certificate of completion. Everyday work tasks with an AI assistant, core features and where to learn next. Cost:Free certificate · Time: About 1 hour (est.) · Level: Beginner
You earn: Certificate of completion after the final assessment. A framework for collaborating with AI effectively, efficiently, ethically and safely, developed with Prof. Joseph Feller and Prof. Rick Dakan. Cost:Free certificate · Time: About 3 to 4 hours (est.) · Level: Beginner
You earn: Role-specific versions of the AI Fluency course. Certificate not confirmed for these two on their pages. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: Hours not stated · Level: Beginner
Building with the Claude API & Introduction to Model Context Protocol
You earn: Developer courses on the API, tools and the Model Context Protocol. Certificate not confirmed. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: Hours not stated · Level: Intermediate
Coach’s note: The academy lists 23 courses and paths; we picked the ones a Curiosity Coach is most likely to use.
OpenAI Academy
Best for: People who want to use ChatGPT well at work, in class or in a community, and builders who use Codex or the API.
Learning paths: Apply AI at Work, Build with AI, Lead AI Adoption, Teach and learn with AI
You earn: Four role-based paths: prompting and review habits for knowledge workers, building with Codex or the API, an AI strategy draft for leaders, and AI for teaching and career preparation. Cost:Free to join (no price shown) · certificate not confirmed · Time: Hours not stated · Level: Beginner
ChatGPT fundamentals, Introduction to Prompt Engineering, ChatGPT for any role
You earn: Popular short resources in the public library: videos, guides and bootcamp recordings (including Codex bootcamps). Cost:Free to view · certificate not confirmed · Time: Short resources, about 1 hour each (est.) · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: Secondary news sources report OpenAI certification courses (AI Foundations and ChatGPT Foundations for Teachers) that were first offered to pilot partners. We could not confirm on an official, reachable page that they are open to everyone or free, so we do not promise a certificate here.
Google
Best for: Beginners who want a trusted overview (AI Essentials, Grow with Google) and learners ready for hands-on machine learning (ML Crash Course, Google Skills).
Google Skills (formerly Cloud Skills Boost)
You earn: Skill badges earned by completing skill-badge courses, plus shareable credentials for certificate learning paths. Topics include Vertex AI, Gemini and prompt design. Some hands-on labs use credits (the GEAR program gives 35 monthly credits at no cost) and the site also links paid subscription plans, so check what your plan includes. Cost:Free badge on free-tier content · some labs and plans paid · Time: Varies by path · Level: Beginner to Intermediate
You earn: A fast-paced, practical introduction to machine learning with interactive lessons. No certificate is mentioned on the course page. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: Hours not stated · Level: Beginner to Intermediate
You earn: Short courses such as AI for Educators (about 2 hours) and AI for Students; the page names Generative AI for Educators, Make AI Work for You and AI for Students as no-cost workshops. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: About 2 hours for AI for Educators · Level: Beginner
You earn: A Google certificate through Coursera: 5 modules, under 5 hours of content, no experience needed. In the U.S. and Canada it costs $49 USD per month after a 7-day free trial, and the trial is the only free access listed. Cost:Paid certificate · $49 USD per month after a 7-day free trial (U.S. and Canada) · Time: Under 5 hours · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: Google Skills pages return a bot-wall (HTTP 403) to scripts, so we confirmed its content through the page text instead.
Microsoft Learn
Best for: Aspiring builders who want a structured, hands-on route into AI applications and agents, with free open-source lessons beside it.
Get started with AI applications and agents on Azure
You earn: A 7-module beginner learning path covering generative AI and agents, text analysis, speech, computer vision, information extraction and Microsoft Foundry IQ. You should know basic computing and Python. Each module carries an achievement on your Learn profile. Cost:Free course · profile achievements · Time: About 8 to 10 hours (est.) · Level: Beginner
You earn: A short module on how Microsoft builds AI with current technology, securely and at scale. A good first step before the full path. Cost:Free course · profile achievement · Time: About 1 hour (est.) · Level: Beginner
Best for: Students, adults and educators who want a free, verifiable digital credential.
Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals
You earn: The IBM SkillsBuild Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals digital credential (Credly). Pass the graded quizzes and final assessments and complete the practice simulations. Credly lists the level as Intermediate even though the content is concept-first. Register on SkillsBuild first (adults, or high-school students and educators). Cost:Free badge · Time: About 10 hours (reported by news sources; Credly says only “Hours”) · Level: Beginner to Intermediate
SkillsBuild AI catalogue for students and teachers
You earn: Free classroom-ready AI learning plans and a teacher toolkit for high school. Cost:Free course · badges vary by plan · Time: Varies · Level: Beginner
Best for: Learners heading toward cloud careers, and career-changers who can watch for the next scholarship window.
AWS Skill Builder free tier
You earn: AWS describes its free tier as hundreds of self-paced digital courses and learning plans, including generative AI and responsible AI. Some courses award a badge on a final assessment; paid subscription tiers exist for labs and exam prep. Cost:Free course · badge on selected courses · paid tiers exist · Time: Varies by course · Level: Beginner to Intermediate
You earn: A fully funded scholarship: a 15-hour generative AI fundamentals challenge, then a three-month Udacity Nanodegree for the top 4,500 performers. The 2026 challenge phase is full. Watch the page for a 2027 window. Cost:Free scholarship · closed for 2026 · Time: About 15 hours for the challenge phase · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: If a link asks you to sign in, create a free AWS Builder ID.
NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute
Best for: Curious builders who like short, hands-on, GPU-flavored courses.
Free self-paced courses
You earn: NVIDIA says many popular self-paced courses are free, can be finished in a day or less and suit beginners. Select courses offer a certificate of competency; the page does not say which, so check each course. Cost:Free course · certificate on select courses (not confirmed per course) · Time: A day or less per course · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: Instructor-led workshops are separate and paid. We list none here.
Salesforce Trailhead
Best for: Business and operations people who want game-style, bite-sized AI basics.
Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals
You earn: The Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals badge plus 100 points. Foundational level, for end users. Cost:Free badge · Time: About 1 to 2 hours (est.) · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: A free first exam attempt for the Salesforce AI Associate credential ran through the end of 2025 and may have ended with that credential. Do not plan around it.
Cisco Networking Academy
Best for: Learners who want a free, no-prerequisite AI course with an official Cisco digital badge.
Introduction to Modern AI
You earn: An official Cisco digital badge after you pass the online assessment and complete the course survey. Course directories list it at about 6 hours with no prerequisites. Cost:Free badge · Time: About 6 hours · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: Cisco's portfolio also lists IBM SkillsBuild's AI Fundamentals.
Intel Digital Readiness
Best for: Teachers and youth programs (ages 8 to 19), and community-college students through partner schools.
AI for Youth
You earn: A hands-on AI program for students aged 8 to 19 in schools and afterschool programs, with no coding or advanced math needed. It is delivered through partner schools and programs. Cost:Cost to learners not confirmed · certificate not confirmed · Time: Varies by partner · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: Intel's pages block scripted checks (HTTP 403) and do not state pricing, so we label cost and certificate honestly as not confirmed. Ask your school or partner organization first.
Hugging Face Learn
Best for: Hands-on learners who want to build with open-source models and AI agents.
AI Agents Course
You earn: Two free certificates: a Fundamentals certificate after Unit 1, and a certificate of completion after Unit 1, one use-case assignment and the final challenge. No deadline. Needs basic Python and a free Hugging Face account. Cost:Free certificate · Time: About 5 weeks at 3 to 4 hours a week · Level: Intermediate
You earn: Large language models with the Hugging Face ecosystem libraries. Certificate not confirmed. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: Self-paced · Level: Intermediate
You earn: Build with the Model Context Protocol. Certificate not confirmed. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: Self-paced · Level: Intermediate
Best for: Learners who want short, practical courses taught by industry experts, including Andrew Ng.
AI Prompting for Everyone
You earn: A short Andrew Ng course on using AI well. The videos are free to watch. Cost:Free to watch · certificate needs paid PRO · Time: Under 3 hours (est.) · Level: Beginner
You earn: How to test and improve agent behavior. Listed at 2 hours 36 minutes. Cost:Free to watch · certificate needs paid PRO · Time: About 2.6 hours · Level: Intermediate
You earn: A short course on connecting AI apps to tools and data. Cost:Free to watch · certificate needs paid PRO · Time: Short course · Level: Intermediate
Coach’s note: PRO certificate policy: the free short courses are for learning, not for a free certificate. DeepLearning.AI's help pages say a paid PRO membership is what lets you earn certificates, and a community answer says certificates are not available during the free trial. Quizzes and labs may also sit behind PRO. We do not quote a price because sources disagree. See the official membership page before you pay.
fast.ai
Best for: Coders who learn best by building real models first and learning the theory afterwards.
Practical Deep Learning for Coders
You earn: Nine lessons of about 90 minutes each on computer vision, NLP, tabular data, collaborative filtering and deployment, using PyTorch, fastai, Hugging Face Transformers and Gradio. Needs about a year of Python and high-school maths. The page does not mention a certificate. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: About 14 hours of video, plus practice · Level: Intermediate
Best for: Data-curious learners who want short, notebook-based lessons with immediate practice.
Intro to Machine Learning
You earn: Short interactive lessons you run in the browser. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: About 3 hours (est.) · Level: Beginner
You earn: The next step: neural networks in a few short lessons. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: About 4 hours (est.) · Level: Intermediate
You earn: A guided week on generative AI. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: About 5 days, short daily sessions (est.) · Level: Intermediate
Best for: Developers who want to learn from the open model and framework used across the field.
Llama documentation and Cookbook
You earn: Official docs plus runnable recipes for building with Llama models. Cost:Free course · no certificate · Time: Self-paced · Level: Intermediate
Coach’s note: These are tutorials and documentation, not graded courses.
Harvard CS50 AI
Best for: Learners with a year of Python who want a rigorous, project-based university course.
CS50’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python
You earn: Seven weeks of lectures and projects covering search, knowledge, uncertainty, optimization, learning, neural networks and language. Free on the OpenCourseWare version; submitting projects needs a free edX account. Prerequisite: CS50x or about a year of Python. Optional verified and professional certificates on edX are paid; see the enrollment page for the price. Cost:Free to audit · paid certificate (price on edX) · Time: 7 weeks of material; about 10 hours a week (est.) · Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Best for: Self-directed learners who want real MIT lecture notes, exams and videos with no sign-up.
6.S191 Introduction to Deep Learning
You earn: MIT’s beginner-friendly deep learning bootcamp; slides, labs and code are open-sourced under the MIT license. The 2026 online edition released lectures weekly. Needs basic linear algebra and calculus. Cost:Free course · no certificate · Time: About 8 to 10 hours of lectures (est.) · Level: Intermediate
You earn: A full OCW course with lecture notes and problem sets. Cost:Free course · no certificate · Time: A semester of material · Level: Intermediate
You earn: A classic AI course: search, constraint solving, learning and more. Cost:Free course · no certificate · Time: A semester of material · Level: Intermediate
Coach’s note: OCW is free lecture material, not for credit.
Stanford Online
Best for: Advanced learners who want to follow the same lectures as Stanford students.
CS336: Language Modeling from Scratch
You earn: Public course site with lectures and assignments on building language models. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: A full semester of material · Level: Advanced
CS224N: Natural Language Processing with Deep Learning
You earn: Public course page with the syllabus and materials. Cost:Free course · certificate not confirmed · Time: A full semester of material · Level: Advanced
Coach’s note: Stanford Online’s free-courses page blocks scripted checks (HTTP 403), so we link the public course sites instead. We did not find a free certificate.
Khan Academy and Khanmigo
Best for: Teachers and parents who want free, trustworthy AI-in-education tools.
AI for Education
You earn: Khan Academy’s hub on how AI can support teaching and learning. Cost:Free · no certificate · Time: Self-paced · Level: Beginner
You earn: Khan Academy says its teacher tools have no paywalls and no ads. For current Khanmigo access and any pricing, check the Khanmigo site. Cost:Free teacher tools · Khanmigo terms: check the site · Time: Self-paced · Level: Beginner
You earn: A free, flexible high school curriculum, from how AI works to building web apps with AI as a creative partner. Cost:Free course · Time: School-year course · Level: Beginner
Coach’s note: Code.org lists fourteen AI curricula from grade 3 up, including AI for Oceans and Dance Party: AI Edition.
Experience AI and Day of AI
Best for: Secondary-school teachers, club leaders and families.
Experience AI (Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind)
You earn: Free lessons for secondary classrooms and a free, three-week online course for anyone who helps educate young people, including parents and club volunteers. Cost:Free course · Time: 3 weeks for the online course · Level: Beginner
You earn: A free, grade-by-grade PreK to 12 AI literacy curriculum with teacher professional learning. Cost:Free course · Time: Classroom units · Level: Beginner
Left out on purpose: LinkedIn Learning’s generative AI paths (for example Career Essentials in Generative AI by Microsoft and LinkedIn) are not clearly free to everyone. Their pages point to a subscription, so check whether your public library or school gives free access.
Hands-on: free playgrounds and labs
Learning sticks when you make something. Try one of these in your first week.
Train a model in your browser
Google’s Teachable Machine lets you teach a model with your webcam, images or sounds, with no code.
Every provider has a free way in. We label each course honestly: Free certificate, Free badge, Free course, or Free to audit with a paid certificate. Google AI Essentials is paid (about $49 USD a month in the U.S. and Canada after a 7-day trial), so we mark it clearly. DeepLearning.AI certificates need a paid PRO plan.
We could not see a certificate or badge promise on the official page, so we will not promise one. The learning may still be excellent. Check the course page before you start if a credential matters to you.
Claude 101 (certificate of completion), IBM SkillsBuild AI Fundamentals (Credly badge), Cisco Introduction to Modern AI (digital badge) and Salesforce Trailhead’s AI Fundamentals badge are all free according to their pages.
Providers rename and move courses often (Google Cloud Skills Boost is now Google Skills, for example). Tell your coach if a link is dead and we will update it.
Track your progress
Keep a simple list: provider, course, date finished and the link to your badge or certificate. Share it with your coach.
Pick your first course today. Curiosity starts with one click.