40 Free Educational Websites: Where to Learn Online at No Cost

In this article · 8 sections

1. Why free online learning matters
2. Course platforms with structured lessons
3. University lectures and open courseware
4. Science, maths and hands-on discovery
5. Coding, design and creative skills
6. Languages and communication
7. Business, history and everyday life
8. How to make free learning stick

You can learn almost any subject online without paying tuition. The strongest free options are still the big, well-funded ones: Khan Academy for school-level maths and science, MIT OpenCourseWare and Open Yale Courses for full university lectures, the Open University's OpenLearn for short structured courses, Coursera and edX when you are happy to audit without a certificate, and Duolingo for a daily language habit.

This page started life as a list of 40 free learning sites that circulated in 2014. Online education changes quickly, so each entry below explains what the site actually is, who runs it, and whether it is still useful today. A few have closed or now charge for most of their content, and we say so plainly, because a dead link wastes the one resource free learning really costs you: your time.

The idea behind the list is older than the web. In a 1988 television interview with Bill Moyers, the science-fiction writer and biochemist Isaac Asimov imagined a future of "computer outlets in every home, each of them hooked up to enormous libraries" where anyone could follow their own curiosity. That future arrived, and it is mostly free. The hard part now is choosing well and finishing what you start.

Why free online learning matters

Formal education is expensive almost everywhere. The Webometrics ranking of world universities tracks more than 30,000 higher-education institutions, yet a degree from most of them costs far more than many families can pay. In the United States, the Project on Student Debt reported that about two-thirds of the class of 2011 graduated with loans, averaging roughly $26,600 per borrower, and the figure has risen since.

Free courses are not a replacement for every degree. Doctors, engineers and lawyers still need accredited programmes and supervised practice. But for learning a skill, testing whether a field suits you before you pay for it, or simply understanding the world better, open resources are remarkable. All you need is a connection, and a public-library computer works fine.

Course platforms with structured lessons

1. ALISON

ALISON was founded in Ireland in 2007 by Mike Feerick and is one of the oldest free course platforms. Its short courses lean towards workplace skills such as health and safety, IT, languages and business. Studying is free; certificates and an ad-free experience cost extra.

2. Coursera

Coursera was launched in 2012 by Stanford computer scientists Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller and now partners with hundreds of universities and companies. Many courses can still be audited for free, which usually gives you the videos and readings but not graded work or a certificate. Look for the "audit" option on a course page before paying.

3. edX

edX was created by Harvard and MIT in 2012, with Berkeley, Georgetown, Kyoto University, the Karolinska Institute and many others joining later. It became part of the education company 2U in 2021. Audit tracks remain the free route; verified certificates and degree programmes are paid.

4. Udacity

Udacity began in 2011 when Sebastian Thrun and colleagues put a Stanford artificial-intelligence class online and attracted a huge audience. It later moved to paid, project-based "Nanodegree" programmes in programming, data science and AI, and was acquired by Accenture in 2024. Treat it as a paid option with occasional free material.

5. Udemy free courses

Udemy is a marketplace where independent instructors sell video courses, and some publish free ones. Quality varies a lot, so read reviews and check the instructor's background. Free courses tend to be short introductions rather than complete programmes.

6. Open2Study

Open2Study offered free four-week courses from Australian universities through Open Universities Australia. The platform has since closed. For similar short university courses, OpenLearn and FutureLearn's free trial access are the closest alternatives.

7. Academic Earth

Academic Earth was once a popular index of filmed university lectures. Today much of the site points visitors towards paid online degree programmes, so use it with care and go straight to the universities' own lecture pages when you can.

8. OEDb

The Open Education Database grew from a directory of online colleges into a collection of guides and free-course listings. Directories like this are useful for discovery, but many listed links age quickly, so confirm a course is still live before you plan around it.

University lectures and open courseware

9. MIT OpenCourseWare

MIT OpenCourseWare published its first courses in 2002 and now shares materials from more than 2,500 MIT classes: syllabi, lecture notes, problem sets with solutions and, for many courses, full video lectures. There is no registration and no certificate. It is the gold standard for self-study at university level.

10. Open Yale Courses

Open Yale Courses recorded complete introductory classes in real Yale classrooms, from psychology and philosophy to physics and history. Each course offers video, audio and transcripts, and you never need an account. The collection is no longer growing, but the lectures remain excellent.

11. Tufts OpenCourseWare

Tufts University joined the open courseware movement MIT started, with particular strength in the life sciences, nutrition and international relations. Much of the original Tufts OCW site has been retired or archived, so search the university's current pages or the Internet Archive for specific materials.

12. Harvard Medical School open courseware

Harvard Medical School once published selected course materials for the public. That portal is no longer open, but Harvard now offers free-to-audit medical and public-health courses through HarvardX on edX, which is the better starting point for health topics.

13. Duke University on iTunes U

Duke, like many universities, distributed lectures through Apple's iTunes U. That channel disappeared with iTunes U itself. Duke's free courses now live mainly on Coursera, where many can be audited.

14. iTunes U

Apple's iTunes U once hosted lectures, slides and audio books from hundreds of universities. Apple wound the service down at the end of the 2021–22 school year, so the old links no longer work. Much of the same content moved to YouTube and university websites.

15. OpenLearn

OpenLearn is the free learning arm of the UK's Open University, launched in 2006. It offers hundreds of short courses, many with free statements of participation, plus articles and videos across arts, science, money, health and more. It is one of the best structured free options anywhere.

16. VideoLectures.NET

VideoLectures.NET is run from the Jožef Stefan Institute in Slovenia and archives talks from academic conferences and summer schools, with a strong focus on computer science and machine learning. It suits learners who already know the basics and want research-level material.

17. TED

TED started as a conference in 1984 and began posting talks online in 2006. Its short talks are best used as doorways: they spark interest in a topic, which a full course or a good book can then deepen. TED-Ed adds animated lessons aimed at students.

Science, maths and hands-on discovery

18. Khan Academy

Khan Academy grew out of videos Sal Khan made to tutor his cousins and became a non-profit in 2008. It covers maths from counting to calculus, plus science, economics, history and test preparation, with practice exercises that track progress. Everything is free, with no adverts.

19. Zooniverse

Zooniverse grew from Galaxy Zoo, a 2007 project that asked volunteers to classify galaxies. Today it hosts hundreds of citizen-science projects in which you help real researchers sort wildlife-camera images, transcribe historical documents or spot planets. You learn by doing genuine science.

20. HowStuffWorks

HowStuffWorks was founded in 1998 by Marshall Brain, then a university lecturer, to explain everyday technology in plain language. Its science articles and podcasts are good for quick, readable overviews; for deeper study, follow up with a textbook or course.

21. Shodor

Shodor is a non-profit in Durham, North Carolina, that has promoted computational science education since the 1990s. Its Interactivate collection lets students explore fractions, probability, geometry and fractals through small simulations. Teachers will also find lesson plans and workshop materials.

22. Maths & Science

The original list included a small site of maths and science lessons and tests for grades 1 to 12. Its availability has been patchy over the years. For the same age range, Khan Academy and the BBC's Bitesize pages are more reliable free alternatives.

23. Scitable by Nature Education

Scitable is a free library from the publisher of the journal Nature, focused on genetics, cell biology, evolution and ecology. Articles are written by scientists and pitched at undergraduate level. It is a solid, trustworthy reference for biology students.

24. Open Culture

Open Culture has been curated by Dan Colman since 2006. It gathers links to free online courses, audiobooks, e-books, language lessons and classic films in one place. Think of it as a well-kept noticeboard that points to resources hosted elsewhere.

Coding, design and creative skills

25. Codecademy

Codecademy launched in 2011 with interactive lessons that run code right in the browser. Its free tier covers the basics of Python, JavaScript, HTML and CSS; projects, quizzes and career paths sit behind a paid plan. Pair it with free documentation and small projects of your own.

26. Free Computer Books

FreeComputerBooks.com indexes legally free textbooks and lecture notes on programming, mathematics and computer science. Many entries link to books that authors or publishers have released openly, which makes it a good place to find a complete textbook for a self-study plan.

27. Drawspace

Drawspace offers step-by-step drawing lessons that start with basic shapes and shading and build towards portraits and still life. Some lessons are free and others need a membership. Regular, short practice sessions matter more than the platform you choose.

28. Layers Magazine

Layers Magazine published tutorials for Adobe software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and After Effects. The magazine and its website have closed. Adobe's own free tutorials and YouTube channels now cover the same ground and stay current with new versions.

29. Creative Overflow's Photoshop tutorial list

This was a giant blog post linking to more than 950 Photoshop tutorials. Collections like it date quickly as software changes and linked blogs disappear. Use Adobe's Learn pages for up-to-date techniques.

30. JustinGuitar

JustinGuitar is run by Australian guitar teacher Justin Sandercoe, who has offered structured beginner-to-advanced courses free since the early 2000s. Lessons cover chords, rhythm, technique and music theory in a sensible order, and a paid app is optional.

Languages and communication

31. Duolingo

Duolingo was created by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker and launched publicly in 2012. Early on, learners helped translate web content, a model the company later dropped. Today it is a free, game-like app with dozens of languages; a paid tier removes adverts.

32. BBC Languages

BBC Languages offered free courses and phrase guides in dozens of languages. The BBC stopped updating it in 2011 and the pages are now archived, so some audio and interactive features no longer work. The archived guides are still handy for basic phrases.

33. American Sign Language Browser

The ASL Browser from Michigan State University's Communication Technology Lab shows short videos of individual signs with descriptions. It is a dictionary rather than a full course, so combine it with lessons from a Deaf-led teacher or community class.

Business, history and everyday life

34. My Own Business

My Own Business Institute offers a free course on starting and running a small business, covering business plans, accounting, marketing and insurance. Since 2015 it has been hosted by Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business.

35. Kutztown University small business courses

The Small Business Development Center at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania offered free online business courses. America's network of Small Business Development Centers still runs free workshops and advice; the U.S. Small Business Administration's online Learning Center is a good substitute.

36. Liberty Classroom

Liberty Classroom was set up by the author Tom Woods to teach history and economics. Most of it requires a paid membership, and it presents a libertarian point of view. It is worth knowing that before you start, and balancing it with other perspectives.

37. Lifehacker

Lifehacker is a long-running site of practical tips on productivity, money, technology and home life. It is not a course, but its how-to articles often answer the small practical questions formal education skips.

38. The University of Reddit

The University of Reddit was a volunteer-run site where anyone could offer a free class. It has since gone offline. Subject communities on Reddit, such as those for learning programming or languages, still share study plans and answer questions.

39. No Excuse List

No Excuse List is a directory of free and low-cost learning websites sorted by topic. Like most directories, its value depends on how recently the links were checked, so expect some dead ends.

40. Unplug the TV

Unplug the TV picked a random educational video for you to watch instead of television. The site is no longer active. You can recreate the idea with a playlist of documentaries or lecture series saved for evenings.

How to make free learning stick

Free courses have one well-known weakness: few people finish them. A 2019 analysis in Science by Justin Reich and José Ruipérez-Valiente found that only a small fraction of learners who enrolled in MIT and Harvard courses on edX completed them, and that rate barely improved over six years. The material was not the problem. Motivation and structure were.

• Pick one course at a time. Bookmarking forty sites feels productive, but finishing one teaches far more.
• Set a fixed weekly slot. Two or three sessions of 30–45 minutes beat an occasional marathon.
• Do the exercises. Watching lectures gives a sense of understanding; problem sets and projects show whether it is real.
• Find people. A study partner, a forum or a local library group keeps you accountable.
• Know when you need a credential. Employers in some fields expect accredited qualifications. Use free courses to prepare and to choose a path, then pay only for what you truly need.

Two myths are worth dropping. The first is that free means low quality: the lectures on MIT OpenCourseWare and Open Yale Courses are the same ones paying students attended. The second is that a certificate proves learning. What you can explain, build or solve is the real evidence.

Sources: original list from I Heart Intelligence; MIT OpenCourseWare: About; Khan Academy: About; OpenLearn; Reich and Ruipérez-Valiente, "The MOOC pivot", Science (2019); Ranking Web of Universities (Webometrics).

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