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The best websites for free education

(Image: Shutterstock)

Have you heard about free online education but dismissed its potential as a resource? Think again! 

Free online learning can help you out if you need skill training, personal development, or an excuse to expand your mind. Many providers offer high-quality educational content from experts.

No-cost or inexpensive online learning can benefit you if you want help with:

• Mastering a new language
• Becoming a professional artist
• Building a coding portfolio
• Advancing as a business professional

The list goes on.

Free online education can be accessed through many popular websites and apps. Let us be your guide through this crowded landscape. Read on for our roundup of websites offering free educational content in both general and topic-specific areas.

Best general websites for free education

These online learning platforms have something for everyone. They bring together courses from the world's elite institutions and experts.

Topics covered: Software development, engineering and construction, health, IT, personal development, management, and more

Paid elements: Degrees and diplomas; costs vary

Alison is an e-learning platform offering free personal development courses and paid degrees. Students can also opt for training in trades such as construction and plumbing. The service also offers free personality and well-being tests to all.

Topics covered: Business administration, data science, applied arts and sciences, public health, and more

Paid elements: Degrees, certificates, and business membership; business membership costs $399 annually per member

Coursera , a massive open online course provider, was founded in 2012 by Stanford faculty. The service offers professional development, paid degrees from the bachelor's to postgraduate level, and free courses.

SEE: Coursera review: Pros, cons, and popular courses

CreativeLive

Topics covered: Photography, Adobe Creative Suite, UX, programming, entrepreneurship, self-improvement, music production, and more

Paid elements: Paid courses; costs vary

CreativeLive is an e-learning platform that caters to entrepreneurs and artists. The site offers free and paid courses in creative topics including photography , Adobe Photoshop , and UX . Learners can also find courses in self-improvement, business, and programming.

College courses offered online: What can you take?

As remote learning gains traction, online college course providers have stepped up their offerings. Some are even free.

Topics covered: Web development, risk management, Java, international relations, social work, and more

Paid elements: Bachelor's and master's degrees, bootcamps, professional certifications, and XSeries advanced courses; costs vary

edX is an online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT alumni. The site offers both a variety of free courses and paid certifications, bootcamps, and degrees in topics including web development , risk management , and Java .

Khan Academy

Topics covered: Computer programming, math, economics, chemistry, finance, history, physics, art, and more

Paid elements: None

Khan Academy is a nonprofit, open-source library of video courses on various topics that caters to K-12 learners worldwide. The site also offers practical courses in standardized test prep , computer programming , and life skills .

MIT OpenCourseWare

Topics covered: Energy, entrepreneurship, environment and sustainability, introductory programming, transportation, and more

MIT OpenCourseWare is an extensive online catalog of past MIT course content. While the site does not offer degrees, course credit, or certification, most courses offer exams, notes, and video lectures completely for free.

eLearning platform Udemy's most popular courses

Udemy offers eLearning courses from photography to IT and software development. But is it worth your time? Read our Udemy review to get some insight.

Topics covered: Python, excel, data science, web development, data science, JavaScript, and more

Paid elements: Some paid courses; prices vary

Udemy is a global platform for free and paid online courses based in San Francisco. The service's technology video courses rank among its most popular. They cover topics including Python , web development , and data science . 

Best websites for professional development

Do you want to embark on a new career , improve your focus at work , or replace a habit with behavior that leads to greater success, happiness, and productivity? These free online coaching and professional guidance sites help you find the right steps to achieve your goals.  

Class Central

Topics covered: Humanities, business, computer science, engineering, data science, personal development, and more

Paid elements: Some paid courses among mostly free courses; costs vary

At Class Central , students can find career development , personal development , and self-improvement resources. The site's extensive partnerships with universities, course providers, and institutions make it a centralized hub for online education.

MaxKnowledge

Topics covered: Teaching, online teaching, career services, campus operations, admissions, and more

Paid elements: Annual subscription costs $195 per five people, $19 for each additional person

MaxKnowledge is a career education platform offering paid certifications and free professional development tutorials . The website, which serves over 3,000 organizations, is in line with standards established by the Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE).

Topics covered: Resume reviews, interviews, job search strategy, company profiles, resume + LinkedIn review, and more

Paid elements: Site is mostly free, but career coaches and job search services are paid; costs vary on case-by-case basis

The Muse is a free remote job search site that offers paid job coaching services. The website's mentors, coaches, and master coaches can help job searchers of all experience levels with interview tips , resumes, and promotions.

SEE: 10 productivity apps that will transform the way you work

Open Sesame

Topics covered: Compliance, safety, IT services, business skills, wellness, diversity and inclusion, and more

Paid elements: One month free, different plan levels for individuals, small businesses, and enterprises starting at $21.99 per month

Open Sesame is an e-learning platform with an extensive catalog of professional development courses, covering topics such as time management strategies . The site helps organizations find solutions to issues such as wellness, compliance, and safety in industries that include technology, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Best websites for learning a new language

Free language learning apps offer a convenient pathway to mastering a new language. Though most language learning apps offer paid subscriptions, you can get started for free on the apps listed below.

Topics covered: German, Italian, Danish, Portuguese, Swedish, Indonesian, Turkish, Russian, Norwegian, French, and more

Paid elements: $13.99 monthly for a subscription to the pro version, which offers analytics, personalized lesson help, and access to all classes

Babbel is a language-learning app covering speaking, writing, listening, and reading skills. The app (available in free and subscription versions) allows learners to focus on cultural areas of interest to keep lessons relevant and interesting.

Topics covered: Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Hindi, Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Irish, Hebrew, and more

Paid elements: $6.99 monthly for a subscription to Duolingo Plus, which offers personalized lesson support, analytics, and progress tracking

Duolingo is a free language learning app for Android, iOS, and desktop. Lessons follow a game-like format that incentivizes hitting time-based goals. The premium version is ad-free and tracks students' progress.

Topics covered: Chinese, Spanish, Yoruba, Japanese, Korean, Danish, Swedish, Mongolian, Turkish, and more

Paid elements: $8.99 monthly for a subscription to the premium version, which offers offline access to the app, analytics, and personalized lesson support

Memrise  is a UK-based online language learning platform offering free courses in 25 languages. Lessons are based on flashcard repetitions and videos of native speakers. The paid pro version offers personalized learning support and offline learning.

Best websites for picking up a new hobby or skill

Free online education also provides a route to acquiring a new skill, such as programming. For instance, free web development courses can empower you to build a coding portfolio and master programming problems .

Topics covered: JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Python, Go, Ruby, SQL, C++, Swift, and more

Paid elements: $19.99 monthly for a subscription to the pro version, which offers certifications and personalized lesson support

Codeacademy is an online learning platform that offers free courses in over 12 coding languages, command line, and Git. The site also offers a paid membership option featuring portfolio development, personalized learning plans, and professional certifications.

Check out our Codecademy review here.

Topics covered: Color pencil, acrylic, oils, portraiture, landscape, horizontal and vertical lines, and more

Paid elements: $10 monthly for a subscription to the pro version, which allows access to all courses, not just free ones

Drawspace is an online art education platform offering free tutorials and paid courses taught by professional artists. Students can take courses offered on different artistic techniques and styles at the beginner, intermediate, and expert levels.

General Assembly

Topics covered: Data science, data analytics, computer languages, product management, UX design, and more

Paid elements: Paid and free courses; costs for paid courses can vary from $500-$2,000

General Assembly is a for-profit coding bootcamp that offers courses on a variety of information technology, web development, and software engineering topics. It's among our picks for the best coding bootcamps of 2022 . The site offers a free course that teaches HTML, CSS, and JavaScript called Dash .

Topics covered: Creative writing, history, art, psychology, education, languages, math, and more

OpenLearn is a MOOC platform affiliated with the UK's Open University system. The site offers thousands of self-paced, free courses in college subjects, such as creative writing. Many courses award digital badges or statements of participation upon completion.

Topics covered: JavaScript, Github, react, web and visual design fundamentals, HTML, CSS, Git, and more

Paid elements: The Break into Tech course is $2,499, while specific skill courses cost $549 each; free courses also available

SkillCrush is a coding learning app tailored primarily to women and POC. The service's self-paced Break Into Tech + Job Guaranteed provides 180 days of job search support upon graduation and opportunities to interview with partnered companies.

SEE: 10 Websites to practice coding problems: Our picks

Topics covered: Software engineering, data science, UX/UI design , data analytics, and more

Paid elements: Mostly paid courses range in cost from $7,000-$13,000; free webinars also available

Thinkful is an online coding bootcamp offers a customized learning experience and one-on-one mentor support for bootcamp enrollees. The platform also hosts dozens of webinars each month, which are free and open to the public. Webinar topics include data analytics, career advancement, and intros to programming languages.

Topics covered: HTML/CSS, Python, JavaScript, SQL, C++, Java, data science, and more

Paid elements: $12.99 monthly for the pro version, which offers personalized lesson support, no ads, and goal-tracking features

SoloLearn is a coding learning app that teaches popular coding languages from the basic to specialist level. Key features include a downloadable offline function for mobile users and a structural chart layout for displaying course progress.

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5 Best Online Course Platforms for 2024

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• Best for access to a wide variety of courses: Coursera
• Best for access to traditional universities: edX
• Best for beginners: freeCodeCamp
• Best for rigorous technical courses: Udacity
• Best for making a portfolio: W3Schools

Online courses can be stepping stones to successful tech careers. Many let learners set their own hours, opening up opportunities for people who are working full time at the same time as they seek to gain more skills or a new certification.

When looking for the best online course platforms for people seeking tech or business skills, we assessed platforms based on the following:

• Criteria : Popularity, positive reviews and word-of-mouth.
• Practicality : May include a certification or specific tech skills, which can be included on a resume.
• Versatility : Offers courses for a variety of skill levels.
• Instructors : Who is teaching them? Is that person associated with a well-regarded university, corporation or organization? What has that person contributed to the field?
• Trustworthiness : Do users report problems with payment or false advertising?

SEE: Amazon offers AI and machine learning courses as part of its “AI Ready” initiative. (TechRepublic)

Coursera: Best for access to a wide variety of courses

Coursera is usually on lists of the best online course platforms for good reason: it offers a wide variety of courses for people at various stages of their careers and on many different subject areas of interest. Coursera partners with leading universities and corporations, and the courses are often taught by industry professionals and well-regarded academics. Coursera offers a wide variety of technology-focused courses, including on data analysis, IT and generative AI.

Some Coursera courses can be completed within the 7-day free trial. After that time period, individual Coursera courses cost between $49 and $79, depending on the course, billed monthly. A Coursera Plus subscription provides access to all courses, specializations and certificates on the site and costs $59 per month. The annual plan, Coursera Plus Annual, provides the same access for $399 per year. Businesses, universities and governments can inquire about relevant plans.

• Wide variety of courses.
• Content translated into multiple languages depending on the individual course.
• Career certificates for some courses.
• Job search guides for some courses.
• Self-paced or supervised courses.
• Degree programs from participating colleges and universities.
• Some users report problems with being over-charged or incorrectly charged for a subscription.
• Does not specialize in one field.

edX: Best for access to traditional universities

While some of the classes edX hosts, like Harvard’s well-known Introduction to Computer Science, are available for free elsewhere , the edX platform provides certifications and an extensive catalog of courses across industries affiliated with universities. edX’s tech-focused courses include artificial intelligence programming and business strategy related to AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing and more.

Many courses provided through edX are free but require payment for a certification, which can cost $50 – $300 ; prices for more advanced courses may be higher. Verizon provides one year of free access, which learners can register for with or without a Verizon account. Businesses can contact edX for information about a corporate account .

• Boot camps.
• Degree programs.
• Resume writing help.
• Some affiliated colleges are moving away from edX and shifting online classes to their own websites.
• Some users report hidden fees .

freeCodeCamp: Best for beginners

freeCodeCamp provides tutorials and courses on thousands of topics and a proprietary certification program. Beginners just learning to write code will find a wide array of tips for learning programming languages as well as more advanced instructions for applying that knowledge. freeCodeCamp’s text and video tutorials are relatively easy to access and use, even for people with little tech background. Their more advanced tech certifications include Data Analysis With Python, Information Security, Back End Development and APIs and more.

freeCodeCamp is a nonprofit and funds itself through donations. All of its offerings are free.

• All courses are free.
• Certification programs, which require five projects and associated exams to complete.
• English for Developers certification (for developers for whom English is a second language).
• Interview and job search resources.
• freeCodeCamp is a relatively small platform. This may be preferable to some learners or be underwhelming.

Udacity: Best for rigorous technical courses

Udacity sets itself apart with its nanodegree programs, which are months-long courses that mimic traditional college degrees and may result in certificates of achievement. Udacity is known for its relatively rigorous courses and hands-on components. Tech topics available as courses from Udacity include data science, programming, development, autonomous systems, product management, artificial intelligence and more.

Accessing any content on Udacity requires a subscription. A subscription costs $249 per month, or $846 for four months. A team plan for companies with 50 to 1,000 employees costs $249 per user per month. Enterprises and governments can inquire for pricing information.

• Courses in tech including AI, project management, executive leadership and more.
• Guided student projects.
• Hands-on assignments.
• Relatively expensive.
• Some reviews say the teacher-to-student ratio and quality of teachers has declined in recent years.

W3Schools: Best for making a portfolio

W3Schools provides straightforward, beginner-friendly classes focused entirely on programming, data analytics and website building. In addition, W3Schools provides services such as reference pages and website hosting, which may be useful if a learner wants to demonstrate their skills on their own website.

Pricing for W3Schools depends on the class, certification or service being used; many of the tutorials are free. An ad-free subscription costs $14.99 per month. Pricing for certification exams vary .

• Text tutorials.
• Hands-on exercises.
• Catalog of certification exams.
• Optional gamified “MyLearning” points system.
• Goal-setting tool.
• Website creation.
• HTML color code generator.
• May not be relevant to an audience already familiar with programming and the basics of data analytics or web design.
• Tutorials may be sparse and not add a lot of context about what each programming language is used for.

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• Create an email message
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Create and add an email signature in Outlook

In Outlook, you can create one or more personalized signatures for your email messages. Your signature can include text, links, pictures, and images (such as your handwritten signature or a logo).

Note:  If the steps under this New Outlook tab don't work, you may not be using new Outlook for Windows yet. Select Classic Outlook  and follow those steps instead.

Create and add an email signature

On the View tab, select   View Settings . 

Select Accounts > Signatures .

Select    New signature , then give it a distinct name.

In the editing box below the new name, type your signature, then format it with the font, color, and styles to get the appearance you want.

Select Save when you're done.

With your new signature selected from the list above the editing box, go to  Select default signatures and choose whether to apply the signature to new messages and to replies and forwards.

Select Save again.

Note:  If you have a Microsoft account, and you use Outlook and Outlook on the web or Outlook on the web for business, you need to create a signature in both products.

Create your signature and choose when Outlook adds a signature to your messages

If you want to watch how it's done, you can go directly to  the video below .

Open a new email message.

Under Select signature to edit , choose New , and in the New Signature dialog box, type a name for the signature.

Under Edit signature , compose your signature. You can change fonts, font colors, and sizes, as well as text alignment. If you want to create a more robust signature with bullets, tables, or borders, use Word to create and format your signature text, then copy and paste it into the Edit signature box. You can also use a pre-designed template  to create your signature. Download the templates in Word, customize with your personal information, and then copy and paste into the Edit signature box. 

You can add links and images to your email signature, change fonts and colors, and justify the text using the mini formatting bar under Edit signature .

You can also add social media icons and links in your signature or customize one of our pre-designed temlates. For more information, see Create a signature from a template .

To add images to your signature, see Add a logo or image to your signature .

Under Choose default signature , set the following options. 

In the E-mail account drop-down box, choose an email account to associate with the signature. You can have different signatures for each email account.

You can have a signature automatically added to all new messages. Go to in the New messages drop-down box and select one of your signatures. If you don't want to automatically add a signature to new messages, choose (none). This option does not add a signature to any messages you reply to or forward. 

You can select to have your signature automatically appear in reply and forward messages. In the  Replies/forwards drop-down, select one of your signatures. Otherwise, accept the default option of (none). 

Choose OK to save your new signature and return to your message. Outlook doesn't add your new signature to the message you opened in Step 1, even if you chose to apply the signature to all new messages. You'll have to add the signature manually to this one message. All future messages will have the signature added automatically. To add the signature manually, select Signature from the Message menu and then pick the signature you just created.

Add a logo or image to your signature

If you have a company logo or an image to add to your signature, use the following steps.

Open a new message and then select Signature > Signatures .

In the Select signature to edit box, choose the signature you want to add a logo or image to.

To resize your image, right-click the image, then choose Picture . Select the Size tab and use the options to resize your image. To keep the image proportions, make sure to keep the Lock aspect ratio checkbox checked.

When you're done, select OK , then select OK again to save the changes to your signature.

Insert a signature manually

If you don't choose to insert a signature for all new messages or replies and forwards, you can still insert a signature manually.

In your email message, on the Message tab, select Signature .

Choose your signature from the fly-out menu that appears. If you have more than one signature, you can select any of the signatures you've created.

See how it's done

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Note:  Outlook on the web is the web version of Outlook for business users with a work or school account.

Automatically add a signature to a message

You can create an email signature that you can add automatically to all outgoing messages or add manually to specific ones.

Select Settings   at the top of the page.

Select Mail >  Compose and reply .

Under Email signature , type your signature and use the available formatting options to change its appearance.

Select the default signature for new messages and replies.

Manually add your signature to a new message

If you've created a signature but didn't choose to automatically add it to all outgoing messages, you can add it later when you write an email message.

In a new message or reply, type your message.

If you created multiple signatures, choose the signature you want to use for your new message or reply.

When your email message is ready, choose Send .

Note:  Outlook.com is the web version of Outlook for users signing in with a personal Microsoft account such as an Outlook.com or Hotmail.com account.

Related articles

Create and add an email signature in Outlook for Mac

Create an email signature from a template

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