Free certificates
Free certificates in IT and cloud
IT is the one field where most of the genuinely free credentials come from the vendor itself: Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM. That matters, because an employer recognises the vendor's name and not the name of a course marketplace. A row is listed here only when the certificate or badge is free, not merely the course.
Last checked:
20 certificates · IT and cloud
Applied Skills (scenario-based credentials)
exam is free tooMicrosoft · ~1 h
Microsoft's only free verifiable credential: a lab task in 30-45 minutes, with no proctor, no ID check and no card. Retakes are allowed.
It has to be finished in one session; there is no save and resume.
strong brandOCI Foundations Associate
exam is free tooOracle · ~12 h
A rare case where the certification exam itself is free and needs no Pearson VUE: you sit it inside MyLearn. Take the 2026 track, not the 2025 one.
Oracle's pages load via JS; confirm the $0 on the final step of registration.
strong brandValid: 18-24 monthsCS50x: Introduction to Computer Science
certificateHarvard CS50 · ~100 h
Harvard's own branded certificate is free once you pass every problem set and the final project. The edX verified certificate is a separate paid product and is not needed.
strong brandCS50P: Programming with Python
certificateHarvard CS50 · ~60 h
Same mechanism as CS50x: at least 70% on every assignment plus a final project. The certificate does not expire.
strong brandNetworking Basics
digital badgeCisco Networking Academy · ~25 h
A foundational networking course carrying a Cisco digital badge. skillsforall.com has merged into netacad.com and old links redirect.
strong brandPython Essentials 1 and 2
digital badgeCisco Networking Academy · ~60 h
A two-part course with a separate badge for each part. It also doubles as preparation for OpenEDG's paid PCEP exam.
strong brandIntroduction to Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacker
digital badgeCisco Networking Academy · ~40 h
Entry courses into cyber security. Ethical Hacker includes hands-on labs that run in the browser.
strong brandCybersecurity Fundamentals and QRadar SIEM
digital badgeIBM SkillsBuild · ~20 h
IBM Credly badges; the course page states Cost: Free outright. No card, minimum age 18.
strong brandGraph Developer Associate
exam is free tooApollo GraphQL · ~8 h
GraphQL's official associate level, free including the exam.
moderate weightGraphAcademy: Neo4j Certified Professional
exam is free tooNeo4j · ~15 h
Both the course and the certification exam are free. Graph databases are a narrow niche, which also means less competition.
moderate weightMITRE ATT&CK and purple teaming
certificateAttackIQ · ~10 h
Practical blue and purple team courses with free certificates. Reads well against SOC vacancies.
moderate weightFortinet Certified Fundamentals (formerly NSE 1-3)
certificateFortinet · ~15 h
Network security fundamentals from a vendor whose hardware is installed in Georgian companies too.
moderate weightDeveloper certificates (10+ tracks)
certificatefreeCodeCamp · ~300 h
A non-profit; a card is never requested. The certificate is issued after five projects are submitted and pass.
moderate weightFree technical courses (LFS101 and others)
certificateLinux Foundation · ~40 h
The courses themselves are free and issue a completion certificate. The paid CKA and CKAD exams are covered by the LiFT scholarship, whose next window is April 2027.
moderate weightBeacon: cyber security fundamentals
certificatePalo Alto Networks · ~20 h
Only an email address and a free Beacon account. Covers cloud security and SOC concepts.
moderate weightKubernetes Fundamentals
digital badgeDatadog · ~4 h
A short, practical course with a Credly badge. A good addition to a DevOps-facing CV.
moderate weightMongoDB University courses and badges
digital badgeMongoDB · ~30 h
The courses are free. Students also get a $150 certification voucher through the GitHub Student Pack.
moderate weightAPI Fundamentals Student Expert
digital badgePostman · ~6 h
A foundational badge for working with APIs. Fills out a portfolio for junior backend and QA roles.
moderate weightTechnical overview courses (8+)
certificateRed Hat · ~12 h
Introductory courses on OpenShift and Ansible. They do not replace the paid RHCSA certification, but they give the context.
weak signalGitLab free learning paths and badges
digital badgeGitLab · ~10 h
CI/CD and DevOps courses with badges.
Some certifications are paid; verify the free track all the way to the last step.
weak signal
Advertised as free, and is not
Alison
The course is free, the certificate is not: roughly €21-26, and €34-37 for a diploma. What you get for free is a Learner Record, which is a transcript rather than a certificate.
Coursera Financial Aid
No longer a guaranteed 100%. When approved it is a 50-100% discount that also depends on your location. You apply per course rather than per specialisation, and a decision takes up to 16 days.
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity
The One Million Certified in Cybersecurity programme closed to new entrants on 20 May 2026. The exam now costs $199. Anyone who claimed a voucher earlier can still sit it until 31 December.
Microsoft Virtual Training Days
The free exam voucher is gone: attending now earns a 50% discount applied at Pearson VUE checkout, valid for 90 days.
GitHub Student Developer Pack
The free exam voucher in the 2025-26 cycle expired on 30 June 2026. Historically a new cycle opens at the end of September, so it is worth re-checking periodically.
Great Learning Academy
The page title says free certificate; their own FAQ says the certificate is issued after completing the course and paying the fee. The fee only appears at the end.
edX and FutureLearn
The material is free, the certificate is not. edX financial aid is an 80% discount, so a card is still needed. FutureLearn's free access is limited to the course duration plus 14 days.
How to read this list
Every row states three things: what kind of document you walk away with, how much weight it carries with an employer, and when it was last checked on the provider's own page. The mark exam is free too is the rarest and means the most: it says that even the qualifying exam costs nothing.
Where a row has a note set off by a red line, there is a condition or a risk attached: a deadline, a country restriction, a student status requirement, or the fact that we could not confirm something on the provider's page. Those notes are not hidden, because they are what decides whether you lose an evening.
If you are looking for work in this field, see remote vacancies and compare what employers are actually asking for. That section is written in Georgian.
Frequently asked questions
Are there genuinely free certificates in IT and cloud?
Yes. This page collects only those IT and cloud certificates where the document itself is free and no card is asked for. Microsoft: Applied Skills (scenario-based credentials) is one of them. Every row states what kind of document you receive and when it was last checked.
Where should I start if IT and cloud is new to me?
Start with a row marked as a strong brand: that means the document is issued by the vendor itself or by a recognised institution, and an employer will know the name. Two of those are worth more than ten completion papers from a course marketplace.
What does free mean on this list?
That the document itself, the certificate or the badge, is issued at zero cost. That is not the same as a free course: the most common arrangement on this market is exactly the one where the studying is free and the certificate costs $20-70 at the end. Platforms that work that way are not listed as certificates here, they are in the warnings block.
Do I need a bank card?
One condition for being on this list is that no card is asked for, neither for payment nor for identity verification. The few exceptions are marked individually, for example time-limited offers where one exam is paid and the next one is free after it.
Are these certificates available from Georgia?
Yes. Georgia appears on no major vendor's restriction list: the recurring exclusions in the AWS and Microsoft terms are Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia and Crimea. Where a country restriction does exist it is written on that specific card.
Which free certificate actually counts with an employer?
The one issued by the vendor itself or by a recognised institution: Google, Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Oracle, HubSpot, Harvard's CS50. A completion paper from a course marketplace is a weak signal and we mark it as one. That is why every card states what weight the document carries.