- Free Python courses at a glance
- CS50P: the best free Python course for complete beginners
- Kaggle Learn: the quickest free Python course
- Google's Python Class and the official tutorial: not for total beginners
- A note on freeCodeCamp's Python section
- How to learn Python for free, step by step
- Which free Python course leads where
- My advice
- Frequently asked questions
The best places to learn Python for free are Harvard's CS50P course, Kaggle's Python course, Google's Python Class and the official Python tutorial, and all four cost nothing to study. Pick by your starting point: CS50P suits complete beginners, while Google's class and the official tutorial both expect you to know a little programming already.
Plenty of small business owners and marketers want Python now, mostly to automate boring jobs, clean up spreadsheets or work with AI tools. The good news is you don't need a paid bootcamp. The bad news is that half the free courses people recommend weren't written for beginners, and that's where most people give up.
Free Python courses at a glance
| Course | Who it's for | Length | Certificate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS50P (Harvard OpenCourseWare) | Beginners with or without programming experience | Ten weeks of material | Free to study; verified certificate through edX is separate |
| Kaggle Learn: Python | Beginners heading into data work | 7 lessons, about 5 hours | Free, like all Kaggle Learn courses |
| Google's Python Class | People with a little programming experience | Written lessons, videos and exercises | None |
| The Python Tutorial (python.org) | Programmers new to Python | Self-paced reading | None |
| Python wiki: books for non-programmers | Total beginners who like reading | Varies by book | None |
| freeCodeCamp | Self-taught learners | Self-paced | Check the current curriculum |
CS50P: the best free Python course for complete beginners
Harvard's CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python is designed for students with or without prior programming experience. Its course page says anyone can take it for free through OpenCourseWare by working through ten weeks of material: watch the lecture, then submit the problem set, and finish with a final project.
To get feedback on your problem sets, you'll need a free edX account. If you want a verified certificate from edX, Harvard says to enrol through edX instead, which is a separate route from the free one.
Kaggle Learn: the quickest free Python course
Kaggle's Python course is seven short lessons, from "Hello, Python" through functions, lists, loops, strings and dictionaries, to working with external libraries. Kaggle estimates about 5 hours to earn the certificate and lists the cost as "No cost, like all Kaggle Learn Courses".
It's built on Kaggle's Intro to Programming course and leads into Intro to Machine Learning, Pandas and Intro to SQL, so it's a good pick if you want Python for data or AI work.
Google's Python Class and the official tutorial: not for total beginners
Here's what people miss. Google says its Python Class is a free class for people with a little bit of programming experience, based on Google's own intensive 2-day Python training. It's excellent, but it moves fast.
The official Python Tutorial on python.org is even clearer. It says it's designed for programmers who are new to the Python language, not beginners who are new to programming. If you've never written code, start with CS50P or Kaggle and come back to these afterwards.
If you've never coded at all, the Python wiki's guide for non-programmers lists beginner books that you can buy, but which are also available as free text, website or video content, such as How to Think Like a Computer Scientist.
A note on freeCodeCamp's Python section
freeCodeCamp's older Scientific Computing with Python section now carries a note saying its content is not being updated, though it's still available. freeCodeCamp recommends its current curriculum instead, so check you're on the newest version before you start.
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How to learn Python for free, step by step
- Install Python. The official tutorial says the interpreter and standard library are freely available from python.org.
- If you're a complete beginner, start CS50P or Kaggle's Python course.
- Set aside regular time and finish the exercises, not just the videos. Both CS50P and Kaggle are built around practice.
- Once you're comfortable, work through Google's Python Class or the official tutorial to fill gaps.
- Build one small project that solves a problem in your own work, such as renaming files or tidying a spreadsheet.
You'll also want somewhere to write your code; here are some free code editors that work well for beginners. If you'd like a certificate to show at the end, my list of free online courses with certificates covers where the certificate itself is free, and my wider guide to free coding courses goes beyond Python.
Which free Python course leads where
- Kaggle says its Python course is preparation for Intro to Machine Learning, Pandas and Intro to SQL, so it's the natural route into data and AI work.
- CS50P can be taken before, during or after CS50x, Harvard's broader computer science course, which covers C, Python, SQL and JavaScript.
- Google's Python Class is the material Google uses to introduce Python to its own people, and its written content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, with code samples under Apache 2.0.
My advice
Start with CS50P if you've never coded, or Kaggle if you want results in an afternoon. Don't start with the official Python tutorial or Google's class as a total beginner: both say plainly that they're aimed at people who've programmed before, and that mismatch is why so many people decide Python is "too hard". Pick one course, finish it, then build something useful for your own business.
Frequently asked questions
Can I learn Python for free?
Yes. Harvard's CS50P, Kaggle's Python course, Google's Python Class and the official Python tutorial are all free to study online.
What is the best free Python course for beginners?
CS50P from Harvard is designed for students with or without programming experience and is free through OpenCourseWare. Kaggle's Python course is a shorter free option at about 5 hours.
Is the official Python tutorial good for beginners?
Not for complete beginners. The tutorial says it's designed for programmers who are new to Python, not beginners who are new to programming.
Can I get a free Python certificate?
Kaggle Learn courses are free, including the certificate. CS50P is free to study, but the verified certificate comes through edX as a separate route.
Is Python itself free?
Yes. The official Python tutorial says the Python interpreter and its standard library are freely available from python.org and may be freely distributed.
How long does it take to learn Python for free?
Kaggle estimates about 5 hours for its Python course. Harvard's CS50P has ten weeks of material, so it's a bigger commitment with more depth.
