AI skills are now essential for many technical positions, but training and certification can be expensive.
Fortunately, major tech companies and popular educational platforms offer free and low-cost AI courses. These programs help professionals acquire the required skills at different stages of their careers without spending a lot of money.
Most of these free and affordable AI certifications focus on practical skills, from understanding AI fundamentals to applying machine learning concepts, with some including certificates or digital credentials. For tech professionals who want to build AI skills without having to make money, these options provide an accessible starting point.
Here are five free and low-cost AI certification options worth considering.
1. AWS Basics of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence: Best for lay people working with AWS services
AWS Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence is a beginner-friendly short course to introduce the concepts of artificial intelligence and machine learning. The one-module program explains how AI, ML, deep learning and generative AI are connected and helps students understand the basic terms and ideas without requiring technical expertise.
The course also introduces several AWS services that leverage AI and ML capabilities and offers practical context for how these tools are used in various industries. Designed to take about an hour to complete, the course is free, self-paced, and flexible, making it an ideal choice for professionals who want a quick introduction to AI in an AWS environment.
2. Google Cloud Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Learning Path: Best for hands-on cloud-based AI skills
The Google Cloud Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence curriculum is a structured collection of courses designed to help students build practical artificial intelligence skills using Google Cloud technologies.
The program covers skills for beginners, intermediate and advanced users, including topics such as generative AI, ML workflows and deploying models with various tools. This free course is suitable for technical professionals and developers who want hands-on experience with cloud-based AI systems.
The learning path emphasizes real-world applications, with courses focused on building, deploying, and managing ML models rather than theory itself. Access to the lessons in this learning path is free, but those who want to earn the industry-recognized Google Cloud Professional Machine Learning Engineer certification must pass an exam that costs $200.
3. Microsoft’s Introduction to AI in Azure: Best for getting familiar with Azure AI Studio
The Microsoft tutorial Introduction to AI in Azure provides an introduction to AI concepts and their implementation using Microsoft Azure services.
The self-paced program includes 14 modules and takes just over 10 hours to complete, covering topics such as machine learning, generative artificial intelligence, natural language processing and more. Through this learning journey, students will understand how large language models work, how AI agents and generative applications are built, and how Azure AI Foundry supports secure and scalable AI development.
The curriculum emphasizes practical use of Azure tools while reinforcing Microsoft’s responsible AI principles. Students have access to various modules on managing AI solutions, from model training to deploying generative AI applications. The course is designed for beginners with some knowledge of Azure and the Azure Portal and is relevant for roles such as developers, AI engineers and solution architects.
4. AI for Everyone: Best for understanding AI concepts
Artificial Intelligence for Everyone offered by DeepLearning.AI on Coursera is a beginner’s course that explains artificial intelligence without requiring technical skills.
The program focuses on basic AI concepts, common terminology, and real-world applications with an emphasis on how AI can be applied to business and organizations. Non-technical professionals who want to understand how AI works and technical practitioners who want to expand their knowledge of AI capabilities will find this free course valuable.
This Coursera course breaks down complex ideas into a manageable number of structured modules, prioritizing practical understanding over hands-on coding. Rather than teaching how to build AI systems, it explains why organizations use AI and what problems it can realistically solve.
The self-paced course is free to audit or $31 for a certificate through Coursera and takes about six hours to complete.
5. IBM AI Developer Professional Certificate: Best for building job-ready AI development skills
The IBM AI Developer Professional Certificate is a program designed to help students build job-ready skills in AI and generative AI.
The certificate is taught by the IBM Skills Network Team and is delivered as a series of 10 courses that cover the fundamental concepts, terminology and applications of artificial intelligence. Students will be introduced to generative AI models and can gain experience building AI-based applications and chatbots using common programming frameworks and tools.
This program focuses on practical outcomes, including how to use Python and Flask to develop and deploy AI applications on the web. Professionals can follow a flexible schedule that they customize and complete within six months.
Students can subscribe to Coursera for $20 per month and receive a shareable certificate, access practice materials, assignments, discussion forums, and more.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in our sister publication eWeek.