What are the best and free learning platforms?

Coursera

Best for: University-level courses

Features: Offers courses from top universities and companies like Stanford, Yale, Google, etc. Many courses are free to audit, though certification may require payment.

Subjects: Business, technology, arts, sciences, and more.

Pros: High-quality content, top instructors, flexible learning.

Cons: Free access often excludes certificates.

2. edX

Best for: Academic learning

Features: Provides free courses from prestigious institutions like MIT, Harvard, and UC Berkeley. While courses are free to take, certificates require payment.

Subjects: Computer science, engineering, data science, humanities, and more.

Pros: High-quality academic content, flexible learning paths.

Cons: Certification is paid.

3. Khan Academy

Best for: School and pre-college level education

Features: Provides free video lessons, interactive exercises, and practice in subjects like math, science, economics, and history.

Subjects: Mainly school-level subjects like math, science, humanities, and computer programming.

Pros: Completely free, easy to follow, well-structured.

Cons: Limited to basic and pre-college level content.

4. Udemy (Free Courses Section)

Best for: Practical, skill-based learning

Features: While many Udemy courses require payment, there is a large section of free courses on various subjects.

Subjects: Programming, marketing, personal development, and more.

Pros: Wide variety of subjects, user-generated content, often practical and skill-based.

Cons: Quality varies as content is user-generated, certificates are paid.

5. FutureLearn

Best for: Short courses

Features: Partners with top universities and organizations to offer free courses. Learners can access course material for free for a limited time (usually 4-6 weeks), with the option to upgrade for certification.

Subjects: Health, teaching, business, science, and more.

Pros: Access to diverse and up-to-date content, flexibility to learn at your own pace.

Cons: Limited free access period for each course.

6. Alison

Best for: Skill development and certifications

Features: Offers a range of free online courses, with the option to pay for certificates. It focuses on workplace skills and certifications.

Subjects: IT, business, health, languages, and more.

Pros: Completely free to learn, a good range of professional courses.

Cons: Ads can be distracting, and certificates are paid.

7. OpenLearn

Best for: Academic and professional skills

Features: Free courses provided by the Open University. Topics range from arts to technology and health.

Subjects: Arts, humanities, education, sciences, technology, and more.

Pros: High-quality academic courses, free certificates for some courses.

Cons: Limited number of courses compared to other platforms.

8. YouTube

Best for: Informal learning

Features: Offers a wide variety of tutorials, lectures, and educational content. Channels like CrashCourse, TED-Ed, and MIT OpenCourseWare provide excellent free content.

Subjects: Everything from academic subjects to practical skills like cooking, programming, and more.

Pros: Completely free, broad range of content.

Cons: Content quality can vary, no official certification.

9. MIT OpenCourseWare

Best for: Self-paced learning from a top university

Features: Free online publication of MIT's course materials, offering complete courses, including lecture notes, assignments, and exams.

Subjects: Engineering, computer science, math, physics, and more.

Pros: High-quality academic material from MIT, self-paced.

Cons: No interactive features or certifications.

10. Codeacademy (Free Tier)

Best for: Coding and programming

Features: Offers interactive coding lessons for free, covering several programming languages.

Subjects: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, SQL, and more.

Pros: Hands-on, interactive learning.

Cons: Full courses and features require a paid subscription.

These platforms are excellent resources for gaining knowledge in both academic and practical areas without having to spend money. Depending on your interests, you can choose one or more to fit your learning goals.