Learn How To Query Databases With 2024‘s Top 13+ Best Free Online SQL Courses & Certificates
SQL is a must-have skill for anyone working with data, so if you’re looking to start a career in SQL or enhance your skills, you’re in the right place!
After extensive research, I have compiled a list of the best free online SQL courses in 2024 that cover a broad range of concepts such as building tables, running queries, using aggregate functions, and more!
In all of these courses, you will be taught by experienced industry professionals and can even receive a verified certificate of completion. Let’s get started!
Top 13+ Best Free Online SQL Courses, Trianing & Certificates 2024
1. SQL Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning)
If you want to get a broad overview of SQL and go through a real-world example of SQL in action, then this beginner-level 3 hour-long course is a fantastic place to start!
For this online course, you will be taught by Bill Weinman, a tech advocate, entrepreneur, and expert in programming languages such as SQL and Python. Bill’s list of prestigious clients includes the likes of NASA, IBM, and BankAmerica to name a few.
In this beginner SQL course, you will learn concepts such as organizing databases, creating tables, inserting and updating data, sorting and filtering, accessing related tables with JOIN, using aggregate functions, creating views, and much more.
More than 80,000 people have already started their SQL journey through this course, and new users can even take the course for free and earn a certificate of completion!
- Beginner level
- 3 hours long
- Well renowned expert trainer
- 11 chapter quizzes and 1 project
- Access on tablet and phone
- Certificate of completion
2. SQL for Newcomers (Skillshare)
With more than 10 hours of beginner-level learning material broken down into short lessons, this is the perfect course for you if you are just getting started with SQL and want to build up your skills from scratch.
Your instructor for this free online SQL course is Sameh Sharaf, a data engineer with 8 years of experience, and a certified AWS Solution Architect, and a Google Cloud Data Engineer Professional. So you will be in good hands!
Over a course of 120 lessons, you will get hands-on with PostgreSQL, a free and open-source relational database management system. Sameh will also teach you everything from setting up PostgreSQL, understanding data types, using filters, advanced functions, and manipulating records.
For a limited time, Skillshare is providing a 1-month free trial which allows new students to access this course plus the 29,000+ other on the platform. Overall, one of the best online SQL courses for complete beginners!
- Beginner level
- 120 lessons in 10+ hours
- Taught by certified professional
- 443 students enrolled
- Discussion section for queries
Activate FREE Skillshare Trial
3. The Complete SQL Bootcamp 2020: Go from Zero to Hero (Udemy)
If you want a feature-packed SQL course that will start from scratch and take you all the way to highly advanced topics, then this SQL Bootcamp is a great starting point. With an average rating of 4.7 from over 71,000 students, you can be sure that this class is pure quality!
In this online SQL course, you will be taught by Jose Portilla, a Data Science Trainer and Consultant who currently heads the Data Science department at Pierian Data Inc. and has provided training services to a number of Fortune 500 companies including McKinsey, General Electric, and Credit Suisse.
Through 9 hours of on-demand video, you will learn how to use SQL and PostgreSQL to query a database, to replicate real-world situations and query reports, to perform data analysis, and to perform GROUP BY statements. By the the end of it, you should be comfortable putting SQL and PostgreSQL on your resume.
Udemy is offering lifetime access to this course for a limited-time 90% discount along with a verified certificate of completion. You can even make use of subtitles in 8 different languages!
If the class is not on sale at the time of reading this, you can see my guide here on how to get free courses and courses that are 90% off.
- Beginner-to-advanced
- 9 hours of on-demand video
- Full lifetime access
- Taught by experienced industry professional
- Certificate of completion
- Best selling teacher
- Limited-time 90% discount
4. Introduction to Databases and SQL (FutureLearn)
Up next in our list is a course on the basics of databases and SQL produced by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and supported by Google. If you’re looking to go over all the basics of using SQL to deal with data without ramping up your weekly workload too much, you should get yourself enrolled in this course.
In this course, you will be taught by Matt Hogan, who is the Learning Manager (Secondary) at Raspberry Pi Foundation, and worked previously as a computing and ICT teacher.
In this beginner-level online SQL course that will require just 2 hours of weekly effort from you for a period of 3 weeks, you will learn to produce SQL statements to search and update a database, apply filters in SQL statements, produce SQL statements to search across multiple tables, explain the comparison of databases to spreadsheets, demonstrate how to use SQL statements to create relationships for tables, and much more.
You can gain free access to this course for 5 weeks, which is rated at an average of 4.6 stars by 31 students who completed it. For a small fee, you can even get a verified certificate of completion!
- Beginner level
- 2 hours/week for 3 weeks
- Supported by Google
- Free access for 5 weeks
- Upgrade for $44 to get a verified certificate
5. Developing SQL Databases (edX)
If you are already familiar with fundamental database concepts and want to take the next step in building your knowledge and furthering your career. Then this intermediate-level course on SQL databases developed by Microsoft is a great starting point
For this course, you will be instructed by Geoff Allix, a Microsoft Certified IT Professional for SQL Servers, and Pete Harris, a Senior Content Developer in Microsoft’s Learning Experiences division.
In this self-paced course which will take up to 16 hours to complete, you will learn about various features and technologies for implementing databases, logical table design, and ensuring data integrity. There are also lessons on creating database objects such as views, stored procedures, columned indexes, and much more.
You can enrol in this edX course for free to go through all the learning material, however, you will have to pay a nominal fee to get a verified certificate that is sure to increase your job prospects! Overall, this is hands down one of the best online SQL courses taught by nonother than Microsoft!
- Intermediate level
- 16 hours of effort
- Self-paced
- Taught by experienced Microsoft professionals
- Free to audit
- Verified certificate for $99
6. Excel to MySQL: Analytic Techniques for Business Specialization (Coursera)
If you want to be able to drive business change and create a real positive impact through your data management skills, then this beginner-level specialization course will equip you with all the necessary tools to do so. Currently, this online course has an averge rating of 4.6 and over 15,000 students who have completed it.
Your instructor for this course is Daniel Egger, who is a the Executive in Residence and Director at the Center for Quantitative Modelling at the Pratt School of Engineering, and Jana Schaich Borg, Assistant Research Professor at the Social Science Research Institute.
Through 4 industry-relevant courses, you will learn to frame business challenges as data questions, use powerful tools such as Excel, Tableau, and MySQL to analyze data, create forecasts and models, design visualizations, and communicate your insights. A final Capstone project will give you the opportunity to apply your skills and justify improvements to a real-world business process.
With Coursera’s specializations, you get the opportunity to learn with flexible schedules from top-quality professionals and earn a verified and share-able certificate after completing every course. You can even apply for financial aid if you are unable to pay the full fees!
- Beginner level
- 4 courses
- 7 months to complete
- Financial aid available
- Certificate of completions
- Capstone project sponsored by Airbnb
7. SQL: Master SQL Database Queries in Just 90 Mins! (Skillshare)
If you are short on time and want to master the art of writing SQL queries so that you can get valuable insights from data any time you want, you should get started with this free 90-minute course on Skillshare right away and join the 3700+ students who are already taking it.
You will be taught by Bash at BizTechMatters, an Online Teaching Excel Expert with over 10 years of IT and teaching experience, and over 10 popular courses on Skillshare related to SQL, Excel, and data management.
In this beginner-level online SQL course containing 15 digestible videos, you will learn topics such as SQL and databases, simple to advanced single table queries, joining multiple tables, writing subqueries, and much more.
You can take full advantage of the 2 hands-on projects and a thriving discussion session to make sure your foundations are strong, along with a free 1-month premium access offer put up by Skillshare for a limited time!
- Beginner level
- 1 ½ hour long
- 15 digestible lessons
- Experienced instructor
- 2 hands-on projects
- Free 1-month premium access for limited time
Activate FREE Skillshare Trial
8. Intro to SQL: Querying and managing data (Khan Academy)
Like all of Khan Academy’s offerings, this online SQL course will teach you all the basics you need to know to build a strong foundation and start a career in SQL databases.
Khan Academy has established itself as a household name by maintaining a high standard of teaching for the past 12 years, and while you won’t know who your instructor is, you can be sure that you are receiving world-class education from top-quality teachers.
In this beginner-level course that spans 5 sections, you will start with the basics of SQL and learn how to create tables and select data in various different ways. Then you will move on to more advanced topics that will teach you how to store related data in multiple tables, use the JOIN functionality, how to update and delete data, and how to change table schemas with SQL commands.
The best part about this course is that there are no barriers – you can access the high-quality content from wherever you want, whenever you want, without having to pay anything! Overall, this is one of the best SQL courses in 2024.
- Beginner level
- 5 sections
- World-class education
- Free of cost
- Challenges after every lesson
- Projects in each section
9. Learn SQL (Codecademy)
If you are someone in search of a tried and tested course that will teach you all the basics of using SQL to work with relational databases, then this Codecademy course is the right fit for you. The biggest testament to the quality it offers is that it has been taken by more than a million people.
You will be taught by the very best teachers at Codecademy, who have developed courses that are popular with the employees of giant corporations such as Google, Facebook, NASA, IBM, and Dropbox.
In this beginner-level and 7 hours-long course, you will learn how to use SQL to access, create, and update data stored in a database, perform complex queries by learning essential keywords and functionality, use powerful functions to perform complex database operations with ease, and expand your SQL skills by creating and manipulating databases with multiple related tables.
Although you can access all the learning content for free, you can pay a small amount to upgrade to the Pro version and gain access to real-world projects, step-by-step guidance, and peer support!
- Beginner level
- 7 hours long
- Developed by field experts at Codecademy
- Free access to course contents
- Pay $15.99 a month to upgrade to Pro
- Gain access to real-world projects with Pro membership
10. SQL for Data Analysis: Weekender Crash Course for Beginners (Udemy)
A lot of people sign up for courses but never finish them, but the creators of this beginner-level SQL course at Udemy have made extra efforts to make sure they make learning fun and engaging so that you do not have to force yourself to complete it. The numbers testify to this, with over 57,000 students enrolled and an average rating of 4.3 stars given to this course.
Your instructors for this online SQL class will be David Kim, Product Manager at Udemy and a UC Berkeley graduate who has been with Udemy since 2012, and Peter Sefton, a Data Scientist at Udemy who is a Stanford graduate and working with Udemy since 2013.
By taking this 3 ½ hour long course, you will learn how to analyze user behavior, make data-driven decisions, discover incredible marketing statistics, find actionable business insights, and measure and track marketing efforts. The course is structured so that you’ll pretend as if you are a real business so that the stuff you learn is easy to apply to your own situation.
Udemy is offering full lifetime access to this course for a limited-time discount of 86% along with a 30-day money back guarantee, and a verified certificate of completion!
- Beginner level
- 3 ½ hours long
- Experienced instructors
- Full lifetime access
- Real-world applicable knowledge
- Certificate of completion
- Limited-time discount of 86%
11) Learning SQL Programming (LinkedIn Learning)
If you are searching for a course that will teach you the basics of SQL and offer you CPE credits recognized by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), then this beginner-level SQL Programming course offered by LinkedIn is what you should head towards. Join the 160,000+ viewers who have already upgraded their skillset by taking this course.
Your instructor for this course will be Scott Simpson, a graduate of San Diego State University with a Master’s in Education who has used his passion for computers to land a job in Apple, and has been teaching friends, family, and strangers alike since he was just seven years old.
In this 1 ½ hour long course, Scott will teach you how to request data from a server, limit and sort the responses, aggregate data from multiple tables with joins, transform data into different formats, edit and delete data, and much more.
Other than getting a verified certificate of completion from LinkedIn, you can also get 2.4 CPE credits if you score 70% or higher in the final exam!
- Beginner level
- 1 ½ hours long
- Instructor with Master’s in Education
- 2.4 CPE credits for 70% or above exam score
- Verified certificate of completion
12. SQL for Data Science (Coursera)
If you are an aspiring data scientist who wants to get a good grip on the process of acquiring and sorting data, and bring it into a form suitable for analysis, this is the course you should be going for. With over 185,000 students enrolled already, this 4.6 star-rated course offered by the University of California Davis will prove to be an important piece in the puzzle of your data science career.
You will be instructed by Sadie St. Lawrence, an AI Strategy Consultant for Accenture Applied Intelligence, Founder and CEO of Women in Data (WID), and a seasoned instructor on Coursera with a high rating of 4.6.
In this beginner-level course that will take 14 hours to complete, you will learn how to write a SQL query to limit results, create an analysis table from multiple queries using the UNION operator, use SQL commands to filter, sort, and summarize data, and manipulate strings, dates, and numeric data using functions to integrate data from different sources into fields with the correct format for analysis.
With Coursera, you have the option of applying for financial aid if you are unable to buy this course and earn a verified certificate of completion that you can share with your network once you complete the course! Overall, one of the top online SQL courses delivered by a leading university in IT.
- Beginner level
- 14 hours long
- Taught by industry expert on SQL
- Verified certificate of completion
- Financial aid available
- Flexible deadlines
13. Oracle SQL: Become a Certified SQL Developer From Scratch! (Udemy)
If you are looking to launch your SQL career from scratch and want to pass the Oracle SQL 1Z0-071 Certification Exam to prove your skills to potential employers, then this Udemy course is the perfect fit for you. With an average rating of 4.5 stars and more than 19,000 students enrolled, the course is targeted specifically towards people who want to pass the Oracle certification exam.
You will be taught by instructors from two organizations: Oracle Master Training, which has teachers with over 15 years of professional software development experience, and Code Star Academy, a software training center that has trained over 60,000 students and has an average rating of 4.4 stars.
Through this beginner-level 18 ½ hours long course, you will become equipped with SQL skills that will enable you to pass the Oracle 1Z0-071 Certification Exam on the first try, become a job-ready SQL developer, be able to answer any SQL interview question confidently, and solve any SQL-related problems all by yourself.
With Udemy, you can benefit from full life-time access to this course with a limited-time 90% discount on the total price, and a verified certificate of completion!
- Beginner level
- 18 ½ hours long
- Industry expert trainers
- Best selling teacher
- Full life-time access
- Limited-time discount of 90%
- Certificate of completion
