[2026] 100 Top FREE Coursera Courses of All Time

Coursera, founded in the heyday of the MOOC hype, is one of the world’s largest online course providers and boasts an active catalog of over 15,000 courses, up from 12,000+ last year.

Boosted by the momentum provided by the COVID-19 pandemic to online education companies, Coursera went public in March, 2021. Class Central’s analysis of Coursera’s IPO filing showed that the company made $293.5M revenue in 2020. In 2021, the company made $415.3M. To learn more about Coursera, read our analysis of their business: A Deep Dive Into Coursera’s Financials.

In 2022, Coursera’s stock dropped by 20% due to a degree enrollments slowdown in the US as well as headwinds for their consumer and business segments in Europe.

Coursera experienced strong growth in 2023, adding 24 million new learners and increasing revenue by 21% to $636 million, driven primarily by its consumer business and tech partnerships. However, the company faced challenges in early 2024, revising down its revenue projections and experiencing a significant stock price drop, while focusing on expanding its AI-related offerings and proprietary content to drive future growth.

In 2026, Coursera acquired Udemy, but the two platforms remain separate for now.

At one time, Coursera’s courses were completely free. But as time went on and Coursera focused on monetization, graded assignments and certificates were put behind a paywall. Eventually the courses went from free to “free to audit”. In mid-2025, Coursera introduced Preview Mode, all but eliminating free to audit mode and drastically reducing the number of completely free courses.

But an investigation by Class Central found that there are still 470+ completely free courses on Coursera (minus the certificate). If you have trouble signing up for audit or preview mode, please read our guide on How to Sign up for Coursera Courses for Free.

100 Most Popular FREE Coursera Courses

Here’s a quick summary of Coursera’s 100 most popular free online courses of all time, based on the number of enrollments:

• Enrollments range from 17.5K to 1.4M. 21 courses have over 100K enrollments
• Together, they account for over 10.6M enrollments, with an average of 106K per course
• 91 courses are in English; the rest are in various other languages
• They’ve received 1.1K reviews on Class Central, averaging 16 reviews each
• Average rating: 4.56/5.0
• 58 courses are beginner level, 38 are intermediate level, and 4 are advanced level.
• In total, the courses offer 1,700+ hours of learning.

Here are the courses:

1. Algorithms, Part I from Princeton University ★★★★☆(61)
2. COVID-19 Contact Tracing from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★★(16)
3. Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies from Princeton University ★★★★★(19)
4. Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose from Princeton University ★★★★★(1)
5. Lesson | Small Talk & Conversational Vocabulary from Georgia Institute of Technology ★★★★★(1)
6. Algorithms, Part II from Princeton University ★★★★★(21)
7. Private Equity and Venture Capital from Università Bocconi ★★★★☆(6)
8. Computer Architecture from Princeton University ★★★★☆(6)
9. Fundamentals of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence from Amazon Web Services
10. The Age of Sustainable Development from Columbia University ★★★★★(14)
11. Science Matters: Let’s Talk About COVID-19 from Imperial College London ★★★★★(7)
12. Computer Science: Algorithms, Theory, and Machines from Princeton University
13. Clinical Terminology for International and U.S. Students from University of Pittsburgh ★★★★★(10)
14. Lesson | Express Yourself: Pronunciation from Georgia Institute of Technology
15. Applying to U.S. Universities from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★☆(9)
16. Fundamentals of Sales and Marketing, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(31)
17. General Chemistry: Concept Development and Application from Rice University ★★★★☆(5)
18. Analysis of Algorithms from Princeton University ★★★★☆(6)
19. Fundamentals of Business Finance, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(81)
20. Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ★★★★★(10)
21. Modern & Contemporary American Poetry (“ModPo”) from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(190)
22. Lesson | Business English Skills: How to Write Effective Openings and Closings to Emails from University of Washington
23. Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology from University of Alberta ★★★★★(179)
24. Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas from Curtis Institute of Music ★★★★☆(16)
25. Paradoxes of War from Princeton University ★★★★☆(13)
26. Grow Your Business with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(97)
27. Problem Solving, Python Programming, and Video Games from University of Alberta ★★★★☆(4)
28. Lesson | Business English Skills: Introducing Yourself in Business Settings from University of Washington
29. Digital Marketing Strategy with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs
30. The Science of the Solar System from California Institute of Technology ★★★★★(53)
31. The Holocaust – An Introduction (I): Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World from Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center ★★★★★(7)
32. Systems Thinking In Public Health from Johns Hopkins University ★★★★★(5)
33. Lesson | Business English Skills: How to Navigate Tone, Formality, and Directness in Emails from University of Washington ★★★★★(1)
34. Effective Altruism from Princeton University ★★★★★(14)
35. Audio Signal Processing for Music Applications from Stanford University ★★★★★(1)
36. Fundamentals of Fluid Power from University of Minnesota ★★★★☆(2)
37. Revisão Sistemática e Meta-análise from Universidade Estadual de Campinas
38. Social Impact Strategy: Tools for Entrepreneurs and Innovators from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★☆(5)
39. Imagining Other Earths from Princeton University ★★★★☆(3)
40. Human Rights for Open Societies from Utrecht University
41. Bugs 101: Insect-Human Interactions from University of Alberta ★★★★★(5)
42. 竞争策略（中文版） from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
43. Astro 101: Black Holes from University of Alberta ★★★★★(9)
44. Property and Liability: An Introduction to Law and Economics from Wesleyan University ★☆☆☆☆(1)
45. Calculus: Single Variable Part 2 – Differentiation from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(5)
46. CompTIA Security+ 701 from Infosec
47. Pluralidades em Português Brasileiro from Universidade Estadual de Campinas ★★★★☆(2)
48. Health Across the Gender Spectrum from Stanford University ★★★★★(5)
49. Clinical Epidemiology from Utrecht University ★★★★★(2)
50. Fundamentals of Financial Planning, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(19)
51. MOS Transistors from Columbia University ★★★★★(1)
52. Calculus: Single Variable Part 3 – Integration from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★☆(4)
53. Lesson | Get Ready for the Interview from Georgia Institute of Technology
54. Fundamentals of Leadership, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(57)
55. Statistical Mechanics: Algorithms and Computations from École normale supérieure ★★★★★(4)
56. Constitutional Struggles in the Muslim World from University of Copenhagen ★★★★★(11)
57. Giving 2.0: The MOOC from Stanford University ★★☆☆☆(1)
58. Academic Information Seeking from Technical University of Denmark (DTU) ★★★★★(8)
59. Planning & Design of Sanitation Systems and Technologies from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ★★★★☆(3)
60. Fundamentals of Management, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(16)
61. Essentials of Prompt Engineering from Amazon Web Services
62. Cities are back in town : urban sociology for a globalizing urban world from Sciences Po ★★★★★(2)
63. ChatGPT Foundations for Teachers
64. Pensamento Crítico, Lógica e Argumentação from Universidade Estadual de Campinas
65. Enjoyable Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam ★★★★☆(1)
66. Fundamentals of Negotiation, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(36)
67. Conceitos Básicos de Logística e Supply Chain from Universidade Estadual de Campinas
68. Introduction to Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ★★★★★(2)
69. Revolutionary Ideas: Utility, Justice, Equality, Freedom from Rutgers University ★★★★☆(5)
70. Saúde Baseada em Evidências from Universidade Estadual de Campinas
71. Approximation Algorithms Part I from École normale supérieure ★★★★★(2)
72. Teaching and Assessing Clinical Skills from University of Michigan ★★★★★(4)
73. Calculus: Single Variable Part 4 – Applications from University of Pennsylvania ★★★★★(3)
74. Space Medicine from Duke University ★★★★★(1)
75. Analytic Combinatorics from Princeton University ★★★★☆(3)
76. Data Literacy – What is it and why does it matter? from Sorbonne University
77. Lesson | Telephone Language from Georgia Institute of Technology
78. Bacterial Bioinformatics from University of Virginia
79. Getting started in cryo-EM from California Institute of Technology
80. The Holocaust – An Introduction (II): The Final Solution from Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center ★★★★★(6)
81. Introdução ao Desenvolvimento de Aplicativos Android from Universidade Estadual de Campinas
82. Les transitions énergétique & écologique dans les pays du Sud from École normale supérieure
83. Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) from Infosec
84. Fundamentals of Operations, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(17)
85. Fundamentals of Customers and Competition, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(18)
86. Michigan Sport-Related Concussion Training Certification from University of Michigan ★★★★☆(3)
87. Lesson | Understand and Be Understood on the Phone from Georgia Institute of Technology
88. Inequality and Democracy from Utrecht University
89. Fundamentals of Funding, with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women from Goldman Sachs ★★★★★(15)
90. America Through Foreign Eyes from Rice University ★★★★★(4)
91. Building with the Claude API
92. Foundations of Diversity and Inclusion at Work TeachOut from University of Virginia
93. Climate Change and Human Rights from New York University (NYU) ★★★★★(1)
94. Sleep Deprivation: Habits, Solutions, and Strategies Teach-Out from University of Michigan ★★★★★(1)
95. Organising an Empire: The Assyrian Way from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München ★★★★★(3)
96. Exploring Artificial Intelligence Use Cases and Applications from Amazon Web Services
97. Large Marine Ecosystems: Assessment and Management from University of Cape Town
98. AI Security from Infosec
99. Unravelling solutions for Future Food problems from Utrecht University
100. Fundamentos do Google para o Ensino from Fundação Lemann

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