My mom is an art educator who ran group sessions for kids, then worked with schools until 2019. When the pandemic hit, classes stopped. She craved interaction with the kids.
During lockdown, she went back to her Excel sheet and read through the feedback column. She spotted a pattern: at least 30 parents had asked for adult art sessions, and most students enrolled in summer, not winter.
So she launched online kids’ classes during lockdown. Once restrictions eased, she introduced adult classes, which six years later have more learners than the kids’ program.
That’s business analytics. Understanding a problem and using data to find a solution. Analyzing what you have to drive growth.
You don’t need a business analyst course to analyze small businesses like my mom’s. But when you’re dealing with thousands of data points and dozens of variables, it’s crucial.
Here are the top 8 business analytics courses.
The Best Business Analytics Courses
What is Business Analytics?
Imagine this: you’ve decided to cook stir-fry noodles. After work, you head to the nearest store. You grab rice noodles, but the soy sauce is in another aisle. You walk over, only to find the pepper two aisles away.
Next time, you try a different store. Noodles, sauces, spices; all in one aisle. You’ve found your post-work grocery store.
That store didn’t stock its aisles by accident. A manager pulled transaction data, saw that customers buying rice noodles often bought soy sauce and pepper too, and moved the products together.
That’s business analytics. Spot a pattern in the data, make a decision, change the outcome.
But what exactly is business analytics?
The easiest definition is by Oracle:
Business analytics refers to:
- Taking in and processing historical business data
- Analyzing that data to identify trends, patterns, and root causes
- Making data-driven business decisions based on those insights
Yes, it’s heavy stuff.
But it’s also different from business analysis. Business analysis involves understanding present patterns in data and recognizing problems, whereas business analytics involves making data-driven decisions based on that data.
The difference is minute, and both require knowledge about:
- Statistics
- Data visualization
- Data tools and software
Plus, you need:
- Problem-solving and adaptability skills
- Creative and critical thinking skills
- Communication skills
Since we produce data every microsecond, the demand for business analysts grows with it. Today, the average entry-level salary of a business analyst is $88000.
To be one of the result-driven, successful business analysts, you must possess the above skills. These courses will help with the knowledge and practice, but why should you trust this list?
Why Trust Us and Why These Courses?
At Class Central, we make course shopping easy. We’re eliminating your effort of jumping between different platforms, comparing the duration, syllabus, instructors, etc of every course.
Our database of 250,000 courses guides you to the best one without the hassle. For instance, if you’re looking for courses on entrepreneurship, you’ll find thousands offered by Coursera, edX, Udemy, and more on our platform.
Now, how did I choose these courses?
I’ve picked these eight courses based on:
- Diverse curricula: Business analytics revolves around data and statistics, and the courses present different ways to work with data (SQL, Tableau, Excel, etc).
- Intermediate level learning: To analyze business data, you need to know business fundamentals. Most of the courses are suitable for those who are well-versed in running a business or in basic statistics.
- Paid and free courses: At Class Central, we prefer listing budget-friendly courses, but business analytics is an advanced course, and I’ve included some premium courses that offer high-quality content.
- Learner experience: As always, I’ve read reviews and watched the content to understand the learner experience.
Let’s get to the courses.
Best Intro to Business Analytics (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Rating: 4.6 (8,522 ratings)
- Duration: 5 hours
- Cost: Paid
If you’re running a business, but you don’t know how to leverage data to grow it, this course is perfect.
Business analytics helps you take data-driven decisions to serve customers, make operational changes—basically anything that will drive growth and profits. But if you’re lost and find the process overwhelming, I get it.
This course will help you understand your business, its processes, business targets, and more. It will teach you how to set KPIs, identify metrics to measure, and conduct basic Excel processes to analyze data.
It’s a beginner’s guide to navigating business analysis. As someone who’s starting out, you can count on its simple structure and digestible curriculum.
What sets it apart?
- It offers insights into business processes and target setting
- It’s a beginner-friendly course, perfect for those who don’t have a statistical or analytical background or knowledge
- The exercises and quizzes help beginners understand concepts better
- It’s taught by Randy Rosseel, who has worked with Coca-Cola for 16 years. He was an associate director of planning and performance management
What you might not like
Some learners found the course basic, so it’s recommended for individuals who are new to data analysis.
Who is it for?
- Founders and business owners who want to use data for growth
Most Comprehensive Business Statistics and Analysis Specialization by Rice University (Coursera)
- Level: Beginner
- Rating: 4.7 (12,713 ratings)
- Duration: 120 hours
- Cost: Paid
Another statistics course, but this one has something different. Apart from understanding data, business analysts also test hypotheses—are consumers buying more on weekdays? Are the majority of the employees taking a day off on Mondays? If you want to spot problems with data, then this program will enable you.
On the surface, you’ll see that some courses are similar to the NobleDesktop course, but here are two courses that stand apart:
- Business Applications of Hypothesis Testing and Confidence Interval Estimation
- Business Statistics and Analysis Capstone (application-based)
P.S. Learners have also loved taking the course on Excel from this program.
The aim is to equip you to solve business problems with research and data.
What sets it apart?
- It covers regression and hypothesis testing, among other statistical concepts
- The capstone project, in the end, will test your knowledge and help you practice
- The instructor teaches with examples, and his approach makes it easier to apply concepts
- The instructor, Sharad Borle, the Associate Professor of Management of Rice University, has been published in journals
What you might not like:
The presentation designs seem outdated
Who is it for?
- Founders and small business owners who want to spot business problems and resolve them with data
- Existing business analysts who want to test data
- Aspiring business analysts with no statistical background
Best Business Analyst Certificate with Live Classes (NobleDesktop)
- Level: Beginner
- Rating: 4.8 (10,226 ratings)
- Duration: 63 hours
- Cost: Paid
To be a successful business analyst or even break into the field, you need to master tools and techniques. This ultra-comprehensive course covers four core tools along with PowerPoint:
- Excel (fundamentals, intermediate (with Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP, etc.), advanced (including macros)
- SQL (joins, subqueries, aggregate functions, CASE statements, and performance optimization techniques)
- Python (fundamentals, control flow, and functions; data manipulation with NumPy and Pandas, data visualization using Matplotlib, preparation for machine learning workflows)
- Tableau (dashboards, interactivity, mapping, and advanced visualizations)
Plus, you get bonus electives (Financial Accounting Bootcamp, PowerPoint Level I & II, Google Ads Bootcamp).
It’s a 63-hour, in-depth, well-rounded course that is all about inferring numbers with different tools. It also provides hands-on training on software and an NYC-licensed certification.
What stands out is its clean structure—it teaches at basic and advanced levels (for instance, there are three levels for Excel). Plus, you can choose between an in-person format or online live.
What sets it apart?
- It focuses on four core tools and offers intensive training in them
- You get 6 one-on-one mentoring sessions for portfolio and resume support
- You can choose between in-person and online sessions
- You get access to class recordings for 90 days after each session
- After the course, you can retake it within one year
- It has a small number of students (8-15) for interactive and quality learning
- The flexible pricing allows you to pay in installments
What you might not like:
The course is heavily priced, but it offers in-depth training from licensed instructors and it offers a licensed certification.
Who is it for?
- Founders and small business owners analyze business data but don’t know how to apply tools
- Aspiring business analysts who want to learn statistical tools
Best to Learn Business Analytics with Tableau (Udacity)
- Level: Beginner
- Rating: 4.8 (1254 ratings)
- Duration: 40 hours
- Cost: Paid course / Monthly subscription
You might’ve had days when you’ve got data staring at you on a spreadsheet, but you don’t know how to get to an insight you want — quarterly sales by region, 3-year ad spend trends, or yearly revenue from your top 10 products.
This Business Analytics Nanodegree teaches the three tools that actually matter for business analytics — Excel, SQL, and Tableau.
It covers Excel, SQL, Tableau, and data visualization fundamentals. You’ll analyze NYSE financial data, query a music store database, and build flight delay dashboards. And you’ll get personalized feedback on these projects.
When you go through the course, I urge you to check which skills it teaches. You’ll be learning different mediums to showcase different business metrics. By the end, you’ll go from cleaning messy spreadsheets in Excel to querying databases with SQL to building interactive Tableau dashboards that tell the story you’re looking for.
What sets it apart?
- Excel, SQL, Tableau work well together and many businesses use them for analysis and visualization
- Four projects with personalized reviewer feedback
- Built with Tableau and Mode Analytics that lets teams query databases, build visualizations, and share reports. Derek Steer, Mode’s CEO, is one of the instructors of the course
- No prerequisites as it’s designed for people with zero analytical background
What you might not like
Experienced analysts may find it basic.
Who is it for?
- Professionals in marketing, sales, or operations who need data and analysis skills for their current role
- Career changers preparing for business analyst positions
Best BI Professional Certificate for Analysts by Google (Coursera)
- Level: Advanced
- Rating: 4.8 (8,316 ratings)
- Duration: 80 hours
- Cost: Paid
Is business intelligence (BI) different from business analytics? Yes.
BI is the infrastructure needed to find, store, and analyze data, and business analytics (a subset of BI) is the study of the raw data to understand patterns, predict situations, and make decisions.
If you’re looking to get into a business intelligence profession, this program could be your starting point. It offers three courses: one on the foundations, one on data models, and the last on communicating data. They introduce you to software and tools that automate data extraction and make data management easier.
The program blends technical skills with practical insights by pushing you to apply your knowledge to case studies.
What sets it apart?
- Created by Google experts, so the curriculum is comprehensive
- You practice on real data sets and learn through industry case studies
- From fundamentals to insight communication, it covers the majority of BI aspects
- It also teaches statistical tools and software, along with theory
What you might not like:
Since it’s a Google course, the tools and methodologies are limited, yet useful
Who is it for?
- Business analysts who want to learn how to automate data processes
- Data analysts who want to transition into a business analyst role
Best Business Intelligence Certification (Corporate Finance Institute)
- Level: Beginner
- Rating: 4.8 (2,495 ratings)
- Duration: 97 hours
- Cost: Paid
If you want to master business intelligence tools that employers use, this program will build your expertise across them. You’ll learn everything from data collection to visualization to business insights.
This specialization consists of 19 courses delivering practical, real-world data analysis and visualization skills using the latest tools like Power BI, Tableau, and SQL. They’ll help you create interactive dashboards that executives use to make decisions.
You can also choose specialized elective courses (once you complete the 14 required ones) to focus on specific areas like predictive analytics or advanced visualization. Each module includes real datasets and case studies, so you’re solving actual business problems, instead of just learning theory.
What sets it apart?
- It covers the complete BI workflow: data transformation, automation, modeling, visualization, and statistical analysis
- Courses cover both BI and data science, spanning data storage, collection, transformation, analysis, modeling, and visualization
- It has task-based learning with hands-on labs using real business datasets
- You’ll develop multiple tool proficiency: Excel, SQL, Power BI, Tableau, and programming languages for data analysis
- You’ll also get a digital certification recognized by industry professionals
- You get access to six accredited certifications (plus new ones), CPE (Continuing Professional Education)/CPD (Continuing Professional Development) credits, and access to an online community
What you might not like
You might find the pricing steep, but you can choose from two options (self-study or guidance-focused). And you get access to other certifications in your subscription.
Who is it for?
- Data analysts and financial analysts wanting to transition into BI roles with comprehensive tool knowledge
- Beginner business intelligence professionals who need to create data-driven insights and dashboards
- Finance and operations teams looking to automate their reporting and analytics workflow
Best Business Analyst Course with Excel, Stats, SQL, Tableau (Udemy)
- Level: Beginner
- Rating: 4.4 (819 ratings)
- Duration: 23 hours 31 minutes
- Cost: Paid
From understanding the average order value to predicting sales during holiday seasons, statistics is a weapon, in fact, a superpower for business analytics. But when you have the data of thousands of customers, products, or employees, how will you understand it with only Excel?
This course introduces you to tools such as SQL and Tableau that help you visualize and make sense of data. Plus, it teaches you crucial statistical concepts like probability, time series, and more.
Overall, this is a good start to learn statistics and basic data software.
What sets it apart?
- It eases into the tools by explaining the role of AI in business workflows
- It teaches with simple examples and case studies (perfect for beginners)
- It also has worksheets and assignments for better learning
- The instructor, Leo Zhu, is a product manager and a mentor to pre-medical school students on the Medical College Admissions Test. He also consults on optimizing SaaS/no-code integrations to improve startup operational efficiency
What you might not like
Some learners found the course fast-paced, and some sections lacked in-depth explanation.
Who is it for?
- Aspiring and existing business analysts
- Founders and business owners who want to analyze large amounts of data
Best BI + GenAI Specialization by IBM (Coursera)
- Level: Intermediate
- Rating: 4.8 (11,505 ratings)
- Duration: 40 hours
- Cost: Free to audit
Can AI really analyze data for you? Yes, and this program will show you how. With four courses, you’ll learn how AI can be integrated at every level of business intelligence, i.e., to manage data and structure it.
This program will also help you adopt better visualization techniques that will improve reporting. You’ll find a section on the ethical side of using generative AI to instill responsibility and accountability.
With hands-on projects, deep reading material, and frequent quizzes, this program offers you solid foundations in business intelligence with AI.
What sets it apart?
- You will learn through diverse methods—videos, discussions, expert advice, project, etc
- The course also uses real-world case studies to support theoretical knowledge
- You will learn how to handle, manage, analyze, visualize, and communicate data
- This course is by Skill-Up EdTech, which has several data-related courses on Coursera
Who is it for?
- Existing business analysts who want to automate tasks with AI
- Aspiring business analysts who want to add an in-demand skill to their resume
- Founders/business owners who want a seamless way to study data
To become a business analyst, you need a strong grasp of technical and soft skills. I hope these courses instill problem-solving and critical thinking in you, along with software knowledge that drives results.
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