Free AI Courses
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Free
approx. 30 hours
Certificate - free
German/English
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Free AI Courses: My Recommendations at a Glance
At the top of the list you'll find 24 free AI courses, from the first introduction to the Harvard course. I have checked each one: provider, content, certificate, language, and timeliness. So you don't have to guess, you'll get my honest assessment here. The order is my personal ranking, not a paid placement.
My Top 5 Free AI Courses
Briefly about my criteria: The course must be completely free to use and offer up-to-date content. A free certificate gives bonus points, and a chapter on language models now does too. Here are the five courses I recommend to you first.
1. Introduction to AI (Elements of AI, KI-Campus)
For me, the best German-language introduction for years. The University of Helsinki course runs on the KI-Campus completely in German. In about 40 hours you'll understand what AI can do, where its limits lie, and what machine learning means. You need zero prior knowledge and not a single line of code. The certificate of achievement is included for free. Honestly: If you only take one course, take this one.
2. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Beginners (openHPI)
The free course from the Hasso Plattner Institute explains the basics of machine learning in four weeks. In German, without programming skills, with examples that stick. Supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning: After that you can finally tell the terms apart. The certificate costs nothing. I like that there is a follow-up course with practical examples. That way you stay on track right after the introduction.
3. Chatbots Made Easy: Using Large Language Models Simply (openHPI)
My tip if you really want to work with ChatGPT and co. In two weeks you build your own chatbot that talks to your documents. The course explains prompt engineering and shows why language models sometimes confidently talk nonsense. Plan four to five hours per week. You don't need to know how to program, just not be afraid of the command line. Free, in German, including certificate of achievement.
4. AI for Everyone (AI For Everyone, Coursera)
The classic by Andrew Ng, one of the most famous AI researchers in the world. In seven hours you learn what AI can and cannot do in a company. No code, but plenty of strategy. The course is now available with a German AI audio track. In my opinion, the best course for anyone who needs to have a say about AI at work. Participation is free, only the certificate costs extra.
5. CS50's Introduction to AI with Python (Harvard)
You know Python and want to build AI yourself? Then there's hardly any way around this Harvard course. For seven weeks you'll program search algorithms, neural networks, and natural language processing. From my experience, the most demanding course on this list, but also the most educational. You should have about a year of Python experience. The course and CS50 certificate are free, only the official edX certificate costs.
My Bonus Tip: Machine Learning Crash Course (Google)
Google's crash course is the most interactive introduction to machine learning I know. Short videos, clickable visualizations, and exercises directly in the browser. The interface is available in German, the videos are in English. Since the last update, there is a dedicated module on large language models. You don't get a certificate, but you get real understanding. I think that's the better deal.
Which Free AI Course Fits You?
You don't want to compare all the descriptions? I understand. Here's the shortcut:
- Without prior knowledge, in German: Introduction to AI (Elements of AI).
- Working productively with ChatGPT: Chatbots Made Easy or Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT.
- Business perspective for the job: AI For Everyone.
- You can program: CS50 AI, the Machine Learning Crash Course, or Practical Deep Learning from fast.ai.
- Dive deep into language models: the LLM course from Hugging Face.
Are the Courses Really Free?
Yes, you can work through every course on the list completely for free. The differences are in the certificate. openHPI and the KI-Campus issue their certificates free of charge. The CS50 certificate from Harvard and the badge for Google's course Introduction to Generative AI also cost nothing. On Coursera and edX, participation is free, but the official certificate costs money. Courses like the Machine Learning Crash Course or fast.ai do without certificates entirely.
My advice: Take the course for your skills, not for the certificate. A free certificate of achievement from openHPI still looks good on your resume.
How I keep this list up to date
AI courses become outdated faster than any other continuing education topic. A course without chapters on language models is only half the story today. That's why I check the offerings regularly, most recently completely in September 2026. Outdated courses are removed, new good ones are added. If a course disappears here, there was a reason for it.
