How to Get Udemy Courses for Free (Legally)

Udemy lists most of its courses at prices between $20 and $200, yet a lot of people fill their library without ever paying. They are not pirating anything. Udemy gives instructors and organisations several official ways to hand out courses for free, and all of them leave you with a normal enrollment in your own account.

Here are the five that work, starting with the one that gets you the most courses.

1. Use 100% off coupon codes

Instructors can create coupons that drop the price of a paid course to zero. They do it to get early students and reviews for a new course, or to bring an older one back to life. You enroll through the coupon link, the checkout shows $0, and the course is yours.

The catch is that these coupons are small and short-lived: each one has a limited number of uses and a short validity window, so a popular one can be gone within hours. That is the reason sites like this one exist. We collect the coupons that are currently circulating and list them on the latest free Udemy courses page, newest first. If you want the details of how the codes behave, read how Udemy coupons work and why they expire.

2. Take Udemy's permanently free courses

Some instructors publish courses that are free all the time, with no coupon needed. On Udemy, search for a topic and set the Price filter to Free to see them.

These are shorter than paid courses, since Udemy limits free courses to under two hours of video, and they come without a certificate of completion or instructor Q&A. They are a good way to sample a subject or an instructor's teaching style before you commit time to something longer.

3. Check your public library

A number of public libraries, mostly in the United States and Canada, give card holders access to a large Udemy catalogue through a service called Gale Presents: Udemy. If your library offers it, you sign in with your library card and can take thousands of courses at no cost.

Look for it on your library's website under online learning or digital resources, or simply ask a librarian.

4. Ask your employer or school

Many companies and universities pay for Udemy Business, a subscription that opens a curated set of courses to everyone in the organisation. People often have access without knowing it. Ask your manager, your HR or learning team, or your university's IT help desk whether an account is available to you.

5. Follow instructors directly

Instructors hand their free coupons to their own audience first: email lists, YouTube channels, social media and community forums. If there is a teacher whose courses you like, following them is the most reliable way to catch a free code for their next course.

What to avoid

• Sites offering course downloads. Those are pirated copies. They often bundle malware, they give you no updates or certificate, and they take income away from the instructor.
• "Coupon generators" and browser extensions that ask for your Udemy password. A real coupon is just a code in a link. Nothing legitimate needs your login.
• Paying a third party for a "free" coupon. If a code works, it works for everyone at no charge.

Make it a habit

Because coupons run out quickly, the people who get the most free courses are simply the ones who look often. Three things help:

1. Check the newest coupons once a day, or get them by email.
2. Browse by category so you only see subjects you actually want to learn.
3. Enroll first and study later. Once you are enrolled the course stays in your library, even after the coupon has expired.

Not sure whether a free enrollment is as good as a paid one? We cover certificates and lifetime access in are free Udemy courses worth it.