Are Coursera courses free?

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Written by Dhawal Shah Last updated on March 19th, 2023

Looking for a listing of Coursera courses?

Yes and no. There are definitely some courses on Coursera that are paid only. These are indicated by a small green $ symbol.


A big majority of the courses have some element of “free” — mostly the videos are free to watch but you need to pay if you want access to graded assignments and certificates. If you search for free courses on Coursera’s website, you will see a sticky note at the top of the search results explaining that lectures and non-graded material are free. However, Coursera still has many courses for which the graded assignments are free. An investigation by Class Central discovered 1700 Coursera courses that are still completely free, without a certificate.


If you are confused about how to sign up for Coursera courses for free, here is a guide from Class Central: A Guide on How to Sign up for Coursera Courses for Free

This article, about Coursera’s Monetization Journey, describes how Coursera went from offering free courses to their current position.

Class Central's Help Center represents our best effort to answer the most common questions new learners face. It may not be completely accurate in every circumstance.

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