Compare 4 Data Science courses from top providers — filter by price, level, provider & certificate.
4 free data science courses with certificate, compared side by side.
This filter returns courses that are free to start and offer a certificate on completion. The four courses below all meet that bar, but they differ in time commitment and provider style.
| Course | Provider | Duration | Level | Certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting Started with Python for Data Science | Codecademy | 7h | Beginner | Yes |
| Data Science Course - Mastering the Fundamentals | Scaler | 8h 45m | Beginner | Yes |
| HarvardX: Introduction to Data Science with Python | edX | 8 weeks | Beginner | Yes |
These three show the range: Codecademy finishes in a single afternoon, Scaler fits into a long weekend, and edX follows a university semester pace. All carry a verifiable certificate at no base price.
If you are deciding between them, think about your schedule. Codecademy’s 7-hour track suits a quick introduction. Scaler’s 8h 45m course goes slightly deeper while staying short. HarvardX’s 8-week run mirrors a college term and carries the Harvard name on the credential.
When this filter is the wrong call: ignore it if you need a course that guarantees a job placement or an employer-recognised credential tied to a specific hiring pipeline. In that case, open the “Data Science Courses with Placement Support” facet instead.
Back to the Data Science courses hub or explore the sibling facet Free Data Science Courses for options that drop the certificate requirement.
Same shortlist as below, side by side — including who runs it and why it stands out.
| Course | Provider | Rating | Price | Duration | Why pick this one | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting Started with Python for Data Science | Codecademy | 4.6★ | Free | 7h | Highest rated (4.6★ from 1.9K reviews) | Start free ↗ |
| Data Science Course - Mastering the Fundamentals | Scaler | Free | 8h 45m | Free — certificate included | Start free ↗ | |
| HarvardX: Introduction to Data Science with Python | 4.3★ | Free | 8 weeks | Free — certificate included | Start free ↗ | |
| Free Data Science with Python |  freeCodeCamp |
Free | 300 hours | Free — and still gives a certificate | Start free ↗ |
freeCodeCamp VerifiedFor beginners, IBM Data Science (Coursera) and freeCodeCamp's free Python track are the highest-rated — both start from zero and build to real projects.
Yes. freeCodeCamp, Kaggle and IBM (audit on edX) offer high-quality free data science content. Paid courses add structure, certificates and placement support.
Roughly 4–8 months at 8–10 hours a week to become job-ready, covering Python, statistics, ML and a portfolio project.
