Agenticum · Thoughts · 7 min read

Free AI Courses for Beginners in 2026: What Is Actually Free and What the Certificate Costs in AED and SAR

We compared nine AI learning options from Elements of AI, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Coursera and Intel. For each one, we checked whether the course is free and, separately, whether the certificate is free. On some, such as Building AI and Intel's Edge AI, the course content is free but the certificate costs money.

Nikolay Zuykov · Agenticum · 29 October 2026

Free AI courses compared: provider, hours, level, certificate cost

This table answers two questions separately: is the course free, and is the certificate free? Hours are given as each provider states them. Each course name links to its official page. "See provider" means you need to check that detail on the provider's own page.

Course	Provider	Hours (as stated)	Level	Coding needed	Course free?	Certificate free?	Certificate fee or course subscription price (original currency / AED / SAR)
Introduction to AI	Elements of AI (MinnaLearn, University of Helsinki)	4-8 h per part	For everyone	No (basic maths only)	Yes	Yes, digital only	0
Building AI	Elements of AI (MinnaLearn, University of Helsinki)	About 50 h	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner: no. Intermediate and Advanced: Python	Yes	No	50 € (EUR only, no peg to AED/SAR)
Introduction to Generative AI + Generative AI Fundamentals badge	Google Skills; badge from Google Cloud	45 min course; badge in as little as 120 min	Course: introductory	Badge: no technical skills required (per Google Cloud). Course: see provider	Course: see provider. Badge: yes, no-cost (per Google Cloud)	Badge: yes, no-cost (per Google Cloud)	Badge: 0
Google AI Essentials	Google on Coursera	Under 10 h (description); 4 h (course card)	Beginner, zero experience	See provider (no prior experience required)	No	No	$49/month in US and Canada = AED 179.95 / SAR 183.75; prices vary by country
Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals	IBM SkillsBuild	About 10 h (six courses)	Intermediate (per Credly)	See provider; covers running a model in Watson Studio at a conceptual level	Yes, for registered users	Yes	0
AI for Beginners	Microsoft	12 weeks, 24 lessons	Code-based	Yes (TensorFlow, PyTorch)	Yes (MIT licence)	See provider	See provider
ML for Beginners	Microsoft	12 weeks, 26 lessons	Code-based	Yes (Scikit-learn)	See provider	See provider	See provider
AI for Everyone	Coursera (instructor Andrew Ng)	About 7 h	Beginner	See provider (no prior experience required)	Free trial for eligible learners; some Coursera courses have a no-certificate option	No	Paid Certificate experience; see provider for price
Edge AI	Intel	See provider	See provider	See provider	Yes	No	Paid; see provider for price

AED at the fixed peg of 3.6725 per USD, SAR at the fixed peg of 3.75 per USD. EUR has no peg to AED or SAR, so the Building AI fee is shown in EUR only.

Where beginners can start: programming requirements and prior experience

According to their providers, these options need no programming, no technical skills or no prior experience.

Google Cloud, Generative AI Fundamentals badge: Google Cloud says the badge is no-cost and needs no technical skills, and that you can earn it in as little as 120 minutes by watching the short videos in the generative AI courses and passing a final quiz. The no-cost claim comes from a Google Cloud blog post, so check the live badge page before you rely on it. Google Skills also has a 45-minute introductory course, Introduction to Generative AI.
AI for Everyone: beginner level, no prior experience required, about 7 hours.
Google AI Essentials: zero experience required. Google says it takes under 10 hours, but the Coursera course card shows 4 hours. It is not free.
Elements of AI, Introduction to AI: no programming and only basic maths. Expect 4-8 hours for each part. It is self-paced, and Elements of AI recommends finishing within 6 weeks.
Building AI, Beginner track: no programming, multiple-choice questions only. Elements of AI estimates about 50 hours for the whole course, depending on the level and the optional project.

If you have one evening, start with the Generative AI Fundamentals badge. For a longer course with a free certificate, we recommend Introduction to AI.

Learn AI and machine learning from scratch, with code

If you are ready to write Python, take these in order. The route moves from algorithms to classic machine learning and then to neural networks.

Building AI at Intermediate or Advanced level. These levels need Python, and Elements of AI recommends basic Python skills. Allow about 50 hours.
Microsoft ML for Beginners. A 12-week, 26-lesson curriculum on classic machine learning, mainly with Scikit-learn.
Microsoft AI for Beginners. A 12-week, 24-lesson curriculum with quizzes and labs. It teaches neural networks and deep learning in code with TensorFlow and PyTorch, and is released under the MIT licence, free of charge.

Google AI courses for beginners: what is free and what is not

Google Skills offers no-cost learning options. Google AI Essentials on Coursera cannot be taken for free, though financial aid recipients get full access to the content and assignments needed for the certificate.

Google Skills brings together nearly 3,000 courses, labs and credentials from Google Cloud, Google DeepMind, Grow with Google and Google for Education. It has no-cost options for learners at every level. Introduction to Generative AI runs 45 minutes, and Google Cloud describes the Generative AI Fundamentals skill badge as no-cost.

Google AI Essentials is a self-paced Google program sold through Coursera. Coursera's own FAQ is direct about it: "No, you cannot take this course for free." In the US and Canada it costs $49 per month after a 7-day free trial (AED 179.95 / SAR 183.75), and Coursera says prices may vary in other countries. People who get financial aid have full access to the content and assignments needed for the certificate. When you finish, Google issues the certificate.

What certificates, badges and course subscriptions cost

Credential	Price	AED	SAR
Elements of AI, Introduction to AI	Free (digital only)	0	0
IBM SkillsBuild AI Fundamentals	Free	0	0
Google Generative AI Fundamentals badge	No-cost (per Google Cloud)	0	0
Building AI certificate	50 € incl. VAT where applicable	n/a (no peg)	n/a (no peg)
Google AI Essentials (US and Canada price)	$49/month	179.95/month	183.75/month
Coursera Plus, monthly (price shown in the UAE)	$59	216.68	221.25
Coursera Plus, yearly (price shown in the UAE)	$399	1,465.33	1,496.25
Intel Edge AI certification	Paid; see provider for price	n/a	n/a

IBM's Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals consists of six courses taking about 10 hours in total and leads to a free digital credential. Only registered IBM SkillsBuild users can earn it, and adults (18+) sign up through a different route from high-school students. One part covers running an AI model in IBM Watson Studio, so it is partly tied to IBM's own tools.

Intel says you can take the Edge AI course for free and then buy the certification.

How Coursera's free options actually work (trial, Full Course No Certificate, financial aid)

On Coursera, earning a certificate requires buying the Certificate experience. Coursera's pages describe these options:

Certificate experience. To get course materials and assignments and earn a certificate, you buy the Certificate experience when you enrol. Eligible learners may start with a free trial. For Google AI Essentials and Coursera Plus, the trial lasts 7 days.
Full Course, No Certificate. Some courses offer this option. You get the materials, can submit assessments and receive a final grade, but you cannot earn or buy a certificate.
Financial aid. On Google AI Essentials, people who get financial aid have full access to the content and assignments needed for the certificate.
Coursera Plus. On 2026-10-29, Coursera showed UAE visitors two prices. The monthly plan is $59 per month (AED 216.68 / SAR 221.25), cancel anytime, with a 7-day free trial. The yearly plan is $399 (AED 1,465.33 / SAR 1,496.25) with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

We have not confirmed the prices Coursera shows to visitors in Saudi Arabia, so check the price on your screen before you pay.

A 4-week starter plan for complete beginners

Week 1: Google Skills Introduction to Generative AI (45 minutes), then the Generative AI Fundamentals badge (as little as 120 minutes).
Weeks 1 to 3: Elements of AI Introduction to AI, at 4-8 hours per part. If it goes past week 3, that is fine: Elements of AI suggests finishing within 6 weeks. The certificate is free.
Week 4: AI for Everyone (about 7 hours), on a free trial if you are eligible, or as Full Course, No Certificate if the course offers it. If you would rather avoid Coursera, start the Beginner track of Building AI.
After week 4: if you enjoyed the technical parts, follow the coding route above. If your employer requires a particular credential, check whether it costs money.

For learners and teams in the UAE and Saudi Arabia: Arabic options and when paying makes sense

Arabic. Elements of AI has an Arabic-language version. The certificate is issued only in digital form and in the language you took the course in. Choose the language you want on your certificate before you start.

Local prices. All USD prices here are converted at the fixed pegs. Coursera says prices may vary by country, and the Coursera Plus prices above are the ones shown to UAE visitors. Check the Coursera price shown for your country and whether you can register for IBM SkillsBuild.

When paying makes sense. Consider paying if your employer requires a specific certificate, such as the Google AI Essentials certificate, or if you want a credential that the free courses listed here do not offer. For a general introduction to AI, we recommend starting with Introduction to AI or IBM's Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals. Over 2 million people have signed up for Elements of AI.

For teams, one approach is for everyone to take the free Introduction to AI, and to buy paid seats only for people whose role needs a vendor certificate. For classroom and university options, see our guide to AI courses in Dubai.