Will I receive a certificate?

Many courses offer certificates, but they usually require you to pay for the certificate. Course pages include certificate information. If a certificate is not mentioned in the panel on a course information page, it is unlikely to be available. If you selected a course and were taken straight to a video playlist, that course will not have a certificate.

Class Central is a search engine for online courses and is not involved in running the courses or issuing certificates. For specific questions about certificates, look for a Help, Support, or Contact us link on the course provider's site.

We have compiled various lists of free certificates and badges from many providers in our collections of Free Certificates.

At the moment, free certificates are rare from major providers.

For paid certificates, many course providers offer a free trial or a money-back period after payment. You may be able to pay for the certificate after starting the course. Check the course provider's information pages carefully for these details.

If you want a certificate but cannot afford the cost, some providers offer financial aid or scholarships to applicants. See Can I get financial aid?

In addition to individual course certificates, some providers have created their own certificate programs. These programs are something between a single course and a full degree, and they usually involve taking a sequence of courses. Examples of these include Coursera’s Specializations, Professional Certificates, and Micromasters, edX’s XSeries and Professional Certificates, FutureLearn’s Programs, and Udacity’s Nanodegrees.

Some providers offer online degrees. See Can I get a MOOC-based degree? These may be priced lower than on-campus courses, but are not free.