Quick Access:

• For Data Analysts: Mode, Cloudera
• For Data Scientists: UC, Davis
• Relational Databases: Stanford University, University of Colorado Boulder
• Live Sessions: Noble Desktop
• Intro to SQL: Davidson, Kaggle, SQLBolt, DataCamp, Michigan

Databases are ubiquitous, from websites to banking systems and video games, you name it! SQL will give you the ability to retrieve the valuable data from these databases with ease. If you are looking for the best online SQL course, I’ve created this Best Courses Guide (BCG) of the 10 best free SQL online courses based on 1,800+ SQL courses available on Class Central. If you’d like to know how I chose these courses, you can find my methodology below. But if you’re here for the list, here are my top picks.

Click on the shortcuts for more details:

• Top Picks
• What is SQL?
• Why You Should Trust Us
• Courses Overview
• Best Courses Guides Methodology

Here are our top picks

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What is SQL?

SQL is a declarative query language used to retrieve data from relational databases. It is highly popular across many industries, like data scientists, engineers, digital marketers, and more.

Databases are prevalent everywhere, from websites to banking systems to video games, you name it! High volumes of data produced by billions of users are stored in databases every single day, and to retrieve the valuable data from these databases you’ll need to learn SQL.

In fact, databases are so important that most computer science graduates frequently cite their database class as the class that taught them the most valuable skills for their careers. It’s the third most popular programming language among professional developers according to StackOverflow’s 2023 Developer Survey.

Hence, learning SQL will give you the ability to do important data work yourself, making you more appealing to any employer out there.

Quick Note about different SQL dialects

As there are many different flavors of database management systems, there too are many different flavors of SQL, each having their own minor differences. But do not worry! The difference is extremely minor, and all SQL dialects share the same common syntax.

Most of the courses in this guide focus you on learning the general SQL syntax and concepts, but I’ve also included some courses that are more focused on one specific flavor. Nevertheless, the SQL you’ll learn in those courses will be transferable to all dialects of SQL.

Why You Should Trust Us

Class Central, a Tripadvisor for online education, has helped 60 million learners find their next course. We’ve been combing through online education for more than a decade to aggregate a catalog of 200,000 online courses and 200,000 reviews written by our users. And we’re online learners ourselves: combined, the Class Central team has completed over 400 online courses, including online degrees.

Courses Overview

• The courses combined account for 2M enrollments
• All of the courses in this course are free or free-to-audit, except for one
• Coursera is the most represented provider in this guide
• 18.4K people are following SQL Courses on Class Central.

Best Comprehensive SQL Course for Data Analysis (Mode)

SQL for Data Analysis is a course by Mode, a data science platform that brings together a SQL editor, Python notebook, and R.

This free course is really comprehensive, covering many of the important concepts you’ll need to manage and analyze a database, as well as its in-browser SQL coding exercises that will strengthen your practical knowledge.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to write efficient SQL queries to successfully handle a variety of data analysis tasks.

The only prerequisite for this course is familiarity with working with data in spreadsheets.

What you’ll learn:

• Basics of SQL, including common commands like SELECT, FROM, and WHERE
• Combining data from multiple tables using JOIN commands
• Performing statistical operations and using aggregate functions
• Writing subqueries and using temporary tables
• Advanced SQL topics such as window functions and performance tuning.

Best Course Covering Relational Databases and SQL (Stanford University)

In Databases: Relational Databases and SQL, you’ll be given an introduction to relational databases, primarily from the viewpoint of the designer, user, and developer of database applications, and comprehensive coverage of SQL, the long-accepted standard query language for relational database systems.

What makes this course special from other edX courses is that all materials are fully free and accessible, although only paying learners will receive a certificate.

Although there are no specific prerequisites for this course, having some knowledge of programming and basic computer science theory will be helpful.

What you’ll learn:

• Introduction to the relational model and relational database concepts
• Key database management system concepts: data models, schema vs. data, DDL, and DML
• Querying relational databases and designing schemas with DDL
• Writing SQL queries using SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY, and JOIN statements
• Using aggregation functions like SUM and DISTINCT
• Modifying and updating data with SQL commands.

This course is one of five self-paced courses on the topic of Databases, with the follow-up course to this being Databases: Advanced Topics in SQL.

Best SQL Bootcamp With Live Sessions (Noble Desktop)

If you prefer instructor-led learning, Noble Desktop’s SQL Server Bootcamp offers real-time feedback and accountability that pre-recorded courses can’t match.

What I find interesting is that this program runs both in-person (NYC campus) and online (Zoom). Even if you’re attending online, you’ll have individual attention and can see other students in the classroom. You’ll be able to interact with instructors, receive feedback, and ask questions during sessions. Plus, you’ll get access to class recordings and workbooks – pretty helpful for catching up if you miss a class or reviewing what you learned.

Key Benefits

• Small class sizes (8-15 students)
• Free retake within one year
• Includes ten 1-on-1 mentoring sessions
• Supplemental after-class projects and video suite

Noble Desktop knows what they’re doing – they’ve been around for over three decades providing instruction with industry experts. So you can rest assured your mentorship will not be with someone who just finished the course. Don’t take my word for it – student reviews on Yelp and Google praise their practical approach and instructor quality.

What You’ll Learn

• Database structures, including tables, columns, and rows, using SQL Server Management Studio
• Write SQL queries to manipulate data with commands like SELECT, WHERE, and JOIN
• Analyze data from multiple tables using Inner and Outer Joins and identify NULL values
• Filter and sort data with techniques like Aggregate Functions and CAST
• Implement Subqueries to access data across database structures
• Simplify queries with Views and streamline tasks with Functions and Stored Procedures
• Use String Functions to extract and manipulate text data
• Incorporate If-Else logic with CASE statements for decision-making

Flexible Schedule Options

• 1 week full-time (weekdays)
• 3 weeks part-time (evenings)

“The class content was paced really well, and I learned a lot from this course about how data is actually stored across the web. The instructor was very kind and answered all of the questions that were asked in the class.” – Nuraly S.

, Noble Desktop learner.

Best Intro to SQL (Davidson College)

In this free-to-audit 4 weeks limited-access course, you’ll pick up the skills needed to query and analyze data from complex relational databases through the lens of the Postgres flavor of the SQL language (although most of the syntax you’ll learn are shared among the other SQL flavors).

In Introduction to SQL from Davidson College, you’ll learn the history of SQL, before moving on to learning the basics commands that every beginner needs to know. Then, you’ll move further and learn the advanced concepts within SQL.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

What you’ll learn:

• History of SQL and its relation to relational databases
• Basics of structuring SQL queries and selecting data
• Setting filters and aggregating data with functions
• Using JOINs to combine data from multiple tables
• Inspecting, manipulating data, and applying analytic functions.

Also Great Intro to SQL (DataCamp)

DataCamp’s Introduction to SQL teaches you the general SQL syntax shared by many types of databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, and Oracle.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to select specific columns, filter rows satisfying a condition, use aggregate functions to summarize data, and sort and group your results.

This course is divided into two chapters. The first chapter, Relational Databases, being free access and the second one, Querying, requiring a paid account. You’ll learn:

• Introduction to relational databases and their structure
• Selecting columns using the SELECT statement
• Filtering rows with comparison operators and the WHERE statement
• Using aggregate functions for data summarization
• Sorting results with ORDER BY and grouping with GROUP BY
• Applying aliases to name query results for better readability.

Best Course with Google BigQuery Using Python with Free Certificate (Kaggle)

If you know some basic Python and are interested in data science, this course is just for you!

In this course with a free certificate, you’ll learn SQL for working with databases using Google BigQuery. By the end of the course, you’ll know how to gather insights directly from big datasets with SQL queries by ordering, organizing and combining results.

To take this course, you’ll need basic knowledge of Python.

What you’ll learn:

• Introduction to SQL and Google BigQuery
• Constructing basic SQL queries and filtering data
• Summarizing data with functions like COUNT and SUM
• Cleaning and renaming data with AS
• Writing nested queries with WITH
• Combining data from multiple tables using JOIN.

Kaggle provides a variety of courses related to data science with free certificates. Check them out if you’re an aspiring data scientist!

Also Great Text-based Covering Querying and Databases With Exercises (SQLBolt)

SQLBolt aims to get you started writing SQL as quickly as possible through free interactive browser-based lessons and exercises.

You’ll learn not only how to formulate an SQL query and get the data you need from an existing database, but you’ll also learn how to create new tables from scratch.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

What you’ll learn:

• Writing basic SQL queries with SELECT and DELETE
• Filtering queries with conditionals like WHERE
• Using SQL functions like COUNT() and AVG() to understand data
• Merging results from multiple tables using JOINs
• Inserting, updating, and deleting rows in a table
• Creating, altering, and dropping tables
• Intermediate topics like subqueries and set operations.

Best Course to Analyze Big Data Analysis With SQL (Cloudera)

Foundations for Big Data Analysis with SQL by Cloudera will teach you the concepts and vocabulary shared by database practitioners such that you can work confidently with all sorts of databases.

In this free-to-audit course, you’ll learn how to use SQL for interacting with big data. You’ll begin with an overview of data, database systems, and SQL, then learn the characteristics of big data and SQL tools for working on big data platforms, before ending with some hands-on database exploration practice.

No prior knowledge of SQL and big data is required to take this course.

What you’ll learn:

• Understanding data, databases, and relational database systems
• Key concepts and vocabulary of SQL and relational databases
• Characteristics of big data: volume, velocity, and variety
• Differences between big data and relational databases
• Adapting SQL for big data platforms and handling metadata
• Options for storing big data in data centers or cloud storage
• Hands-on practice with Apache Hive and Apache Impala.

Best Rigorous and Lab-Based SQL Course (University of Colorado Boulder)

In this comprehensive course, you’ll focus on mastering the standard SQL commands and syntax such that you are able to analyze data within a huge relational database. You will not only cover the SELECT statement for retrieving data and creating analytical reports, but also the DDL (“Data Definition Language”) and DML (“Data Manipulation Language”) commands necessary to create and maintain database objects.

There are no prerequisites for this free-to-audit course.

What you’ll learn:

• History and origins of SQL
• Extensive use of the SELECT statement for data retrieval
• Group functions for creating SubTotals
• Writing subqueries and using SQL JOINs for complex data queries
• Creating, updating, modifying, and deleting tables and records with DDL and DML
• Advanced SQL concepts like VIEW, CASE, and UNION.

Best SQL Course for Data Scientists (University of California, Davis)

SQL for Data Science by the University of California, Davis is designed to give you a primer in the fundamentals of SQL and working with data from the perspective of a data scientist.

By the end of this free-to-audit course, you’ll be able to ask the right questions to deliver valuable insights for your organization, write complex queries to help you select and filter data from tables, create new tables and move data into them, and use SQL as a professional to shape your data for targeted analysis purposes.

No prior experience with SQL is required to take this course.

What you’ll learn:

• Fundamentals of SQL and its declarative nature
• Writing SELECT statements to retrieve data
• Using basic SQL clauses and operators to aggregate, filter, sort, and group data
• Utilizing subqueries and joins for complex data queries
• Implementing aliases, pre-qualifiers, and comments for cleaner SQL code
• Modifying strings and understanding case statements
• Principles of data governance, profiling, and using SQL for data science.

Best In-Depth MySQL Course (University of Michigan)

Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL) by the University of Michigan will start you off learning SQL through the MySQL flavor. You’ll learn how to create and design databases with MAMP or XAMPP, and learn the basic syntax of the MySQL language.

Although there are no prerequisites for this free-to-audit course, having knowledge of PHP programming would be helpful.

What you’ll learn:

• Installation of a text editor and PHP development environment (MAMP or XAMPP)
• Overview of databases and advantages over Excel or CSV files
• Basic MySQL syntax and common operations (SELECT, INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE)
• Database normalization and design principles
• Mapping out databases with a data schema
• Modeling many-to-many relationships for efficient database design.

Best Courses Guides Methodology

I built this guide following the now tried-and-tested methodology used in previous Best Courses Guides (you can find them all here). It involves a three-step process:

1. Research: I started by leveraging Class Central’s database with 200K+ online courses and 200K reviews. Then, I made a preliminary selection of the 1800+ SQL courses by rating, reviews, and bookmarks.
2. Evaluate: I read through reviews on Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand what other learners thought about each course and combined it with my own experience as a learner.
3. Select: Well-made courses were picked if they presented valuable and engaging content and fit in a set of criteria: comprehensive curriculum, release date, ratings and enrollments.

Fabio revised the latest version of this article.