Yes. Google offers more than 450 free online courses that lead to a certificate or a digital badge. They span five platforms: Google Skillshop, Google Analytics Academy, Google Play Academy, Google Cloud Skills Boost, and Google Developers. Each course is free to take, and each gives you a credential you can add to your CV or LinkedIn profile.

Not every free Google credential is the same. Skillshop and Google Analytics issue shareable certificates of completion, while Cloud Skills Boost and the Developer platform mostly award skill badges. The table below shows what each platform offers so you know what you will earn before you start.

Please note, Class Central is not involved in running these courses or issuing the certificates and badges. Availability changes often, so it is worth confirming a course still offers a free credential before enrolling.

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Click on the shortcuts for courses with free certificates or badges:

• Free Google Skillshop Certifications
• Free Google Analytics Certification
• Free Google Play Academy Certificate
• Free Badges from Google Cloud Skills Boost (Quiklabs)
• Free Google Developer Badges
• More Free Certificates
• Paid option: Google Career Certificates

Free Google Skillshop Certifications

In 2024, Google Skillshop migrated their courses to a new platform. Google Skillshop provides free training programs for a large number of Google services, including their marketing tools. There are courses on all the following subjects: Google Ads, Google AdMob, Google My Business, YouTube, and more.

Currently, Google Skillshop offers 14 online courses with a free certificate of completion. You’ll unlock the certificate once you complete the course assessments.

Google Skillshop Certificate courses:

• Google Ads Apps Certification
• AI-Powered Shopping ads Certification
• Google Ads Creative Certification
• Google Ads Display Certification
• Google Ads Search Certification
• Grow Offline Sales Certification
• AI-Powered Performance Ads Certification
• Google Ads Video Certification
• Google Ads – Measurement Certification

Google Marketing Platform certification exams:

• Campaign manager 360 certification exam
• Conversion optimisation certification exam
• Display & Video 360 Certification Exam
• Google Analytics Certification
• Search Ads 360 Certification Exam

Free Google Analytics Certification

In 2023, Google completed the transition to the latest major version of its analytics platform, Google Analytics 4. For the occasion, Google launched new online courses, including a free certification program: Google Analytics Certification.

The course includes a series of videos, readings, and assessment. After getting a score of 80% or higher on the assessment, you’ll earn a free certificate of completion, like the one above. This will appear on your profile on the platform, but you can also download it and share it via LinkedIn. Some learners have reported a delay of 24 hours or so before the certificate becomes available.

Google has withdrawn its free certificate courses for the Universal Analytics platform that stopped working from July 1st, 2023.

Free Google Play Academy Certificate

Google Play Academy has over  60 free short courses (without certificates) available to help you build a successful app or game business. Courses are designed to be taken in under 10 minutes. The courses are available in 10 languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, and Indonesian.

Currently, one free certificate is available: Google Play Store Listing Certificate. Take the component courses and exam to earn your certificate. Please note, it may take up to 7 days after passing the exam to receive your certificate by email.

Free Badges from Google Cloud Skills Boost (Qwiklabs)

Qwiklabs, a startup acquired by Google and since then rebranded to Google Cloud Skills Boost (though the Qwiklabs name lingers), lets you learn Google Cloud through a hands-on approach.

We found over 300 courses offering a free skills badge or completion badge.

Here’s a selection, grouped by topic:

AI & machine learning

• Introduction to Generative AI
• Introduction to Responsible AI
• Introduction to Large Language Models
• Introduction to Image Generation
• Attention Mechanism
• Transformer Models and BERT Model
• Encoder-Decoder Architecture
• Create Image Captioning Models

Google Workspace

• Gmail
• Google Calendar
• Google Docs
• Google Drive
• Google Meet
• Google Sheets
• Google Sheets – Advanced Topics
• Google Slides
• Google Chat
• Introduction to Google Workspace Administration
• Managing Google Workspace
• Google Workspace Security
• Google Workspace Mail Management
• Planning for a Google Workspace Deployment
• Preparing for Your Google Workspace Administrator Journey

Google Cloud infrastructure, data & operations

• Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Foundations with Anthos
• Understanding Google Cloud Security and Operations
• Innovating with Data and Google Cloud
• Infrastructure and Application Modernization with Google Cloud
• Managing Change when Moving to Google Cloud
• Deploying SAP on Google Cloud
• The Modern Data Platform and LookML
• Design Foundations for Streaming with Google Cloud
• Digital Transformation with Google Cloud
• Managing and Securing the Apigee Hybrid API Platform
• Upgrading and Monitoring the Apigee Hybrid API Platform
• Introduction to Cloud Identity
• Site Reliability Engineering: Measuring and Managing Reliability
• Developing a Google SRE Culture
• Chronicle Technical Training
• Planetary Scale Earth Observation with Google Earth Engine

Google Cloud certification exam prep

• Preparing for the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Exam
• Preparing for Your Associate Cloud Engineer Journey
• Preparing for Your Professional Cloud Architect Journey
• Preparing for Your Professional Cloud Network Engineer Journey
• Preparing for Your Professional Cloud Security Engineer Journey

Free Google Developer Badges

The Google Developers Platform offers a wealth of resources for professional and aspiring developers. In particular, the platform has 1500 learning resources including 120+ online courses and free badges from beginner to advanced levels. There is a free Standard plan and paid plans available. Check individual courses for badge availability.

Some prepare you for paid exams. Notably, a substantial portion of the platform’s catalog is dedicated to Android development.

Here’s a selection of courses:

• Build your first web app with Firebase
• Get started with Google Maps Platform
• Build apps with Flutter
• Introduction to SQL
• Get data from the internet
• Adapt for different screen sizes
• Kotlin fundamentals
• Get started with object detection
• Implement Material Design in web apps
• Develop locally with Firebase
• Make your Android app more accessible
• Use Actions on Google to make your home smarter
• Location-based features in Android
• Build cross-platform apps with Angular
• Cloud Run and serverless computing
• Jetpack Compose basics

If you’re a developer, you may also be interested in our dedicated article: 2000+ Free Developer and IT Certifications

More Free Certificates

If you don’t find what you need here, browse Class Central’s catalog of 250K courses or visit our thematic collections:

• Massive List of Thousands of Free Certificates & Badges
• 470+ Hours of Free LinkedIn Learning Courses with Free Certification
• 900+ Open University Free Certificates​
• 280+ Free Digital Marketing Certificates & Badges
• 2000+ Free Developer and IT Certifications

You can find all our free certificates articles here.

Paid option: Google Career Certificates

Many people searching for free Google certificates are actually looking for the Google Career Certificates. These are not free. They are paid, entry-level professional programs that Google runs with Coursera, covering fields such as Data Analytics, IT Support, Project Management, UX Design, Cybersecurity, and Digital Marketing & E-commerce, among others. Earning the shareable certificate requires an active Coursera subscription, though a free trial is often available and financial aid can cover most of the cost. Coursera sets the current price, so check the course page for the latest figure.

The main way to earn one at reduced cost is Coursera financial aid. If you apply and are approved, you get full access to the course and the certificate for minimal cost. The application takes a few minutes, and Coursera says a decision can take up to 15 days. The certificate you earn is identical to the paid one and gives no sign that financial aid was used.

Auditing courses for free is no longer a reliable route here. Coursera replaced its old Audit option with a limited Preview in 2025, and its Professional Certificate pages do not allow a free single-course signup. If your goal is the knowledge rather than the credential, the free credentials already on this page are the better starting point. For Google Ads and Google Analytics, the Skillshop certifications listed above are free from start to finish, including the certificate. For cloud and data topics, Google Cloud Skills Boost offers free badge courses that cover similar ground.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Google certificates free?

Many are. Google runs more than 450 free online courses that come with a certificate of completion or a digital badge, spread across Google Skillshop, Google Analytics Academy, Google Play Academy, Google Cloud Skills Boost, and Google Developers. Google’s paid Career Certificates on Coursera are a separate, subscription-based program and are not free.

Do free Google courses give a certificate or just a badge?

It depends on the platform. Google Skillshop and Google Analytics issue shareable certificates of completion. Google Cloud Skills Boost and Google Developers mainly award skill or completion badges. Google Play Academy offers around 60 short courses without certificates, plus one course that leads to a free certificate.

Is the Google Analytics certification free?

Yes. The Google Analytics Certification, covering Google Analytics 4, is free through Google Skillshop. You work through a series of videos and readings, then pass an assessment with a score of 80% or higher to earn a certificate you can download and share on LinkedIn. It can take around 24 hours for the certificate to appear.

Are Google Career Certificates free?

No. Google Career Certificates, such as Google Data Analytics, IT Support, Cybersecurity, Project Management, and UX Design, are paid professional certificates offered on Coursera through a monthly subscription. Financial aid and a free trial can lower the cost, but the program is not free and is separate from the free courses listed on this page.

How long does it take to get a Google certificate?

It varies by course. Some Skillshop assessments can be completed in a few hours, while badge courses on Cloud Skills Boost range from short labs to multi-hour pathways. Issuing the credential can also take time: the Google Analytics certificate may take around 24 hours, and the Google Play Store Listing Certificate can take up to 7 days after you pass the exam.

Do Google certificates and badges expire?

Some do. Several Google Ads certifications on Skillshop must be renewed each year to stay valid. Skill and completion badges from Cloud Skills Boost and Google Developers generally do not expire.