Learning Excel and Power BI is one of the fastest ways to boost your career in data, business analysis, and reporting. The best part? You don’t need paid programs to get started.
Today, many trusted platforms offer high-quality free online courses with certificates that teach fundamental, job-ready skills.
Whether you’re a beginner or improving your current skills, these free courses make it easy to learn at your own pace and build projects you can showcase to employers.
How we have chosen these free courses
We selected these courses based on four simple factors:
- They are free and include a certificate of completion.
- They focus on practical, job-ready skills used in real workplace reporting.
- They offer beginner-friendly lessons with clear explanations and hands-on practice.
Top 10 Free Excel and Power BI Courses Offering Practical, Job-Ready Skills
- Data Visualization with Power BI – Great Learning Academy
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (approx. 2.25 hours of video lessons)
This beginner-friendly free Power BI course teaches how to turn raw data into meaningful visual insights using Power BI. It covers installation, interface navigation, and the basics of building reports and dashboards.
Key Outcomes:
- Learn how to install and navigate the Power BI interface effectively.
- Understand the principles of data visualization for impactful reporting.
- Gain experience in creating charts, graphs, and simple dashboards.
- Gain practical skills, including Power BI usage, data loading, creating reports, dashboards, slicers, and filters, and visual interactivity.
- Receive a certificate of completion from Great Learning Academy.
2. Introduction to Microsoft Excel – Simplilearn SkillUp
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (approx. 7 hours of video lessons)
This course covers Excel from its basics to advanced features, including PivotTables, data validation, and basic macros. It focuses on practical application for everyday business reporting tasks. The format consists of self-paced video lessons accompanied by quizzes.
Key Outcomes:
- Master essential Excel functions like Sort, Filter, and Conditional Formatting.
- Learn to create basic dashboards and analyze data effectively.
- Understand data validation and basic Macros/VBA automation.
- Receive a certificate of completion to showcase your skills.
- Excel for Beginners – Great Learning Academy
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (approx. 7.5 hours of video lessons)
This beginner-friendly Excel free course with certificate covers the fundamentals of Microsoft Excel, including basic features, essential formulas, and fundamental data entry. It is designed to build core spreadsheet skills quickly.
Key Outcomes:
- Master basic Excel functions and essential formulas.
- Learn best practices for cell formatting, navigation, and data entry.
- Understand fundamental spreadsheet management and organization.
- Gain practical skills including cell referencing, tables and borders, date and time functions, sorting and filtering, if–else conditions, and general functions used in descriptive analysis.
- Receive a certificate of completion from Great Learning Academy.
4. Microsoft Learn: Power BI Learning Path – Microsoft
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (modular content)
This is the official and most direct source for learning Power BI. It is a series of structured modules covering everything from data shaping with Power Query to DAX logic. The platform provides guided, interactive learning experiences that align with industry certifications.
Key Outcomes:
- Master Power Query for data shaping, cleaning, and formatting.
- Understand data modeling principles and core DAX logic.
- Discover the fundamentals of report layout, design, and cloud-sharing capabilities.
- Align skills with official Microsoft certification exam content (PL-300).
5. Excel Basics for Data Analysis – IBM (via Coursera)
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (approx. 12 hours)
This course focuses specifically on using Excel for data analysis tasks. It emphasizes data cleansing, manipulation, and utilizing functions like PivotTables for drawing insights from data. It is a highly practical introduction to the principles of data analysis.
Key Outcomes:
- Learn data cleaning, sorting, and filtering methods.
- Master PivotTables and Charts for effective visualization.
- Understand basic concepts of data quality and integrity.
- Apply Excel skills to real data analysis scenarios.
6. Power BI Full Course Playlist – Kevin Stratvert (YouTube)
Delivery: Online (YouTube)
Duration: Self-paced (3+ hours)
This popular playlist guides users step-by-step through the Power BI interface and report-building process. It uses sample datasets to help you follow along and build a real project.
Key Outcomes:
- Get familiar with Power BI’s interface and workflow.
- Learn data import, Power Query steps, and beginner DAX formulas.
- Practice dashboard publishing to the Power BI Service.
- Build a beginner sales dashboard as a portfolio project.
7. Create Charts and Dashboards Using Microsoft Excel – Coursera Project Network
Delivery: Online
Duration: Less than 2 hours (Guided Project)
A focused, hands-on project that teaches you how to design data visualizations and dashboards inside Excel. You follow an instructor step-by-step to create a clean, professional report.
Key Outcomes:
- Design and build professional dashboards in Excel.
- Use chart types and visualization techniques effectively.
- Apply trend and data analysis in spreadsheets.
- Present data clearly to stakeholders.
8. Introduction to Power BI – DataCamp
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (approx. 4 hours)
Great for beginners, this course features interactive exercises and quizzes that teach practical Power BI skills in a real-world context.
Key Outcomes:
- Get started with Power BI’s interface and data import.
- Learn the basics of data modeling and visualization creation.
- Use Power BI to solve simple business problems.
- Build confidence through hands-on, guided activities.
9. Introduction to Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel – Rice University (Coursera)
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (less than 2 hours for guided project)
This guided project covers data manipulation, pivot tables, and insight extraction in Excel.
Key Outcomes:
- Learn data manipulation and basic data mining.
- Master Pivot Tables and Charts quickly.
- Apply Excel formulas for reporting and analysis.
- Build foundational data analysis confidence.
10. Using Power BI with Excel – LinkedIn Learning
Delivery: Online
Duration: Self-paced (approx. 48 minutes)
This course focuses on how Excel and Power BI work together, as well as how to transition your existing Excel reporting into more advanced Power BI workflows.
Key Outcomes:
- Import Excel data into Power BI the right way.
- Understand the benefits of Power BI over complex Excel sheets.
- Explore smooth workflows between both tools.
- Upgrade your current Excel reports using Power BI features.
Conclusion
These free Excel and Power BI courses give you a clear, practical path to learning the tools that companies use every day for reporting, dashboards, and data analysis.
Whether you’re enhancing your resume, preparing for your first analytics role, or refining existing skills, these programs provide strong foundational training.
Many of them also include online free courses with certificate options, making it easy to showcase your new skills to employers.
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