The Best Python Courses Online for Beginners

Here are the best python courses online to help you learn python programming and and practice your new skills through hand-ons projects and exercises.

Python is one of the fastest growing programming languages, as well as one of my personal favourites. It’s used in various fields including web development, data science, machine learning, gaming, and many more.

Let’s explore the best python courses online to help you gain knowledge and practical skills in this popular language.

Why Take an Online Course to Learn Python?

Python is a programming language with a simple syntax and low-entry point, making it ideal for junior developers and those who have no previous coding background.

Besides being used for web development, Python can also be used for complex scientific and numeric applications, and has been adopted as the go-to language for various trending technologies due to its extensive libraries.

According to the Developer Survey by StackOverflow, Python was one of the most in-demand technologies of 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Google, Facebook, Netflix, NASA, and Dropbox are among a few of the world-class tech companies that use Python for various projects and are continuously on the lookout for Python engineers.

Taking an online course in Python enables you to immediately work towards building something usable, and it can open up many job opportunities.

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What are the Best Python Courses Online?

Here are is a list of the best online courses for learning python:

Treehouse Learning Python Programs

The Treehouse learning platform enables you to learn the languages, frameworks, and principles required for the most in-demand careers in tech.

Python Track

Treehouse has various Tracks or mini-programs, each designed to teach you a particular set of skills. One of their most popular Tracks is called Beginning Python, and it has a carefully mapped out learning path and courses to guide your education.

Program Syllabus:

Python Basics
Introducing Lists
Introducing Tuples
Functions, Packing, and Unpacking
Python Sequences
Introducing Dictionaries
Understanding Dunder Main (__main__)
Object-Oriented Python
Write Better Python
Dates and Times in Python

Time to complete: 16 hours.

=> Sign up for a free trial and get full 7-day access to this course (and other programming languages too)

I love the sleek and intuitive layout of the Treehouse platform and their professional, expert-led video courses that enhance your learning experience.

Python Techdegree

If you're looking for something even more extensive, Treehouse also offers a Python Development Techdegree that enables you to develop a well-rounded portfolio of projects to demonstrate your expertise.

Project 1: You'll build a console number guessing game

Project 2: You'll build a console-based basketball team statistics tool

Project 3: You'll use Python and OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) approaches to create a word guessing game: "Phrase Hunter"

Project 4: You'll build a console application that loads an existing store's inventory data from a CSV file into a Sqlite database

In your final project, you'll create a web application (a personal learning journal) using HTML, CSS, and Flask, a popular framework for Python web development.

You could complete the program and be job-ready in around 2-5 months

=> Learn more about the Python Development Techdegree

Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python)

Over 1.8 million students have enrolled in the Getting Started with Python course on Coursera. This course is offered by the University of Michigan and covers the basics of how one constructs a program from a series of simple instructions in Python. The course has no prerequisites and avoids all but the simplest mathematics.

Course Syllabus:

Week 1: Chapter One - Why we Program?
Week 2: Installing and Using Python
Week 3: Chapter One: Why We Program (continued)
Week 4: Chapter Two: Variables and Expressions
Week 5: Chapter Three: Conditional Code
Week 6: Chapter Four: Functions
Week 7: Chapter Five: Loops and Iteration

Key course features:

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule

Course 1 of 5 in the Python for Everybody Specialization

Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance with your schedule

Approx. 19 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, German, English

=> Enroll in the Getting Started with Python course here.

Python for Everybody Specialization

For a more in-depth exploration, this specialization builds on the success of the Python for Everybody course and introduces fundamental programming concepts including data structures, networked application program interfaces, and databases, using the Python programming language.

In the Capstone Project, you’ll use the technologies learned throughout the Specialization to design and create your own applications for data retrieval, processing, and visualization.

Courses included in the specialization:

Course 1: Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python)
Course 2: Python Data Structures
Course 3: Using Python to Access Web Data
Course 4: Using Databases with Python
Course 5: Capstone: Retrieving, Processing, and Visualizing Data with Python

If you spend approximately 3 hours a week, you can complete the full specialization in about 8 months.

=> Enroll in the Python for Everybody Specialization here.

The Complete Python Course | Learn Python by Doing

This comprehensive course covers every major Python topic (including Object-Oriented Programming, Web Scraping, and even GUI development), and is regularly updated with fresh new content.

The course takes you from beginner to expert, whilst learning all about the inner workings of Python. Each lecture comes with an interactive screencast video and complete, written notes and code for you to read and refer back to you as you progress through the course.

In the course, there are quizzes and tests to check your understanding, as well as highly accessible support for any questions you may have.

In the course you will:

Learn how to write professional Python code like a professional Python developer.

Swiftly understand complex topics like decorators, algorithms, and asynchronous programming in Python.

Explore the wider possibilities of what you can do with Python, including databases, web development and web scraping.

Automate extracting data from websites using web scraping libraries like BeautifulSoup and Selenium.

Interact with REST APIs using Python and build a currency converter

Learn how to write desktop applications with Python and Tkinter.

There will be milestone projects for you to complete throughout the course. These provide a challenge and an opportunity for you to apply what you've learned. The instructors always go over the code afterwards to guide you through the solution.

Key course features:

35 hours on-demand video
54 articles
13 downloadable resources
25 coding exercises
Full lifetime access
Access on mobile and TV
Certificate of completion

=> Enroll in the Complete Python Course here.

Google's Crash Course on Python

This course provides you with a foundation in order to write simple programs in Python using the most common structures. No previous exposure to programming is needed.

You’ll get started by diving into the basics of writing a computer program. Along the way, you’ll gain hands-on experience with programming concepts through interactive exercises and real-world examples.

By the end of this course, you'll understand the benefits of programming in IT roles; be able to write simple programs using Python; figure out how the building blocks of programming fit together; and combine all of this knowledge to solve a complex programming problem.

Course Syllabus:

Week 1: Hello Python!
Week 2: Basic Python Syntax
Week 3: Loops
Week 4: Strings, Lists and Dictionaries
Week 5: Object Oriented Programming (Optional)
Week 6: Final Project

Key course features:

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule

Course 1 of 6 in the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance with your schedule

Beginner Level

Approx. 31 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

=> Enroll in the Crash Course on Python here.

Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate

This six-course professional certificate builds on the foundations established in the Crash Course on Python (above). Developed by Google, the certificate is designed to provide IT professionals with in-demand skills - including Python, Git, and IT automation - that can help you advance your career.

In this course, you’ll learn how to program with Python and how to use Python to automate common system administration tasks. You'll also learn to use Git and GitHub, troubleshoot and debug complex problems, and apply automation at scale by using configuration management and the Cloud.

Program Syllabus:

Course 1: Crash Course on Python
Course 2: Using Python to Interact with the Operating System
Course 3: Introduction to Git and GitHub
Course 4: Troubleshooting and Debugging Techniques
Course 5: Configuration Management and the Cloud
Course 6: Automating Real-World Tasks with Python

This certificate can be completed in about 6 months and is designed to prepare you for a variety of roles in IT, like more advanced IT Support Specialist or Junior Systems Administrator positions.

Key program features:

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

No prior experience required.

English

Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, Uzbek, Burmese, Telugu

=> Enroll in the Google IT Automation with Python Certificate here.

Python for Finance: Investment Fundamentals & Data Analytics

Would you like to explore how Python can be applied in the world of Finance to solve portfolio optimization problems? The Python for Finance course is designed to teach you exactly that - and demonstrate how Python can be used in a working environment.

The first part of the course is ideal for beginners and people who want to brush up on their Python skills. After covering the basics, the course will then show you how to tackle financial calculations and portfolio optimization tasks.

This course will help you:

Learn how to code in Python
Work with Python’s conditional statements, functions, sequences, and loops
Work with scientific packages, like NumPy
Understand how to use the data analysis toolkit, Pandas
Plot graphs with Matplotlib
Use Python to solve real-world tasks
Get a job as a data scientist with Python
Acquire solid financial acumen
Carry out in-depth investment analysis
Calculate risk and return of investment portfolios
Build investment portfolios
Be comfortable applying for a developer job in a financial institution

This course is for:

Aspiring data scientists
Programming beginners
People interested in finance and investments
Programmers who want to specialize in finance
People who want to learn how to code and practice their skills
Finance graduates and professionals who need to better apply their knowledge in Python

Key course features:

8.5 hours on-demand video
1 article
42 downloadable resources
Full lifetime access
Access on mobile and TV
Certificate of completion

=> Enroll in the Python for Finance course here.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for checking out this article on the best python courses online. Of courses, the course(s) you decide to take will depend on your personal and career goals, and how you plan to apply your knowledge of python.

The above courses will help you develop a solid understanding of the python programming language, while giving you the opportunity to practice what you learn through useful and engaging projects.

For beginners who are deciding how to move forward, a quick and easy way to get started is to sign up for free 7 day trial with Treehouse learning and explore their library of courses in Python and other programming languages you might be interested in.

Happy learning!