9 Free Azure Training Resources

4 min readOct 23, 2020

If you’re looking to tune up your Microsoft Azure knowledge, contemplating a cloud computing career, or want to show value to a potential employer, there’s never been a better time than now to seize the opportunity to learn with a few free Azure training resources.

Whether you’re relatively new to Azure or you’re a pro, there’s always more to learn. Microsoft has been releasing more and more free online resources for all learning paths, experience levels, and learning types to help you do just that, and of course there’s a third-party ecosystem built around it as well. That’s why we compiled a list of our favorite Microsoft Azure training resources on how to learn Azure for free:

1. Microsoft Azure’s Own Training Resources

The most obvious resource for free Azure training is Microsoft itself. Microsoft does a great job of providing ample free educational material with virtual courses, hands-on training, and documentation for users with a range of experience:

Microsoft Learn Courses provide information on Azure Virtual Machines and virtual networks, PaaS, automation and management, cloud migration, and more.
Get hands-on and learn on the go with an Azure free account. It’s free to sign up and $200 credit is yours to spend in the first 30 days. That’s a month of free exploration to “test and deploy enterprise apps, create custom mobile experiences, and gain insight from your data.” On top of that, you’ll also get 12 months to use some popular services for free.
Microsoft Learn for Azure is a great resource for learning more about Azure or expanding your Azure skills.
For those who enjoy some light reading, there’s Microsoft Azure Documentation. Jump in and start learning with quickstarts, samples, and tutorials.

2. Favorite YouTube Channels

If you prefer to actually see steps needed to deploy a particular application or how a new feature works, then videos can make all the difference for visual learners. Some of the most popular channels for Azure free training include:

Microsoft Azure (173K subscribers) offers demos, technical insights, and training videos.
Cloud Ranger Network (24.7K subscribers) accompanies a popular blog on all things Microsoft Azure, making it a great resource for supplemented learning with both video and text.
Azure DevOps (21.8K subscribers) deserves a nod as a great niche channel for developers looking to make use of Azure’s developers services.

3. GitHub

If you want to go beyond videos and start digging in, hands-on, check out these great collections on GitHub. To learn Azure, check out both the official and unofficial Azure GitHub. It will help you save a lot of time and effort.

4. Blogs

Bloggers offer new insights, ideas, and the latest on all things cloud computing — if you know where to look. CloudRanger.net is solely-focused on Microsoft Azure, along with the previously mentioned YouTube channel. Microsoft has its own Azure blog, of course. But for a more well-rounded blog with additional content on AWS and Google Cloud Platform, check out Cloud Academy.

5. Udemy

Udemy offers several free Azure-focused courses. These freebies range from beginner-level overviews to service-specific outlines, as well as certification preparation.

6. Pluralsight

Pluralsight is a Microsoft partner that provides an incredible number of Azure courses for free. Pluralsight offers over 200+ courses, 40+ Skill IQs, and 8 Role IQs; aiming to prepare students for specific Azure certification exams.

7. EDx

Founded by Harvard University and MIT, EDx is a massive online course provider. Take advantage of free online university-level courses and be on your way to earning professional certifications. Azure course topics include databases, security, cosmos DB, and more.

8. Social Media

A great way to stay informed with the latest from Microsoft Azure (and of course, free) is by subscribing to its social media channels: Microsoft Azure Facebook and Microsoft Azure Twitter.

9. Meetups

While many meetups are being held virtually right now, they are still a great way to get involved in your local community. Typically, tech meetups have talks delivered by group members and other experts, and with small communities, there’s plenty of opportunities to ask questions, request specific topics, and generally have a more personalized experience than mass-produced online content. Search Azure, Cloud, or Microsoft on meetup.com to see what’s available near you (or, since they’re currently virtual, look further afield).

Take Advantage of These Free Azure Training Resources

Cloud-based application development is growing at a rapid pace and having Azure skills and experience can help you achieve many goals — free Azure online training is both abundant and rewarding. We picked our top 9 resources for their reliability, quality, and range of information. Whether you’re new to Azure or consider yourself an expert, these resources will get you on the right foot.