With the help of our top free back-end development courses, complete with certificates, you can unlock the secrets of server-side programming making this list perfect for aspiring developers.

Key Takeaways

Carefully hand-picked back-end development courses with certification.
All these courses cover Python, Django, Node.js, SQL, and more.
Suitable for all beginners and experienced programmers looking to improve their back-end development skills.

Join thousands of successful learners with Angela Yu’s Popular Online Courses, tailored for practical tech skills.

What are the best free back-end development courses with certificates?

Here is a list of the best free back-end development courses along with certificates. These courses cover key technologies like Python, Node.js, Django, and SQL. With the help of these courses, learners can gain comprehensive knowledge and develop practical skills by mastering server-side programming and web application development.

I don’t care if it works on your machine! We are not shipping your machine!” – Vidiu Platon

#	Course Name	University/Organization	Ratings	Duration
1.	Complete Backend Development 2023 Bundle – Python Roadmap	Udemy	★★★★★ 4.5	17 Hours
2.	Django 3 – Python Backend Web Development For Beginner	Udemy	★★★★★ 4.9	41 Hours
3.	The Web Developer Bootcamp	Udemy	★★★★★ 4.7	64 Hours
4.	Meta Back-End Developer Professional Certificate	Meta	★★★★★ 4.7	210 Hours
5.	Backend Master Class [Golang + Postgres + Kubernetes + gRPC]	Udemy	★★★★★ 4.7	15 Hours
6.	Node, SQL, & PostgreSQL – Backend Web Development	SkillShare	—	02 Hours
7.	Python on the Backend	Udemy	★★★★★ 4.6	04 Hours
8.	The Complete 2023 Web Development Bootcamp	Udemy	★★★★★ 4.7	65 Hours
9.	Developing Back-End Apps with Node.js and Express	IBM	—	12 Hours
10.	Build a Backend REST API with Python & Django – Advanced	Udemy	★★★★★ 4.7	23 Hours

In order to help our readers in taking a knowledgeable learning decision, TakeThisCourse.net has introduced a metric to measure the effectiveness of an online course. Learn more about how we measure an online course effectiveness.

Criteria for Back End Development Courses Evaluation and Selection

In the selection process of our Back-end Development courses, we meticulously focus on the curriculum’s comprehensiveness. With that, factors like instructor expertise and real-world application are also considered. We evaluate each course based on user reviews, practicality along with its ability to equip learners with current industry standards. By following this process, we make sure that our recommendations are authoritative, up-to-date, and tailored to foster high-demand skills in the tech industry. All this makes sure that a person’s learning journey and career prospects in back-end development are enhanced.

Best + Free Back End Development Courses with Certificates

Complete Backend Development 2023 Bundle – Python Roadmap

- - Shubham Sarda via Udemy
  - 15,050+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (279 Ratings)

Complete Backend Development 2023 Bundle - Python Roadmap

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Good ★★★★☆	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

In this course, you will be given reasonable guidelines to become a self-taught python developer. The instructor will explain how to write clean and proper Python code with the concept.

The best thing about this course is its focus on explaining the 4 pillars of object-oriented programming. You will be taught how to handle errors and exceptions with Python.
This course is for those who wish to learn all about Model, View, and Template (MVT) for web apps and understand how to implement the CRUD functionality on applications.

This was a great course and is exactly what I was looking for. The course had a lot more content in it than I expected. It was well thought out and explained. Shubham has done a great job at explaining all the concepts. (Spens T, ★★★★★)

Django 3 – Python Backend Web Development For Beginner

- - Kazi Ariyan via Udemy
  - 1,673+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (282 Ratings)

Django 3 - Python Backend Web Development For Beginner

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Excellent ★★★★★	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

If you want to learn all about Django from scratch then this course is for you. Here you will learn to create 3 different interactive projects in a step-by-step guide.

The reason why we chose this course is its focus on explaining how to create a dynamic website and create projects and applications.
This course is for those who wish to understand all about Django models and forms and learn to use CRUD using MySql.

I would like to thank Kazi for this amazing course. I have taken many other Django/Back End Development courses but none of them were as good as this one. This course is the best and offers great explanations. I have definitely developed skills to begin creating my own Django applications thanks to this course. (Jonathan C, ★★★★★)

The Web Developer Bootcamp

- - Colt Steele via Udemy
  - 842,919+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (251,834 Ratings)

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Excellent ★★★★★	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

This course explains the ins and outs of HTML5, CSS3, and modern Javascript in detail.

This is a must-have course for all those who are trying to become a web developer or software developer. I decided to become one a year ago and then found this amazing course that helped me developed skills I didn’t think I could develop. (Ario B, ★★★★★)

Meta Back-End Developer Professional Certificate

- - Meta via Coursera
  - 2,629+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (1,787 Ratings)

Meta Back-End Developer Professional Certificate

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Excellent ★★★★★	Good ★★★★☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

This is a beginner-level specialization that can help you launch your career as a back-end developer. Here you will gain the technical skills required to become a qualified back-end developer.

The best thing about this specialization is its focus on explaining how to use programming systems including Python, Syntax, Linux commands, Git, SQL, and so much more.
Back End Development courses in this specialization are for those who wish to learn in-demand programming skills and become confident at using codes to solve problems.

Related: Who is a Back-End Developer? Key Responsibilities, Skills & Salary

The back end development courses in this specialization are a convenient way for any learner to understand and gain new skills/tools to develop web applications. The instructors of Meta have done an impeccable job with this specialization. (Anonymous Learner, ★★★★★)

Backend Master Class [Golang + Postgres + Kubernetes + gRPC]

- - Tech School via Udemy
  - 22,974+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (783 Ratings)

Backend Master Class

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Good ★★★★☆	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

In this engaging class, you will learn to design database schema using DBML and understand how to general SQL code from it.

The best thing about this class is its focus on explaining how to generate Golang code to interact with the database automatically.
This class is for those who wish to learn to write stronger test set with high coverage using interfaces and mocking.

I have taken multiple classes from multiple platforms but none of them were as good as this one. The lectures were well-organized and taught in an awesome manner. Would highly recommend this class to those interested. (Chandan Kumar, ★★★★★)

Node, SQL, & PostgreSQL – Backend Web Development

- - David Katz via SkillShare
  - 787+ already enrolled!
  - 02 Hours of effort required!

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Good ★★★★☆	Good ★★★★☆	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

This is a project-based course that explains how to build Node, SQL, and PostgreSQL applications with the help of three full projects.

The reason why we chose this course is its focus on discovering some of the widely used techniques in the industry today. You will get to build a more in-depth application with Node and Express and learn to build an API with a complete set of HTTP request methods.
This course is for those who wish to dive deep into SQL and PostgreSQL and build a solid foundation in these tools.

I really enjoyed learning from the instructor. The accent was great and the entire content was easy to understand. (Jan N)

continue with more Back End Development Courses with Certificates…

Python on the Backend

- - Hussein Nasser via Udemy
  - 26,352+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (754 Ratings)

Python on the Backend

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Good ★★★★☆	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

This “Python on the Backend” class explains how to build a website or APIs in Python.

The best thing about this class is its focus on explaining how to serve a basic website with Python as the backend.
This class is for those who wish to learn to implement load balancing for their backend Python services.

Related: Best + Free Python Bootcamp

This class offers a great introduction to Tornado and what goes into a Python API. I am very satisfied with this class. (Eric P, ★★★★★)

The Complete 2023 Web Development Bootcamp

- - Dr. Angela Yu via Udemy
  - 856,663+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (249,878 Ratings)

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Excellent ★★★★★	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

In this course, you will get to build 16 web development projects for your portfolio and get ready for junior developer jobs.

The reason why we chose this course is its focus on explaining the latest technologies including JavaScript, React, Node, and even Web3 development.
This course is for those who wish to learn to build any website they want and master both front and backend development.

For an in-depth understanding, read our comprehensive ‘Dr. Angela Yu Courses Review‘ to see if her teaching style aligns with your learning preferences.”

This course has taught me so much about web development and has taught me things I didn’t know before. (Gayle C, ★★★★★)

Developing Back-End Apps with Node.js and Express

- - IBM via Coursera
  - 1,766+ already enrolled!
  - 12 Hours of effort required!

Developing Back-End Apps with Node js and Express

This is an intermediate-level course that explains how to create server-side applications using the Node.js JavaScript run time. Here you will learn to use NPM to manage Node.js packages in your Node.js application.

The best thing about this course is its focus on explaining how to extend your Node.js application with third-party packages and frameworks, which includes Express as well.
This course is for those who wish to learn to develop asynchronous callback functions and promises to complete asynchronous operations.

Build a Backend REST API with Python & Django – Advanced

- - Mark Winterbottom via Udemy
  - 34,542+ already enrolled!
  - ★★★★★ (6,451 Ratings)

Build a Backend REST API with Python & Django - Advanced

Online Course Effectiveness Score
Content	Engagement	Practice	Career Benefit
Excellent ★★★★★	Good ★★★★☆	Fair ★★★☆☆	Fair ★★★☆☆

This course is all about explaining how to set up a local development server with Docker. You will be taught how to write a Python project using Test Driven Development.

The reason why we chose this course is its focus on explaining how to build a REST API with advanced features such as uploading and viewing images. You will learn to create a backend that can be used as a base for your future projects or MVP.
This course is for those who wish to gain hands-on experience in applying best practice principles such as PEP-8 and unit tests.

This was a great course that gave me sufficient knowledge about the test-driven development process. I had many questions in mind but this course solved them. I can say anyone who needs exposure to the REST-API should enroll in this course. (Abishek K, ★★★★★)

10 Best + Free Back End Development Courses with Certificates