Last updated: June 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.
QUICK VERDICT
Bottom line: The best Microsoft Access course for most people is the “Microsoft Access Master Class: Beginner to Advanced” on Udemy (4.8, 57,000+ students, updated 2024). If you are coming from spreadsheets, start with “Excel to Access”; if your workplace runs Microsoft 365, pick the Access 365 course so the menus match.
- Best for: office workers, analysts, and small businesses building databases without writing code
- Pricing: Udemy courses ~$15–20 on sale, with lifetime access
- Skip if: you need a multi-user, web-scale database — learn SQL and a server database instead
Microsoft Access is the database most office workers actually meet: a desktop relational database with a friendly, point-and-click interface that lets non-programmers build real tables, queries, forms, and reports. It is still widely used in small businesses, departments, and Office-heavy workplaces for tracking inventory, contacts, projects, and processes — the jobs where a spreadsheet starts to buckle but a full server database would be overkill.
A good course is what gets you past Access’s quirks quickly. The problem with most “best Access course” lists is that they are full of 2010- and 2013-era courses. We checked every pick below in a live browser in June 2026, recording its rating and last-updated date, and kept only current, well-rated options — with picks for beginners, Excel users, Microsoft 365, and anyone moving toward SQL.
The best Microsoft Access courses in 2026, at a glance
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| Course | Best for | Rating / size | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Access Master Class: Beginner to Advanced | Best overall | 4.8 · 57,619 | Jul 2024 |
| Microsoft Access Complete Beginner to Advanced | Most comprehensive (4-in-1) | 4.8 · 53,851 | Jun 2024 |
| Microsoft Access 365 Mastery | Microsoft 365 / latest version | 4.6 · 4,377 | Sep 2024 |
| Excel to Access: Access for Excel Users | Spreadsheet users | 4.7 · 21,372 | Aug 2023 |
| Microsoft Access SQL: SQL for Non-Programmers | Toward queries & DBA skills | 4.7 · 7,094 | Jan 2026 |
1. Microsoft Access Master Class: Beginner to Advanced — Udemy (best overall)
This is the one we point most people to. It takes you from a blank database to confidently building tables and relationships, running queries, designing forms and reports, and writing basic VBA to automate tasks — the full arc of practical Access skills. At 4.8 stars across 14,358 ratings, 57,619 students, and updated July 2024, it is both the highest-rated and one of the most-current big Access courses. Despite the older version number in some lesson footage, the skills transfer directly to Access 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365. If you want a single course that makes you genuinely capable in Access, start here.
2. Microsoft Access Complete Beginner to Advanced — Udemy (most comprehensive)
If you want maximum depth, this course bundles four courses into one path: an introduction and table design, queries, forms and reports, and automation with macros and VBA. Each topic starts at the basics and climbs to advanced, taught by an instructor with 15+ years of Access training. At 4.8 stars across 9,632 ratings, 53,851 students, and updated June 2024, it is a close second to our top pick — choose it if you specifically want the heaviest treatment of macros and VBA automation.
3. Microsoft Access 365 Mastery — Udemy (latest version)
If your workplace runs Microsoft 365, you want a course built on the current Access, where the ribbon and menus match what is on your screen. This one is exactly that — built on Access for Microsoft 365, with a strong focus on importing from Excel and building practical databases. It is newer and smaller (4.6 stars, 983 ratings, 4,377 students, updated September 2024), so the Q&A archive is thinner than our top pick, but the on-screen experience is the most current available.
4. Excel to Access: Access for Excel Users — Udemy (best for spreadsheet users)
Most people arrive at Access because their Excel workbook has grown unmanageable. This course is built for exactly that journey: it explains relational thinking in spreadsheet terms, shows you how to import your Excel data cleanly, and gets you building proper tables and queries. At 4.7 stars across 4,667 ratings, 21,372 students, and updated August 2023, it is the gentlest on-ramp if Excel is your starting point. Take it first, then move to a full course above for depth.
5. Microsoft Access SQL: SQL for Non-Programmers — Udemy (toward queries & DBA skills)
Access quietly runs on SQL under the hood, and learning to write it directly is the bridge from casual user to someone who can build serious queries — and eventually move to a server database. This course teaches Access SQL from scratch for non-programmers, and at 4.7 stars (805 ratings, 7,094 students, updated January 2026) it is the freshest pick here. It is the natural next step if you are eyeing a data or junior database-administrator role.
What you’ll learn in a good Access course
Before you buy, check the curriculum against the skills that make Access genuinely useful. A course worth your money should cover:
- Tables and relationships: designing normalised tables and linking them with primary and foreign keys — the foundation that separates a database from a spreadsheet.
- Queries: select, parameter, action, and aggregate queries to actually pull answers out of your data.
- Forms: building clean data-entry forms so other people can use your database without breaking it.
- Reports: formatted, printable output for stakeholders — one of Access’s real strengths.
- Macros and VBA: automating repetitive tasks, from simple macros to Visual Basic for Applications for real logic.
If a course stops at tables and forms and never reaches queries and reports, it is an introduction, not a working skill set. All five picks above go the full distance.
How long does it take to learn Access?
Most people can build a simple, working database — tables, a couple of relationships, a query, and a form — within a week or two of focused study, which maps neatly to a single Udemy course. Reaching real competence, where you are designing normalised schemas, writing parameter and action queries, and automating with macros or VBA, is more like one to two months of applying it to actual work. The fastest route is to learn against a real problem of your own — a contact list, an inventory, a project tracker — rather than following exercises in the abstract.
Common mistakes Access beginners make
A few habits, usually carried over from Excel, cause most of the early pain:
- Treating tables like spreadsheets: cramming everything into one big table instead of splitting data into related tables. Learn normalisation early.
- Skipping relationships: leaving out properly defined relationships and referential integrity, which leads to orphaned and duplicate records.
- Editing data directly in tables: rather than building forms, which protect your data and make the database usable by others.
- Outgrowing Access silently: pushing a single-file Access database to many simultaneous users, where it struggles — that is the signal to move to a server database.
A good course steers you away from all four from the start.
Which version of Access should you learn?
This confuses a lot of buyers. The current desktop versions are Access 2021/2024 (perpetual licence) and Access for Microsoft 365 (the subscription version, which gets continuous updates). Older courses built on Access 2016 or 2019 are still perfectly useful, because the core of Access — tables, relationships, queries, forms, reports, and VBA — has barely changed across these releases. The interface is nearly identical.
Practical advice: match the course to the version you will actually use day to day. If you are on Microsoft 365, the Access 365 course (pick #3) will feel most familiar; otherwise, our top picks transfer cleanly to any modern version. One important note: Access is Windows-only desktop software — there is no Mac version and no full web version, so confirm you are on Windows before buying.
Is there a Microsoft Access certification?
Not anymore, as a standalone exam. Microsoft retired the MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) Access exam — the last mainstream one was for Access 2016 — and current MOS tracks centre on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook rather than Access. So when people search for “Microsoft Access certification,” the realistic options are:
- Course completion certificates from the Udemy courses above — fine for LinkedIn and demonstrating initiative, but not a formal Microsoft credential.
- Broader database credentials — if your goal is a data or database career, your time is better spent learning SQL and pursuing a database certification (Microsoft, Oracle, or cloud-vendor) than chasing an Access-specific badge that no longer exists.
In short: take an Access course for the skill, not for a certificate — and if you want a credential, aim at SQL and databases.
Access vs. Excel vs. a real database
Knowing where Access fits saves you from learning the wrong tool:
- Excel is for calculations, analysis, and ad-hoc lists. Once you are copying data between sheets or fighting duplicate records, you have outgrown it.
- Access is the next step up: a true relational database for a single user or a small team, with forms and reports, no coding required. Ideal for departmental and small-business data.
- A server database (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL) is what you graduate to when you need many simultaneous users, web access, or large data volumes. That is a database design and SQL path.
Be honest about scale before you invest: Access is excellent within its lane and frustrating outside it.
Who should learn Microsoft Access?
Access is a high-value skill for office managers, administrators, analysts, and small-business owners who need to organise data beyond spreadsheets without hiring a developer. It is also useful for anyone in an Office-centric workplace where Access databases already exist and need maintaining. If your ambition is a data or developer career, treat Access as a stepping stone — it teaches relational concepts well — then move on to SQL and a server database.
How to choose the right course
- You want the best all-round course: the Access Master Class (pick #1).
- You want maximum depth, including VBA: Complete Beginner to Advanced (pick #2).
- You are on Microsoft 365: Access 365 Mastery (pick #3).
- You are coming from Excel: Excel to Access (pick #4).
- You want to learn the SQL underneath: Access SQL for Non-Programmers (pick #5).
Free ways to learn Access
Microsoft’s own Access help and training pages cover the basics for free, and YouTube has full beginner Access tutorials. These are a fine way to decide whether Access fits your problem before paying. The paid courses above earn their keep through structured, project-based progression — building a real database end to end — plus VBA automation and a completion certificate, which free clips rarely deliver coherently.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Microsoft Access course? For most people, the “Microsoft Access Master Class: Beginner to Advanced” on Udemy — it is the highest-rated big Access course, recently updated, and covers tables through VBA automation.
Is Microsoft Access hard to learn? The basics — tables, forms, and simple queries — are approachable for non-programmers. The depth (relationships, advanced queries, VBA) takes a structured course, but you can be building useful databases within a couple of weeks.
Is Microsoft Access still used in 2026? Yes. It remains common in small businesses and Office-heavy workplaces for departmental databases, even as larger organisations move to server and cloud databases. It ships with Microsoft 365 business plans.
Do I need to know how to code? No. Access is designed for non-coders — you build tables, queries, forms, and reports visually. VBA and SQL are optional next steps that make you more powerful.
Is there a Microsoft Access certification? Not as a standalone exam anymore — the MOS Access exam was retired. Course certificates exist, but for a career credential, pursue SQL and database certifications instead.