Best Linux Courses & Certifications Online (2026)

Last updated: October 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson. See our review methodology.

Whatever you build a career on (cloud, DevOps, cybersecurity, web servers or data), you will run into Linux. It runs most web servers and cloud instances, and Docker containers are Linux underneath, so command-line fluency is one of the highest-leverage skills an IT professional or developer can learn. We checked every course on this page on its live listing on 17 October 2026, read the certification details on CompTIA, Linux Foundation and Red Hat pages, and read recent r/sysadmin, r/linux4noobs and r/ccna threads on how people actually learned.

See our top beginner pick on Udemy →

The best Linux courses at a glance

Ratings, review counts and update dates as shown on each listing on 17 October 2026. Coursera and Zero To Mastery do not show an update date. Udemy listed its courses at $14.99 for new learners that day.

Why learn Linux in 2026?

Linux is foundational infrastructure. It runs the large majority of web servers, essentially all of the world’s top supercomputers, and most instances on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Android is built on the Linux kernel, and Docker containers are Linux underneath. Linux fluency is a baseline expectation for cloud engineers, DevOps and site reliability engineers, security analysts and backend developers, and job listings for those roles routinely ask for it.

It is also a skill that rewards practice more than theory. The most upvoted answer in a July 2026 r/linux4noobs thread on the best way to learn Linux was simply to use it daily, and the course recommendations below work best alongside that.

1. Learn Linux in 5 Days (Udemy): best for beginners

If you are starting from zero, start here. Jason Cannon’s course had 4.7 stars from 49,018 ratings and 208,834 students on 17 October 2026, with 6.5 hours of video and an October 2026 update. It takes you from “what is a terminal” to navigating the file system, managing permissions, editing files, working with processes and installing software. It is distribution-neutral, so the skills transfer whether you end up on Ubuntu, Red Hat or a cloud instance.

A correction: we previously quoted “1.16 million students” for this course. That was Jason Cannon’s total across all of his courses; the course itself has 208,834.

Best for: complete beginners. Watch for: it is a foundation, not a full system administration course; follow it with pick 2 or pick 7.

Check the course on Udemy →

2. Complete Linux Training Course to Get Your Dream IT Job (Udemy): best career course

Imran Afzal’s 42.5-hour course is the most complete single Linux course we found: 4.6 stars from 47,523 ratings and 288,566 students, updated October 2026. It covers system administration end to end (users and permissions, services, storage, networking, package management, shell scripting, troubleshooting) with the job-hunting focus its title promises.

Best for: anyone aiming at a Linux or system administrator job. Watch for: the length. Pace yourself at five to eight hours a week and practice every lesson in a virtual machine.

Check the course on Udemy →

3. The Linux Command Line Bootcamp (Udemy): best for command-line fluency

Colt Steele is known for clear teaching, and this course focuses on the command line itself, taking you from beginner to power user, in its own words. 4.7 stars from 10,605 ratings and 61,307 students, 15.5 hours, updated March 2026. It suits developers who need the terminal for daily work more than they need system administration.

Check the course on Udemy →

4. Linux Redhat Certified System Administrator, RHCSA (Udemy): best for the RHCSA

The RHCSA (EX200) is Red Hat’s performance-based exam: you complete real administration tasks on a live system rather than answering multiple-choice questions, which is why system administrators on r/sysadmin rate it highly. Imran Afzal’s exam course had 4.5 stars from 11,025 ratings and 82,635 students, 12.5 hours, updated October 2026.

In a September 2026 r/ccna thread, one commenter said they were invited to apply to two roles soon after adding Linux experience and RHEL study to their resume. Red Hat prices the EX200 exam by country; choose your location on the exam page to see it.

Check the RHCSA course on Udemy →

5. Linux Foundation Certified Systems Administrator, LFCS (Udemy): best for the LFCS

The LFCS is the Linux Foundation’s hands-on exam: two hours of solving problems at a live Linux command line, online and proctored. Its certification page lists the exam at $445 on 17 October 2026, including one retake and two attempts on a Killer.sh exam simulator; the certification is valid for two years. KodeKloud’s prep course on Udemy (Mumshad Mannambeth) had 4.6 stars from 2,496 ratings, 11.5 hours, updated September 2026.

One caution from r/sysadmin: some HR departments recognize Red Hat and LPI certifications more readily than Linux Foundation ones, so check what employers in your area ask for.

Check the LFCS course on Udemy →

6. CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-006) Complete Course (Udemy): best for Linux+

CompTIA’s Linux+ is now on exam XK0-006: a maximum of 90 multiple-choice and performance-based questions, a passing score of 720 on a 100–900 scale, and an estimated retirement around 2028. Its domains now include automation, orchestration and scripting, with Ansible and other configuration tools. Jason Dion’s course is built for XK0-006: 4.6 stars from 5,689 ratings, 41,716 students, 34.5 hours, updated October 2026.

Check the Linux+ course on Udemy →

More Linux courses worth knowing

7. Linux Administration Bootcamp (Jason Cannon)

Cannon’s step up from his beginner course, covering administration tasks in more depth. 4.6 stars from 31,842 ratings and 144,827 students, 9.5 hours, updated October 2026. View on Udemy.

8. Linux for Cloud and DevOps Engineers (AR Shankar)

A short, role-focused course on the Linux you use daily in cloud and DevOps work. 4.4 stars from 5,342 ratings and 62,125 students, 4.5 hours, updated September 2026. We previously attributed this course to Imran Afzal and quoted the wrong student count; it is taught by AR Shankar. View on Udemy.

9. Complete Linux Security and Hardening (Imran Afzal)

Securing SSH, firewalls, permissions and access control lists, SELinux, auditing and services, with practical examples. 4.5 stars from 1,316 ratings and 40,419 students, 16.5 hours, updated October 2026. Take it after a beginner course. View on Udemy.

10. Linux Administration: The Complete Linux Bootcamp (Andrei Dumitrescu)

A 22.5-hour course that builds administration skills from the ground up. 4.6 stars from 5,084 ratings, updated June 2026. View on Udemy.

11. LPI Linux Essentials 2.0 (Jason Dion)

Prep for the Linux Professional Institute’s entry-level Linux Essentials credential. 4.6 stars from 11,746 ratings, 11 hours, updated October 2026. A good fit if you want a gentle first certificate before LPIC-1. View on Udemy.

12. Linux Mastery (Ziyad Yehia)

A popular, well-reviewed command-line course (4.7 stars from 27,543 ratings), but last updated in April 2023. The command line has not changed much; prefer pick 3 if you want current material. View on Udemy.

13. DevOps Bootcamp: Learn Linux and Become a Linux Sysadmin (Zero To Mastery)

Part of the Zero To Mastery membership, which also includes its DevOps, cloud and security courses and a learner community. Better value if you plan to keep learning adjacent skills than as a single course. See our Zero To Mastery review for pricing. Explore Zero To Mastery.

14 and 15. Coursera: Red Hat and LearnQuest

Red Hat’s own Fundamentals of Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Coursera (4.8 stars, 113 reviews, 10,610 learners) is the official on-ramp toward the RHCSA. LearnQuest’s Linux Fundamentals (4.5 stars, 976 reviews, 60,615 learners) suits people who like graded quizzes and a syllabus. The same Red Hat course is also on edX (4.6 stars, 35 reviews, 79,853 learners), where a verified certificate costs $99 and free access expires after a set period.

Free Linux courses and resources

• Introduction to Linux (LFS101), Linux Foundation. $0, about 60 hours of material, 90 days of access; rated 4.6 out of 5 by its learners. Recommended in r/ccna as the place to start before a paid course.
• Linux Unhatched, Cisco NetAcad. A free 8-hour introduction to the command line with more than 1.6 million enrollments.
• Linux Upskill Challenge. A free month-long course in which you run and maintain your own Linux server; an r/sysadmin favorite for people who already know the basics.
• Linux Journey. Free, short lessons on Linux concepts, now hosted by LabEx.
• LPI learning materials. The Linux Professional Institute publishes free study materials for its exams; one r/ccna commenter called them some of the best guided Linux material they had found.

Linux certifications compared

Details from each provider’s page on 17 October 2026. The LFCS fee includes one retake and two exam-simulator attempts; bundles with training cost more.

If your goal is a Red Hat environment or a sysadmin job, the RHCSA is the strongest signal; several r/sysadmin members prefer it precisely because you must perform the tasks. If you then move into automation, the next Red Hat step is EX294, covered in our Ansible courses guide.

What Linux learners on Reddit recommend

• Use it every day. Install Linux as your main system or on a spare laptop, without a dual-boot escape hatch, and look up every error message. This was the most upvoted advice by a wide margin.
• Skip the desktop for practice. Set up services from the command line on a server install.
• Take a structured course for the gaps. People who already know commands but struggle with services, permissions, logs and troubleshooting are pointed to RHCSA-style courses, especially Sander van Vugt’s.
• Books still help. The Linux Command Line and Brian Ward’s How Linux Works came up in May 2026 r/sysadmin threads.

Free ways to practice Linux while you learn

• WSL on Windows: install Ubuntu from the Microsoft Store and get a real Linux command line inside Windows.
• A virtual machine: VirtualBox is free; run Ubuntu, Fedora or Rocky Linux and snapshot before you experiment.
• An old laptop or mini PC: the best way to follow the daily-use advice above.
• A cloud server: AWS, Azure and Google Cloud offer free credits or free tiers for small Linux instances; delete them when you finish.

A 12-week Linux plan

How to choose the right Linux course

• Complete beginner: pick 1, or LFS101 free.
• Want a sysadmin job: pick 2, then the RHCSA (pick 4).
• Developer who lives in the terminal: pick 3.
• Cloud or DevOps: pick 8, then an AWS or Kubernetes course.
• Security: pick 9 after the basics.
• Need a specific certificate: picks 4, 5, 6 or 11.

Start with Learn Linux in 5 Days →

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Linux course for beginners?

Jason Cannon’s Learn Linux in 5 Days on Udemy: 4.7 stars from 49,018 ratings, 208,834 students, 6.5 hours, updated October 2026. It takes you from opening a terminal to navigating the file system, permissions and editing files. For a free start, the Linux Foundation’s Introduction to Linux (LFS101) is excellent.

Can I learn Linux for free?

Yes. The Linux Foundation’s Introduction to Linux (LFS101) is free with about 60 hours of material, Cisco’s Linux Unhatched on NetAcad is a free 8-hour introduction, the Linux Upskill Challenge is a free month-long server course, and Linux Journey is free online. Using Linux every day on a spare machine or a virtual machine is the most recommended free method of all.

Which Linux certification is best?

For Red Hat environments, the RHCSA (EX200) is the most respected: it is performance-based, so you complete real tasks. The Linux Foundation’s LFCS is also hands-on. CompTIA Linux+ (now exam XK0-006) is vendor-neutral and mixes multiple-choice with performance-based questions. Some employers’ HR filters recognize Red Hat and LPI certifications more readily than others.

How much does a Linux certification cost?

The Linux Foundation lists the LFCS at $445 for the exam alone, or $625 bundled with its THRIVE-ONE subscription, on 17 October 2026. Red Hat prices the RHCSA by country and shows the price once you choose a location. CompTIA sells Linux+ vouchers through its store; check the current price there.

How long does it take to learn Linux?

The basics (moving around the file system, permissions, editing files and common commands) take one to two weeks with a course like Learn Linux in 5 Days. Job-ready system administration, including services, storage, networking and troubleshooting, usually takes three to six months of regular practice.

Is Linux hard to learn?

Not to start. It feels different from Windows or macOS because so much happens on the command line, but the basics are approachable within a couple of weeks. The depth (scripting, networking, security, performance) takes longer, which is also what makes Linux skills valuable.

Should I learn Linux or get a certification first?

Learn first. Use Linux daily and take one structured course, then pick a certification that matches your goal: RHCSA for Red Hat jobs, LFCS for a vendor-neutral hands-on credential, Linux+ if your employer asks for CompTIA.

Do I need Linux for DevOps or cloud jobs?

Effectively, yes. Most cloud servers and containers run Linux, and DevOps tooling such as Ansible, Docker and Kubernetes assumes command-line fluency. A Linux course is usually the first step before an AWS, Kubernetes or Ansible course.

Which Linux distribution should a beginner use?

Ubuntu or Linux Mint for a desktop, and Ubuntu Server, Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux for practicing server skills. If you are aiming for the RHCSA, practice on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux compatible system; Red Hat offers a free developer subscription for RHEL.

Related: Going below the shell? Our guide to the best assembly language courses covers x86 and ARM assembly, the NASM and GDB toolchain, and free books such as Programming from the Ground Up, which teaches assembly on Linux.

Related: PowerShell 7 runs on Linux too. Our guide to the best PowerShell courses covers the cross-platform courses, Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches and free practice through the Under the Wire wargames.

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