6 Best Online PLC Training Courses & Certifications in 2026

By Josh Hutcheson · Updated July 2026 · Every course below was load-tested this month, with current ratings and last-updated dates pulled directly from the platform.

Good PLC training is hard to judge from a course card. Industrial automation moves slowly compared to web development, so a 2019 course can still teach you plenty — but software like Siemens TIA Portal V20 and modern Allen-Bradley environments have changed enough that freshness matters. We reviewed the field, checked every listing live, and cut the dead weight — the Siemens course the previous version of this page recommended no longer exists on Udemy at all. And because a surprising share of PLC faults turn out to be hardware-level problems, we also weighted courses that teach the physical side.

The short version: for most beginners, the best online PLC training is still Paul Lynn’s PLC Fundamentals (Level I), and there’s a clear path from it through intermediate logic and brand-specific training. If you already work in a plant that runs Siemens, start with the TIA Portal course instead.

What good online PLC training has to cover

A programmable logic controller course is only useful if it produces someone who can stand in front of a running machine and reason about it. That means four things, in order: how a PLC scan cycle actually works (inputs read, logic solved, outputs written — and the timing consequences of that loop), fluency in ladder logic including timers, counters, and interlocks, hands-on hours in real vendor software rather than slideware, and enough exposure to I/O wiring and sensors to know when the problem isn’t in the program at all.

Courses that skip the simulator work — and plenty of cheap ones do — leave you with vocabulary instead of skill. Every pick below includes hands-on programming against a simulated or emulated controller, which is the single strongest predictor that the training transfers to a plant floor.

How we picked

We loaded every course listing live in July 2026 and captured the current rating, review count, student count, and last-updated date from the platform itself — the Siemens TIA Portal course recommended on the previous version of this page turned out to have been removed from Udemy entirely and was replaced with a current V20 course. Beyond liveness, we weighted instructor track record, whether the course includes simulator-based labs, software version currency (TIA Portal V20 vs. the V15-era courses that still dominate search results), and whether the review volume is large enough to trust the score. Where a course is old but its subject is a frozen legacy platform, we kept it and said so plainly.

Best online PLC training at a glance

1. PLC Fundamentals (Level I) — best online PLC training for beginners

Paul Lynn’s Level I course is the default recommendation across the PLC community for a reason. It assumes zero programming background and walks you from what a programmable logic controller actually does — scanning inputs, solving logic, firing outputs — to writing and testing your own ladder logic programs. The 4.7 rating across more than 25,000 reviews is remarkable for a technical course this size, and it was refreshed in July 2025.

The practical detail that matters: the course is built around a software-based PLC and simulator, so you can complete every exercise without buying hardware. Lynn teaches in an Allen-Bradley-flavored environment, which maps directly to what most North American plants run. Expect roughly 10 hours of video plus lab exercises, and expect to actually do the labs — the course is structured so the simulator work is the learning, not a demo.

Take PLC Fundamentals Level I (free preview)

2. Applied Logic (Level 2) — the follow-on that makes you employable

Level I teaches you the language; Applied Logic teaches you to think in it. (See the course.) This is the same instructor’s second course (4.8 stars, updated July 2025), and it’s built as a series of increasingly awkward real-world problems: timing conflicts, interlocks, sequencing, and the kind of half-specified requirements you actually get handed on a plant floor.

If you’re self-training toward a controls technician or junior automation role, the Level I + Level 2 pair is the strongest ~20 hours you can buy on the topic. Employers don’t care that you watched videos; they care that you can debug a rung that someone else wrote. This is the course where that skill develops.

3. From Wire to PLC — best if you want the electrical context too

Rated 4.8 across 10,604 reviews, this bootcamp starts before the PLC: contactors, relays, motor starters, sensors, and panel wiring, then builds up to PLC programming and HMI basics. That sequencing is the right way to learn if you’re coming from outside the electrical trades, because PLC faults in real plants are wiring and instrumentation problems as often as they’re logic problems.

It was last updated in mid-2024, which is fine for this material — the electrical fundamentals don’t age. Choose this over Level I if you want one bigger course covering the whole path from panel to program rather than a focused programming sequence.

Preview the From Wire to PLC bootcamp

4. Learn 5 PLCs in a Day — best multi-brand overview

The title oversells the timeline, but the content is genuinely useful: hands-on programming across Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Schneider, Omron, and Delta environments in one course (4.6 stars, updated November 2025). Every vendor’s software has its own quirks — different addressing, different instruction sets, different simulator behavior — and seeing five side by side teaches you which concepts are universal.

This is the right second or third course for maintenance techs who walk into plants running mixed hardware, or for anyone who doesn’t yet know which brand their career will land on.

5. Siemens TIA Portal V20 — best current Siemens training

The Siemens course we previously recommended here was removed from Udemy, and most TIA Portal courses online still teach V15/V16. This one teaches TIA Portal V20 — the current release — covering S7-1200/1500 PLC programming plus WinCC HMI design, and was updated in May 2026. The review base is small (519 ratings at 4.5), but it’s the freshest credible Siemens option on the platform right now.

If your plant or your regional job market is Siemens territory (most of Europe, much of Asia, and a growing share of US process industries), start here rather than with the Allen-Bradley-centric picks above.

See the Siemens TIA Portal V20 course

6. RSLogix 500 & 5000 Training — for legacy Allen-Bradley plants (with a caveat)

Full disclosure: this course was last updated in November 2019, and we almost cut it. We kept it because RSLogix 500 and 5000 themselves are legacy platforms — the software this course teaches hasn’t changed since then, and thousands of North American facilities will run SLC-500s and ControlLogix systems on RSLogix for another decade. The 4.4 rating over 3,158 reviews has held steady.

Take it only if you know you’re heading into an RSLogix shop. If you’re starting fresh, Studio 5000 is Rockwell’s current environment, and Level I above teaches concepts that transfer directly.

Do you need to buy a PLC to practice?

No — and don’t, at least not at first. A real training setup with an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix or Siemens S7-1200 runs several hundred dollars before you’ve wired a single input. Every course on this list either includes or works with software simulation: Level I ships with its own soft PLC, Siemens offers PLCSIM inside TIA Portal, and tools like Factory IO can simulate an entire production line your virtual PLC controls.

The time to buy hardware is when you’re preparing for interviews and want to demonstrate wiring, fault-finding, and commissioning on something physical — a used MicroLogix or an S7-1200 starter kit is plenty.

Which PLC brand should you learn first?

Learn the brand your target employers run. In North America, that’s Allen-Bradley (Rockwell Automation) more often than not, which is why Paul Lynn’s AB-flavored courses lead this list. In Europe, the Middle East, and most of Asia, Siemens dominates. Japanese plants and OEM machinery often mean Mitsubishi or Omron; budget-conscious integrators use Delta and Schneider.

The good news: ladder logic, I/O addressing, and scan-cycle thinking transfer across all of them. Brand choice affects your first job search far more than your long-term career — a programmer who genuinely understands logic picks up a second vendor’s environment in weeks.

Is there a real PLC certification?

Honestly: there is no universally recognized “PLC certification” the way CompTIA or Cisco certs exist in IT. What exists instead, in rough order of employer weight: vendor training credentials (Siemens SITRAIN certificates and Rockwell Automation’s instructor-led training courses), community college and trade school certificates in industrial automation, and course-completion certificates from platforms like Udemy.

Udemy certificates alone won’t carry a resume — what carries it is being able to talk through a ladder program in an interview and, ideally, hands-on time from a lab, a plant floor, or a well-documented home setup. Treat the courses above as skill acquisition, list the skills rather than the certificates, and put vendor training on the plan once an employer is paying for it.

Free ways to start

Before spending anything, you can test your interest for free: RealPars publishes a large library of free PLC explainer videos on YouTube (their paid platform is also well regarded in the industry), Siemens and Rockwell both publish extensive free documentation and getting-started guides, and Udemy’s free preview lectures on the courses above are long enough to judge each instructor’s style. If you work through free material and still want more, that’s your signal the paid training is worth it.

FAQ

How long does it take to learn PLC programming?

Plan on 2–3 months of consistent part-time study to become simulator-competent with a course like PLC Fundamentals plus Applied Logic, and 6–12 months of real exposure — lab work, plant time, or an entry-level maintenance role — to become independently useful on live systems.

Can I learn PLC programming without an electrical background?

Yes. Level I assumes none. But an electrical foundation makes you far more employable, because most real PLC troubleshooting starts at the I/O and wiring level — that’s why the From Wire to PLC bootcamp is on this list.

Is PLC programming still a good career in 2026?

Yes. Manufacturing automation keeps expanding, and controls roles are consistently among the harder skilled positions for plants to fill. It’s also one of the more automation-resistant technical careers — someone has to program and troubleshoot the machines doing the automating.

Ladder logic or structured text — which should I learn?

Ladder logic first. It remains the dominant language on plant floors because electricians and technicians can read it. Structured text matters as you advance into process control and complex math, and Siemens environments lean on it more heavily than Allen-Bradley shops do.

What does PLC training cost?

Every Udemy course on this list regularly sells in the $15–$25 range during Udemy’s near-constant sales — never pay the $100+ list price. Vendor training (SITRAIN, Rockwell) runs into the thousands and is normally employer-funded.

The bottom line

Start with PLC Fundamentals (Level I), continue into Applied Logic (Level 2), and add the brand-specific course your job market demands — Siemens TIA Portal V20 or an Allen-Bradley path. Skip hardware until interview prep, and treat certifications as secondary to demonstrable logic skills.

Start with PLC Fundamentals (Level I)

PLCs sit at the center of a bigger industrial skill set: our guides to the best signal processing courses (how PLCs read analog and digital signals) and the best robotics courses cover the two most natural next steps.