Best Scrum Courses Online in 2026 (Ranked & Reviewed)

Last updated: November 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.

QUICK VERDICT

Scrum is the most widely used Agile framework, and Scrum Master is one of the few well-paid routes into tech project work that does not require coding. Most people learning Scrum want one of two things: a working understanding of the framework, or a recognized Scrum Master certification. The right course depends on which, so we ranked picks for both and explained the certification choice that trips most people up.

We ranked the five Scrum courses worth your time by intent: fundamentals, a free intro, the certificate path, exam prep, and implementation. On 2 November 2026 we loaded every pick in a fresh browser, re-read its rating, enrollment and last-updated date, and re-checked the CSM and PSM rules at the source. We earn a commission if you enroll through our links, which never changes the order.

1. Best overall — Agile Fundamentals: Including Scrum & Kanban (Udemy / The BA Guide)

This is the most popular Agile-and-Scrum course on Udemy by a wide margin: 4.5 stars from 97,724 ratings and 314,467 students, last updated February 2026. Jeremy Aschenbrenner (The BA Guide) grounds you in Agile thinking and the three most-used frameworks, Scrum, Kanban and Scrumban, including user stories, estimation and work-in-progress limits. It is the best first course if you want to understand how Agile teams actually run, not just memorize the vocabulary.

Best for: anyone who wants a clear, popular grounding in Scrum and Agile. Worth knowing: it is broader than Scrum alone and foundational rather than exam-specific. Udemy list prices are inflated; the course goes on sale most weeks.

2. Best free — Introduction to Agile Development and Scrum (Coursera / IBM)

If you would rather not pay to start, IBM’s course is one of the highest-rated Scrum courses online: 4.8 stars from 2,772 reviews and 167,137 learners enrolled. John Rofrano teaches Agile principles and the Scrum framework hands-on: user stories, story-point estimation, Kanban boards, product backlogs, sprint planning and burndown charts, with labs in GitHub and ZenHub.

Best for: beginners who want a top-rated intro at no cost. Worth knowing: Coursera lets you preview the first module free; the full course and its certificate need a Coursera subscription. It also sits inside several IBM professional certificates if you want to keep going.

3. Best certificate path — Scrum Master Certification Specialization (Coursera / LearnQuest)

If you want a guided, credentialed path rather than a single course, this LearnQuest specialization is the strongest option: four courses, with 85,408 learners enrolled when we checked. It goes deep on running sprints and events, Scrum roles and terminology, reporting and risk, plus story points, scaling Scrum and engineering practices such as test-driven development and continuous integration. You finish with a shareable Coursera certificate.

Best for: people who want a multi-course path and a certificate for their resume. Worth knowing: a Coursera certificate is not the official PSM or CSM credential. It is a solid learning credential, but check which one your target employers name in their job ads.

4. Best PSM exam prep — The Complete Agile Scrum Fundamentals Course + Certification (Udemy)

Aimed at Scrum.org’s Professional Scrum Master I (PSM I) assessment, this course has 4.6 stars from 21,297 ratings and 109,381 students, and was last updated in October 2025. It covers Scrum project management, the framework’s roles, events and artifacts, and practice material written in the style of the PSM I questions. It is a popular, affordable way to prepare for an exam you then book separately with Scrum.org.

Best for: people targeting PSM I on a budget. Worth knowing: the course’s own “certificate of completion” is not the PSM credential, and the Scrum.org assessment fee is separate.

5. Best for implementation — Implementing Scrum and Avoiding Scrum Anti-Patterns (Pluralsight)

Once you know the roles, events and artifacts, the hard part is applying Scrum in a real organization, often one that resists it. This Pluralsight course covers the common Scrum anti-patterns and how to fix them, ways to introduce Scrum into a traditional company, and tips for the PSM I assessment. It is the step between learning Scrum and leading it. We confirmed it is live in Pluralsight’s catalog on 2 November 2026.

Best for: people who know the basics and now have to make Scrum work. Worth knowing: it assumes you already understand the framework, and it comes with a Pluralsight subscription rather than as a one-off purchase. If you want a full PSM I study path on the same subscription, Pluralsight’s Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) path bundles 11 courses (about 7 hours) with a practice exam.

Want graded projects rather than videos? Udacity’s Agile Software Development Nanodegree covers Scrum alongside Kanban and XP, with reviewed projects on an MVP plan and agile metrics. It does not award a Scrum certification; our Udacity Agile Nanodegree review explains when it is worth the price.

Scrum courses compared

Scrum sits inside the wider Agile and project-management world. See our guides to the best Agile courses, project management courses, and the best business courses overall. Most Scrum teams run their sprints in Jira; our ranking of the best Jira courses covers beginner, certification-prep and admin courses, plus Atlassian’s own free training.

How much does Scrum Master certification cost in 2026?

The cost has two parts: the course you learn from and the credential itself.

Scrum Alliance says course prices vary with delivery method (online or in person), location, class size and extras such as practice exams. In practice, the cheapest certified route is a self-studied PSM I: a sale-priced Udemy course plus the Scrum.org fee. The most expensive is a premium in-person CSM class, which some employers pay for. If your company has a training budget, ask before you buy; CSM classes are a common line item.

Does a Scrum Master certification expire?

It depends on which one you hold. Scrum Alliance moved the CSM to a renewal model: you earn Scrum Education Units (SEUs) from courses, events and its own short videos, and renew every two years. Scrum.org has long described PSM I as a lifetime credential with no renewal (confirm on scrum.org: its page blocked our automated check on 2 November). That difference is the reason many self-funded learners pick PSM I, and it comes up in almost every PSM-versus-CSM thread on r/scrum.

Can you get a Scrum Master certification for free?

Not an official one. Both PSM I and CSM cost money, and “free Scrum Master certification” ads are usually selling a course certificate, not either credential. What you can do free is learn nearly everything the exams test:

• Read the 2020 Scrum Guide (it is short, and both exams are built on it).
• Preview the first module of IBM’s Introduction to Agile Development and Scrum on Coursera.
• Use Scrum Alliance’s free short videos, which also count as SEUs if you later hold the CSM.

Spend money once you know which credential you want, and spend it on the exam route rather than on a course certificate that no hiring manager asked for.

The 2020 Scrum Guide in brief

Every course above teaches the November 2020 Scrum Guide, the current official version. If you understand these pieces, you understand Scrum:

• One team, three accountabilities: the Developers, the Product Owner and the Scrum Master. The guide says Scrum Teams are typically 10 or fewer people.
• Five events: the Sprint (one month or less), Sprint Planning (up to eight hours for a one-month Sprint), the 15-minute Daily Scrum, the Sprint Review (up to four hours) and the Sprint Retrospective (up to three hours).
• Three artifacts, each with a commitment: the Product Backlog (Product Goal), the Sprint Backlog (Sprint Goal) and the Increment (Definition of Done).

The 2020 edition made the guide less prescriptive, replaced “Development Team” with “Developers”, introduced the Product Goal and emphasized a self-managing team. Courses recorded before late 2020 still use the old wording, which is one reason we favor recently updated picks.

Is a Scrum Master certification worth it in 2026?

It is worth it as a validator, not as a job ticket. Hiring managers on r/scrum say the same thing in thread after thread: neither PSM I nor CSM gets you an interview on its own; experience does, and the certificate confirms you know the framework. One hiring manager put it bluntly: PSM I shows you studied the guide, CSM shows you attended a class.

Where a certification does help is getting past keyword filters. Several commenters noted that many Scrum Master job ads list CSM as required or preferred, so if you are applying for those roles, it can earn its cost. If you are a developer or project manager who wants to work better in Scrum, the knowledge matters more than the badge, and a good course is enough.

What Scrum learners say on Reddit

We read five recent r/scrum threads on PSM versus CSM. The recurring points:

• PSM I is seen as the tougher test. Several practitioners called it the more rigorous assessment by a wide margin, while giving CSM the edge on brand recognition.
• Renewal changes the math. CSM’s renewal cycle and fees push many self-funded learners toward PSM I.
• The class has value of its own. Some commenters recommend taking a live course even for PSM, because a good trainer goes beyond the exam.
• Experience still wins. The most-agreed-with advice: a certification validates experience; it does not replace it.

That matches our recommendation: learn the framework with a course, decide which credential your target employers ask for, then pay for that one exam.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Scrum course?

For most people, Agile Fundamentals: Including Scrum and Kanban on Udemy (4.5 from 97,724 ratings, 314,467 students) is the best overall: it is the clearest grounding in how Scrum teams actually work. For a free start, preview IBM’s Introduction to Agile Development and Scrum on Coursera (4.8 from 2,772 reviews). If you want a structured certificate path, LearnQuest’s four-course Scrum Master Certification Specialization is the strongest.

Which Scrum Master certification is best, PSM or CSM?

Both are recognized. PSM I from Scrum.org is exam-only, with no mandatory class and, as Scrum.org has long described it, no renewal requirement; practitioners generally call it the harder test. CSM from Scrum Alliance requires a 16-hour course with a certified trainer, includes two test attempts, and renews every two years. Check which one appears in the job ads you are targeting; if neither is named, PSM I is usually the cheaper route.

Do these courses give you an official Scrum certification?

No. Udemy, Coursera and Pluralsight issue their own certificates of completion. The official PSM I comes from Scrum.org and the CSM from Scrum Alliance, each with its own fee. Use a course to learn and prepare, then sit the official assessment separately.

Can you learn Scrum for free?

Yes. The 2020 Scrum Guide is free at scrumguides.org and is the document both certifications test. You can also preview the first module of IBM’s Coursera course free. You pay only for a course certificate, a Coursera subscription, or the official exam.

Do you need to be a developer to become a Scrum Master?

No. Scrum Master is a facilitation and coaching role. A technical background helps you follow the team’s work, but the core skills are running events well, removing obstacles and coaching the team and stakeholders.

How much does a Scrum Master certification cost?

Scrum Alliance lists CSM course prices between $250 and $2,495, and the course fee includes two test attempts. Scrum.org sells the PSM I assessment on its own, without a required class; check the current fee on scrum.org, because its page blocked our automated check on 2 November 2026.

Does Scrum Master certification expire?

The CSM does: Scrum Alliance requires Scrum Education Units and renewal every two years. Scrum.org has long described PSM I as a lifetime credential with no renewal; its page blocked our automated check on 2 November 2026, so confirm the current terms on scrum.org.

How long does it take to get Scrum certified?

The CSM route takes the 16-hour course (usually two or three days) plus an online test of 50 questions, of which you must answer 37 correctly. For PSM I, most self-studiers spend two to four weeks with the Scrum Guide, a prep course and practice questions before sitting the assessment.