By Josh Hutcheson — Founder & Editor, OnlineCourseing. Last updated 28 October 2026. Every price, offer and credential below was read on Microsoft Learn, LinkedIn Learning, Coursera or the program’s own page on 28 October 2026. Where Microsoft’s offers rotate, we say so rather than printing a dated promo as permanent. See our review methodology.
THE 60-SECOND ANSWER
Three Microsoft credentials cost nothing: Microsoft Learn’s training, the Applied Skills lab credentials (Microsoft lists no fee), and two Essentials Professional Certificates on LinkedIn Learning (Azure and Security), which Microsoft says are free including the exam. The classic certifications are paid: fundamentals exams such as AZ-900 cost $99 in the US, and role-based exams cost more. The legitimate ways to pay less are student pricing, free renewals once you are certified, Microsoft’s fully funded academy for veterans, event and challenge vouchers, and Coursera programs that end with a 50% exam voucher. The free vouchers that used to come with Virtual Training Days ended in 2023.
“Microsoft free certification” gets searched with two hopes: that the famous certifications might be free (mostly no), or that there is free official training and a free credential worth having (yes, more than most people realize). This guide maps what is free, what is paid, and every legitimate route to a Microsoft credential without paying full price.
| Route | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Learn training | Free | Official learning paths and modules for every certification |
| Applied Skills | No fee listed | A Microsoft-issued credential for passing a two-hour, hands-on lab |
| Essentials Professional Certificate (LinkedIn Learning) | Free, per Microsoft | A certificate for a short video course plus a 90-minute exam; does not expire |
| Certification renewal | Free | An open-book online assessment that extends a certification by a year |
| MSSA (veterans and service members) | Fully funded by Microsoft | A 17-week, full-time program with a path to certifications |
| Certification exam | $99 (US) for fundamentals; more for role-based | The recognized certification itself |
What’s genuinely free: Microsoft Learn
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Microsoft Learn is the real free asset. Every official learning path, from Azure fundamentals through role-based administrator, data, security, AI and the Microsoft 365 stack, is free to work through: modules, knowledge checks and progress tracking, plus hands-on exercises in many modules. This is the material Microsoft’s own training partners teach from. If your goal is skills rather than paper, you can stop here and start building.
Each certification page on Microsoft Learn also links a free practice assessment and a study guide that lists the skills measured. Take the practice assessment before you pay for an exam: it is the cheapest way to find out whether you are ready.
Applied Skills: the free credentials most people miss
Microsoft’s Applied Skills credentials are scenario-based lab assessments: you are dropped into a live environment and asked to deploy, configure or secure something. Each one certifies a single, specific skill set rather than a whole job role. Microsoft lists no fee for them, and you start the assessment directly from the credential’s page on Microsoft Learn.
The format, as Microsoft describes it on a credential page we checked: you get two hours to complete the lab, it takes a few minutes to load, and once you launch it you must wait 72 hours before launching it again. Results usually arrive within minutes, though Microsoft says they can take up to 24 hours to appear in your profile. In 2026 Microsoft added business-focused Applied Skills on Microsoft 365 Copilot alongside the technical ones, so they are no longer only for IT staff.
Microsoft’s own FAQ is clear that Applied Skills are not replacing certifications: a certification validates the four to six skill sets a role needs, an Applied Skill validates one. People who have taken them on r/AzureCertification and r/sysadmin describe them as good practice and a step up from completion badges, but not yet strong enough to set a resume apart on their own. Several mention labs that crashed and then locked them out for the 72-hour wait, so start one when you have a full, uninterrupted session.
The free certificate most people never hear about: Microsoft Essentials
Microsoft also issues Essentials Professional Certificates through LinkedIn Learning, aimed at entry-level IT staff, career changers and students. Microsoft’s FAQ answers the cost question directly: “No, the learning path and assessment are free!” It also says the certificate does not expire. The learning paths run about three and a half hours of video with knowledge checks, and finishing one gives you immediate access to a 90-minute multiple-choice exam on LinkedIn.
On 28 October 2026 LinkedIn Learning listed two of them from Microsoft and LinkedIn:
- Microsoft Azure Essentials Professional Certificate: cloud concepts, virtual machines and web apps, virtual networks, storage, Entra ID, Azure Policy and Cost Management. One course, about three hours, released in February 2026.
- Microsoft Security Essentials Professional Certificate: zero trust and defense in depth, then Microsoft Entra, Defender, Sentinel, Intune and Purview. One course of about three and a half hours.
Two honest caveats. These certificates sit below the exam-based certifications in recognition, and Microsoft notes that, unlike its certifications, they carry no American Council on Education college-credit recommendation. They are still the only Microsoft credential that is free from start to finish, exam included, and the Azure one maps closely to what AZ-900 tests.
The certifications themselves: paid exams, with free-voucher windows
The certifications most people mean, AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals and the role-based certifications above it, sit behind proctored, paid exams. Microsoft lists AZ-900 at $99 in the US, with the price set by the country where the exam is proctored; role-based exams cost more. Our AZ-900 guide has the full exam breakdown.
A correction to earlier versions of this page. We used to say Microsoft Virtual Training Days include a free fundamentals exam voucher. That ended in spring 2023, when Microsoft told attendees it was “no longer offering free certification exams with Microsoft Virtual Training Days”; the sessions themselves stayed free. Do not book a training day expecting a voucher.
Here is where free and discounted exams come from now:
- Student pricing. Microsoft offers academic pricing on certification exams in most countries (not India or China). You mark yourself as a student in your certification profile and verify your academic status; the discount then applies when you register. See Microsoft’s student discounts page.
- Event vouchers. Microsoft hands out vouchers to attendees of specific events, each with its own terms. Attendees of Microsoft Build 2026 got a voucher for one free Microsoft or GitHub certification exam, redeemable from 2 June to 31 July 2026; visitors who completed a skilling playlist at Web Summit 2026 got 50% off an exam. Both were limited to one voucher per person per fiscal year. Microsoft Ignite runs 17 to 20 November 2026; check its terms page once the event is live rather than assuming a voucher.
- Skills challenges and sweepstakes. These usually offer a chance at a discount, not a guaranteed free exam. The Microsoft Ignite 2025 challenge, for example, entered people who completed a qualifying challenge by 15 December 2025 into a draw for 5,000 vouchers worth 50% off.
- Exam Replay. Not free, but it lowers the cost of failing: Microsoft and Pearson VUE sell a package of one exam plus one retake, both to be taken within 12 months.
- Coursera programs with an exam voucher. Some Microsoft-built programs on Coursera end with a 50% voucher for the matching exam (details in the next section).
Microsoft programs that come with a 50% exam voucher
Microsoft builds several of its own certificate programs on Coursera, and two of the most popular include a discounted exam. Coursera says learners who complete these programs receive a 50% discount voucher for the matching Microsoft exam:
| Program | Exam voucher | Length (Coursera’s estimate) | Rating, 28 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 Exam Prep | 50% off AZ-900 | 4 courses, about 3 months at 10 hours a week | 4.6 from 193 reviews |
| Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate | 50% off PL-300 | 8 courses, about 5 months at 10 hours a week | 4.6 from 9,664 reviews (570,919 enrolled) |
Both are included in Coursera Plus, currently $319.20 a year (normally $399), or $59 a month. On a monthly plan, a fast finish keeps the cost low, and the voucher alone covers about $50 of a $99 AZ-900 exam. Coursera also lets you apply for financial aid on individual courses, which can make the certificate itself free; see our Coursera discount guide.
See the AZ-900 program on Coursera →
If you would rather pay once for exam prep, Scott Duffy’s AZ-900 course on Udemy is the long-running favorite: 4.6 from 143,145 ratings and 620,750 students, last updated in October 2026. It includes no voucher, but Udemy courses are often on sale for less than the cost of a single exam retake.
See the Power BI program and its PL-300 voucher →
Renewals are free, and fundamentals never expire
Once you hold a Microsoft certification, keeping it costs nothing. Microsoft’s renewal page says associate, expert and specialty certifications renew every year through a free, unproctored, open-book online assessment. You can take it any time in a six-month window before expiry, retake it as often as you need until it expires, and passing extends the certification by one year from its expiration date. Fundamentals certifications such as AZ-900 do not expire at all.
That changes the math on paid exams. You pay once to get certified, and from then on the only cost of staying current is the hour or two it takes to pass the renewal assessment.
Free Microsoft training for veterans and students
Veterans and transitioning service members. The Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA) is a full-time, 17-week technical program in cloud application development, server and cloud administration, or cybersecurity operations, with live instruction and hands-on labs. Microsoft has fully funded the program’s costs since January 2021 (“Keep your GI bill funding”, as the page puts it), graduates have a path to the Microsoft certifications aligned to their track, and Microsoft says it has more than 3,900 graduates. There is also a separate program for military spouses.
Students. Besides academic exam pricing, check what your school already provides. Many universities and high schools run Microsoft certification programs through their own testing centers, and Microsoft’s student guidance points instructors to its Learn for Educators program. Ask your career center or computer science department before paying for anything.
The honest playbook, by goal
- You want skills, free: Microsoft Learn paths and the practice assessments. Genuinely $0.
- You want a free Microsoft credential on your resume now: the Azure or Security Essentials certificate on LinkedIn Learning (free including the exam), or an Applied Skills lab in your area.
- You want AZ-900 for less than $99: verify student status if you are enrolled; otherwise finish the Coursera AZ-900 program for a 50% voucher, or watch for an event voucher. Prepare with the free Microsoft Learn path either way.
- You are a veteran or about to leave the service: apply to MSSA before paying for any exam.
- You want role-based certifications (AZ-104 and up): budget for the exam, because free vouchers at that tier are rare. Exam Replay is worth it if you are unsure of passing first time. Our AZ-104 guide covers the prep that is worth paying for.
- You already hold a certification: renew it free every year before it expires.
See the AZ-900 prep course on Udemy →
Which free path feeds which paid certification
| Free Microsoft Learn path | Feeds this certification | Our guide |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Fundamentals path | AZ-900 (paid exam, does not expire) | AZ-900 guide |
| Azure Administrator path | AZ-104 | AZ-104 guide |
| Azure Solutions Architect path | AZ-305 | AZ-305 guide |
| Azure AI Fundamentals path | Azure AI Fundamentals, now examined through AI-901 | Best AI certifications |
| Security, Data and other fundamentals paths | SC-900, DP-900 and the rest of the fundamentals tier | Cloud certifications map |
Two exam changes catch people out. The Azure AI Fundamentals certification is now tested through exam AI-901 (Microsoft updated the English version on 15 April 2026), so study from the AI-901 study guide rather than older AI-900 material. And the Azure Developer Associate certification (AZ-204) is retired along with its renewal assessment, so do not start prep for it.
Are free Microsoft credentials worth putting on a resume?
Yes, with a sense of proportion. Applied Skills, Essentials certificates and completed Learn paths are worth listing when they are recent and relevant to the job ad: they show current, hands-on effort, and Microsoft-issued credentials can be verified. They do not outrank the exam certifications. AZ-900 remains the recognized entry stamp, and the role-based certifications remain the hiring filters for cloud and security roles.
The efficient plan for most career changers is a free credential now (the Azure Essentials certificate or one Applied Skill in your target area), then AZ-900 when a voucher, student pricing or your budget allows, then one role-based certification. Our wider list of free certifications for your resume covers what sits alongside the Microsoft options.
Microsoft free certification FAQ
Does Microsoft offer free certifications?
Partly. Training on Microsoft Learn is free, Microsoft lists no fee for its Applied Skills lab credentials, and its Essentials Professional Certificates on LinkedIn Learning are free including the exam. The classic certification exams, such as AZ-900, are paid: $99 in the US for fundamentals and more for role-based exams.
Are Microsoft certification exams free?
No. Certification exams are paid, with prices set by country; AZ-900 is $99 in the US. You can lower the cost with student pricing, event vouchers, a 50% voucher from some Microsoft programs on Coursera, or Exam Replay, which bundles one exam and one retake.
How do I get a free Microsoft certification voucher in 2026?
There is no standing free-voucher program. Free and discounted vouchers come from specific events (Microsoft Build 2026 attendees got one free exam, redeemable until 31 July 2026), skills-challenge sweepstakes that offer a chance at 50% off, and some Coursera programs that end with a 50% voucher. Virtual Training Days stopped including vouchers in 2023.
Is there a free Microsoft certification for students?
Students get academic pricing on certification exams in most countries (not India or China) after verifying their status in their certification profile. The Essentials Professional Certificates on LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn’s training are free for everyone, students included.
Are there free Microsoft certifications for veterans?
The Microsoft Software and Systems Academy is a 17-week, full-time program for transitioning service members and veterans that Microsoft has fully funded since January 2021. It covers cloud development, cloud administration or cybersecurity operations, with a path to the matching Microsoft certifications.
Is Microsoft Learn certification free?
Microsoft Learn’s training is free, and its achievements and badges cost nothing. A Microsoft certification itself requires passing a paid, proctored exam. Renewing a certification you already hold is free through an online assessment.
Do Microsoft certifications expire?
Fundamentals certifications such as AZ-900 do not expire. Associate, expert and specialty certifications must be renewed every year, which is free: you pass an open-book online assessment during a six-month window before the expiry date.
What are Microsoft Applied Skills credentials?
Scenario-based lab assessments that certify one specific skill set, such as managing identities in Microsoft Entra. You get two hours in a live lab and must wait 72 hours before relaunching it. Microsoft lists no fee, and they do not replace role-based certifications.
Is there a Microsoft free certification week?
Not as a standing event. Microsoft runs time-limited offers around its own conferences and skills challenges, each with its own terms and dates. Check Microsoft Learn’s offers and event terms pages for whatever is live when you plan to take an exam.
Related guides
- AZ-900 Certification Guide, the paid stamp the free paths feed
- Free Certifications for Your Resume, the wider free-credential map
- Best Cloud Certifications: AWS vs Azure vs GCP
- AZ-104 Guide, the first role-based rung
- Best AI certifications (2026): the 2026 Azure AI exam changes and what to sit instead
- Best Power BI courses and tutorials, if PL-300 is your target