Last updated: June 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. Every course on this page was re-verified in June 2026 against the current Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator exam. See our review methodology.
QUICK VERDICT
Bottom line: Mike Wheeler’s Complete Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator Course on Udemy is the admin training to take — 4.5 stars, 170,000+ students, and updated June 2026 for the current exam. Pair it with free hands-on practice in Trailhead and add Wheeler’s practice-test pack before you book the $200 exam.
- Best overall: Complete Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator Course — Udemy
- Best alternative: Francis Pindar’s Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator — Udemy
- Best exam rehearsal: Salesforce Platform Administrator Practice Tests (6-pack) — Udemy
- Best for a resume credential without the exam: Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate — Coursera
- Best free/official: Trailhead (Salesforce’s own platform — use it alongside any course)
Check Wheeler’s course price →
Salesforce admin is one of the few tech roles you can credibly reach without a programming background, and the entry path is unusually well-defined: learn the platform, pass the Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator exam (Salesforce renamed it from “Certified Administrator” — same credential), and build hands-on evidence in a free Trailhead playground org. The course market, though, is full of rot — most “Salesforce admin course” lists still recommend trainings recorded before Flow replaced Workflow Rules. For this update we re-verified every pick: each one is live, currently maintained, and aligned to the present exam.
Best Salesforce admin training at a glance
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| Course | Rating | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete SF Certified Platform Administrator (Wheeler, Udemy) | 4.5★ (170K+ students) | June 2026 | Most people — the full exam prep |
| SF Certified Platform Administrator (Pindar, Udemy) | 4.5★ (101K+ students) | March 2026 | Learning from a 7x Salesforce MVP |
| Platform Administrator Practice Tests — 6 Pack (Udemy) | 4.4★ (41K+ students) | May 2026 | Exam rehearsal before the $200 booking |
| Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate (Coursera) | 98K+ enrolled | Official (Salesforce) | A resume credential without sitting an exam |
| Trailhead (Salesforce) | Official | Continuous | Free hands-on practice + official prep trail |
1. Complete Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator Course (Udemy) — best overall
Mike Wheeler has taught more Salesforce admins than any other independent instructor, and this course is why: it maps section-by-section to the official exam guide, it’s rebuilt every time Salesforce moves the exam (the current version was updated in June 2026), and it assumes zero Salesforce experience. You configure a real org as you go — objects, security model, Flow automation, reports and dashboards — so by the end you have both exam coverage and a working portfolio org. At 4.5 stars across 170,000+ students, it’s the most validated admin training on any platform.
The honest caveat: Wheeler’s pace is deliberate. If you’ve already worked inside a Salesforce org as a power user, parts of the early sections will feel slow — skim them and slow down at the security and automation sections, which is where the exam actually gets people.
2. Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator by Francis Pindar (Udemy) — the MVP’s version
Francis Pindar is a Salesforce Certified Architect and seven-time Salesforce MVP, and his admin course (4.5 stars, 101,000+ students, updated March 2026) is the strongest credential-to-price ratio in this market. Where Wheeler optimizes for exam coverage, Pindar teaches like a consultant: more “here’s how real orgs actually use this” context, more war stories about what breaks in production. Several reviewers report passing on his course alone. Pick it over Wheeler’s if you learn better from practitioner anecdotes than from systematic exam-guide walkthroughs — or take one as your main course and skim the other’s free preview sections to fill gaps.
3. Salesforce Platform Administrator Practice Tests — 6 Pack (Udemy) — the exam rehearsal
The admin exam costs $200 per attempt and $100 per retake, so a $15-on-sale practice pack that tells you whether you’re ready is the cheapest insurance in this process. Wheeler’s six full-length practice exams (4.4 stars, 41,000+ students, updated May 2026) mirror the real exam’s question style — scenario-based, two-plausible-answers format — and the explanations are detailed enough to work as targeted revision. Our rule of thumb: when you’re scoring 80%+ consistently across all six, book the real thing.
4. Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate (Coursera) — the no-exam credential
This four-course series is built by Salesforce itself (through Trailhead) and carries 98,000+ enrollments. It targets a slightly different job than the admin exam: sales operations work — managing leads, opportunities, reports, and dashboards as the person who runs Salesforce for a sales team. At roughly three months part-time on a Coursera subscription (7-day free trial), it’s the right pick if you want a Salesforce-branded line on your resume without committing to a proctored $200 exam — or as a structured on-ramp before deciding whether to pursue the full certification. It is not a substitute for the Certified Platform Administrator credential in admin job listings; treat it as a complement, not a replacement.
Try it on Coursera (7-day trial) →
5. Trailhead — Salesforce’s free official platform
Trailhead is free, official, and non-optional — every serious admin candidate uses it regardless of which paid course they take, and we earn nothing recommending it. Two things make it essential: the free Trailhead Playground orgs where you practice every exam topic hands-on, and the official “Prepare for Your Salesforce Administrator Credential” trailmix, a curated prep path Salesforce sizes at roughly 60 hours. Why not use it alone? Sequencing. Trailhead is modular and self-directed; the video courses above impose the curriculum order and exam emphasis that Trailhead leaves you to figure out yourself. The strongest pass pattern we see: Wheeler or Pindar for structure, Trailhead for hands-on reps, practice tests to confirm readiness.
What the Salesforce admin exam actually involves
The credential is now officially the Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator — Salesforce renamed it from “Certified Administrator,” and older course titles use the old name interchangeably. Per Salesforce’s official pricing, the exam costs $200 USD (plus local tax), with retakes at $100. The format is 60 scored multiple-choice questions in 105 minutes, taken online proctored or at a test center. There are no prerequisites, which is exactly why the credential works as a career-changer’s entry point: the exam itself is the gate, not a degree or prior title. Budget realistically for 2–3 months of evening study if you’re starting from zero, and treat a practice-test score above 80% as your booking signal.
How to spot an outdated Salesforce course (most are)
Salesforce retires features on a schedule, and admin courses recorded before those retirements actively teach you wrong answers. The fastest currency checks before buying any course not on this list: it must teach Flow as the automation tool (Workflow Rules and Process Builder are retired — a course centered on them is dead weight), it should reference Lightning Experience only (anything teaching “Salesforce Classic” as the main interface predates 2020), and recent updates should at least mention the AI layer (Einstein/Agentforce) that’s now woven through the platform. Every pick above passes all three checks as of June 2026; that filter alone eliminated most of the courses this page used to list.
The path from zero to hired admin
The sequence that works: one structured course (Wheeler or Pindar) alongside hands-on Trailhead practice in a free playground org → the practice-test pack until you clear 80% → the $200 exam → then make your Trailhead profile and portfolio org visible to recruiters, because entry-level admin roles are competitive and the certificate alone doesn’t differentiate you. From there, the highest-leverage next credentials are the Platform App Builder or a consultant-track cert — we map those options in our Salesforce certification guide. If you’d rather build than configure, the Apex/developer route is a different track entirely — see our Salesforce development courses guide. Total realistic cost from zero to certified: under $250 including the exam, if you buy the Udemy courses on sale.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Wheeler’s course (4.5★, 170K+ students, updated June 2026) is the default; Pindar’s is the equal-quality alternative with deeper consultant context.
- The exam is $200 with $100 retakes — make the practice-test 6-pack your readiness gate, not hope.
- Trailhead is free, official, and mandatory alongside any paid course (playground org + ~60-hour official prep trailmix).
- Currency filter: any course still teaching Workflow Rules or Salesforce Classic is obsolete. All picks here verified June 2026.
- Zero to certified runs under $250 all-in with Udemy sale pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Salesforce admin course in 2026?
Mike Wheeler’s Complete Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator Course on Udemy — 4.5 stars, 170,000+ students, updated June 2026, and mapped directly to the current exam guide. Francis Pindar’s course is the strongest alternative if you prefer learning from a 7x Salesforce MVP with consultant war stories.
How much does the Salesforce admin certification cost?
Salesforce’s official pricing puts the Certified Platform Administrator exam at $200 USD plus applicable tax, with retakes at $100. Add a course and practice tests (typically $15–25 each on Udemy sales) and the realistic zero-to-certified budget is under $250.
Can I become a Salesforce admin with no experience?
Yes — the certification has no prerequisites and is the standard career-change entry into the Salesforce ecosystem. The realistic caveat: the credential gets you considered, not hired. Pair it with a hands-on Trailhead profile and a configured playground org you can demo in interviews.
Is Trailhead enough to pass the admin exam, or do I need a paid course?
Some people pass on Trailhead alone — it’s official and covers everything. Most do better adding one structured video course, because Trailhead leaves curriculum sequencing and exam emphasis to you. The reliable combination is a Udemy course for structure, Trailhead for hands-on practice, and timed practice tests as the readiness check.
How long does it take to become a certified Salesforce admin?
From zero, plan on 2–3 months of consistent evening study: the official prep trailmix alone is sized at roughly 60 hours, plus course videos and practice exams. People with existing Salesforce power-user experience routinely compress that to 4–6 weeks.
Was the Salesforce Administrator certification renamed?
Yes. The credential formerly called “Salesforce Certified Administrator” is now the Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator; the advanced tier became Platform Administrator II. It’s the same exam track — course titles and job listings still use both names interchangeably.
Which certification should I get after the admin cert?
The most common next steps are Platform App Builder (declarative app building — heavy overlap with admin skills), a consultant cert like Sales Cloud or Service Cloud Consultant, or Platform Administrator II. We compare the full track, including the new Agentforce Specialist credential, in our guide to Salesforce certifications.