Best Salesforce Developer Courses and Training in 2026

Last updated: October 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, editor of OnlineCourseing. We re-checked every course below on 14 October 2026 (rating, number of ratings, students and last-updated date read from each live Udemy page), read Salesforce’s current exam guide and pricing pages, and read seven Reddit threads where Salesforce developers compare courses. See our review methodology. If you buy through our links we may earn a commission, which never changes the ranking.

See our top beginner pick on Udemy →

At a glance: the best Salesforce developer courses in 2026

Ratings and dates read on the live Udemy pages on 14 October 2026. Prices, ratings and course versions change, so check the course page before you buy.

What a Salesforce developer does, and what to learn

A Salesforce developer builds what the platform cannot do with clicks alone: Apex classes and triggers, SOQL and SOSL queries, Lightning Web Components (LWC) for the user interface, tests, deployments and integrations with outside systems. In 2026 that increasingly includes Agentforce, Salesforce’s AI agent platform; the current developer exam outline already asks about “Agentforce for Developers”.

The Platform Developer exam guide is the best checklist of what employers expect at entry level. It weights four areas:

Use that table to judge any course: a good beginner course should cover at least Apex, SOQL, triggers, tests and an introduction to LWC.

Start here for free: Salesforce Trailhead

Trailhead is Salesforce’s own free learning site, and it is the resource Salesforce developers on Reddit recommend most often as a starting point. It uses short modules and hands-on challenges that check your work in a real org. Sign up for a free Developer Edition org to practice outside the challenges.

For developers, the useful parts are the Apex and LWC modules, the Apex and Lightning Web Components superbadges (multi-step projects that read well on a resume), and the official study trail and trailmix linked from the Platform Developer credential page. The weakness is pace: Trailhead explains less than a good video course, which is why most learners pair it with one paid course.

1. Salesforce Development Training for Beginners

Best for: Beginners learning Apex from scratch. 4.5/5 from 8,181 ratings, 42,430 students, last updated March 2026. Instructor: Deepika Khanna. Udemy.

Deepika Khanna’s beginner course is the one to start with if you have never written Apex. It teaches Salesforce’s Java-like Apex language from the basics to an advanced level, with a large set of practice assignments, and the instructor says she adds and updates material regularly. It was updated in March 2026, which matters on a platform that ships three releases a year.

Watch out for: it is a foundations course; for LWC and certification prep you will need a second course or Trailhead. Check the current price on Udemy.

2. The Complete Salesforce Development Course

Best for: The broadest single course. 4.5/5 from 12,314 ratings, 72,915 students, last updated September 2024. Instructor: Manish Choudhari. Udemy.

Manish Choudhari’s course has the largest audience of any Salesforce development course on Udemy (72,915 students and 12,314 ratings). Its syllabus covers web application architecture, Apex fundamentals and development, triggers and Lightning component development in one long course. In a widely shared r/salesforce thread that ranked every Udemy Salesforce dev course by rating and enrollment, it was one of the top three.

Watch out for: its title still says “2024 Updates” and Udemy shows it was last updated in September 2024, so it predates newer Agentforce material. Treat it as a strong core-Apex course and use Trailhead for anything released since. See the course on Udemy.

3. Salesforce Certified Platform Developer I (LWC & AURA also)

Best for: Platform Developer exam prep. 4.3/5 from 7,013 ratings, 38,771 students, last updated November 2025. Instructor: Deepika Khanna. Udemy.

A widely taken exam prep course for the developer certification (38,771 students). It covers the data model, SOQL, SOSL, DML and database methods, triggers and trigger best practices, test classes and debugging, and its title adds both Lightning Web Components and the older Aura framework. Udemy shows a November 2025 update.

Watch out for: the rating (4.3) is a little lower than Deepika Khanna’s beginner course, and some exam details shift each release. Pair it with Salesforce’s free study trail and do practice questions before booking the $200 exam. See the exam prep course.

4. Build 7 Real-Time Salesforce (LWC) Projects + Bonus Project

Best for: An LWC portfolio. 4.6/5 from 1,281 ratings, 10,992 students, last updated April 2025. Instructor: Salesforce troop. Udemy.

Seven guided projects plus a bonus project make this the best course for a portfolio of Lightning Web Components. The projects include an Experience Cloud site on the LWR template with guest access, and the course spends real time on layout with HTML and CSS, responsive design, the SLDS library, styling hooks and static resources, which is the front-end polish many Apex-first courses skip.

Watch out for: it assumes you already know Apex basics. Last updated April 2025. See the LWC projects course.

5. Salesforce LWC Masterclass: Hands-On Projects 2026

Best for: The most recently updated LWC course. 4.2/5 from 192 ratings, 1,200 students, last updated September 2026. Instructor: Dhirender Rawat. Udemy.

If you want an LWC course that was updated recently, this one was refreshed in September 2026. It is project-based and covers the component lifecycle, events and the pub-sub pattern for communication between components, the wire service for data, API calls from components and debugging.

Watch out for: it has far fewer ratings (192) than the projects course above, so there is less evidence of quality. Preview the free lectures before buying. See the LWC masterclass.

6. Salesforce Development With AI: Cursor, Copilot & Agentforce

Best for: AI-assisted development and Agentforce. 4.5/5 from 451 ratings, 5,111 students, last updated March 2026. Instructor: Salesforce Developer (instructor account). Udemy.

This course teaches Salesforce development with AI coding assistants (Cursor and GitHub Copilot) and introduces building with Agentforce. It is the most current option for developers who already write Apex and want to work faster, and it was updated in March 2026.

Watch out for: AI assistants still make mistakes with governor limits and bulk patterns, so learn the fundamentals first. See the AI development course.

7. Salesforce Development for Intermediate Developers

Best for: Leveling up after the basics. 4.6/5 from 486 ratings, 8,173 students, last updated September 2024. Instructor: Deepika Khanna. Udemy.

A follow-on to the beginner course from the same instructor: more Apex, working in the Developer Console, Workbench and Visual Studio Code, integrating Salesforce with external systems, and the Apex testing framework. Its 4.6 rating ties for the highest on this list, from a smaller base of 486 ratings.

Watch out for: last updated September 2024. See the intermediate course.

8. Salesforce Development & Administration for Beginners

Best for: Admin and developer basics together. 4.4/5 from 798 ratings, 5,300 students, last updated September 2024. Instructor: Aslam Tayyab. Udemy.

If you are new to Salesforce entirely, this course teaches the admin side (objects, fields, security, automation) before moving to code. That order matches the advice in most r/salesforce threads: learn how the platform works before writing Apex.

Watch out for: it is shallower on each side than a dedicated admin or developer course. Last updated September 2024. See the combined course.

Courses we removed or demoted

Mastering Salesforce DX and Visual Studio Code (last updated January 2020) is off the list. It teaches the old sfdx command-line tool; Salesforce now asks developers to move from sfdx (v7) to sf (v2), and VS Code tooling has changed since. Learn the current CLI from Trailhead instead.

Salesforce Apex Triggers (4.6 from 535 ratings, last updated April 2021) is demoted from the main list. Trigger fundamentals have not changed much, so it is still a reasonable deep dive, but it predates five years of releases. If you take it, check current Salesforce guidance on Flow versus triggers. See the course.

The Platform Developer certification in 2026

The entry-level developer credential is now called the Salesforce Certified Platform Developer; you will still see “Platform Developer I” or “PD1” on courses and job posts. Facts from Salesforce’s exam guide and pricing pages, read 14 October 2026:

After that, the usual path is Platform Developer II (Platform Developer is its prerequisite), and specialist credentials such as JavaScript Developer, Agentforce Specialist or Platform App Builder. All developer exams cost $200 with a $100 retake.

Salesforce’s own instructor-led prep is DEX450, Build Applications Programmatically, a 5-day Trailhead Academy class. It is aimed at employers paying for training; Trailhead Academy does not list a public price on the class page, so ask for a quote.

For a wider look at Salesforce credentials, see our Salesforce certification courses guide.

Salesforce developer skills to learn in 2026

Job posts for junior Salesforce developers ask for a fairly stable core, plus a few newer items. Roughly in the order to learn them:

Projects to build while you learn

A small portfolio does more for a junior candidate than a list of course certificates. Five projects that cover the exam outline:

• A trigger with a handler class that keeps a roll-up field in sync, bulk-safe for 200 records, with tests above 90% coverage.
• An LWC record dashboard that calls an Apex method, shows related records and handles errors and empty states.
• A scheduled batch job that cleans duplicate records overnight and emails a summary.
• A REST integration that pulls data from a public API into a custom object using a named credential.
• The Apex and LWC superbadges on Trailhead, which are graded projects many hiring managers recognize.

Put the code in a public Git repository with a short README; it doubles as interview material.

What Salesforce developers on Reddit recommend

We read seven r/salesforce and r/SalesforceDeveloper threads about where to learn development. The advice was consistent (paraphrased):

• Start with Trailhead because it is free, interactive and written by Salesforce; use Udemy for a deeper second pass.
• Learn admin basics first, even if you only want to code; you need to know how the platform works before you extend it.
• Do the superbadges: they force you to solve a multi-step problem without step-by-step instructions.
• For the exam, paid practice questions are worth the money; people who passed often used a practice-exam site alongside a course.
• Check who the Udemy instructor is, since anyone can publish there; a few names (Deepika Khanna, Manish Choudhari, the Salesforce troop team) come up repeatedly.

Agentforce: what developers need to know

Agentforce is Salesforce’s platform for AI agents, and it now appears in developer work in two ways. First, the current Platform Developer exam outline lists “use cases and limitations of using Agentforce for Developers”, Salesforce’s AI coding assistant, and asks how Apex works with Agentforce on a page. Second, many 2026 projects involve giving agents actions to take, which are often built from Apex, Flow and well-designed data.

You do not need a separate AI course to start. Learn Apex, Flow and LWC first, then add the Agentforce and Prompt Builder modules on Trailhead and, if you want a guided version, pick 6 above. Treat AI-generated Apex the way you would a junior colleague’s code: check it for governor limits, bulk handling, sharing and tests before deploying.

A Salesforce developer roadmap for 2026

Courses are easier to choose once you know the order the skills build on each other. A practical roadmap, mapped to the picks above:

Developer, admin or consultant: which Salesforce role fits you?

Many people who search for Salesforce developer courses are still deciding between roles. Admins configure the platform with clicks: users, security, objects, Flow, reports and dashboards. Developers write Apex and LWC when configuration is not enough, and own tests and deployments. Consultants gather business requirements and design solutions, often across several Salesforce clouds, and may or may not build them.

If you already code, development is the natural fit. If you do not, many people start as admins, which needs no programming, and add Apex later; the admin knowledge is required for developers anyway. Consulting usually follows a few years in either role. Our Salesforce admin courses guide covers the admin route.

Interview topics to prepare for

Junior Salesforce developer interviews return to the same handful of topics, most of them straight from the exam outline. Make sure your course and practice cover each one well enough to explain it out loud:

• Governor limits and bulkification: why a SOQL query or DML statement inside a loop fails at scale, and how to restructure it.
• Trigger design: before vs after triggers, context variables, one trigger per object with a handler class, and avoiding recursion.
• Order of execution: what runs when a record is saved, including validation rules, flows, triggers and roll-ups.
• Sharing and security: with sharing vs without sharing, field-level security checks in Apex, and preventing SOQL injection.
• Asynchronous Apex: when to choose a future method, Queueable, Batch or Scheduled Apex.
• Testing: creating test data, testing bulk scenarios, the 75% deployment coverage rule and why coverage alone is not quality.
• LWC basics: component lifecycle, wire service vs imperative Apex calls, and parent-child communication with events.
• Declarative first: when you would build something in Flow instead of code, and why.

Being able to talk through your own portfolio project using these terms is usually more persuasive than the certificate itself.

How long does it take to become a Salesforce developer?

Salesforce describes the typical Platform Developer candidate as having 1 to 2 years of development experience and at least 6 months on the platform. That is the bar for being hireable, not for passing a course. A realistic plan for someone who can already code:

• Weeks 1 to 4: admin fundamentals on Trailhead (data model, security, Flow).
• Weeks 5 to 10: one Apex course plus an Apex superbadge.
• Weeks 11 to 14: LWC through a projects course and an LWC superbadge.
• Weeks 15 to 18: exam prep course, the official study trail and timed practice questions.

A complete beginner should add a general programming course first; Apex is close to Java, and the exam guide lists experience with an object-oriented language such as Java, JavaScript, C# or TypeScript.

Free vs paid, and bootcamps that promise placement

Free (Trailhead, superbadges, the Developer Edition org, YouTube) is enough to learn the platform if you are disciplined. A sale-priced Udemy course adds structure and explanations and is where most self-taught developers spend money. Live bootcamps add a schedule and an instructor, often at many times the price. If you already work somewhere that uses Salesforce, ask your manager first: employers often pay for Trailhead Academy classes, Udemy Business seats or exam vouchers.

Many live Salesforce programs advertise “training and placement”. In our experience reading their terms, placement usually means resume and interview coaching, not a guaranteed job, and refund windows can be as short as 7 days. Our JanBask Training review walks through what to check before paying for one.

What about Salesforce certificates on Coursera?

Coursera hosts two Salesforce professional certificates, and both are for sales roles, not development: the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate (4 courses, about 3 months at 10 hours a week, 105,425 enrolled) and the Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate (5 courses, 56,540 enrolled). They are worth a look if you want a CRM-heavy sales job; they will not prepare you for the developer exam. For admin roles, see our Salesforce admin courses.

Is becoming a Salesforce developer worth it?

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track Salesforce developers separately. Its closest category, software developers, had a median pay of $135,980 in May 2025, and it projects 10% growth for software developers and QA roles combined from 2025 to 2035. Salesforce developers are a niche within that group: the work is tied to one vendor, which narrows your options but also means the demand comes from the very large number of companies that run on Salesforce.

The practical case for it: you can learn the platform for free, the certification is affordable at $200, and admin experience is a common route in. The case against: the skills transfer less easily than general software development, and entry-level roles usually expect admin experience or a certification plus projects.

Which course should you take?

What these courses cost

Udemy sets list prices per course, usually between about $20 and $200, but runs frequent sales: on 14 October 2026 its site banner advertised courses from $11.99. If you plan to take three or more courses in a year, Udemy’s Personal Plan subscription ($13 a month and up, billed monthly or annually, covering a curated set of about 28,000 courses) can work out cheaper; check that the course you want is in the plan before subscribing. Individual course purchases can be refunded within 30 days, while subscriptions are not refundable. The certification exam is a separate $200. See how much Udemy costs for the details.

How to choose a Salesforce developer course

• Check the last-updated date. Salesforce ships three releases a year; a course untouched since 2020 teaches retired tools.
• Match the exam outline. Apex, SOQL, triggers, tests and LWC should all be there.
• Look for projects. A superbadge or a portfolio of LWC components matters more to employers than a certificate of completion.
• Preview before buying. Udemy lets you watch free preview lectures and refund individual purchases within 30 days.
• Don’t pay for what Trailhead gives free. Use paid courses for explanation and structure, not for content you can get from Salesforce.

See the Platform Developer exam prep course →

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Salesforce developer course for beginners?

Start with free Trailhead and a free Developer Edition org, then take Deepika Khanna’s Salesforce Development Training for Beginners on Udemy (4.5 from 8,181 ratings, updated March 2026). It teaches Apex and SOQL from first principles. If you want one broader course instead, Manish Choudhari’s Complete Salesforce Development Course has the largest audience (72,915 students) but was last updated in September 2024.

Can I learn Salesforce development for free?

Yes. Trailhead, Salesforce’s own learning site, is free and includes Apex, Lightning Web Components and the official study trail for the Platform Developer exam. A Developer Edition org is also free. Paid courses mainly add structure, video explanations and practice projects.

How much does the Salesforce Platform Developer certification cost?

The Salesforce Certified Platform Developer exam costs $200 plus applicable taxes, and a retake costs $100, according to Salesforce’s exam guide and pricing page (October 2026). It has 60 scored questions, 105 minutes and a 68% passing score, with no formal prerequisite.

How much does a Salesforce developer course cost?

Trailhead is free. Udemy courses list at roughly $20 to $200 but are usually discounted (from $11.99 on 14 October 2026), and individual purchases have a 30-day refund window. Udemy’s Personal Plan starts at $13 a month. Live bootcamps and Salesforce’s own instructor-led classes cost far more and usually quote prices on request. The Platform Developer exam adds $200.

Is Platform Developer I still a certification?

Yes, under a new name. Salesforce now calls it the Salesforce Certified Platform Developer; the credential page and Udemy course titles still often say Platform Developer I or PD1. It remains the prerequisite for Platform Developer II.

How long does it take to become a Salesforce developer?

Salesforce’s exam guide describes the typical Platform Developer candidate as having 1 to 2 years of development experience and at least 6 months on the platform. Someone who already codes can usually prepare for the exam in a few months of steady study; a complete beginner should plan on longer, learning admin basics and general programming first.

Should I learn Salesforce admin before development?

Usually yes. Salesforce recommends (but does not require) the Platform Administrator certification before the developer exam, and the developer exam expects you to know when a declarative tool such as Flow is better than code. Most experienced developers on Reddit give the same advice.

What is a Salesforce Developer Edition org?

A Developer Edition org is a free Salesforce environment for building and testing. It includes Apex, Lightning Web Components and most platform features with small data limits, and it does not expire as long as you log in periodically. Sign up on developer.salesforce.com.

Is Salesforce development a good career?

It can be. The BLS does not track Salesforce developers separately, but software developers overall had a median pay of $135,980 in May 2025 with 10% projected growth for developers and QA roles from 2025 to 2035. Salesforce work is tied to one vendor, so weigh that against the large number of companies that use the platform.

Where can I find Salesforce developer practice exams?

Start with the free study trail and trailmix linked from the Platform Developer credential page on Trailhead. Many people who passed also used a paid practice-question site or a Udemy practice-test course; choose one updated for the current release and use it to find weak areas, not to memorize answers.

Do I need to know Java to learn Salesforce development?

No, but it helps. Apex is a Java-like language, and Salesforce’s exam guide lists experience with an object-oriented language such as Apex, Java, JavaScript, C# or TypeScript. If you have never programmed, a short general programming course before Apex will make the Salesforce material much easier.

Are Salesforce training programs with job placement worth it?

Be careful. Programs that promise placement usually provide resume and interview coaching rather than a guaranteed job, and their refund windows can be short. Read the written refund policy and ask what placement means before paying; our JanBask Training review shows what to check.

Related guides: Salesforce admin courses, Salesforce certification courses, our Udemy review and JanBask Training review, and, for other enterprise platforms, SAP courses.