Hello guys, if you are thinking of learning Apache Spark to start your Big Data journey and looking for some excellent free resources, e.g., books, tutorials, and courses, then you have come to the right place. This article will share some of the best free online Apache Spark courses for Java, Scala, and Python developers. If you don't know what is Apache Spark? And Why it's so crucial in the Big Data world, then let me give you a brief overview first. Apache Spark is another cluster computing framework like Hadoop, which analyzes a vast data set. Still, it's much faster than Hadoop, which makes it ideal for today's high computing needs, like processing a massive amount of data.
One of the challenges while processing a large amount of data is speed, as it can take hours and days to train a machine learning algorithm with real-world data.
Apache spark solves that problem by providing fast access to data for machine learning and SQL load. It gives 100 times faster speed when doing in-memory calculation than Hadoop and 10 times faster if it's doing MapReduce off a disk.
Btw, that's a 10,000 view of Apache Spark. To use it in your project or work with it as a Big Data consultant, you need to know a lot more than that, and that's where these free courses will help you.
These free Apache Spark online courses will not only teach you fundamental concepts, like why you need Apache Spark if you have Hadoop? Or explain how Apache Spark gets its lighting speed and theoretical Apache Spark abstractions like Resilient Distributed DataSet or RDD.
For Java and Scala Developers looking for the best Spark course and don't mind paying $10 for their learning, I suggest checking out Apache Spark 2 with Scala - Hands On with Big Data! By Frank Kane on Udemy. This is one of the best resources to learn Spark with Scala.
They all are free now but no guarantee how long they will remain free as sometimes instructor converts their free Udemy courses into Paid one, mainly after they achieve their promotional targets.
It's better to join them now even if you don't have time to learn. Once you join them, they will be free for life, and you can learn on your own schedule.
The course tries to bridge the gap between what information is available in Apache Spark documentation and other classes and what developers are looking for.
It tries to answer many of the frequently asked Apache Spark questions on StackOverflow and other forums, like why you need Apache Spark if you have Hadoop. What is the difference between Apache Spark and Hadoop? How does Apache Spark achieve faster computation? What is RDD abstraction, etc.?
In short, a great course to learn Apache Spark as you will get an excellent understanding of some of the critical concepts behind Sparks' execution engine and the secret of its efficiency.
The course will teach you how to set up your local development environment by installing Java and JDK, IntelliJ IDEA, and Integrating Apache Spark with IDEA.
All you need is a computer with 4GB RAM and a 64-bit Operating system, and some Scala experience.
In this free Spark course for Python developers, you will learn Apache Spark and Python by following 12+ hands-on, real-world examples of analyzing Big Data, which PySpark and Spark library.
It's also one of the most popular courses on Apache Spark in Udemy, with close to 22K students already enrolled and more than 2000 4.9 ratings.
You will start with the overview of Apache Spark architecture and then understand Apache Spark's primary abstraction, the RDD or Resilient distributed datasets, a large amount of read-only data.
The best part of this course is the real-world examples of Big Data like aggregating NASA Apache Weblogs from different sources, exploring the price trend by looking at the Real Estate Data in California, and finding out the median salary of developers in other countries using the StackOverflow survey data.
In the end, you will also learn to write Spark applications using the Python API - PySpark.
This course will explain how to set up your Apache Spark Development environment in Windows 10 laptop with 4 GB RAM.
Once you complete this course, you can learn better from other Python and Apache Spark courses.
One of the challenges while processing a large amount of data is speed, as it can take hours and days to train a machine learning algorithm with real-world data.
Apache spark solves that problem by providing fast access to data for machine learning and SQL load. It gives 100 times faster speed when doing in-memory calculation than Hadoop and 10 times faster if it's doing MapReduce off a disk.
Btw, that's a 10,000 view of Apache Spark. To use it in your project or work with it as a Big Data consultant, you need to know a lot more than that, and that's where these free courses will help you.
These free Apache Spark online courses will not only teach you fundamental concepts, like why you need Apache Spark if you have Hadoop? Or explain how Apache Spark gets its lighting speed and theoretical Apache Spark abstractions like Resilient Distributed DataSet or RDD.
For Java and Scala Developers looking for the best Spark course and don't mind paying $10 for their learning, I suggest checking out Apache Spark 2 with Scala - Hands On with Big Data! By Frank Kane on Udemy. This is one of the best resources to learn Spark with Scala.
5 Best Free Apache Spark Online Courses for Beginners in 2025
Since Big Data and Apache Spark are language agnostics, I have included courses for Java, Scala, and Python developers.They all are free now but no guarantee how long they will remain free as sometimes instructor converts their free Udemy courses into Paid one, mainly after they achieve their promotional targets.
It's better to join them now even if you don't have time to learn. Once you join them, they will be free for life, and you can learn on your own schedule.
1. Spark Starter Kit [Free Udemy Course]
This is one of the best free courses to start with Apache Spark as it addresses the fundamentals you would want to learn. As the author claims, this course is better than several paid courses on Apache Spark, and he is somewhat correct. The 15K students enrolled in this course also justify that claim.The course tries to bridge the gap between what information is available in Apache Spark documentation and other classes and what developers are looking for.
It tries to answer many of the frequently asked Apache Spark questions on StackOverflow and other forums, like why you need Apache Spark if you have Hadoop. What is the difference between Apache Spark and Hadoop? How does Apache Spark achieve faster computation? What is RDD abstraction, etc.?
In short, a great course to learn Apache Spark as you will get an excellent understanding of some of the critical concepts behind Sparks' execution engine and the secret of its efficiency.
2. Scala and Spark 2 - Getting Started [Free Course on Udemy]
If you are a Scala developer interested in Apache Spark, this is the right course for you. This course will teach you how to develop an application using Scala and Spark using IntelliJ IDEA.The course will teach you how to set up your local development environment by installing Java and JDK, IntelliJ IDEA, and Integrating Apache Spark with IDEA.
All you need is a computer with 4GB RAM and a 64-bit Operating system, and some Scala experience.
3. Apache Spark with Python - Big Data with PySpark and Spark [FREE]
If you are a Python developer but want to learn Apache Spark for Big Data, this is the perfect course.In this free Spark course for Python developers, you will learn Apache Spark and Python by following 12+ hands-on, real-world examples of analyzing Big Data, which PySpark and Spark library.
It's also one of the most popular courses on Apache Spark in Udemy, with close to 22K students already enrolled and more than 2000 4.9 ratings.
You will start with the overview of Apache Spark architecture and then understand Apache Spark's primary abstraction, the RDD or Resilient distributed datasets, a large amount of read-only data.
The best part of this course is the real-world examples of Big Data like aggregating NASA Apache Weblogs from different sources, exploring the price trend by looking at the Real Estate Data in California, and finding out the median salary of developers in other countries using the StackOverflow survey data.
In the end, you will also learn to write Spark applications using the Python API - PySpark.
4. Python and Spark - Setup Development Environment [Free Course]
As I told you before, one of the significant challenges in learning Big Data is setting up your own local development environment, and that's where this course will help you.This course will explain how to set up your Apache Spark Development environment in Windows 10 laptop with 4 GB RAM.
Once you complete this course, you can learn better from other Python and Apache Spark courses.
5. Apache Spark Fundamentals [Pluralsight Free Trial]
If you want to start Apache Spark from scratch, then this Pluralsight course is really nice. It explains why we can't use Hadoop to analyze today's Big Data and how Apache Spark's speed helps modern big data processing.In this course, you will learn Spark from the group up, starting with the history before creating a Wikipedia analysis application to learn Apache Spark Core API better.
Once you understand the Apache Spark Core library, it will also teach you the Spark libraries like Streaming and SQL APIs.
In the end, you will also learn about things you should avoid while dealing with Apache Spark. Overall an excellent course to start with Apache Spark.
Btw, this course is not exactly free. You need a Pluralsight membership to access this course, which costs around $29 per month, but you get access to more than 5000+ courses on different technology.
If you don't have Pluralsight membership, you can also take this course for FREE by signing up for a 10-day free trial.
That's all about some of the best free courses to learn Apache Spark in Java, Scala, and Python. It's vital to make the right decision while analyzing big data, I mean choosing the right tools for the job. Modern-day data is so vast that even Hadoops' batch processing model cannot cope with that. At this time, you need Apache Spark's lighting speed to analyze modern big data sets.
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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these best free Apache Spark courses, please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.
P.S. - For Java and Scala Developers looking to start with the best course and don't mind paying $10 for a valuable resource, you can also check out the best Apache Spark courses on Udemy Coursera, Pluralsight, and other online websites.
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