Top 5 Free Courses to learn Node.js in 2024 - Best of lot

Node JS has completely changed the way JavaScript is used for development. Earlier JavaScript was considered as a client-side language because it runs on a browser and is mostly used for client-side validations, animations, and interaction. Node.js takes that to the next level by allowing JavaScript to run on a server-side, which means you can now write JavaScript applications that can execute without a browser. Node JS uses Google Chrome's execution engine and asynchronous processing to do this. All you need to is include a node.js script in your application, and you are ready to create server-side applications in JavaScript, which wasn't possible until a few years back.

Node.js has also played an essential role in doing full-stack development using just one programming language because now it's possible for a JavaScript developer to create an end-to-end web application using Node.js and React.js or whatever stack they want. The bottom line is they will be using JavaScript on both the client and server sides.

Because of the immense popularity of Node.js and JavaScript, many programmers are also learning JavaScript and Node.js framework to become a web developer, mainly a full-stack developer, and that's where these online courses help a lot.

In the past, I have shared some of the best Node.js online courses for Web developers, which many of my readers liked a lot and appreciate. Still, some of them also asked about the free alternative of those paid courses so that they start without investing any money.

Thankfully, the internet is full of excellent free resources, and I also encourage you to learn from them. They are not only best to get an idea of what node.js is and how it helps you to create a server-side application in JavaScript but also can teach you all the nitty-gritty of node.js and walk you through creating an end-to-end application.

Even though I am a nerd and have read hundreds of books, online courses have changed the way I learn new technologies. Now I start with a class, learn the basics like setting up my dev environment and writing my first few programs. Once I get the hang of technology, I follow up with a book to further consolidate and learn that in depth.

I'll share the Node.js books later, but this is the time for some of the best free online Node.js courses from Coursera, Udemy, Pluralsight, and edx.org to kick-start your Node.js development journey. Btw, If you don't mind paying a few bucks for learning something as valuable as Node.js, then I also suggest you check out The Complete Node.js Developer course by Andrew Mead and Rob Percival, one of the best courses to self-taught Node.js yourself.

5 Free Online Courses to Learn Node.js for Beginners  in 2024

These courses focus on Node.js basics and fundamentals and some hands-on coding. If you already know Node.js, you may find them a bit repetitive, in that case, I suggest you take some advanced Node.js courses I have shared earlier.

Without wasting any more of your time, here is my list of some of the excellent free Node.js courses which you can take online at the comfort of your office and home. I have hand-picked these Node.js courses for beginners.

1. Node JS API Development for Beginners [Free]

This is one of the best Node JS beginner courses you can get online. In this course, you will learn Node JS API Development from absolute scratch.

This course is like complete beginners getting started guide, as you will start from what is node js and why learn node.js to installing node js dev environment and understand how JavaScript executes in a browser and a non-browser background.

In this course, you will learn Modern JavaScript, Node JS event loop, Asynchronous programming, using node modules, npm modules, and creating your own modules, creating a server, connect to the database, and sending json responses.

It has a really nice mix of theory and hands-on practice, which is very difficult to get in a free course. Talking about social proof, more than 11,605 students have already benefitted from this, and it has, on average, 4.3 ratings from close to 500 participants. A big thanks to instructor Ryan Dhungel for creating this course and making it free for learners.

2. Server-side Development with NodeJS, Express, and MongoDB [Free Audit]

This is another free Node.js course from Coursera, my favorite site for online learning from a reputed institution. This course is also offered by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The course starts with a brief overview of the Web protocols like HTTP and HTTPS and then explains what NodeJS and NodeJS modules like Express for building web servers are.

On the database side, you will review basic CRUD operations, NoSQL databases, in particular, MongoDB and Mongoose, for accessing MongoDB from NodeJS.

After that, you will learn basic REST concepts and how to build a RESTful API with authentication and security features. Finally, you will learn about backend as a service (BaaS) approaches, including mobile BaaS, both open-source and commercial BaaS services.

This course is also part of Full-Stack Web Development with React. If you don't know, A Specialization is a series of classes that help you master a skill. When you complete this course, your progress will count towards your learning in this Specialization.

Like many Coursera courses, this is also free-to-audit, which means you can access the course for free but won't get a certificate or grading. If you need a license, then you need to pay for that and complete the other courses on Specialization, which also contains a project perfect for some real-world experience.

By the way, if you find Coursera courses useful, then I also suggest you join the Coursera Plus, a subscription plan from Coursera which gives you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects. It cost around $399/year but its complete worth your money as you get unlimited certificates

3. Introduction to NodeJS [Free edX Course]

This is another excellent free course to learn Node.Js from Microsoft and edX. The ultimate beginner guide to creating web applications using Node.js, Express, and MongoDB.

In this free Node JS course, you will learn the basics of Node.js and its core modules. You will also learn how to import additional modules and configure your project using npm.

From there, you will see how to use Express to set up a web server and how to interact with a MongoDB database using Mongoose.

By the end of the course, you will have created several real-world projects such as a web scraper, a blogging API, and a database migration script using node.js. Overall, a perfect node.js beginner course to kick-start your journey.

4. Intro to Node JS & Express [Free Udemy Course]

This is another introductory free course on Node JS and Express for beginners. The course is very informative and takes a step-by-step approach to teaching Node JS and Express. The 10-part series covers:

• Project Structure
• Static Assets
• Templating Engines
• Dynamic Requests
• Handling POST data
• Rendering Dynamic Data
• Styling and Images
• Middleware
• Deployment

By the end of this series, you will understand the basics of a Node/Express project and be able to deploy a full-functional web app. I would highly recommend this course if you're a beginner in NodeJS and Full Stack development.

5. Introduction to Node.js on Pluralsight

If you have a Pluralsight membership, then you can also take this excellent Introductory course on Node.js for Beginners. This is also one of the best Pluralsight courses to learn Node from scratch. 

The course provides an excellent overview of Node.js, including writing asynchronous code with callbacks and streams, and modularizing your application with NPM and require().

You will also learn about how to use built-in APIs for building and scaling web applications as well as a few critical third-party modules.

This course is not exactly free as you would need a Pluralsight membership to access this course, which costs around $29/month or $299/year but also provides access to more than 5000+ high-quality online courses on the latest technologies. A membership like this is beneficial for programmers who need to continually learn to keep themselves up-to-date.

Btw, if you don't have a membership, then also you can get access to this course by signing up for their 10-day free trial, provided you haven't taken it already.


That's all about some of the best free online courses to learn Node.js or Node JS in the 2024 and coming years. These are fantastic resources for any beginner learning Node.js and include free courses from sites like Udemy, Coursera, edX.org, and Pluralsight. They are not classroom training, so you don't need to go anywhere to attend them. You can take these courses online from your office and home.

Once you have gone through these courses and want to learn advanced Node.js concepts or explore Node.js in-depth, then you can also refer following resources, they are not free, but they are not very expensive either and are completely worth your time and money.

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these best free Node JS courses, then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. - If you don't mind paying a few bucks for learning something as valuable as Node.js, then I also suggest you check out this list of best Node.js courses from Udemy which includes courses from experts like Andrew Mead and Rob Percival, two of the best Node js instructor on Udemy.