8 Best Free Kubernetes Courses for Beginners in 2024

Learn Kubernetes using these free online training courses and add an in-demand skill to your colorful resume.

javinpaul
Javarevisited
10 min readJun 4, 2020

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8 Best Free Kubernetes Courses for Beginners
image — Learn DevOps: The Complete Kubernetes Course

Hello guys, DevOps is becoming an essential skill in today’s Programming and Software Development world and Kubernetes is an important tool for DevOps engineers. It takes container-based deployment to another level and allows you to manage it on the scale.

You can use Kubernetes to scale your container environment or let Kubernetes do all the work for you by leveraging its auto-scaling feature.

Many DevOps beginners think that Docker and Kubernetes are the same but they are not. Docker provides a container to deploy your application and commands to interact with those containers but Kubernetes is actually a container management technology, which decides how many containers are needed and deal with other management aspects.

In fact, Kubernetes or K8s is arguably the most important container management technology in the world at this moment and you shouldn’t be surprised that the roots of Kubernetes lie in Google itself.

It’s not a Google tool but created by a couple of Google developers as an open-source alternative of similar tools they have used in Google to manage containers at scale.

Kubernetes comes with some mind-boggling features like auto-scaling, its very reliable, and also an extremely powerful container orchestration engine, probably the best at this moment.

It allows you to convert your infrastructure into a Container as a Service (Platform), bringing in some of the awe-inspiring features like Zero Down Time Deployments, Fault Tolerance, Auto Scaling, Cloud and Storage integrations, which were extremely difficult to implement.

More and more people are realizing the importance of DevOps and learning tools like Jenkins, Docker, and Kubernetes and if you also happen to be in the same boat then these free courses will provide you the springboard you need to jump into the DevOps world.

By the way, if you don’t mind spending a few bucks for learning something as valuable as Kubernetes, then I suggest you also check out Docker and Kubernetes: The Complete Guide course on Udemy, it’s not free but you can get it for just $10 on many Udemy flash sales which happens every month.

You will learn both Docker and Kubernetes, which means you can kill two birds with just one stone. It is the perfect course to start with both Docker and Kubernetes in 2024.

8 Best Free Courses to Learn Kubernetes for DevOps Engineers

Anyway, here is my list of some of the best but free courses to learn from Kubernetes in 2024. You can use these courses to learn Kubernetes for work or if you are preparing for Kubernetes Administrators Certification CKA or CKAD (Certified Kubernetes Administrator Developer).

Even though these courses are free but they are nice courses and just made free by their instructor for promotional and educational purposes.

If you are starting with Kubernetes, I suggest you join one of these courses to get a feel of what is Kubernetes and how it can help you in your DevOps work.

1. Just enough kubernetes to be dangerous

This is a really nice course to learn Kubernetes in a short time, precisely in just 1.5 hours. It helps you get started with Kubernetes quickly and build a foundation while learning by practicing it.

You will not only set up the kubernetes cluster with Google Kubernetes Engine but also learn how to deploy a micro-services application and publish it to the world.

Created by Gaurav Shah, in this course, you will also learn how to dynamically scale your application using the auto-scaling feature of kubernetes, release application updates without any downtime, or, achieve Zero downtime deployments.

You will also learn the basics of kubectl utility, an important tool to work with Kubernetes. In short, a perfect course to start your Kubernetes journey for FREE.

Here is the link to join this course for free — Just enough kubernetes to be dangerous

free udemy course to learn Kubernetes

2. Getting Started with Google Kubernetes Engine [Coursera]

This is a free online training course to learn Kubernetes from Coursera and created by none other than Google Cloud. Like other Coursera courses, this is also free to audit but you need to pay if you need a certification.

This one-week, accelerated online training class will teach you how to containerize applications in Docker containers, deploy them to Kubernetes clusters provided by Google Kubernetes Engine, and scale those applications to handle increased traffic.

This course is part of the Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud DevOps Engineer Professional Certificate and you will also learn how to continuously deploy new code in a Kubernetes cluster to provide application updates.

Talking about social proof, more than 75,000 people have already taken this course and 28% say they have started a new career after completing these courses and 33% got a tangible career benefit from this course like pay rise or promotion. Overall a good course to learn Kubernetes on Coursera.

Here is the link to join this course for FREE Getting Started with Google Kubernetes Engine

best free Coursera Course to learn Kubernetes

Btw, this course provides a short overview of Kubernetes. For the full Kubernetes knowledge, you can also see the Architecting with Google Kubernetes Engine Specialization on Coursera.

And, if you find Coursera courses useful, which they are because they are created by reputed companies like Google, IBM, Amazon, and the best universities around the world, I suggest you join the Coursera Plus, a subscription plan from Coursera

This single subscription gives you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects. It cost around $399/year but its complete worth of your money as you get unlimited certificates.

3. Learn DevOps Kubernetes deployment by kops and terraform

This is another practical course to learn Kubernetes on AWS by using kops and Terraform. In this course, you will learn how to deploy a Kubernetes cluster in AWS and how to use Terraform to run an immutable infrastructure.

You will also learn about the horizontally scaled deployment in Kubernetes and how to use Kops to spin up the Kubernetes cluster.

Most importantly, you will learn how to see logs, get inside the Docker container within the pod in Kubernetes. Overall, it is a nice little practical course to learn Kubernetes with AWS in 2024.

Here is the link to join this course — Learn DevOps Kubernetes deployment by kops and terraform

best free course to learn kubernetes for DevOps

4. Introduction to Kubernetes [Free edX Course]

This is another free course to learn Kubernetes in depth. It’s a self-paced course that runs for 14 weeks and 2 to 3 hours per week of work is required.

Created by edX Team, in this course, you’ll learn some of Kubernetes’ basic concepts and talk about the architecture of the system, the problems it solves, and the model that it uses to handle containerized deployments scaling.

The course not only offers an introduction to Kubernetes but also includes technical instructions on how to deploy a stand-alone and multi-tier application. It also teaches you about ConfigMaps and Secrets, and how to use Ingress.

Here is the link to join this course for FREE Introduction to Kubernetes

best free edX course to learn kubernetes

After completing this course, you will have a solid understanding of the origin, architecture, and building blocks for Kubernetes, and will be able to build, test, and deploy containers at scale using Kubernetes in Cloud-native environments like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.

5. Containers 101 [Free Udemy Course]

This is a nice, free course to learn how to build and deploy containerized applications with Kubernetes, Docker, and Helm.

As the name suggests, In this course, you’ll learn the basics of building and deploying containerized applications.

The course introduces the concepts of containers powered by Docker and how to create them. You’ll also learn the essentials needed for modern DevOps with orchestration, packaging, and more built on the fast-growing Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm stack.

In short, a perfect course to learn containers in-depth, with 6-hours of quality material.

Here is the link to join this course — Containers 101

best free Udemy course to learn containers

6. Kubernetes: Getting Started [Pluralsight Free Trial]

This is another free course to learn about the basics of Container Orchestration Engine and Kubernetes to get started in the world of Kubernetes.

Created by Srinath Challa this course has over 3 hours 41 minutes of content and will teach you Kubernetes basics. You will learn how to build and administer production-grade Kubernetes clusters on the go, on-cloud, and as well as locally on your laptop

You will also learn about Pods, how do they connect and communicate, and finally will show you how to write Pod manifest file and deploy it on Kubernetes. It also covers advanced topics like managing application protection and high-availability using ReplicaSet, ReplicationController, and DaemonSet,

Overall a great free online course to learn about Kubernetes and suitable for DevOps Engineer, Developers, Admins, or Anyone interested to learn about Kubernetes and its trusted by more than 29,000 students which speaks about it usefulness.

Here is the link to join this course for FREE Kubernetes: Getting Started

best free Pluralsight course to learn Kubernetes

If you find this course useful and the teaching style of Srinath good then you can also check out his paid course Kubernetes Made Easy which covers Kubernetes in much more detail. It has over 14.5 hours of content and 54 downloadable resources.

7. Kubernetes, for people in a hurry [Udemy Free Tutorial]

This is another free course to learn Kubernetes on Udemy, one of the best online learning platforms. This course is for absolute Kubernetes beginners. with zero knowledge about Kubernetes and after completing this course you will be ready to deploy your own applications on a Kubernetes platform.

This course provides a good overview of Kubernetes and its Objects and you will learn what basics of the Components, the Objects, and Deployments on Kubernetes

Though you don’t need to know about Kubernetes, a basic understanding of Linux, YAML, and command lines is required. This course is ideal for Developers, Sysadmins/Ops, IT Managers, and anyone new to container orchestration

Here is the link to join this course for FREE Kubernetes, for people in a hurry

free course to learn kubernetes

8. Getting Started with Kubernetes by Pluralsight

This is another hands-on course to learn Kubernetes online. In this course, you will learn the theory and practical skills required to get up and running with containers and Kubernetes as fast as possible.

The course can be logically divided into three parts. In the first part, you’ll dive into Kubernetes architecture, what the main components and services are, and how they come together to build a production-class container infrastructure.

In the second and third parts, you’ll learn how to install and deploy Kubernetes on several cloud platforms and learn to work with pods, deployments, and services.

Here is the link to join this course — Getting Started with Kubernetes

best Pluralsight course to learn Kubernetes

By the end of this course, you’ll have a solid understanding of what Kubernetes is and how it works, as well as skills to deploy a Kubernetes cluster and simple applications.

Btw, you would need a Pluralsight membership to join this course, which costs around $29 per month or $299 per year (14% discount). If you don’t have this plan, I highly recommend joining as it boosts your learning and as a programmer, you always need to learn new things.

Alternatively, you can also use their 10-day-free-trial to watch this course for FREE.

That’s all about some of the free courses to learn Kubernetes in 2024. As I have said, Kubernetes is one of the most important container management technology and really important if you are thinking about DevOps in Cloud. I suggest you spend some time learning various tools and features offered by Kubernetes for scaling your containers, including the auto-scaling feature of Kubernetes.


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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you found these free Kubernetes courses useful then please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback then please drop a note.

P. S. — These free Kubernetes training courses are also good to prepare for Certified Kubernetes Administrators Certification but if you want to prepare better then I also highly recommend Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) with Practice Tests course by KodeCloud training on Udemy. It comes with live practice tests which you can take on your browser also.

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javinpaul
Javarevisited

I am Java programmer, blogger, working on Java, J2EE, UNIX, FIX Protocol. I share Java tips on http://javarevisited.blogspot.com and http://java67.com