How to Learn PLC Programming for Free, Step by Step

To learn PLC programming for free, work in this order: learn what a PLC does and how it scans, take one free course on one platform, practise in a simulator that needs no hardware, finish a small machine job with a test, and keep a record of what you built. Every step has a free option today. The gaps are feedback on your own work and anything that needs real wiring.

This post is the step-by-step path. If you want a list of courses that carry a certificate, read best free PLC courses with certificate instead. If you want to start now, the free PLC training page lists the courses in order.

How to learn PLC programming for free: step 1, learn what a PLC does

A programmable logic controller reads inputs, runs your logic, writes outputs and repeats, many times a second. Understanding that loop first saves weeks of confusion later, because every timing bug and every 'why did that output flicker' question comes back to it. Read the complete guide to PLC programming, then the short post on the PLC scan cycle.

The video below is a plain introduction to what PLCs are and how free training is laid out. It comes from Instrumentation Tools, which also sells training, so treat it as an overview and not as a review of other providers.

Step 2: take one free course on one platform

Pick one platform and stay with it for a few weeks. Jumping between brands in week one is the most common reason beginners stall. Good free starting points on this site are the Siemens TIA Portal course, the CODESYS and IEC 61131-3 course and the OpenPLC course, which runs on low-cost hardware you may already own.

Outside our site, AutomationDirect publishes free PLC video libraries on basic PLC concepts and on its own PLC families, and asks only for an email address to register (page read 16 October 2026). The page does not mention a certificate. That is a fair deal for what it is: good product training with no paperwork.

The languages you meet are defined by IEC 61131-3. IEC lists the fourth edition as published on 22 May 2025 (page read 16 October 2026). You do not need to read the standard, but it explains why ladder, Structured Text and sequential function charts look similar across brands.

What each kind of free PLC training gives you

'Free' covers very different things. This table shows what to expect from each type, so you can combine them instead of hoping one will do everything.

A browser simulator is not a toy. A vendor press release describes a browser PLC simulator with wiring and fault-finding exercises and a free tier (read 16 October 2026). It is marketing, so read it as evidence that such tools exist, not as a verdict on any of them. Our own comparison of free PLC simulator software goes through the options in more detail.

Step 3: practise without hardware

Reading about ladder logic does not teach ladder logic. You learn it by writing a start/stop rung, watching it fail, and fixing it. The start/stop ladder logic video is a good first exercise.

EDWartens Lab is free with a free EDWartens account. It runs in your browser, installs nothing, and keeps working offline once loaded. It is best on a laptop but works on a phone. The PLC lab has eight machines, from a motor start/stop with overload to duty and standby pumps. You program in ladder, Structured Text or SFC, and the machine responds in 2D and in 3D. It is the lab's own PLC engine with familiar Siemens-style addressing, not a vendor PLC.

Every job in the lab ends with a numbered factory acceptance test that runs automatically. That is the useful habit: you do not decide your program works, a test sheet does. Public pages for each machine are under /project-sim.

Step 4: add structure with the free internship

Self-study fails mostly through drift. The free PLC Programming Internship gives the same material a shape. It is free to join, with no fee to join, ever. It is fully online, so it works from any country, and you choose a length from 1 week to 24 months and start on any date from today. The plan can be changed later.

The programme has eight weeks of short lesson cards with diagrams and videos, starting from the first idea: the scan cycle, ladder start/stop with a seal-in, timers and counters, Structured Text, and testing a machine before handover. The last week is a client brief with a mini project. Practice is optional, using free browser simulators or EDWartens Lab. There are short weekly checks and a final quiz, made to help you learn, and you can retry them as often as you like. Completion means every lesson, every weekly check and the final quiz.

Be clear about what it is. It is training, not employment, and it pays no stipend. It is issued by Wartens Ltd, a UK company. Learners aged 13 to 17 need a parent or guardian's consent, and under 13 cannot join. Documents such as an internship certificate or a project report are optional paid add-ons, chosen only when you want them. Each carries a QR code and a number that anyone can check at /verification. You can see samples first at /internships/sample-documents.

For a sense of what a genuine internship contains, NACE, the US association for employers and career services, describes one as experiential learning with a written position description, learning goals, start and end dates, qualified supervision and feedback (page read 16 October 2026). Use that list as a yardstick for any programme, ours included.

Step 5: turn practice into proof

Employers cannot see what you know, only what you show. After the lab and the internship, write up one project: the brief, your ladder or Structured Text, a screenshot of the machine running, and the test sheet you passed. Engineering portfolio from course projects shows how to lay that out, and PLC interview questions and answers shows what you will be asked about it.

After a lab job passes, you can download the factory acceptance test report as a PDF. A Wartens engineer can review and sign it for an optional paid fee. That is optional: the unsigned report still shows your own result.

What free training cannot teach you

Be honest with yourself about the edges. A simulation will not teach you crimp quality, cable routing, electrical noise or real hazards. It will not teach you to commission a machine on a cold factory floor with a customer waiting. Free training builds logic skills and habits. The rest comes from supervised hands-on work, which is why the electrical panel design route matters if you want to work in the field.

If you are in India, the government's AICTE National Internship Portal is another free route. Its registration, applying and completion certificate are free, and it says anyone asking for money to apply through it is a scam (page read 16 October 2026). That is a separate path with its own listings.

A simple plan for your first month

• Week 1: read the guide and the scan cycle post, then start one free course.
• Week 2: write three small programs in the lab: start/stop, a timer, a counter.
• Week 3: finish one full machine job and pass its test sheet.
• Week 4: join the internship, set a length that fits your life, and start the first lesson cards.

Keep the plan small. Twenty minutes on most days beats a long weekend you cannot repeat. When you finish, you will have written, tested and explained a real program, which is the thing the rest of the hiring process looks for.

Take the free course

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