Free PLC training · free · no card · no trial · updated 24 Sept 2026

Free PLC training online, with a certificate at the end

Most "free PLC training" is a sample of something paid. This page lists what is actually free, what each option gives you, and the six steps that turn free EDWartens courses into a program you wrote and can defend in an interview.

Browse the free courses Start with Siemens TIA Portal

What free PLC training really includes

Four things make PLC training work: a planned order, written notes you can revise from, practice you actually do in a simulator, and an assessment that tells you whether it landed. The table says which options have which. Where another option is the better tool for a job, it says so.

OptionWhat you getPlanned syllabusWritten notesQuizzes and finalCertificateHardwareBest for
EDWartens free coursesComplete courses across Siemens, Rockwell, Mitsubishi, Omron, Schneider, Delta, ABB, CODESYS, SCADA, HMI, drives, PID, robots, DCS and CAD, built from credited creator videos plus written notes, practice and assessments.Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, from US$2.99, verifiable by codeNone; vendor trial software and simulatorsA structured route from zero to a working program, with something to show at the end
Siemens SCE learning documentsSiemens Cooperates with Education publishes free TIA Portal learning and training documents and digital learning modules for institutions and self-learners.NoneTIA Portal trial; some modules assume a training kitDepth on Siemens specifically, read alongside a course
Vendor and independent YouTube channelsThousands of free lessons from RealPars, Hegamurl, PLCskilltree, Instrumentation Tools, Tim Wilborne and vendor channels, of very variable order and level.NoneVariesLooking up one topic; not a route on its own
Free tiers of paid course sites (PLC Academy, SolisPLC and similar)Free articles and introductory videos that lead to paid courses; the free part is a sample of the paid product.Paid course requiredVariesDeciding whether to buy their paid course
Coursera and edX audit modeA few university and vendor automation courses can be audited free; graded work and the certificate need payment, and PLC-specific content is thin.PaidUsually noneControl theory background rather than hands-on PLC
Vendor simulators and trialsTIA Portal trial with PLCSIM, RSLogix Micro Starter Lite, Connected Components Workbench, CODESYS, GX Works trial, Factory I/O trial: free software to practise in.NoneNoneThe practice half of any of the above

Other providers' features as published on their own sites in September 2026; check them before you rely on them. EDWartens courses use video lessons by independent creators, credited on every course page, and EDWartens wrote the syllabus, notes, practice and assessments.

Six steps from zero to a program you wrote

  1. STEP 1

    Pick one platform and stay on it for six weeks

    Siemens TIA Portal if you have no preference: it assumes nothing and the trial runs everything in simulation.

    Siemens TIA Portal course
  2. STEP 2

    Install the free software before module four, not before module one

    The TIA Portal trial is 21 days. The first three modules of the foundation course need no software, so start them first and install when the clock matters.

    Installing and simulating TIA Portal
  3. STEP 3

    Do the practice task in every module, in the simulator

    Reading a rung is not writing one. Every module has a practice task sized for PLCSIM. There is no quiz to tick off at the end of one: the course is assessed once, at the final.

    S7-1200 instruction series
  4. STEP 4

    Build something that moves

    Factory I/O's trial gives you conveyors, sorters and a warehouse to program. A machine you programmed is the interview story a fresher never has.

    Factory I/O projects course
  5. STEP 5

    Add the HMI, then structure

    Operators judge a system by its screens, and employers judge a program by whether a colleague can read it. Both are free courses here.

    Siemens engineer path
  6. STEP 6

    Pass the final, put it on your CV, apply

    The free account includes a CV builder that adds each finished course, cover letters, and a job board of automation openings refreshed twice a day.

    Create the free account

Free PLC courses to start with

Every free PLC, HMI and SCADA course

Show all 42

PLC programming

HMI

SCADA

Drives, robotics, DCS, safety, instrumentation and the rest are in the full list of free courses.

Free PLC training by city

Courses picked for each city's industries, with the certificate priced in the local currency.

Questions people ask about free PLC training

Is there really free PLC training online, or is it always a trial?
There is. On EDWartens every course is complete and free: all lessons, notes, practice tasks and the final assessment. There is no trial period and no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate. Siemens SCE documents and vendor simulators are also genuinely free; most other 'free' PLC training is a sample of a paid course.
Can I learn PLC programming free without buying a PLC?
Yes. Every EDWartens course runs in the vendor's free or trial software with a simulator: S7-PLCSIM for Siemens, RSLogix Emulate and the Micro800 simulator for Rockwell, GX Simulator, CX-Simulator, CODESYS, and Factory I/O for 3D machines. Real hardware helps later, but it is not where you start.
Which free PLC course should a beginner start with?
Siemens TIA Portal, because it assumes nothing and runs fully in simulation. Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 is the natural second, and the first if the plants you want to work in run Rockwell, as most in North America do.
Do free PLC courses give a certificate?
The EDWartens Certificate of Completion is optional and costs from US$2.99, depending on the course level; it is issued only after you pass the final assessment and carries a verification code anyone can check. It is an EDWartens certificate, not a Siemens or Rockwell credential. Most other free options give no certificate at all.
How long does it take to learn PLC programming free?
The Siemens foundation course is 22 modules, about 13 hours of video plus practice, which a working engineer finishes in four to six weeks of evenings. A second platform or the HMI course takes two to three weeks more. Structure and commissioning courses come after you can write logic.
Are the assessments hard?
No, and that is deliberate. There is one assessment per course: a final of fifteen questions drawn from the whole course at a 60 percent pass mark, with three attempts and then a 24 hour wait and a fresh paper. The per-module quizzes were removed in September 2026, because a module only counted as finished when its quiz was passed and most people never sat one, so the courses told them they had done nothing. Watching a module finishes it now. The assessment checks that you followed the lessons; the practice tasks are where the learning happens.
Will a free PLC course get me a job?
On its own, no course will. What it gives you is a program you wrote and can talk through in an interview, a certificate you can verify, and, with the free account, a CV that lists the course, cover letters and a job board. Employers hire people who can show work; the free courses give you the work.
What is the best free PLC course?
For most beginners, a complete course on one platform beats a playlist on several. The EDWartens Siemens TIA Portal course is the most complete free starting point we know of: 22 modules from first principles to a working S7-1200 program, with notes, a practice task in every module and a final assessment, all in the free TIA Portal trial and PLCSIM. If your target employers run Rockwell, start with the Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 course instead. Siemens SCE documents are the best free reading to go alongside either.
Is there a free Siemens PLC course with a certificate?
Yes. EDWartens has free Siemens courses for TIA Portal, the S7-1200 instruction set, S7-1500, SCL structured text, organisation blocks and interrupts, program structure, commissioning and simulation, Factory I/O projects, STEP 7 for the S7-300, LOGO! and S7-200 SMART, WinCC HMI, PID and Safety Integrated. Each is free to finish; the optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion is issued after the final assessment and can be verified by anyone. Siemens' own certifications are separate and paid.
Is there free Allen-Bradley PLC training?
Yes. EDWartens has free courses for Studio 5000 Logix Designer (a foundation and an advanced course), RSLogix 500, Micro800 with Connected Components Workbench, GuardLogix safety, PowerFlex drives, Kinetix servo motion, FactoryTalk View and FactoryTalk Optix. Connected Components Workbench and RSLogix Micro Starter Lite are free from Rockwell, so the Micro800 and RSLogix 500 courses can be practised without buying a licence.
Is there a free PLC simulator to practise on?
Yes, several. Siemens S7-PLCSIM comes with the TIA Portal trial; Rockwell's Connected Components Workbench includes a Micro800 simulator; CODESYS is free and simulates its own runtime; OpenPLC is open source and runs on a PC, an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi; Factory I/O has a free trial with 3D machines to program. Every EDWartens free course names the software it uses and runs in one of these.
Can I take these free PLC courses from any country?
Yes. The courses are in English, fully online and self-paced, and are the same wherever you are. Learning costs nothing. The certificate is optional, a one-off fee from US$2.99 for a beginner course.
Is there free SCADA and HMI training too?
Yes. Beyond PLCs there are free EDWartens courses for Ignition, Siemens WinCC and WinCC Unified, AVEVA Wonderware InTouch and Citect, FactoryTalk View SE, Weintek and Pro-face HMIs, and five DCS platforms including Siemens PCS 7, Emerson DeltaV and Yokogawa CENTUM VP. The same rules apply: free to learn, optional certificate after the final.
Who made the videos in the EDWartens free courses?
Independent creators on YouTube, named and linked in the Credits block of every course page; EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.

Written by the EDWartens engineering team. Updated 7 September 2026.