RoleMath

Don’t pay for what’s free

Free ways to study for your certification

Before you buy a course, see what the certifying body already gives away. Across 23 certifications we’ve gathered 53 free, officialstudy resources — exam objectives, free practice, and intro courses — each linked to its source and dated. 4 of them have a full free pathyou can study end-to-end at no cost (a free vendor account is sometimes required — each card says). Every link goes straight to the official free source.

Every resource listed is published free by the certifying body, the vendor, or the official testing provider, captured on the date shown. A free study resource lowers your study cost, not the exam fee, and no resource guarantees a pass. A course is not the certification. The free-path rating is derived from the resources actually available, not asserted. We list only official sources — never third-party dumps — and RoleMath isn't influenced by who pays us.

How to use this

Start with the objectives — they’re the exam’s blueprint

The official exam objectives are the single most valuable free resource: they are the exact blueprint the test is built from, published by the certifying body. Start there, add the free practice and intro courses below, and only pay for prep once you know what the free path doesn’t cover. And if cost is the barrier, see how to fund training without debt.

By certification — with the official links

Free official resources, by certification

(ISC)2 CISSP

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Full free path — account required

You can study end-to-end with free, official material, but the vendor's free course is a free *tier* that requires creating a free account, and its free status should be verified on the vendor's own page before you rely on it.

See the cited cert page →

AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate

Full free path — account required

You can study end-to-end with free, official material, but the vendor's free course is a free *tier* that requires creating a free account, and its free status should be verified on the vendor's own page before you rely on it.

See the cited cert page →

Certified Associate in Project Management

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Partial free path

The objectives and a free official intro (or a free lab) are available, but the vendor's full exam-prep course is paid — the free path gets you started, not all the way.

Cisco AI Technical Practitioner

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

Cisco Certified Network Associate

Partial free path

The objectives and a free official intro (or a free lab) are available, but the vendor's full exam-prep course is paid — the free path gets you started, not all the way.

See the cited cert page →

Cisco Certified Support Technician IT Support

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

Cisco Certified Support Technician Networking

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

CompTIA A+

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

CompTIA Cloud+

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

CompTIA CySA+

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

CompTIA Network+

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

CompTIA PenTest+

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

CompTIA Security+

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

CompTIA Tech+

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

See the cited cert page →

EC-Council CEH

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

  • Official exam objectives
    CEH exam information & objectives (official CEH page)Official CEH page describing the exam and linking the current blueprint — use it to confirm the current version (the older standalone v5 blueprint PDF may be outdated). The vendor's online assessment is an email/PII lead-gen form (excluded here); all CEH training is paid.

ISACA CISA

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

ISACA CISM

Objectives free, prep is paid

The vendor publishes the exam objectives/outline for free, but its structured training is paid. The free path here is the spec to study against, not a course.

  • Official exam objectives
    CISM Exam Content OutlineFree 4-domain outline; review manual/course are paid. An updated outline is effective 3 Nov 2026.

Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator

Partial free path

The objectives and a free official intro (or a free lab) are available, but the vendor's full exam-prep course is paid — the free path gets you started, not all the way.

See the cited cert page →

Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate

Full free official path

You can study for this credential end-to-end with free, official material — the objectives plus a free self-paced course from the vendor.

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Full free official path

You can study for this credential end-to-end with free, official material — the objectives plus a free self-paced course from the vendor.

Red Hat RHCSA

Partial free path

The objectives and a free official intro (or a free lab) are available, but the vendor's full exam-prep course is paid — the free path gets you started, not all the way.

Common questions

Studying free, answered honestly

Can I really study for a certification for free?
It depends on the certification. For some, the certifying body publishes the full path — exam objectives, free practice, and an intro course — and you can prepare end-to-end at no cost (the badge on each card tells you). For others, the objectives are free but the official prep is paid. Either way, the free official material is the cheapest, most accurate place to start, and every resource here is published free by the vendor or testing provider.
Are these affiliate links or sponsored?
No. Every link goes straight to the official free resource from the certifying body, the vendor, or the testing provider. RoleMath doesn’t sell you and isn’t influenced by who pays us. We just point you at what’s already free.
How do I know the free resource is current?
Each resource was captured on the date shown and links to its official source. Vendors update objectives and free offers over time, so if a date looks old, check the official page (linked) for the current version before you rely on it.

Build a plan around the free path

Pick a cited role and certification, lean on the free official material first, and only spend where you must. RoleMath sells nothing and isn’t influenced by who pays us.

Build a cited planWhat certifications really cost →