cert free study

How to study for a certification with free official resources

Source-cited RoleMath page about How to study for a certification with free official resources.

Researched by RoleMath Research. Every figure on this page traces to the official source shown next to it.

How to study for a certification with free official resources

You do not have to buy a course. Most certifying bodies publish their exam objectives for free, and some vendors publish a complete free self-paced study path. Here is the honest gradient per credential — including where the free path is complete and where the vendor only sells the prep. We list only official sources, never third-party dumps, and we don't sell you: our recommendations are never influenced by who pays us.

Certification	Free-path rating	Free resources	Details
Associate Cloud Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Associate Google Workspace Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Automation and DevOps, Associate (JNCIA-DevOps)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
AWS Certified Advanced Networking - Specialty	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
AWS Certified AI Practitioner	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner	Full free path — account required	2	see page
AWS Certified CloudOps Engineer - Associate	Full free official path	2	see page
AWS Certified Data Engineer - Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
AWS Certified Developer - Associate	Full free official path	2	see page
AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
AWS Certified Generative AI Developer - Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer - Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
AWS Certified Security - Specialty	Full free official path	2	see page
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional	Full free official path	2	see page
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate	Full free path — account required	2	see page
CC - Certified in Cybersecurity	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CCNP Enterprise	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
CCNP Security	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
CCSP - Certified Cloud Security Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Certified Application Developer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Application Security Engineer (CASE JAVA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Application Security Engineer (CASE.NET)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Associate in Project Management	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Cloud Security Engineer (CCSE)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Cybersecurity Technician (CCT)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Encryption Specialist (ECES)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Incident Handler (ECIH)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)	Partial free path	5	see page
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)	Partial free path	5	see page
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD)	Partial free path	4	see page
Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS)	Partial free path	4	see page
Certified Network Defender (CND)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Penetration Testing Professional (CPENT)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified SOC Analyst (CSA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified System Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Cisco AI Technical Practitioner	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Cisco CCNA Cybersecurity	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Cisco Certified Network Associate	Partial free path	4	see page
Cisco Certified Support Technician Cybersecurity	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Cisco Certified Support Technician IT Support	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Cisco Certified Support Technician Networking	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CISM - Certified Information Security Manager	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Cloud Digital Leader	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Cloud, Associate (JNCIA-Cloud)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
CompTIA A+	Objectives free, prep is paid	3	see page
CompTIA Cloud+	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CompTIA CySA+	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CompTIA Linux+	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
CompTIA Network+	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CompTIA PenTest+	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CompTIA Security+	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
CompTIA SecurityX	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
CompTIA Tech+	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Data Center, Professional (JNCIP-DC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Data Center, Specialist (JNCIS-DC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Databricks Certified Data Analyst Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Databricks Certified Generative AI Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Databricks Certified Machine Learning Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Databricks Certified Machine Learning Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Design, Associate (JNCIA-Design)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
EC-Council CEH	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Elastic Certified Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Elastic Certified Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Elastic Certified Observability Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Elastic Certified SIEM Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Enterprise Routing and Switching, Professional (JNCIP-ENT)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Enterprise Routing and Switching, Specialist (JNCIS-ENT)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 4 - FortiOS 7.6 Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 5 - FortiAnalyzer 7.6 Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 5 - FortiManager 7.6 Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 5 - FortiWeb 8.0 Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 6 - FortiMail 7.4 Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 6 - LAN Edge 7.6 Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 6 - Network Security 7.6 Support Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 6 - OT Security 7.6 Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 6 - SD-WAN 7.6 Enterprise Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 7 - Enterprise Firewall 7.6 Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 7 - Public Cloud Security 7.6.4 Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Fortinet NSE 7 - Security Operations 7.6 Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Generative AI Leader	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Certified Detection Analyst (GCDA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Certified Enterprise Defender (GCED)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Cloud Forensics Responder (GCFR)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Cloud Security Essentials Certification (GCLD)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Continuous Monitoring Certification (GMON)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Cyber Threat Intelligence (GCTI)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Defensible Security Architect Certification (GDSA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies (GFACT)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Information Security Fundamentals (GISF)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Network Forensic Analyst (GNFA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Penetration Tester Certification (GPEN)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Python Coder (GPYC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Reverse Engineering Malware Certification (GREM)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Security Leadership (GSLC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester (GWAPT)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GitHub Actions	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
GitHub Administration	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
GitHub Advanced Security	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
GitHub Certified: Agentic AI Developer (beta)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
GitHub Copilot	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
GitHub Foundations	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
HashiCorp Certified: Consul Associate (003)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (004)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Authoring and Operations Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate (003)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
HashiCorp Certified: Vault Operations Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
ISACA CISA	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
ISACA CISM	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Java Certified Foundations Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Junos, Associate (JNCIA-Junos)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)	Partial free path	4	see page
Kubernetes and Cloud Native Security Associate (KCSA)	Partial free path	4	see page
Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator	Partial free path	3	see page
Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft 365 Certified: Collaboration Communications Systems Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate	Full free official path	3	see page
Microsoft Azure Fundamentals	Full free official path	3	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals	Objectives free, prep is paid	3	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure Databricks Data Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Information Security Administrator Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Power Automate RPA Developer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Functional Consultant Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
Mist AI, Associate (JNCIA-MistAI)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
MySQL 8.0 Database Developer Oracle Certified Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Certified Professional (OSCP) and OSCP+	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Defense Analyst (OSDA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Experienced Penetration Tester (OSEP)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Exploit Developer (OSED)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Exploitation Expert (OSEE)	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
OffSec Incident Responder (OSIR)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Threat Hunter (OSTH)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Web Assessor (OSWA)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Web Expert (OSWE)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
OffSec Wireless Professional (OSWP)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle AI Database Administration Certified Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle AI Database Administration Certified Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle AI Database SQL Certified Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Autonomous AI Database Certified Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 8.0 Database Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Certified Professional: Java SE 17 Developer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Certified Professional: Java SE 21 Developer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2025 Certified DevOps Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 2025 Certified Generative AI Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified AI Foundations Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Architect Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Architect Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Data Science Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Developer Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Foundations Associate	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Networking Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Certified Security Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Palo Alto Networks Certified Cloud Security Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Apprentice	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Palo Alto Networks Certified Next-Generation Firewall Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Palo Alto Networks Certified XDR Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Palo Alto Networks Certified XSOAR Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Cloud Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Cloud Database Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Cloud Developer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Cloud DevOps Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Cloud Network Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Cloud Security Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Data Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Professional Machine Learning Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Project Management Professional	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA)	Partial free path	4	see page
Red Hat RHCSA	Partial free path	4	see page
Salesforce Certified Agentforce Specialist	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Business Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Data Cloud Consultant	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator II	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Platform App Builder	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Platform Developer II	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Platform Foundations	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Sales Cloud Consultant	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Salesforce Certified Service Cloud Consultant	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Security, Associate (JNCIA-SEC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Security, Professional (JNCIP-SEC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Security, Specialist (JNCIS-SEC)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Service Provider Routing and Switching, Professional (JNCIP-SP)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Service Provider Routing and Switching, Specialist (JNCIS-SP)	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Advanced: Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Advanced: Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Advanced: Data Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Advanced: Data Scientist	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Core Certification	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Specialty: Gen AI	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SnowPro Specialty: Snowpark	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Analyst	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk Core Certified Advanced Power User	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk Core Certified Power User	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk Core Certified User	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk Enterprise Certified Admin	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
Splunk O11y Cloud Certified Metrics User	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
SSCP - Systems Security Certified Practitioner	Objectives free, prep is paid	2	see page
VMware Certified Advanced Professional - Data Center Virtualization Design	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Advanced Professional - Network Virtualization Design	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Advanced Professional - VMware Cloud Foundation Operations	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Professional - Data Center Virtualization	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Professional - Network Virtualization	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Professional - Private Cloud Security Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Professional - VMware Avi Load Balancer Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Professional - VMware Cloud Foundation Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Professional - VMware Cloud Foundation Architect	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page
VMware Certified Professional - VMware vSphere Foundation Administrator	Objectives free, prep is paid	1	see page

How to read the rating

Full free official path — objectives plus a free official course; you can prepare end-to-end for free.
Full free path — account required — the same end-to-end free material, but the vendor's free course is a free tier that needs a free account (verify the free label on the vendor's page).
Partial free path — objectives plus a free official intro or lab, but the full exam-prep course is paid.
Objectives free, prep is paid — the free resource is the exam spec to study against; the vendor's training is paid.

Sources

Free resources: official certifying-body, vendor, and testing-provider pages (cited per credential).

Citation Ledger

ID	Supports	Evidence	Source
CIT-01	Per-credential free official resources	Official vendor / certifying-body / testing-provider pages	See each page

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How to study for a certification with free official resources

How to study for a certification with free official resources

How to read the rating

Sources

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