7 Best AWS Courses in 2024 [Learn Amazon Web Services ASAP]

💡 Did you know that Amazon Web Services (AWS) has over 1 million users in 190 countries?

And that number is only growing.

The time to learn AWS is now.

So let’s check out the best AWS courses for this year.

What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)?

Amazon Web Services is a secure cloud services platform. In fact, it’s the largest cloud provider in the world.

It’s used for database storage, content delivery and beyond.

In addition, it’s used to run web and application servers in the cloud. From there, you can build sophisticated applications that are flexible and scalable.

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation if you buy something. Read my disclosure for more details.

TLDR: Best AWS Courses

🔥 Best Overall 🔥
Learn the A to Z of Amazon Web Services (AWS): Educative.io

💥 Best for Newbies 💥
AWS Fundamentals Specialization: Coursera

💸 Best Value 💸
Become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner: BitDegree

Best AWS Courses

1. Learn the A to Z of Amazon Web Services (AWS): Educative.io

We think Learn the A to Z of Amazon Web Services (AWS) by Educative.io is one of the best AWS courses on the market today.

It was designed by three AWS Solution Certified Architects with 17 years of combined industry experience.

Course Layout

You’ll start by learning the core fundamentals of AWS such as:

• security, identity & compliance
• application integration
• availability zones and regions

And more.

Then you’ll learn about miscellaneous AWS services like media services, machine learning services and management tools.

From there, you’ll discover Identity and Access Management (IAM) which allows you to manage access to AWS services.

You’ll also learn about:

• compute offerings
• storage
• database offerings
• routing
• application services

And the Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).

Educative.io is an interactive learning platform. So you’ll typically do all work inside the browser.

However, Learn the A to Z of Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a little different. There are no exercises, coding or quizzes. Instead, you’ll focus on ample illustrations to clarify AWS concepts.

Community

There is no formal community on Educative.io. Rather, you can ask questions and get help from instructors and other students within the courses.

💰 Price: $59 for course / $59 per month or $199 per year for access to all courses and Learning Paths
⏲️ Duration: 3 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Interactive learning
🎖️ Certificate: Yes

---

2. The Good Parts of AWS: Cutting Through the Clutter: Educative.io

The Good Parts of AWS: Cutting Through the Clutter on Educative.io was created by a former Amazon engineer with 15 years of experience working on AWS.

And we think it’s one of the best AWS courses for students who seek insider knowledge on AWS.

Instead of teaching you every AWS concept under the sun, you’ll learn about the most important features you should be using. In fact, you’ll learn specific techniques to help you make sound technical decisions.

We recommend you be somewhat familiar with AWS before taking this course.

Course Layout

The Good Parts of AWS starts you off learning about fundamental AWS services such as:

• DynamoDB
• S3
• EC2

You’ll learn how they’re used and the benefits of each. Then you’ll learn why and when you should use them.

The second part of the course is a bootstrap guide. Here you’ll work on various challenges such as creating:

• a pipeline
• CloudFormation stack
• production stack

And beyond. Then you’ll work on deploying your creations.

Educative.io is an interactive learning platform. This means that you’ll do all work inside the browser.

The Good Parts of AWS contains 15 quizzes and 20 coding playgrounds.

Community

There’s no formal community on Educative.io. Instead, you can get help from instructors and other students within each course.

💰 Price: $39 for course / $59 per month or $199 per year for access to all courses and Learning Paths
⏲️ Duration: 6 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Interactive learning
🎖️ Certificate: Yes

---

3. AWS Fundamentals Specialization: Coursera

AWS Fundamentals is a Specialization on Coursera. Specializations are a little different than courses. Instead of one course, there are multiple.

And this Specialization is officially offered by Amazon Web Services.

Course Layout

There are four courses in AWS Fundamentals:

1. AWS Cloud Technical Essentials
2. AWS Fundamentals: Addressing Security Risk
3. Migrating to the Cloud
4. Building Serverless Applications

These courses are taught by actual Amazon Web Services employees.

In addition to videos and readings, there are a series of labs and exercises created by AWS technical instructors.

Coursera teaches using both videos and interactive learning techniques. So throughout the AWS Fundamentals Specialization, you’ll watch videos, read, and work on interactive quizzes.

But you’ll also do plenty of work outside of the browser.

Community

Coursera has a forum where you can network with other students.

💰 Price: $39 per month
⏲️ Duration: 4 months
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video and interactive learning
🎖️ Certificate: Yes

---

---

4. Become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner: BitDegree

Become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner is meant to help you prepare for your AWS Cloud Certification. This BitDegree offering is unique because it uses a blend of interactive learning and videos.

With practice tests and hands-on labs, you’ll be ready for the AWS Cloud Practitioner exam before you know it.

Course Layout

With over 9 hours of video, you’ll discover the most up-to-date AWS materials. And with video tutorials, you’ll work through 21 hands-on labs.

And, depending on which package you choose, you’ll work on either 3 or 10 AWS Cloud Practitioner practice exams. They contain questions similar to what you’ll see on the official AWS Cloud Practitioner exams.

Community

If you upgrade to the Premium subscription, you’ll have the opportunity to have a 1-on-1 mentorship session with an AWS expert.

I passed my certification exam on my first try!

– Karolis Gulbinas, BitDegree Student

💰 Price: $50 includes 3 AWS Cloud Practitioner exams/ $100 includes mentorship and 10 AWS Cloud Practitioner exams
⏲️ Duration: 9+ hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Interactive learning & video
🎖️ Certificate: No

5. AWS Developer: The Big Picture: Pluralsight

AWS Developer: The Big Picture by Pluralsight is one of the best AWS courses for absolute beginners.

This video-based course will provide a gentle introduction to AWS.

Course Layout

First, you’ll learn about AWS fundamentals. You’ll learn about the special features of AWS and how they work. Then you’ll learn how to configure these features and interact with them.

After that, you’ll learn different ways of accessing AWS while watching demos of each method.

By the end of AWS Developer: The Big Picture, you should understand the fundamentals of AWS.

Pluralsight is a video-based platform. So you’ll watch all lessons and then do your work outside of the browser.

Community

There is no official community on Pluralsight. However, they do encourage creating guilds with other students.

💰 Price: $29 per month / $299 per year for full platform access
⏲️ Duration: 1.5 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
🎖️ Certificate: Yes

🔥 Geena’s Hot Take

If you’ve never been exposed to AWS before, I recommend taking Pluralsight’s course AWS Developer: The Big Picture.

It’s the easiest introduction to AWS you’ll find because you get to sit back and observe by watching videos, and get walkthroughs on setting everything up.

So for a slow, step-by-step introduction to AWS, you’ll want to check out this course.

---

6. Introduction to AWS Cloud Security: Pluralsight

Introduction to AWS Cloud Security is another AWS course by Pluralsight. However, this one focuses specifically on cloud security. And the other course is a general overview.

Course Layout

In this video-based course, you’ll learn how to create a secure cloud environment within AWS.

But first, you’ll learn about AWS fundamentals such as what services they offer and how they relate to security. Then you’ll explore ways to protect cloud data and create secure communications between cloud services.

After that, you’ll learn how to maintain your secure cloud environment. You’ll do this using a series of logging and monitoring solutions.

By the end of Introduction to AWS Cloud Security, you should be able to create a secure cloud environment in AWS.

Plualsight is a video-based platform. So all lessons are videos, and you’ll perform all work outside of the browser.

Community

There is no official community on Pluralsight. However, creating guilds with other students is encouraged.

💰 Price: $29 per month / $299 per year for full platform access
⏲️ Duration: 1 hour
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
🎖️ Certificate: Yes

---

7. AWS with S3: Treehouse

🚨 ALERT 🚨

As of September 2021, Treehouse has laid off 90% of its staff. The future of Treehouse is unknown.

AWS with S3 by Treehouse focuses on a specific service of AWS. And we think it’s one of the best AWS courses to learn Simple Storage Service (S3).

According to Treehouse, S3 is one of the simplest parts of AWS. So it’s a good place to start.

Course Layout

In this 52-minute video course, you’ll learn how to use S3 to:

• build websites
• backup photos
• share large files

And more.

But first, you’ll learn about space and time as it relates to cloud computing. Then you’ll learn about basic AWS services and how they’re used in the cloud.

Then you’ll learn all about AWS S3 starting with signing up for an AWS account.

Then you’ll explore buckets (public cloud storage), uploading and downloading, and making files public.

Treehouse is a video-based learning platform, so you’ll typically do most work outside of the platform.

Community

Treehouse has an interactive, searchable community where you can get help from other students.

💰 Price: $25 per month for access to all courses
⏲️ Duration: 52 minutes
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
🎖️ Certificate: No

Best AWS Courses: Conclusion

Today we looked at the best AWS courses, and three came out on top:

🔥 Best Overall 🔥
Learn the A to Z of Amazon Web Services (AWS): Educative.io

💥 Best for Newbies 💥
AWS Fundamentals Specialization: Coursera

💸 Best Value 💸
Become an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner: BitDegree

So whether you’re a newbie just getting started with AWS, are on a budget or want the cream of the crop, we think these are the best AWS courses out there.

---

Up Next:

• 7 Best Ubuntu Books This Year [Plus Linux Bonus Books]
• 9 FAANG Interview Courses You Can’t Afford to Miss Out On [Get Hired at a FAANG]
• 13 Best Java Books for Beginners [Learn Java Programming]
• Top 11 Python Books for Data Science [Learn Data Science using Python]
• Best Java Resources: The Ultimate Guide for Software Developers

---