Best AI Certifications in 2026: 11 Programs, Prices, Exams

AI certification or AI certificate: what you actually get

The word covers three different things, and the difference decides what the credential says about you:

01Certification exam

A proctored test you pass at a testing center or online, under watch. Microsoft, AWS and PMI work this way.

02Course certificate

Proof that you finished a set of lessons and their graded work. Google's programs on Coursera work this way.

03Free credential

A badge or certificate for a free course. Good for learning and for your LinkedIn profile, light on its own.

An exam tests what you know on the day; a course certificate shows you did the lessons. Neither shows what you can do on your own work, so plan one small project next to whichever you choose.

The 11 AI certification programs at a glance

Programs 1 to 4 suit beginners who want a known name, 5 to 7 are for a specific role or for people who build, and 8 to 11 cost nothing.

4

of the 11 are proctored exams (1, 4, 5 and 6)

$99

for Microsoft's AB-730 exam in the US

3 years

that AWS Certified AI Practitioner stays valid

From Microsoft Learn, AWS and PMI, checked October 26, 2026.

Best AI certifications online for beginners (no coding)

1. Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional

Microsoft's beginner AI certification is for people who use AI at work, not people who build it. You need experience with Microsoft 365 Copilot and its agents, and the page says plainly that the role involves no app building or code (certification page). It is one proctored exam, AB-730, of 45 minutes, offered in 13 languages, and it assesses four areas: generative AI fundamentals, prompts and chats in Copilot, business content and collaboration, and driving results with agents.

• Choose it if your company runs on Outlook, Word, Teams and Excel and you want a real exam with a known name, fast.
• Skip it if you don't use Microsoft 365 Copilot; the questions are about Microsoft's tools.

2. Google AI Professional Certificate

Google's deeper program on Coursera: eight courses, from AI fundamentals to building and deploying a simple app, with more than 20 hands-on activities. The page says 8 hours to complete, while its own course list adds up to 13 (3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2). It costs $49 a month in the US and Canada, has no prerequisites and carries an ACE recommendation for college credit (course page).

US businesses with 500 employees or fewer and a valid EIN can get it free by enrolling by December 15, 2026 (Google's offer page). Learners on Coursera's financial aid get the course but not the optional three-month Google AI Pro trial.

• Choose it if you want to learn the tools step by step and finish with a Google certificate.
• Skip it if you need to prove what you know quickly; an exam such as AB-730 takes 45 minutes.

3. Google AI Essentials

The shorter Google program: five courses on what AI is, productivity, prompting, responsible use and keeping up. Its page says 4 hours; its course list adds up to 8. It costs $49 a month after a 7-day free trial, with financial aid available. Our Google AI Essentials review goes through it course by course.

• Choose it if you want the gentlest start with Google's name on it.
• Skip it if you can afford the extra five hours; the Professional Certificate covers more for the same monthly price.

4. AWS Certified AI Practitioner

Amazon's foundational AI certification: one exam of 65 questions in 90 minutes, for 100 USD, at a Pearson VUE center or online (certification page). It stays valid for 3 years. There is no formal prerequisite; AWS describes the ideal candidate as someone who uses AI on AWS but does not necessarily build it, and offers free foundational training in its Skill Builder prep plans.

• Choose it if you work in or near cloud, data or IT teams, in any role.
• Skip it if your company doesn't use AWS; most questions are about AWS services.

Best AI certification programs for project managers and builders

5. PMI-CPMAI

The Project Management Institute's AI certification, for leading AI projects rather than using one tool. You must first complete the 21-hour self-paced PMI-CPMAI Exam Prep Course, organized around the six phases of the CPMAI method, then pass an exam of 120 questions in 160 minutes (certification page). No experience is required, and the course and exam come in 10 languages. PMI sells them as a bundle and shows the price at checkout, with member pricing.

• Choose it if you manage projects and want a credential from the institute behind the PMP.
• Skip it if you want to use AI tools yourself; this is about running AI projects.

6. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

Despite the word "fundamentals", this one is for people starting a career in AI development. Its exam, now AI-901 at $99 in the US, expects knowledge of Python syntax and familiarity with Azure, and covers building AI solutions with Microsoft Foundry (certification page). Microsoft updated the English version on April 15, 2026, so guides that describe a no-code exam describe the old version.

• Choose it if you write some code and want to build on Azure.
• Skip it if you don't code; take AB-730 instead.

7. DataCamp AI Fundamentals

An interactive track of about 9 hours, with no coding, from AI basics to large language models and AI ethics (track page). The AI Fundamentals certification comes with Premium, listed at $14 a month billed yearly.

• Choose it if you learn best by answering questions in the browser.
• Skip it if you want a name employers know from outside DataCamp.

Free AI certification courses

8. Elements of AI

The University of Helsinki and MinnaLearn's free course on what AI is and what it can't do. Part 1, Introduction to AI, needs no complicated math or programming, and its certificate is free when you complete at least 90% of the exercises with half of them right (course site). Its Global, Finnish and Swedish versions also earn 2 ECTS credits through the University of Helsinki Open University. Part 2, Building AI, recommends basic Python and its certificate costs €50.

9. IBM SkillsBuild: AI Literacy

A free course of 3 to 10 hours that ends with a digital credential from IBM, after you create a free IBMid account (IBM SkillsBuild). Getting Started with Generative AI is a second free course of the same length, with its own credential.

10. OpenAI Academy

Free, self-paced courses that need a ChatGPT account. AI Foundations takes 60 to 75 minutes; pass a course's assessment with 80% and you get a badge, and finish all three Foundations courses for a certificate of completion (OpenAI's help center). OpenAI says these are not certifications. Which Academy course to take first is in our guide to the best ChatGPT courses.

11. University of Maryland: Free Online Certificate in AI and Career Empowerment

A free online certificate from the Smith School of Business, for early to mid-career professionals: 10 modules in two parts, first on AI in business (marketing, supply chain, finance, responsible AI), then on careers, consulting and job search (program page).

Two paid Google certificates have free routes as well: Coursera's financial aid covers Google AI Essentials and the Professional Certificate if your application is approved, and Google's small business offer above gives the Professional Certificate away. For more free and low-cost options, sorted by what you can do afterwards, see affordable AI courses.

How long an AI certification takes, and what it costs

The exam is the short part. What decides your week is the study before it:

• Microsoft AB-73045 min
• AWS AI Practitioner90 min
• PMI-CPMAI160 min

From Microsoft Learn, AWS and PMI, checked October 26, 2026.

On a monthly plan, finishing fast is what saves money: plan the Google programs around their course lists, not their headlines, and add half again for practice.

Which AI certification to get: pick by goal

Where our own courses fit

We left ai school out of the list on purpose, so read this as a disclosure. We sell four short AI courses for people who don't code, all in early access (pre-order). They end with things you build and use, such as a live landing page or an agent that handles your invoices, and they give no accredited certificate. If a credential is what you need, pick from the 11 above; if you want projects for your own business, the syllabus of all four, our AI course for beginners, is on one page.

?Quick check0 of 2 correct

Your company runs on Outlook, Teams and Excel, and you want a real exam you can pass this month without coding. Which fits best?

AMicrosoft Azure AI FundamentalsBMicrosoft Certified: AI Business ProfessionalCPMI-CPMAI

Which of these is a free AI credential rather than a proctored exam?

AAWS Certified AI PractitionerBMicrosoft AB-730CElements of AI

What to do next

Write down what the credential is for: a job application, your current employer or your own confidence. For an employer that runs Microsoft 365 or AWS, book that vendor's exam and work through its free practice first. For a first step that costs nothing, start Elements of AI this week. Whichever you pick, finish one small piece of real work with AI before the exam or the last lesson, because that is what you will be asked about.