Free PLC Programming Courses: Verified 2026 List

The best free PLC course depends on the controller you need to learn. Start with Siemens SCE for SIMATIC, Mitsubishi FA e-learning for MELSEC, or CODESYS for vendor-neutral IEC 61131-3 practice. Add a simulator and complete the acceptance-tested projects below; watching videos alone is not enough.

This list was rechecked against official publisher pages on July 25, 2026. “Free” means the named material can be accessed without buying that course. It does not promise that every download, runtime, certificate, vendor IDE, or hardware option is free. Account, region, operating-system, and licence restrictions are stated where the publisher documents them.

Use the online PLC training guide to turn these separate resources into one fundamentals-to-troubleshooting practice sequence.

If you are comparing paid self-paced providers, use the online PLC course comparison and worksheet. Employers and colleges evaluating supervised labs, credentials or team programs should use the PLC training-program framework. This page remains the canonical owner for free-course and free-learning-resource intent.

Quick comparison

Resource	Best use	What is verified free	Important limit
Siemens SCE	TIA Portal and SIMATIC learning	Learning documents and modules for eligible Siemens-ID accounts	Access rights and software availability vary
Mitsubishi FA e-learning	MELSEC, GX Works and basic PLC concepts	Browser and selected offline learning material	Product-specific; software licences are separate
CODESYS Development System	IEC 61131-3 programming and debugging	Development System download	Included Control Win is a demo runtime
Schneider Electric University	Automation and energy fundamentals	Publisher says its catalog contains 300+ free courses	Not every course is a PLC programming lab
Inductive University	SCADA and PLC-to-HMI context	Training videos and knowledge checks	Primarily teaches Ignition
OpenPLC documentation	Open-source runtime and editor workflow	Public documentation and source project	Not a substitute for a vendor emulator
PLC Simulation Software	Browser-based ladder practice	Free tier with no credit card and no expiry	Learning simulator, not controller-firmware emulation
Vendor manuals and examples	Exact instruction and hardware reference	Public documents where the vendor provides them	Reference material is not a structured course

Do not compare these resources by star rating. They solve different jobs. A useful comparison asks whether a resource teaches the target platform, gives you something to execute, and lets another person reproduce your result.

How this list was verified

Each entry had to satisfy four checks:

1. Publisher identity: the access page belongs to the vendor, standards body, or project maintainer.
2. Free-access statement: the publisher explicitly describes the material or software as free, or exposes the material without purchase.
3. Practice path: the resource can support at least one executable exercise, not only product marketing.
4. Limits recorded: account, trial, runtime, commercial-use, hardware, and certificate constraints are not hidden.

Availability can change after publication. Follow the official link and record the product version, access date, and licence terms in your study notes. That small habit also makes your portfolio more credible.

1. Siemens SCE learning documents

Siemens Cooperates with Education learning documents are the strongest starting point for learners targeting SIMATIC and TIA Portal. Siemens describes more than 100 SCE documents, 40+ digital learning modules, and 160+ web-based training items across TIA Portal and adjacent automation topics. Its page also records 2026 module updates.

The useful distinction is between learning material and software entitlement. Siemens says downloads require a Siemens ID with expanded SiePortal rights. TIA Portal, PLCSIM, and hardware availability depend on the specific package, region, institution, or trial terms. Verify those separately before planning a class.

Practical assignment

Build a two-motor conveyor sequence with:

• separate start, stop, and reset commands;
• seal-in logic that cannot bypass the stop path;
• a permissive for downstream availability;
• a startup delay between motors;
• a latched fault requiring a deliberate reset;
• a tag table and short I/O narrative.

Export screenshots or a project archive only if the licence permits it. Include the exact TIA Portal and CPU/PLCSIM target versions in your README.

For an independent orientation, use our TIA Portal tutorial. Siemens certification is a separate question; the Siemens certification guide explains how to verify regional SITRAIN course and assessment terms.

2. Mitsubishi Electric FA e-learning

Mitsubishi Electric publishes an official Factory Automation e-learning catalog. The catalog includes PLC introductions, MELSEC family material, GX Works basics, ladder programming, and structured-text basics. Some entries offer browser learning; some expose downloadable PDF or offline editions.

This is a better source for Mitsubishi terminology than an unsourced generic video. It is not proof that GX Works, every exercise file, or a specific simulator is free in your region.

Practical assignment

Implement a tank-fill sequence:

1. Start only when low level is active and no fault is latched.
2. Open the inlet valve until high level is active.
3. Stop and alarm if high level is not reached before a test timeout.
4. Reject simultaneous low- and high-level signals as an instrument fault.
5. Record the behavior after a simulated power cycle.

The acceptance evidence should show the normal sequence, the timeout path, the contradictory-input path, and reset behavior. Our Mitsubishi PLC tutorial can help with the platform workflow, but the official Mitsubishi manual remains authoritative for instruction behavior.

3. CODESYS Development System

CODESYS states that its Development System can be downloaded free of charge. It supports IEC 61131-3 editors and includes debugging features such as monitoring and breakpoints. The installer also contains a demo of CODESYS Control Win SL; do not describe that demo runtime as an unrestricted production licence.

CODESYS is particularly useful when the learning objective is transferable IEC logic rather than one vendor’s exact controller firmware.

Practical assignment

Create a reusable MotorStarter function block with:

• start and stop inputs;
• permissive and overload inputs;
• run command and fault outputs;
• a start-confirmation timeout;
• explicit state handling;
• one normal and three negative tests.

Call two instances from a main program. Prove that one motor fault does not overwrite the other instance’s state. Then implement the same behavior once in ladder diagram and once in structured text. Note semantic differences rather than assuming the two implementations are identical.

4. Schneider Electric University

Schneider Electric University says its catalog includes more than 300 free, self-paced courses, including an Industrial Automation category. This makes it a useful source for automation context, energy, and system concepts.

The catalog is broad. Do not assume that the “300+” figure means 300 PLC programming courses, or that completing a module grants a product certification. Filter for the skill you need and inspect the course outcome before enrolling.

Practical assignment

After one automation module, produce a one-page control narrative for a pump:

• operating modes;
• start permissives;
• trip conditions;
• local/remote ownership;
• alarm priorities;
• restart behavior after power restoration.

Then translate the narrative into logic. This exposes whether you learned an engineering workflow or only remembered interface labels.

5. Inductive University

Inductive University is a free training platform from Inductive Automation. It teaches Ignition and SCADA topics through videos, challenges, and credential-course material. It is not a complete PLC course, but it is valuable once you can already produce PLC tags and need to understand how supervisory software consumes them.

For personal educational work, the official Ignition Maker Edition documentation explains the free licence and its non-commercial-use restriction. Check the current limit table before building a project.

Practical assignment

Expose a simulated tank’s level, valve command, pump command, mode, and fault state to a SCADA project. Create:

• one overview screen;
• one alarm table;
• one historical trend;
• role-limited write access;
• a test record showing quality changes when communication is removed.

Read the SCADA tutorial for beginners before connecting anything outside an isolated lab.

6. OpenPLC

OpenPLC provides an open-source editor/runtime ecosystem that is useful for learning how an IEC-style program moves from editing to execution. Start with the project’s current documentation and repository rather than an old third-party installer link; supported targets and installation steps change.

Our OpenPLC tutorial walks through the local workflow. Treat OpenPLC as a learning and prototyping environment. It does not emulate every scan, instruction, communication, safety, or firmware behavior of a Siemens, Rockwell, Mitsubishi, Schneider, or other commercial PLC.

Practical assignment

Write and test a traffic-light state machine with:

• an explicit safe initial state;
• timed state transitions;
• a pedestrian request that is retained until served;
• a reset path;
• an invalid-state recovery branch.

Record at least one full state trace. Avoid proving correctness with a single “it ran” screenshot.

7. Browser-based PLC practice

PLC Simulation Software provides browser-based lessons and PLC practice. Its versioned product facts record the current free-account policy, lesson allowance, maintained dialect list, scenario-catalogue notes, and limitations.

Ownership disclosure: plcprogramming.io and PLC Simulation Software are related properties. That is why this entry links to a machine-readable facts source and states the limitations. It is a learning and prototyping simulator, not a production controller or a substitute for testing on the target PLC, I/O, network, safety system, and firmware.

Practical assignment

Use the browser simulator to build a motor circuit, timer sequence, counter-based batch, and interlocked conveyor. For every project, save:

• the requirement;
• the I/O map;
• the program revision;
• the initial conditions;
• the expected output trace;
• one failed test and the correction.

This evidence is more useful to an employer or instructor than a course-completion badge by itself.

8. Official manuals, examples, and standards

Manuals are not courses, but they answer the questions that tutorials often simplify:

• What data type does the instruction accept?
• When is state retained?
• In what order are tasks and routines executed?
• What happens on overflow, timeout, communication loss, or restart?
• Does an instruction differ by controller family or firmware?

Use the current vendor manual for the exact target. For language concepts, start with our IEC 61131-3 guide, then verify implementation details in the vendor documentation. Keep the document number, edition, and access date beside every important claim.

A project-based learning path

Fixed “learn PLCs in six weeks” promises are not defensible because prior experience, practice time, target platform, and project complexity vary. Use competency gates instead.

Gate 1: discrete logic

You can explain the scan cycle and create start/stop, seal-in, permissive, interlock, and fault-reset logic. Pass only when all negative tests work.

Gate 2: timers, counters, and edges

You can predict behavior before running the program. Test retentive versus non-retentive state, one-shot behavior, reset priority, timer completion, and counter rollover policy.

Gate 3: analog signals and alarms

Scale a raw value, validate its range and quality, add filtering only with a stated reason, and define alarm setpoint, delay, hysteresis, priority, shelving policy, and operator response.

Gate 4: sequence control

Model a machine with explicit states, transitions, timeouts, abort handling, restart rules, and an invalid-state recovery path. Provide a state table before writing code.

Gate 5: communications

Map at least five values to an HMI or second application. Test disconnection, stale data, bad quality, duplicate addresses, restored communication, and unauthorized writes.

Gate 6: maintainability

Another learner can open your project and understand its requirement, I/O list, naming convention, test cases, known limitations, and revision history without asking you to narrate it.

A repeatable PLC portfolio template

Create one folder per project:

project-name/
  README.md
  requirements.md
  io-list.csv
  state-table.csv
  test-cases.csv
  screenshots/
  source/

Each test row should contain:

Field	Example
Test ID	MTR-NEG-03
Initial state	Stopped, overload healthy
Input action	Start request while permissive is false
Expected result	Run output remains false
Actual result	Record after execution
Evidence	Screenshot, trace, or log filename
Revision	Commit or project revision

Never include employer code, customer data, passwords, proprietary drawings, or safety logic in a public portfolio.

When paid training is justified

Free resources are enough to discover the field and build foundational evidence. Paid training becomes rational when you need one of these outcomes:

• instructor feedback on your actual project;
• access to specific licensed software or hardware;
• a scheduled vendor assessment;
• formal classroom records required by an employer;
• advanced safety, motion, process, or cybersecurity instruction;
• a lab environment you cannot reproduce safely.

Ask the provider for the exact syllabus, software version, lab entitlement, assessment rules, retake terms, instructor background, and refund policy. A course title alone does not establish value.

Common mistakes

• Collecting certificates without projects: a badge does not show how you handle abnormal states.
• Learning only normal operation: faults, communication loss, restart, and invalid inputs are where control logic becomes engineering.
• Treating every simulator as an emulator: learning simulators and vendor emulators have different fidelity.
• Using old downloads from file-sharing sites: use the publisher’s current page and scan all installers according to your organization’s policy.
• Publishing copied vendor projects: create original exercises and respect licences.
• Skipping electrical and safety boundaries: simulation cannot validate wiring, protective devices, motion, environmental conditions, or functional safety.

Frequently asked questions

Can I learn PLC programming for free?

Yes. Official learning material, free development tools, and learning simulators can support foundational study. Hardware-specific commissioning, licensed vendor software, formal certification, and instructor support may cost money.

Which free PLC course should a beginner start with?

Choose the target first. Use Siemens SCE for SIMATIC, Mitsubishi FA e-learning for MELSEC, or CODESYS for vendor-neutral IEC practice. Complete one small tested project before adding another platform.

Does a free course include a certificate?

Sometimes, but course completion, an assessment result, and a professional certification are different things. Verify the issuer, assessment method, identity check, validity period, and regional recognition.

Can simulation replace a physical PLC lab?

No. Simulation is useful for logic, sequencing, diagnostics, and repeatable fault tests. Physical work is still needed for wiring, instruments, networks, electrical safety, I/O behavior, and target-controller validation.

Source and update policy

Primary access claims in this guide come from Siemens SCE, Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation, CODESYS, Schneider Electric University, Inductive University, and the versioned PLC Simulation Software facts endpoint. We do not assign numerical scores without a published test dataset. If a provider changes access or licence terms, use its current official page and report the mismatch through the site’s corrections process.