15 Best Software Testing Courses Online in 2024 [Free + Paid]

Software testing is an essential aspect of software development. A software tester is responsible for verifying software products' quality, reliability, and performance. It’s the process of ensuring that applications meet the desired specifications and also work as expected.

As technology advances and various apps become part of our everyday lives, software testing becomes more important too. This means developers and other software professionals must upskill and learn new testing methods.

This article explores the 15 best software testing online courses in 2024, highlighting key features, the skills they teach, and their benefits. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced professional, these courses will help you learn software testing online and advance your career in software testing.

Featured Software Testing Courses [Editor’s Picks]

• [Udemy] The Complete 2024 Software Testing Bootcamp
• [Coursera] Software Testing and Automation Specialization
• [edureka!] Manual Testing Certification Training Course
• [Educative] Performance Test Automation 101: Gatling, Lighthouse, & Jenkins

Choosing the Best Software Testing Courses Online

To select the best software testing courses online, we used the following three criteria.

1. Creator: How experienced are they with teaching software development and testing? And what was the ratio of positive student reviews?
2. Content: How comprehensive is the curriculum? How engaging is the style of presentation? Are the topics relevant to real-world challenges for a web developer?
3. Community: How many people have taken the course or are currently enrolled? Is it easy to reach out to other students if you get stuck?

The Top 15 Best Software Testing Online Courses 

1. [Udemy] The Complete 2024 Software Testing Bootcamp

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Why we chose this course

This software testing course covers basic topics like writing test cases and bug reports, review requirements, creating test scenarios using Trello, and more. You will also cover advanced topics like API testing, performance testing, agile testing and methodologies, and test automation.

Another feature that makes this one of the best software tester courses is the inclusion of practical exercises on implementing the test process on a test management tool (Testlink) and the popular application lifecycle management tool, JIRA.

A unique feature of this course is an emphasis on freelance testing, teaching you how to become a freelance tester and how to write a professional Quality Assurance (QA) resume. There are also sections on preparing for a QA interview and other ISTQB professional testing certifications.

Pros

• Hands-on experience with testing tools
• Learn freelance testing and career development

Cons

• Curriculum may be too broad for advanced learners

2. [Udemy] MasterClass Software Testing with Jira & Agile

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Why we chose this course

In this software testing course for beginners, students will gain hands-on experience with manual testing tools like JIRA and Bugzilla. Using these testing tools, you will create user stories and test cases.

If you’re keen to learn testing online, this course also covers best practices and approaches to testing, including Scrum, the SDLC for software products, test-driven, and behavior-driven approaches.

Some of the testing types covered in this course are load and stress testing, integration testing, end-to-end testing, functional and non-functional testing. And you will also learn their real-time usage at different project stages with practical examples. 

Pros

• Learn testing with practical examples
• Practice common interview questions

Cons

• Project management lessons may be unnecessary for some

Looking for tools that combine project management with testing?

Check out Jira

3. [Coursera] Software Testing and Automation Specialization

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Why we chose this course

This online software testing training on Coursera is offered by the University of Minnesota. It includes four sections that cover various aspects of software testing. 

The first section will teach basic software testing concepts like crafting cases, verification, and validation. The second and third sections cover black-box and white-box testing and automated analysis, respectively. 

As one of the most comprehensive software test courses, the final section focuses on web and mobile testing. You will also learn how to use the Selenium framework as an automation tool to simulate user interactions and execute complex testing scenarios for both mobile and web platforms.

Pros

• Learn from CS lecturers from the University of Minnesota
• Includes no extraneous lessons on non-testing topics

Cons

• Assumes familiarity with an OOP language like Java

4. [edX] Automated Software Testing

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Why we chose this course

This software testing course focuses on automated software testing. You will learn how to analyze various software testing techniques and identify trade-offs and other considerations before deciding which testing methods to use for your projects.

Students of this course will learn how to build testable architectures and write test code that’s easy to read and maintain. Also, you will learn different ways to develop edge test cases.

Pros

• Focuses on automated software testing
• Graded assignments and exams

Cons

• Enrollment dates may not be flexible for some

5. [Udacity] Software Testing

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Why we chose this course

This free online software testing course is a stand-alone segment from Udacity’s Nanodegree. This course will teach you bug reporting, code coverage, and identifying parts of your software application that require more testing.

There are also sections that cover basic and advanced random testing. This will equip students with the right skills to expose unexpected or unusual behaviors in software applications that might not be covered by more structured testing methods.

Pros

• Contains in-depth lessons on random testing
• Interactive quizzes and challenges

Cons

• Might not be ideal for beginners.

6. [LinkedIn Learning] Getting Started with Software Testing

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Why we chose this course

This learning path contains 12 courses that cover various software testing topics. Learning software testing with this program will equip you with skills in unit testing with JUnit, performance and load testing with JMeter, API testing with Postman, mobile testing with Appium, and functional testing with Selenium.

There’s also a module dedicated to helping you prepare for the ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) Software Testing Certification. The course is curated from eight instructors who are all experts in the particular field or topic they teach.

Pros

• Learn SQL for testers
• Learn from many expert instructors
• ISTQB Certification exam prep

Cons

• Covers a range of languages, which may not suit everyone

7. [PluralSight] Software Testing and Quality Assurance: The Big Picture

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Why we chose this course

Like the name suggests, this program is a crash course to give you the big picture of what software testing and quality assurance are. It also offers an introduction to the different testing approaches and best practices.

You will learn software testing with scenario-based testing, test-data partitioning, test automation, bug reporting, and more. The final section of this course provides guidance on pursuing a career in software testing and tips on professional certifications available for those interested in software testing.

Pros

• Very short and straightforward course
• Learn how to plan a software testing career

Cons

• Does not include practical exercises

8. [Codecademy] Learn JavaScript Unit Testing

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Why we chose this course

This is an interactive software testing course mainly focused on creating unit tests in JavaScript with the Mocha test framework.

In this course, you will learn by doing. This means you will be writing tests practically using a Test-Driven Development (TDD) approach for three projects. You will create a test suite for each project based on the project requirements and expectations and build the projects to pass the stipulated unit tests.

Pros

• It’s a practical, project-based course
• Ideal for JavaScript developers

Cons

• Teaches only unit testing

9. [Educative] Frontend Testing 101: Integration and End-to-end Testing

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Why we chose this course

This software test training is ideal if you prefer learning software testing via a text-based curriculum. Another advantage of this course is the practical quizzes at the end of each to help students gauge their level of understanding. 

This testing course teaches two main types of front-end testing: UI integration testing and end-to-end testing. Other topics covered in this course include testing best practices like monitoring and time manipulation. The main testing tool used in this course is Cypress. 

Pros

• Ideal for frontend developers
• Quizzes at the end of each section

Cons

• No video content included

10. [Educative] Performance Test Automation 101: Gatling, Lighthouse, & Jenkins

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Why we chose this course

This is another software testing that’s 100% text-based. This course focuses on performance testing, specifically scalability, load, and stress testing. You will learn software testing with Gatling, a popular open-source tool used for performance testing.

You will also learn advanced testing techniques like network throttling with tools like Puppeteer and Lighthouse. This training also covers continuous integration (CI) with Jenkins. Each section is concluded with a quiz for students to test their knowledge before moving to the next section

Pros

• Ideal if you prefer learning by reading
• Quizzes to test your knowledge

Cons

• No video content included

11. [Simplilearn] Automation Test Engineer

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Why we chose this course

This software testing training is a cohort-based boot camp program, meaning that this is one of the best online software testing courses to go in depth.

You will learn over 15 of the best software testing tools and technologies, including Selenium, Docker, Appium, Jenkins, TestNg, Postman, etc. Also, expect to cover TDD, DevOps integration, monitoring, mobile automation, cloud testing, and more.

This course concludes with a capstone project that’s industry-standard and requires you to apply the skill you’ve learned in the course to build, test, and deploy. This course is ideal for those looking to pursue the career path of an automation testing engineer

Pros

• Earn an automation test engineer certification
• Create tests based on real-life business scenarios

Cons

• Program schedule may not be flexible for some

12. [Simplilearn] Software Testing Full Course For Beginners

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Why we chose this course

If you’d prefer to start with free software and QA tester courses, this option is available for free on Simplilearn’s YouTube channel.

The course is made up of three main parts. The first and second cover the various Selenium testing tools and JMeter tools, respectively. The third covers Jenkins for CI/CD purposes.

Some of the types of software testing you will learn from this course are performance testing, load testing, API testing, and installation testing. There are also sections that cover popular software testing interview questions and how best to approach these in a job interview.

Pros

• Interview prep and career development tips
• Learn the basics of DevOps

Cons

• YouTube ads may be distracting

13. [edureka!] Manual Testing Certification Training Course

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Why we chose this course

This is one of the best software testing programs online, and it’s conducted via Live interactive classes. This makes it unique because you can directly access instructors and ask them questions in real time. The course is specifically focused on teaching manual testing.

Upon completing this course, you will be equipped with the skills to conduct unit, integration, system, and regression testing. 

Pros

• Work on real-life industry cases
• Industry-recognized certification
• Get support in real-time

Cons

• Course schedule may not be flexible for some

14. [edureka!] Software Testing Full Course

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Why we chose this course

This training for software testers begins with an in-depth lesson on the fundamentals of software testing, including concepts like the SDLC waterfall model, spiral model, verification and validation model.

You will also learn about many different types of software testing, including unit testing, regression testing, integration testing, performance testing, and API testing. The final parts of the cover how to become a test automation engineer, along with tips on how to answer popular software testing interview questions.

Pros

• Interview prep and career advice
• Engaging animations and slideshows

Cons

• YouTube ads may be distracting

15. [Great Learning] Software Testing Full Course

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Why we chose this course

This is one of the best software testing courses for beginners. It provides a step-by-step approach to learning various software testing processes like manual, automation, documentation, compatibility, and agile testing. 

The course begins by covering the basics of software testing and the software testing life cycle (STLC). You then dive into more complex topics like white box testing, black box testing, functional and non-functional testing, performance testing, and more. In this course, you will use the Selenium suite of tools and pytest.

Pros

• Ideal curriculum for beginners
• Short course - only 5 hours long

Cons

• Course content may be too basic for advanced learners

Conclusion

In today’s digital age, software testing has become an important part of the software development life cycle. This has led to a growing demand for skilled software testing professionals. 

Whether you want to pursue a career as a software tester or a developer who wants to improve your skills in testing, we’ve found the 15 best software courses online to help you pursue your goals and stay ahead of the curve.

Want to enhance your resume? Check out:

The Best Software Testing Certifications