Build your free backend developer path
Pick your goal, your starting level, and how much time you have. We put the best free courses in the right order. No signup, no cost, and the link is yours to share.
Your beginner backend developer plan
5 courses · about 14.5 months at 8 hours a week (a steady evening habit most days of the week)
Learn Python or JavaScript
Pick one backend language and get solid. Python is more beginner-friendly; JavaScript (Node.js) keeps you in one language across the stack.
CS50's Introduction to Programming with Python
36h · Free
Learn SQL and Databases
Almost every backend application uses a relational database. SQL is non-negotiable.
Relational Database (freeCodeCamp)
60h · Free
Build APIs with Node.js
Build RESTful APIs with Express, the most common backend JavaScript framework. For the two free Node.js courses we recommend and how to pick between them, see /guides/best-free-nodejs-courses-2026. When you want to build one yourself, our step-by-step tutorial at /tutorials/build-rest-api-express-typescript walks through a full CRUD API in TypeScript.
Computer Science Fundamentals
Algorithms and data structures make you a better backend engineer and help you pass technical interviews.
CS50's Introduction to Computer Science
100h · Free
Deploy to the Cloud
Code that runs only on your laptop doesn't count. AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials teaches how real apps get hosted, scaled, and secured, plus the cloud vocabulary every backend job assumes you already know.
AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials
7h · Free