NVIDIA DLI Free Courses (2026): What's Still Free, Certificates, and Best Picks

Updated October 4, 2026. I re-checked every course on NVIDIA's own pages. A lot changed since this guide first went up in May: Getting Started with Deep Learning, Generative AI Explained and the RAPIDS data science course have been retired, and Building RAG Agents with LLMs and Fundamentals of Accelerated Computing with CUDA Python are now $90. This version replaces the old list.

Short answer: NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI) is partly free. Right now there are 10 free self-paced courses, mostly on agentic AI, Omniverse, OpenUSD and robotics. The core deep learning, RAG and CUDA courses cost $30–$90, and NVIDIA certification exams start at $125. The best free way to learn deep learning from NVIDIA today is the open-source Fundamentals of Deep Learning course on GitHub, but it gives no certificate.

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What NVIDIA DLI offers and what it costs

Format	Price	Certificate	Where
Free self-paced courses	Free	Not stated on the free course pages	Free courses list
Paid self-paced courses	$30 (2–4 h) or $90 (8 h)	Yes, on courses with an assessment	Self-paced catalog
Open-source courses	Free, no sign-up	No	Open source courses
Instructor-led workshops	From $500 per seat	Yes	Find training
Certification exams	$125 (Associate), $200–$500 (Professional)	Digital badge, valid 2 years	Certification

Self-paced courses run in the browser on a GPU-accelerated cloud workstation, so you don't need your own NVIDIA GPU. Purchases (courses and exam vouchers) can't be refunded, so check the outline before you pay.

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The 10 free NVIDIA DLI courses right now

Checked on NVIDIA's self-paced course page on October 4, 2026:

Course	Topic	Length
Agentic AI Explained	What AI agents are, no coding	1 h
Securing Agents with NemoClaw and OpenShell	Agent security, hands-on	4 h
A Beginner's Guide to Autonomous Robots	Robotics basics	1 h
Generating High-Quality Motion Data for Robotics With MobilityGen	Robot training data	1.5 h
Software-in-the-Loop Testing for Robots With OpenUSD, Isaac Sim, and ROS	Robot simulation testing	2 h
An Introduction to Developing With NVIDIA Omniverse	Omniverse basics	2 h
Fundamentals of Working With OpenUSD	3D scene format	2 h
Creating an Omniverse Extension With Python	Omniverse + Python	2 h
Extend Omniverse Kit Applications for Building Digital Twins	Digital twins	2 h
Building AI-Powered Material Generation for Omniverse With DGX Cloud	Generative materials	2 h

My picks: start with Agentic AI Explained (one hour, works for non-engineers and for briefing a team), then Securing Agents with NemoClaw and OpenShell if you build agents. Take the robotics and Omniverse courses only if that is your field; that's where most of the free catalog sits.

💡 The free list changes often. Courses marked "This course will soon be retired" stop taking enrollments on a fixed date, so enroll first and study later.

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The free NVIDIA deep learning course most guides miss

People searching for an "NVIDIA deep learning course" usually land on Getting Started with Deep Learning. That course is now $90 and being retired. The free replacement is Fundamentals of Deep Learning, released as an NVIDIA open-source course:

• Code, notebooks and lab guide are on GitHub (NVDLI/fundamentals-of-deep-learning) under Apache 2.0 / CC BY 4.0
• No registration needed. NVIDIA says it is the same quality as its paid courses
• You run it yourself: on your own NVIDIA GPU, or on a cloud GPU you pay for
• No certificate: NVIDIA says it does not issue certificates for open-source courses

If you want a solid deep learning foundation and don't need a certificate, this is the best free option NVIDIA has today.

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Do free NVIDIA courses come with a certificate?

Mostly no. NVIDIA issues certificates "in select courses", meaning courses with an assessment. None of the free course pages I checked mention a certificate, and open-source courses don't give one.

If the certificate is the goal, the realistic options are:

1. A $90 course with an assessment. Building RAG Agents with LLMs and Fundamentals of Accelerated Computing with CUDA Python are both 8 hours, include a cloud GPU, and award a certificate when you pass the assessment.
2. A certification exam (next section), which is a proctored credential rather than a course certificate.

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Is NVIDIA certification free?

No. All exams are paid, taken online with a remote proctor through Certiverse, and valid for two years:

Level	Examples	Price	Length
Associate	Generative AI LLMs (NCA-GENL), Generative AI Multimodal (NCA-GENM), AI Infrastructure and Operations (NCA-AIIO)	$125	1 h, 50–60 questions
Professional	Generative AI LLMs (NCP-GENL) and others	$200–$500	2 h

For a first NVIDIA credential, NCA-GENL ($125) is the common entry point. Study with the free open-source deep learning course plus the free agentic AI course before you buy the exam.

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Ways to get paid DLI courses for free

• University educators: the DLI Teaching Kit Program gives approved members codes for free self-paced courses for themselves and their students, "a value of up to $90 per course, per student".
• Students: ask your instructor or department whether they are in the Teaching Kit or University Ambassador program. That is the official route.

Correction: the earlier version of this guide said a university email could unlock paid labs. I found no such mechanism on NVIDIA's pages, so I removed it.

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Free official CUDA resources

The DLI CUDA Python course is now $90, so it is no longer a free entry point. These official resources are free:

• An Even Easier Introduction to CUDA: NVIDIA's classic beginner tutorial (updated 2025)
• CUDA C++ Programming Guide: the reference
• CUDA Python documentation: if you prefer Python

Pay the $90 for the DLI course only if you want the guided labs, a cloud GPU and the certificate.

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A beginner path that costs $0

1. Agentic AI Explained: 1 hour, the big picture
2. Fundamentals of Deep Learning (open source): neural network basics, hands-on
3. An Even Easier Introduction to CUDA: how GPU acceleration actually works
4. Securing Agents with NemoClaw and OpenShell: build and secure an agent

Spend money after that, and only on what you need: $90 for a certificate course, or $125 for NCA-GENL.

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FAQ

Is NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute free?

Partly. As of October 2026 there are 10 free self-paced DLI courses, mostly on agentic AI, Omniverse, OpenUSD and robotics. Most deep learning, RAG and CUDA courses cost $30 or $90, instructor-led workshops start at $500, and certification exams cost $125 or more.

Do NVIDIA free courses give a certificate?

Usually not. NVIDIA gives certificates in select courses that have an assessment, and those are mostly the paid $90 courses. Open-source courses such as Fundamentals of Deep Learning give no certificate.

Is there a free NVIDIA deep learning course?

Yes: Fundamentals of Deep Learning is free as an NVIDIA open-source course on GitHub (NVDLI/fundamentals-of-deep-learning). It needs no registration, but you supply the GPU and there is no certificate. The older Getting Started with Deep Learning course is now $90 and being retired.

How much do NVIDIA DLI courses cost?

Paid self-paced courses cost $30 (2–4 hours) or $90 (8 hours). Public instructor-led workshops start at $500 per seat. Purchases are not refundable.

Is NVIDIA certification free?

No. Associate exams cost $125 and Professional exams cost $200 to $500. All are proctored online through Certiverse and valid for two years.

Where can I learn CUDA for free?

Use NVIDIA's free tutorial "An Even Easier Introduction to CUDA", the CUDA C++ Programming Guide, and the CUDA Python documentation. The DLI course Fundamentals of Accelerated Computing with CUDA Python now costs $90.

Do I need my own GPU for NVIDIA DLI courses?

Not for self-paced DLI courses: they run on a GPU-accelerated cloud workstation in your browser. Open-source courses are different, because you run them on your own NVIDIA GPU or on a cloud GPU you pay for.

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The One-Sentence Summary

NVIDIA DLI is no longer the free deep learning school it used to be: the free catalog is now mostly agentic AI, Omniverse and robotics, and the classic deep learning, RAG and CUDA courses cost $90. The best free deep learning material from NVIDIA has moved to its open-source courses on GitHub.

→ Google Skills Gamified Learning Paths → Claude Certified Architect Complete Roadmap → OpenAI Academy vs. Anthropic: Full Comparison

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📚 The Complete Map of Free AI Learning Across 10 Platforms → One table, paths organized by background, full series index.