Picture a GIS analyst who’s curious about QGIS — free, open-source, capable of a lot of the same work as commercial platforms — but has never had a reason to sit down and actually learn it. If that sounds familiar, this one’s for you.
This is part two of our series on free GIS training. Part one covered Esri’s free MOOCs and Live Training Seminars for those on the commercial side. This week we’re looking at what QGIS offers for anyone leaning toward the open-source route.
| Resource | What You Get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| QGIS Training Manual | The official, project-maintained course — tiered lessons from basic mapping through spatial databases and the Processing framework | Free |
| A Gentle Introduction to GIS | A software-independent primer on GIS concepts, great for beginners who want the theory before diving into QGIS itself | Free |
| QGIS Tutorials by Ujaval Gandhi | A huge, task-based tutorial library — jump to whatever skill you need, from making your first map to writing PyQGIS scripts | Free |
| Spatial Thoughts OpenCourseWare | Full course materials for self-study, including intro and advanced QGIS content | Free |
| GeoAcademy | University-level labs aligned to a national geospatial skills framework, best for educators or students | Free |
| YouTube channels (Klas Karlsson, QGIS Uncovered, others) | Video-based tutorials covering everything from basics to specialty topics like cartography and hydrology | Free |
The QGIS Training Manual is the closest thing to a structured course — it’s organized into tiers, so you can start wherever your skill level actually is instead of sitting through material you already know. The tutorials, however, work more like a reference library — instead of working through it top to bottom, you search for the specific skill you need and go straight there. Between the two, most learners will find a format that fits how they like to learn.
How Certification Works
QGIS.org doesn’t run its own certification exam. Instead, it approves a network of outside training organizations — companies like Kartoza, Spatial Thoughts, and NGIS — to run courses and issue the official certificate on QGIS’s behalf. Every certificate issued sends a small fee back to fund the QGIS project itself.
The training is free, but the official certificate always comes with a cost, since it’s tied to one of these approved providers. Costs range variably. If a certificate matters for your resume or your team’s professional development records, budget a little something for it. If you just want the skills, the training itself won’t cost you a cent.
Getting Started
- Pick a starting point based on how you learn. If you like structure, start with the Training Manual. If you’d rather search for what you need as you go, start with qgistutorials.com.
- Try before you commit to a certificate. Work through the free material first, and only look at a paid certification course once you know QGIS is a good fit for your work.
- Block real time for it. Same as any self-paced course, it’s easy to let it slide if it’s not on the calendar.
- Save your work as you go. Keep a record of what you’ve completed, screenshots of finished exercises, saved project files, that kind of thing, in case you want to reference it later.
What’s Next
Next week we’re covering university and library resources, some genuinely surprising free options that aren’t tied to any one platform. Whether you’re on ArcGIS, QGIS, or still deciding, there’s something worth knowing in that one too.
Do you use QGIS, or thinking about giving it a try? We’d love to hear about your experience.
Know someone who’d get something out of this? Pass it along.
Sources
Kartoza. (n.d.). QGIS certificate. Kartoza. https://gisbox.kartoza.com/en/shop/product/qgis-certificate/
QGIS.org. (n.d.). A gentle introduction to GIS. QGIS Documentation. https://docs.qgis.org/latest/en/docs/gentle_gis_introduction/index.html
QGIS.org. (n.d.). Certification programme. QGIS.org. https://qgis.org/community/certification/
QGIS.org. (2026). QGIS training manual. QGIS Documentation. https://docs.qgis.org/3.44/en/docs/training_manual/index.html
QGIS.org. (n.d.). Training material. QGIS.org. https://www2.qgis.org/en/site/forusers/trainingmaterial/index.html
Spatial Thoughts. (2026). Introduction to QGIS (full course). Spatial Thoughts. https://courses.spatialthoughts.com/introduction-to-qgis.html
Tutorials and Tips, QGIS. (2026). Introduction. QGIS Tutorials and Tips. https://www.qgistutorials.com/en/docs/introduction.html
