The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most exciting fields in tech today. From smart homes and wearable devices to industrial automation and connected cities — IoT is shaping our future. If you’ve been wanting to dive into IoT development, but don’t know where to start (or don’t want to spend money upfront), this list is for you.
Here are 10 of the best free resources to learn IoT development in 2025 — whether you’re a total beginner or looking to level up your skills.
1. Coursera – “Introduction to the Internet of Things and Embedded Systems” (by UC Irvine)
📚 Platform: Coursera
🎯 Best for: Beginners
💡 Why it’s great: Taught by a university professor, this course breaks down the basics of IoT, including embedded systems, sensors, and actuators — all in beginner-friendly language.
2. edX – “The Internet of Things” (by Curtin University)
📚 Platform: edX
🎯 Best for: Understanding real-world IoT applications
💡 Why it’s great: Offers an industry perspective and includes hands-on exercises like building simple IoT solutions using cloud platforms.
3. MIT OpenCourseWare – “Embedded Systems and Microcontrollers”
📚 Platform: MIT OCW
🎯 Best for: Diving deep into hardware
💡 Why it’s great: You’ll get access to real MIT lectures and lab projects. Perfect if you want to understand the electronics behind IoT.
4. Google Cloud Skills Boost – “IoT in the Google Cloud”
📚 Platform: Google Cloud
🎯 Best for: Cloud-based IoT development
💡 Why it’s great: Teaches you how to build an end-to-end IoT pipeline with Google services like Pub/Sub, Cloud IoT Core, and BigQuery.
5. Arduino Project Hub
📚 Platform: Arduino.cc
🎯 Best for: Practical hands-on projects
💡 Why it’s great: You can build real IoT gadgets like smart weather stations, home automation devices, or motion sensors using Arduino boards.
6. YouTube – Andreas Spiess Channel (“The Guy with the Swiss Accent”)
📚 Platform: YouTube
🎯 Best for: Tinkering with hardware + coding
💡 Why it’s great: Short, clear, and entertaining tutorials on ESP32, Raspberry Pi, MQTT, and more. You’ll learn a lot by watching his experiments.
7. IoT For All Blog & Podcast
📚 Platform: IoTForAll.com
🎯 Best for: Industry news, trends, and expert interviews
💡 Why it’s great: Great for staying updated with what’s happening in the real world of IoT — plus they cover both business and technical sides.
8. Hackster.io – Internet of Things Projects
📚 Platform: Hackster.io
🎯 Best for: Community-based learning
💡 Why it’s great: Thousands of free community-contributed IoT projects with step-by-step instructions. You can also share your own.
9. Microsoft Learn – Azure IoT Developer Path
📚 Platform: Microsoft Learn
🎯 Best for: Working with cloud + devices
💡 Why it’s great: Offers interactive tutorials to build and deploy IoT apps using Microsoft Azure. Includes labs, code samples, and cloud credits.
10. GitHub – Awesome IoT List
📚 Platform: GitHub
🎯 Best for: Curated resources
💡 Why it’s great: This is a community-maintained list of books, projects, courses, tools, and platforms — all focused on IoT.
💡 Final Tip
Start small. Pick a course and follow along. Get your hands dirty with some basic hardware like Arduino or ESP32, and then explore cloud integration as you grow. IoT is a mix of hardware, software, and creativity — so have fun experimenting!
