Free ethical hacking courses (in Spanish and English) to get started in 2026

If you are looking for free ethical hacking courses, the good news is that today you can learn almost everything you need to get started without paying anything. The bad news is that there is so much material it is easy to jump from one course to another without finishing any. In this guide you will find a selection of free courses, grouped by what they teach, and a recommended order to work through them in 2026.

A warning before we start: much of the best free content is in English. We point out which options have a Spanish version and which ones are worth it even without one.

What a good free ethical hacking course should have

Before the list, three criteria so you do not lose weeks on material that adds nothing:

• Real practice: a course that only explains theory does not teach you to hack. Look for labs, challenges or machines where you apply what you learn.
• Fundamentals before tools: if a course starts firing exploits without explaining networking, HTTP or Linux, you will memorise commands without understanding them.
• A legal environment: everything you practise must be on your own lab or on platforms that explicitly authorise you. Attacking other people's systems without permission is a crime, even if it is "to learn".

Free fundamentals courses: networking, Linux and general security

This is the part most people skip and the one that shows the most later. Without understanding how a packet travels or how a permission system works, everything else becomes black magic.

Cisco Networking Academy

The introductory courses from Cisco Networking Academy are among the few serious options available in several languages, including Spanish. They cover basic cybersecurity and networking concepts with a very approachable style. Ideal as a first contact if you have no technical background.

Professor Messer

Professor Messer's videos for CompTIA Security+ are clear and thorough. Even if you never sit the exam, they cover practically the whole conceptual base of security: cryptography, networking, authentication, attack types.

Google and IBM

The cybersecurity programmes from Google and IBM lean towards a defensive profile (SOC analyst), but they give a very useful overview. Free access conditions vary depending on the platform offering them, so check their website to see whether you can take them at no cost or with financial aid.

Free hands-on hacking courses in English that are worth it

PortSwigger Web Security Academy

If you could only take one free web hacking course, it would be PortSwigger's Web Security Academy. Clear theory on each vulnerability (SQL injection, XSS, SSRF, access control...) followed by real labs in the browser. It is free, up to date and made by the authors of Burp Suite.

OverTheWire

The OverTheWire wargames, starting with Bandit, are the most enjoyable way to learn the Linux terminal. Each level forces you to use a new command or concept to get the password for the next one.

pwn.college

pwn.college, created at Arizona State University, teaches everything from Linux basics to advanced binary exploitation. It is demanding, but one of the best resources to understand how programs work internally.

Hacksplaining and OpenSecurityTraining2

Hacksplaining explains web vulnerabilities with very short interactive lessons, perfect for a first look. OpenSecurityTraining2 is more advanced and goes deep into x86 architecture, debugging and binary analysis.

Free platforms and labs to practise

Courses give you theory; platforms give you hours of practice. These have enough free content for months:

• TryHackMe: guided paths for beginners. Many rooms are free and the rest require a subscription.
• picoCTF: CTF-style challenges built for education, with a huge archive of free exercises.
• OWASP Juice Shop and DVWA: deliberately vulnerable applications you install on your own machine to practise web hacking with no legal risk.
• VulnHub: downloadable vulnerable virtual machines to build your local lab.

You will find the full list in the practice platforms section and in the free courses section.

Free content in Spanish

In Spanish, the offer of structured free courses is smaller, but there are creators who publish a lot of open material. A well-known example is S4vitar's YouTube channel, where he solves Hack The Box machines explaining his reasoning step by step. Watching it after attempting a machine on your own is an excellent way to learn methodology. In English, the classic equivalents are IppSec's videos and 0xdf's writeups.

In what order to take these free courses

A reasonable order for someone starting from zero:

1. Weeks 1 to 4: fundamentals with Cisco or Professor Messer, and OverTheWire's Bandit in parallel.
2. Weeks 5 to 10: TryHackMe's introductory paths and the first topics of PortSwigger Academy.
3. Week 11 onwards: picoCTF challenges, easy machines and your own lab with Juice Shop or DVWA.

If you want a more detailed week-by-week route, see how to learn ethical hacking from scratch. And if you want the general context of the profession, start with ethical hacking for beginners.

Tip: finish one course before starting another. Ten half-finished courses are worth much less than two completed ones with your own notes.

Frequently asked questions

Can you learn ethical hacking for free?

Yes. With PortSwigger Academy, OverTheWire, picoCTF, the free part of TryHackMe and local labs such as DVWA you can reach a solid level without paying. What usually costs money are certifications and some premium platforms.

Are there free ethical hacking courses in Spanish?

Some, such as Cisco Networking Academy's, plus a lot of YouTube content from Spanish-speaking creators. Even so, you should get used to reading technical documentation in English, since it is the language of most tools and resources.

Do free courses give a certificate?

Some issue a completion record, but it is not equivalent to a professional certification. If you want to prove your level, read our guide to ethical hacking certifications.

Do I need to know how to code to start?

Not to start, but you will need it soon. Being able to read and write simple Bash and Python scripts is enough for most beginner courses.

If you would rather follow a guided path instead of combining scattered resources, we are preparing Ethical hacking from scratch ("Hacking ético desde cero"), a beginner course in 8 modules. It will have a launch price of 29 € (49 € afterwards) and the waitlist is already open.