Free Resources
Everything you need to start learning infrastructure, security, and self-hosting. No credit card needed for any of these. No fluff, no paywalls, no “sign up for my course” gating.
If it is on this page, it is genuinely free and genuinely useful.
Hands-On Labs & Training Platforms
Start building skills right now with free interactive labs. These platforms give you sandboxed environments to break things safely.
TryHackMe
Learn cybersecurity through hands-on labs and guided rooms. Structured learning paths take you from complete beginner to penetration testing. The free tier gives you access to plenty of rooms to get started.
Best for: Cybersecurity beginners, pentest practice, structured learning
Microsoft Learn
Free interactive labs for Azure, Microsoft 365, Defender, Intune, and more. Sandboxed environments that spin up real Azure resources at no cost. The learning paths map directly to certification exams.
Best for: Azure certification prep, M365 admin skills, enterprise tech
Cisco Skills for All
Free networking, cybersecurity, and IT fundamentals courses from Cisco Networking Academy. CCNA-level content without the price tag. Includes Packet Tracer for network simulation.
Best for: Networking fundamentals, CCNA prep, network simulation
AWS Skill Builder
Free digital training for AWS cloud services. Self-paced courses, exam prep, and hands-on labs. The free tier covers a huge range of services.
Best for: AWS certification prep, cloud fundamentals
Google Cloud Skills Boost
Free labs and learning paths for Google Cloud Platform. Monthly free credits for hands-on labs running real GCP infrastructure.
Best for: GCP skills, multi-cloud knowledge, Kubernetes (GKE)
Free Trials & Sandboxes
Spin up real infrastructure for free. Perfect for homelab experimentation and certification practice without spending a penny.
Azure Free Account
12 months of free services plus $200 credit for the first 30 days. Enough to build a full lab environment, deploy VMs, configure networking, and practice for AZ-104.
Best for: Azure cert labs, cloud architecture practice
Microsoft 365 Developer Program
A hidden gem most people do not know about. Free E5 developer tenant with 25 user licences, auto-renewable. Full M365 stack including Teams, SharePoint, Entra ID, Intune, Defender. Perfect for learning enterprise admin without an enterprise budget.
Best for: M365 admin practice, Intune/Entra learning, MS-102 prep
AWS Free Tier
12 months of free tier services including EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, and more. Some services are always free. Enough to run small workloads and learn the platform.
Best for: AWS fundamentals, multi-cloud experience
Google Cloud Free Tier
$300 credit for 90 days plus always-free tier products including Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, and BigQuery.
Best for: GCP experience, Kubernetes, data engineering
Oracle Cloud Free Tier
Always-free ARM instances with up to 4 cores and 24GB RAM. Not a trial. Genuinely useful for hosting small projects, VPN endpoints, or running Docker workloads. The best free cloud compute available.
Best for: Free always-on hosting, ARM experience, VPN/proxy endpoints
Open Source & Self-Hosted Tools
Build your own stack with free, open source software. Everything listed here can run on a Raspberry Pi or an old laptop.
Awesome Self-Hosted
The definitive list of self-hosted software. Over 500 tools organised by category. Whatever SaaS service you are paying for, there is probably a self-hosted alternative on this list.
Awesome Sysadmin
Curated list of open source sysadmin tools. Monitoring, configuration management, DNS, mail servers, backup solutions, and more.
Proxmox VE
Free, open source virtualisation platform. Run VMs and containers with enterprise features and no VMware licence. The foundation of most serious homelabs.
Docker
Containerise everything. The foundation of modern self-hosting. Most self-hosted applications ship as Docker images ready to run in minutes.
Pi-hole
Network-wide ad blocking on a Raspberry Pi. One of the best first homelab projects. Install it once and every device on your network benefits.
RTM Guides & Build Sheets
Our own guides to get you building. Written by someone who runs all of this in production.
Start Here
- 5 Essential Services Every Homelab Should Run – The most popular post on the site.
- How to Build Your First Homelab – From zero to running services.
- Raspberry Pi vs Mini PC for Your Homelab – Which hardware to buy first.
- Getting Started: Buy, Build, or Rent? – Your options compared.
Build Guides
- Secure Your Homelab Network – 7-step security guide.
- Pi Cluster Build Shopping List – Everything you need.
- Proxmox Backup Server Upgrade Guide – Step by step.
- Install Ubuntu Server on Raspberry Pi – USB boot method.
Career & Certification Resources
Free resources to level up your career, whether you are just starting out or switching into tech from another field.
Certification Platforms
- Microsoft Learn Certifications – Free learning paths for AZ-104, AZ-305, AZ-500, SC-300 and more.
- CompTIA Exam Objectives – Free study resources and objectives for A+, Network+, Security+.
Career Guides
- Top Transferable Skills for Tech – Skills that translate across roles.
- How to Write a Tech CV with No Experience – Getting started.
- Helpdesk IT Career Starter Guide – Your first role in tech.
Stay Updated
New guides, tools, and homelab projects every week.
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