Computer networking course for beginners: the 10 best in 2026

Best for engineering students following a university syllabus. Prof. Hitesh Dholakiya covers network fundamentals, the OSI model, the data link layer, error detection and correction, LAN protocols, network devices, and the network, transport and application layers.

It has 4.7 stars, but from only 159 reviews and fewer than 900 students. It runs about 32 hours with nine quizzes and was updated in February 2026.

Best for beginners who want a short practical introduction. It covers IPv4 addressing and subnetting, how switches and routers let devices communicate, public and private addresses, troubleshooting tools, capturing traffic with Wireshark, DHCP and DNS on Windows Servers and IPv6 address types.

It has 4.6 stars from more than 4,600 reviews and nearly 20,000 students. It runs about seven and a half hours and was last updated in October 2025.

Best for beginners who want to see networking in action. A CCIE-certified instructor covers the TCP/IP and OSI models, Ethernet and switching, IPv4 and IPv6, TCP, UDP, NAT, DHCP and DNS, with practice activities such as analysing headers in Wireshark, subnetting, examining the ARP cache and running DNS lookups.

It has 4.8 stars from more than 2,000 reviews and nearly 12,000 students. It runs about 16 hours and was updated in September 2026.

Best for beginners who want a very thorough foundation before CCNA. David Bombal covers network basics, the OSI model, hubs, switches and routers, IP addressing and subnetting, routing, VLANs, Spanning Tree, NAT and software-defined networking, with online simulations of Cisco routers and switches.

It has 4.7 stars from more than 58,000 reviews and more than 309,000 students. It runs about 73 hours with five quizzes and 116 resources, and was last updated in September 2025. We lowered it slightly for its length.

Best for absolute beginners who want a complete CCNA course with practice. It uses detailed lecture videos, bonus flashcards for every lecture, step-by-step lab exercises and practice exam questions to prepare you for the CCNA 200-301.

It has 4.8 stars from more than 6,800 reviews and more than 44,000 students. It runs about 50 hours with 193 resources and was last updated in December 2025.

Best for non-technical learners who want to build real networks in a simulator. Alton teaches networking fundamentals through 13 Cisco Packet Tracer labs, from connecting two PCs to larger designs, plus live demonstrations of DNS, DHCP, ARP, SSH and Wireshark, and two business case studies.

It has 4.6 stars from more than 15,000 reviews and more than 82,000 students. It runs about 18 and a half hours with 21 quizzes and 175 resources, and was updated in February 2026.

Best for beginners who work with Windows systems. Alton covers networking basics and network types, components, the OSI model, TCP/IP, in-depth subnetting with worksheets, routing and switching, and Windows Server demonstrations of Active Directory, DHCP, DNS and command-line tools such as ping and tracert.

It has 4.7 stars from more than 3,900 reviews and more than 15,000 students. It runs about 14 hours with 18 quizzes and 121 resources, and was updated in October 2026.

Best for beginners committed to the Cisco CCNA. It explains every technology on the CCNA 200-301 exam, shows you how to build a free lab on your laptop, and includes more than 300 pages of lab exercises, study notes and Anki flashcards, with free updates for the v2.0 exam.

It has 4.8 stars from more than 91,000 reviews and more than 338,000 students, the most on this list. It runs about 43 hours with 235 resources and was updated in October 2026.

Best for beginners aiming for the CompTIA Network+ certification. It covers the five N10-009 domains: networking concepts and the OSI model, implementation with routing, switching and wireless, operations and monitoring, network security, and troubleshooting, with a study guide and a full practice exam.

It has 4.7 stars from more than 42,000 reviews and more than 224,000 students. It runs about 33 hours with 51 quizzes and two practice tests, was updated in October 2026, and earns 34 CEUs. We lowered it slightly because 9 to 12 months of networking experience is recommended.