C# is a general purpose objet oriented programming language, it was developed by Microsoft (a team led by Anders Hejlsberg) and it was built on the syntax and semantics of C++.

C# programming is widely taught at colleges and schools as an introductory course to object oriented programming. This post is a guide for anyone willing to start learning C# programming online for free from scratch, the post will present and compare between the best online sources where beginners can start from and follow along, the sources stated in this post are full structured courses so you won’t find a link to a single video or a group of unrelated tutorials.

If you just want the bottom line (the road map to learn C# programming) and you don’t wish to read the entire article then go to the “Bottom Line” section at the end of the article.

Getting Started with C# for Free from Scratch

Channel 9

Channel 9 is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning C# through video tutorials, you don’t have to register in order to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 25 video tutorials, each video covers certain topics in C#.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a new page where the video lesson resides.

Now, the pros and cons;

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.
3. The instructor makes it very easy for beginners to follow along.
4. The instructor doesn’t assume any prior knowledge to programming at all.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover intermediate and advanced topics in C#, though that won’t be a problem for beginners.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners to start learning C# through video tutorials.

Floqq

Floqq is the second free online outlet where beginners can start learning C# through video tutorial, you need to register in order to have access to the course.

Structure: The training is divided into 30 video lessons, each video lesson covers a certain topic in C#.

Interface: The interface is very simple just click on the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a new page where the video lesson resides.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover intermediate and advanced topics in C#, though that won’t be a problem for beginners.

Verdict: This is a very good outlets for beginners to start learning C# through video tutorials.

The New Boston

The New Boston is the third free online outlet where beginner can start learning C# through video tutorials. You don’t need to register in order to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 200 video lessons that cover most of the topics in C#.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just go to the website and click on the topic you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the video’s page.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-organized for beginners.
3. It covers more Topics than the above two outlets.
4. There are many hands on projects.

Cons

1. The only problem with this outlet is that beginners might face the problem of following along after the introductory lessons.

Verdict: This is a good outlet for beginners to start learning C# through video tutorials.

Learn CS

Learns CS is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning C# through an interactive training, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: This training is an interactive training where you can type the code in the console and see it executed in the browsers. The training is divided into 9 lessons, each lesson covers a certain topic in C#.

Interface: The user interface is very simple; the page is divided into 3 sections:

1. Lesson body section.
2. The editor where you type your code.
3. The output window.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The training only covers the very basics of C#.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners who prefer interactive tutorials, though it’s worth noting that the training only covers the very basics of C# and it’s not suitable on its own to get the grasp of C#.

ZetCode

ZetCode is the fifth free online outlet where beginners can start learning C# through a text-based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 19 lessons, each lesson covers a certain topic in C#.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a new page where the lesson resides.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured and organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover any intermediate or advanced topics in C#.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners to start learning C#, specially for those who prefer  text-based tutorials.

C# Station

C# Station is the sixth free online outlet where beginners can start learning through a text-based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 23 lessons, each of the lessons covers a certain topic in C#.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just navigate from one lesson (page) to another using the link at the bottom of each lesson.

Now, the pros and cons

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-organized for beginners.

Cons

1. The training isn’t written in a simple way that makes it easy for complete beginners to start learning C#.

Verdict: This outlet isn’t suitable for those who’re totally new to programming and C# is the first programming language they’re trying to learn.

Complete C# Tutorial

Complete C# Tutorial is the seventh free online outlet where beginners can start learning C# through a text-based tutorial, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 10 sections, each section is divided into lessons, each of the lessons covers a certain topic in C#.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just select the lesson you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to a new page where the lesson resides.

Now, the pros and cons

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-organized for beginners.

Cons

1. This training isn’t suitable for complete beginners, you need to have prior knowledge to programming to start using this outlet to learn C#.

Verdict: There are better outlets stated in this post to start learning C#.

Tutorials Point

Tutorials Point is the eighth free online outlet where beginners can start learning C# programming through a text-based tutorial. You don’t need to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 3 sections, and each section is divided into lessons and each lesson covers a certain topic in C#.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the topic you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the topic’s page.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The course is very suitable for those who want to revise a certain topic in C#.

Cons

1. The course structure doesn’t make it easy for C# beginners to follow along, as it’s structured more towards revising certain topics in C#.

Verdict: This outlet is suitable for those who want to revise certain topics in C#; but it’s not suitable for beginners to start learning C#.

Guru99

Guru99 is the ninth free online outlet where beginners can start learning C# through a text-based tutorial, You don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 8 sections, each section covers a number of topics/aspects of theC# programming language.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the topic you’re interested in learning (it’s better to follow the training from start to finish) and you’ll be directed to the page where the lesson resides.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.
2. The training is well-structured and organized for complete begineers.

Cons

1. The training doesn’t cover C# programming thoroughly, though that won’t be a problem for complete beginners willing just to dip their toe into C# programming

Verdict: This is an excellent outlet for beginners to start learning C# through a text-based training.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning C# for free

1. Channel 9 is the best outlet for beginners to start learning C# through video tutorials.
2. Learns CS is the best outlet for beginners to start learning C# through an interactive tutorial.
3. ZetCode is the best outlet for beginners to start learning C# through a text-based tutorial.
4. If you prefer books then either the free book C# Basics or C# tutorials (this is a tutorial that could be downloaded as an ebook) are your best options.
5. If you want to learn C# in a story like fashion then give Code Easy a look.

Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in C#.