SAP2000 is general purpose civil engineering software which is mainly used for analyzing and designing structural system. The software is suitable for for modelling, designing, optimizing and analyzing of both 2D and 3D designs. Learning SAP2000 is crucial for civil engineers working in the field of structure (bridges, buildings, tanks, etc.) design.

This post is a road map for anyone willing to start learning SAP2000 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 SAP2000) 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 SAP2000 for Free from Scratch

CSI Website

CSI website is the first free online outlet where beginners can start learning SAP2000 through video tutorials, it’s worth noting that CSI is the company developing SAP2000.

Structure: The training is divided into 29 video lessons,  each lesson covers certain topics in SAP2000, the training covers SAP2000 thoroughly and familiarize beginners with the software and makes them capable of using it.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in and the video lesson will start right away.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

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

Cons

1. The training covers an old release of SAP2000, though that won’t be a problem for beginners.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners to start learning SAP2000 through video tutorials.

AboutCivil.org

AboutCivil.org is the second free outlet where beginners can start learning SAP2000 through a text based tutorial. You don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The training is divided into 2 main sections; the beginners section and the advanced section (there’s is a section dedicated to download the files used throughout the training). Each section is divided into lessons and each of the lessons is an example through which you can learn some set of skills in SAP2000.

Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the lesson you’re interested in 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 for beginners.

Cons

1. the training covers an old release of SAP2000, though that won’t be a problem for beginners.

Verdict: This is the best outlet for beginners to start learning SAP2000 through a text based tutorial.

MostTutorials

MostTutorials is the third outlet where beginners can start learning SAP2000 through video tutorials, you don’t have to register to have access to the training.

Structure: The “Basics Tutorial” section is divided into 12 lessons, each lesson covers certain topics in SAP2000.

Interface: the interface is simple, just click on the video lesson and it’ll start right away.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

1. Free.

Cons

1. The training is not well-organized or structured for beginners.

Verdict: This outlet isn’t very suitable for complete SAP2000 beginners as it’s not well-organized for beginners.

The University of Memphis

The University of Memphis is the fourth free online outlet where beginners can start learning SAP2000 through a text based tutorial, the training has the “learn by doing” style.

Structure: There is no real structure for the training; it’s more of learn SAP2000 through following an example.

Interface: The entire training resides in a single web-page.

Now, the pros and cons:

Pros

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

Cons

1. The training covers a very old release of SAP2000.

Verdict: The training covers a very old release of SAP2000 which makes this outlet not completely suitable for beginners.

Bottom Line

The recipe for learning SAP2000 for free

1. CSI website is the best place for beginners who prefer video tutorials.
2. AboutCivil.org is the best place to start learning SAP2000 through text-based tutorials.

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 SAP2000.