Free SQL Courses on YouTube Worth Your Time
The best free SQL courses on YouTube for data analysts and developers, plus where to practice queries and a 4-week plan from SELECT to window functions.
SQL is one of the fastest skills to learn and one of the most useful: analysts, backend developers, data scientists and product managers all use it. You can get from zero to writing joins and aggregations in a couple of weeks with free YouTube courses, as long as you practice on real tables while you watch. Here is what to watch depending on your goal, and where to practice.
Choose based on why you are learning SQL
**For data analyst roles:** Alex The Analyst's SQL playlists (split into beginner, intermediate and advanced) are built around the kind of queries analysts write: filtering, grouping, joins, CTEs, window functions. He uses MySQL and keeps the examples business-flavored. **For developers:** Programming with Mosh's MySQL course covers schema design, keys, indexes and transactions alongside queries, which matters more if you will be designing the database rather than only reading from it. **For a single long video:** freeCodeCamp's SQL tutorial for beginners (taught by Mike Dane) is a full introductory course in one sitting. **For interview prep:** techTFQ walks through real interview-style SQL problems and explains several ways to solve each one. **For how databases work internally:** CMU's Database Systems course by Andy Pavlo (15-445/645) is posted publicly. It is a university course on storage, indexing and query execution, not a SQL tutorial, and is best after you can already write queries.
Where to practice (this matters more than the course)
Watching someone write a `LEFT JOIN` is not the same as debugging your own. Practice alongside the videos: - **SQLBolt:** short interactive lessons in the browser, good for week one. - **HackerRank SQL track** and **LeetCode's SQL 50 study plan:** graded problems that range from easy to genuinely tricky. - **Your own database:** install PostgreSQL or MySQL locally, or use SQLite, and load a public dataset (Kaggle has many CSVs). Asking your own questions of real data is the best practice there is. A good ratio is 30 minutes of video to 60 minutes of writing queries.
A 4-week SQL plan
- **Week 1:** `SELECT`, `WHERE`, `ORDER BY`, `LIMIT`, `DISTINCT`, basic functions. Finish SQLBolt. - **Week 2:** `GROUP BY`, `HAVING`, aggregate functions, `INNER` and `LEFT` joins. Do 15 to 20 easy HackerRank or LeetCode problems. - **Week 3:** Subqueries, CTEs, `CASE`, date functions, `UNION`. Load a dataset and answer five questions you make up yourself. - **Week 4:** Window functions (`ROW_NUMBER`, `RANK`, `LAG`, running totals), basic indexing, and a look at query plans with `EXPLAIN`. Work through medium-level interview problems. By the end you should be able to answer most analyst-style business questions from a well-structured database.
MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQL Server?
Core SQL is largely the same across them. Differences show up in date functions, string functions, `LIMIT` vs `TOP`, and some advanced features. Pick the one your target job or course uses; if you have no preference, PostgreSQL is widely used in startups and free to run. Switching later takes days, not months.
Keeping a long playlist organized
SQL playlists are usually split into many short videos, which makes it easy to lose track of which concepts you covered. Keep a running file of queries you wrote for each topic; it becomes your personal cheat sheet. If you paste the playlist into Filow, you get per-video progress tracking, notes pinned to timestamps (handy for "where did he explain window frames?") and a short quiz after each lesson.
Questions people ask
What is the best free SQL course on YouTube?
For analysts, Alex The Analyst's SQL series. For developers, Programming with Mosh's MySQL course. For a single long video, freeCodeCamp's SQL tutorial.
How long does it take to learn SQL?
Basic queries and joins take one to two weeks of daily practice. Comfort with window functions and interview-level problems usually takes about a month.
Is SQL enough to get a data analyst job?
SQL is the most important single skill, but most analyst roles also expect Excel or Google Sheets, a BI tool such as Power BI or Tableau, and the ability to explain findings clearly.
Should I learn SQL or Python first for data science?
Either works. SQL is quicker to become useful with, which makes it a good confidence builder before Python and pandas.
Learn Sql from YouTube, in order.
Turn a free SQL playlist into a tracked course with notes and quizzes on Filow.