Searching for free online herbalism courses?
Boy, are you in for a treat!
I’m Rosa Wilde, community herbalist at The School of Wild Medicine.
I’ve researched or taken 17+ free herbalist courses, and today I’m sharing my favourites with you.
We’re going to cover genuinely useful free online herbalism courses, for beginners and intermediates.
These courses will show you how to become an herbalist for free!
Please consider sharing this list of free herbal courses on social media. It really helps me to produce more helpful content 😊
Throughout this guide, I’ll also be shamelessly plugging our affordable 30-Day Family Herbalist course!
It costs less than a bottle of vodka, and it’s designed to take you from “curious beginner” to confidently making home remedies and herbal first aid treatments in just a month.
30-Day Family Herbalist is a full online course with lifetime access and new content added every month.
We’re building a friendly community of learners across the world. See you there ❤️
1. Commonwealth Herbs
Katja and Ryn at Commonwealth Herbs have 4 excellent free online courses , including a “Study Tips” course.
This even includes 3 months of free access to their live Q&A sessions plus the entire Q&A archive, with hundreds of hours of free learning, which is kind of crazy (in a good way).
I learn lots of new things every time I watch their Q&As, and I’ve been learning with them since 2021.
If you only choose one free herbalist course online, you won’t regret starting with Commonwealth Herbs.
❤️ If you’d like a helping hand with putting your knowledge into action, check out our 30-Day Family Herbalist course
to make your own home remedies and boost your first aid skills ❤️
2. Wild Rose College of Herbal Medicine
Wild Rose College has inspiring herbalists since the 1970s, founded by Dr. Terry Willard PhD, Cl.H.
His work is continued by his son, Yarrow Willard, who runs a popular herbal YouTube channel, Herbal Jedi.
They have a strong collection of free online herbalism courses, with an offer that changes seasonally.
You’ll find courses like a full Herbal Lifestyle Challenge, which is a 12-lesson journey designed to help you integrate herbs into your daily life.
They also offer mini-courses on topics like medicinal mushrooms, and beautifully put-together resources like their Top 10 Herbs course, which comes with an e-book and practical remedy ideas.
There’s also the Wild Rose Herbal Village, a catalogue of hundreds of hours of herbal education videos for just $9.97 a month.
You don’t need any prior experience, and you can treat their free courses as a solid introduction if you’re just starting to explore free online herbalism courses or trying to figure out how to become an herbalist for free.
❤️If you want to know what to do when your child comes down with a fever or cuts their finger, check out our 30-Day Family Herbalist course ❤️
3. HerbRally
If you haven’t come across HerbRally yet, you’ve been missing out!
Joining the HerbRally Schoolhouse feels more like stepping into the living, breathing herbal community of North America.
Founded by Mason Hutchison, HerbRally has grown into a kind of central hub for herbal education—bringing together teachers, clinicians, and plant lovers from all over the world. It’s not just one school of thought or one teaching style, which is exactly what makes it so valuable.
When you sign up, you get access to a collection of 13 free herbal resources, including video classes, downloadable e-books, and interviews with some of the most respected voices in herbalism. It’s the kind of content you can dip in and out of, whether you’ve got ten minutes or an entire afternoon.
What I really like is the variety. You’re not just learning one approach—you’re exposed to different traditions, different philosophies, and different ways of working with plants.
They also run a YouTube channel with hundreds of videos. Alongside the free content, they offer the HerbRally Schoolhouse, which is one of the most affordable ways to dive deeper into herbalism. It’s $10 a month, and gives you access to classes from over 30 herbal teachers, covering everything from materia medica to formulation and clinical insights.
It’s not a “course” in the traditional sense—it’s more like an ongoing library of learning, which you can explore at your own pace. And because new content is added regularly, it keeps things fresh and interesting.
❤️ Check out the FAQs page for our 30-Day Family Herbalist course ❤️
4. Herbalista Free School
Another resource that isn’t as well known as it should be is Herbalista Free Clinic and their Herbalista Free School.
Herbalista Free Clinic was founded in 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia by herbalist Lorna Mauney-Brodek, with the aim of making herbal medicine accessible to people who need it most.
What began as a mobile herb bus offering free care has since grown into a wider community initiative focused on education, mutual aid, and grassroots herbal practice.
Their classes are completely free and open to the public; you can choose to give a donation if you enjoy their work.
The range of topics they cover is genuinely impressive. You’ll find classes on things like herbal first aid, wildcrafting, medicine making, field botany, herbal actions and energetics, and materia medica, as well as broader subjects like holistic lifestyle and community-based care.
One of their standout offerings is the Herbal Foundations course, which is designed to give you a strong grounding in herbalism through a community lens. It draws from hands-on work in free clinics, kitchens, and gardens.
What I particularly appreciate is how practical and grounded the teaching feels. There’s a strong emphasis on actually working with herbs—making things, observing, tasting, experimenting—and not just memorising information. You’re encouraged to build skills, think critically, and develop your own relationship with plants over time.
They also include lesson handouts, herbwork, and guided practices, so you’re not just passively consuming content. You’re engaging with it, which makes a big difference in how much you retain.
Because the free herbalist classes are live and the content is quite rich, there are hours of detailed free material to explore here. It’s the kind of resource you can keep coming back to, whether you’re just starting out or looking to deepen your understanding.
❤️ Discover our article on “how to become a herbalist” with 8 useful tips ❤️
5. LearningHerbs/HerbMentor
If you’ve been exploring free online herbal medicine courses and jumping between YouTube videos, blogs, and random resources, HerbMentor is a platform that brings everything together in a much more structured way.
Created by LearningHerbs, it’s essentially a full online herbal school built around practical, easy-to-follow learning. You can try it for $1 for the first week, then it’s $15.99 per month, which is surprisingly affordable considering how much is included.
Inside, you get access to a full library of courses covering everything from making remedies and identifying plants to growing herbs and using food as medicine.
What really makes it stand out, though, is the teachers. You’re learning from some of the biggest names in herbalism, like 7Song, jim mcdonald, Rosemary Gladstar, Rosalee de la Forêt, and more—all in one place.
I was over the moon when I found it!
If you’ve been searching for things like free herbal medicine courses, this is one of the most exciting collections you’ll find.
Let me know in the comments how happy you are to discover one of the best free online herbalist courses 😊
❤️ Would you like to see rows of beautifully labelled herbs in your kitchen, and know which one to reach for when you’re sick? Become a family herbalist with our affordable online herbalism course ❤️
6. Alison free herbalism courses
If you’re looking for the best free online herbalist course with certificate, Alison is one of the easiest places to start.
They offer a range of free online courses for herbal medicine that are completely beginner-friendly, with no prerequisites, making them ideal if you’re just starting out and wondering “what do you need to become an herbalist?”.
You’ll find short, focused courses covering everything from the basics of herbalism to making remedies at home, understanding plant properties, and even using herbs for common conditions.
Some Alison herbalism courses walk you through working with around 30 different herbs and creating tinctures, oils, and salves, which is great for building practical knowledge early on.
All courses are free to enrol and complete, and while the learning itself is completely free, you can choose to pay for a certificate if you want something to add to your CV.
If you’ve been searching for things like free online herbalist course for beginners, free online herbology classes, or herbalism free course, Alison is a simple, accessible place to begin without any upfront cost.
Alison.com is a popular learning platform that scores a high review on Trustpilot.
❤️ Create your own herbal apothecary, make home remedies, improve chronic health conditions, & learn herbal first aid with our 30-day Family Herbalist online course ❤️
7. Introducing Herbal Medicine (New Vitality Tuition)
If you’re looking for something a traditional lecture-style course rooted in clinical herbalism, this free herbalism course from New Vitality Tuition is a great find.
Created by herbalist Ann Walker (over 30 years’ clinical experience), this free online course on herbalism is designed to introduce the core principles of Western herbal medicine in a clear, structured way.
The course explores how herbs support different body systems and looks at common everyday conditions like fatigue, digestion, and stress—linking practical remedies with a more holistic understanding of health.
It gives you a solid grounding in how herbal medicine actually works in practice, rather than just listing herbs and their benefits. It fits nicely alongside other free online courses on herbs and is a good option if you’re exploring online holistic medicine courses.
If you’ve been searching for free herbalist classes or free online courses herbalism, this is one of those resources that offers a lot more than you’d expect from a free course.
❤️ You might just love our article on comfrey medicinal uses, it’s the most popular page on the website ❤️
8. Udemy
If you want access to a huge range of online courses for herbal medicine all in one place, Udemy is an exciting find.
Udemy works like a marketplace, with dozens of herbalism free course-style options covering everything from beginner basics to remedy-making and even professional pathways.
With a subscription of £12/month, you can access a wide library of courses and learn at your own pace.
One of the standout things here is the quality and popularity of some of the courses.
For example, Herbalism: Introduction & Medicine Making Certificate by Elizabeth Heck has nearly 15,000 reviews with a 4.7-star rating and tens of thousands of students. This gives you a good sense of how widely used these courses are!
I also recommend Herbalism: Medicinal Kitchen Herbs & Spices by Elizabeth Heck, which has over 1,000+ ratings and teaches you how to turn everyday kitchen ingredients into simple remedies.
(Bonus free course: Go directly to Elizabeth Heck at Home Herb School for another free herbalism mini course)
I love that you can preview a few lessons for free from each course. That means you can get lots of free learning time before deciding whether the monthly subscription is worth it for you.
If you’ve been searching for free online courses in herbalism, free herbalist classes, or just a flexible way to learn at your own pace, this is one of the easiest places to start experimenting and finding what resonates.
❤️ The School of Wild Medicine also has a growing YouTube channel! Subscribe to learn about the medicinal uses of wild plants growing near you ❤️
9. Thinking, Naturally with Rachelle Robinett
If you’re looking for herbalism rooted in both science and lifestyle, Rachelle Robinett’s Substack is an incredible space to explore!
Her Substack, Thinking, Naturally, is built around the idea of making herbalism feel relevant to everyday life—combining plant medicine, nervous system health, and a more intuitive way of living.
Rachelle is a clinical herbalist and educator who blends traditional herbal knowledge with modern health insights, which (along with her fabulous fashion sense) gives her teaching a slightly different tone to more traditional schools.
One of the standout pieces is her Herbalism Essentials class—a 40-minute online video.
Type “class” into the search bar, and you can see her other really cool class offerings, such as Herbal protocol for thyroid balance or Herbalism for gut health.
Once you’ve chosen which lesson you want to watch based on the free preview, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click “claim my free post”.
Her Substack works on a subscription model, where, for just $8 a month you get access to a growing library of posts, classes, and deeper dives into topics like adaptogens, nervous system support, and specific herbs. There’s a nice mix of free and paid content, so you can explore without committing straight away.
If you’re exploring free online courses in herbalism but want something that feels a bit more contemporary and reflective, this is a really refreshing addition to the mix.
❤️ If you find any of this information useful, please consider sharing this article or our YouTube shorts on social media🙏 Your small act of kindness makes a big difference in helping our School to grow ❤️
10. American Herbalists Guild – Free Public Webinar Archive
The American Herbalists Guild offers a seriously valuable resource.
Their Public Webinar Archive is a curated library of free recordings taken from over 7 years of educational webinars, covering a wide range of topics relevant to both herbal students and practising herbalists.
You’ll find in-depth sessions on topics like clinical practice, herbal medicine making, social and community herbalism, herbal parenting or traditional plant use. These webinars are presented by experienced registered herbalists and educators.
The Guild also regularly hosts live monthly webinars that are free and open to the public.
The public archive is essentially a “sample library,” while full access to their complete webinar collection (including recordings) is reserved for members. But even without membership, there’s plenty here to explore.
If you’re building your knowledge through free online courses herbalism and want exposure to experienced voices in the field, this is a great resource to explore.
11. Coursera
Coursera hosts courses from major universities around the world.
You’ll find several herbal and plant-based medicine courses, including the popular Herbal Medicine course from the University of Minnesota, which currently has 44,703 students enrolled and a 4.9-star rating.
This course is part of Integrative Health and Medicine and covers topics like safety, herb–drug interactions, and how herbal medicine fits into clinical practice.
There are also related courses that expand your perspective beyond Western herbalism, such as Everyday Chinese Medicine from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
There’s also Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care, which introduces how herbs are used in integrative oncology settings.
In terms of access, Coursera will give you the option to enrol for free for 7 days once giving bank card details. However, you don’t even have to give your card details!
Many coursera courses can also be previewed for free, meaning you can watch most of the lessons without paying—though certificates and some assignments are locked behind the paid version. The option is often found by clicking “enroll” and then looking for the “preview” button.
The structure is more formal than most free herbalism resources: courses are broken into modules with short video lectures, readings, and quizzes, and they often focus on pharmacology, safety, and evidence rather than hands-on remedy-making.
If you’re exploring free online courses in herbalism but want something that leans more toward science, healthcare, or professional integration, Coursera is a solid option. It’s especially useful if you’re curious about how herbal medicine fits into modern clinical settings, or if you want to complement practice-based learning at home with a stronger theoretical foundation.
12. Florida School of Holistic Living (Roots of Herbalism)
The Florida School of Holistic Living offers a really solid foundational course for beginners called Roots of Herbalism, which is available as a self-paced home study program.
It’s designed as an introduction to herbalism, covering ecological herbalism, herbal nutrition, and the foundations of holistic health, while also guiding you through the materia medica 21 core medicinal plants and how they’re traditionally used.
What makes this course stand out is how hands-on it is, even in an online format. You’re not just watching lessons—you’re learning how to actually work with herbs in your own kitchen, making preparations like tisanes, tinctures, infused oils, and syrups as you go.
The course itself is delivered through a mix of structured materials and video lessons, and a lot of that video content is also available on their YouTube channel. Still, having everything organised into a clear course path—with a workbook, guided lessons, and progression—makes it much easier to follow.
To access the materials, you’ll need to sign up through their student portal (with your email and phone number), which unlocks the full course structure and resources.
Overall, it’s a very grounded, practical introduction to herbalism that blends traditional plant knowledge with modern holistic health ideas. It’s especially well suited if you want something that goes beyond passive learning and actually gets you making remedies and building a relationship with herbs from the start.
13. Herbs with Rosalee (Rosalee de la Forêt)
Rosalee de la Forêt is one of the most well-known modern herbal educators thanks to her popular YouTube channel with currently over 93.8 k subscribers, Herbs with Rosalee.
Rosalee is a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild and author of bestselling books like Alchemy of Herbs and Wild Remedies.
She’s been teaching herbalism online since around 2010, and has now taught tens of thousands of students through her platform, herbalremediesadvice.org.
Her school is built around a very hands-on, practical approach to herbalism. Instead of just learning theory, you’re guided to actually work with plants—making remedies, understanding herbal energetics, and building a real relationship with herbs in everyday life.
In terms of free content, Rosalee offers a free mini-course, “The 3 Essential Skills to Becoming an Herbalist,” which you can join by signing up with your email.
She also occasionally runs free live or seasonal trainings, like her Mini Herbal Energetics Course, which teaches a simple framework for choosing herbs based on taste, temperature, and individual constitution—along with basic safety and practical examples.
The next courses in the list are coming asap, stay tuned ❤️
Bonus tip:
Some herbalism schools like Herbal Academy and Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine offer free herbalism mini-courses for limited periods only. Herbal Academy also has a free cancer email series.
So it could be worth following them if you enjoy their work!
