Short answer
- For data entry basics: Data Entry Course for Beginners on Udemy (4.5 hours, updated August 2025).
- For spreadsheet skills with a university name: Excel Skills for Business: Essentials by Macquarie University on Coursera (about 3 weeks at 10 hours a week).
- The credential with an exam: Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Excel, a 50-minute exam; a US exam voucher costs $104 (Certiport). Course certificates show you finished a course; MOS shows you passed Microsoft’s exam.
- Know the job market: the BLS projects employment of data entry keyers to fall 25.5% from 2025 to 2035, one of the fastest declines of any occupation (BLS). Spreadsheet skills travel further than typing speed.
We first published this list in 2022 with ten courses. When we rechecked every one on September 22, 2026, three no longer existed, two hadn’t been updated since 2019, and the BLS now projects a steep decline for data entry jobs. This version keeps what still works, flags what’s aging, replaces what’s gone and adds the certification that goes with data entry skills.
How we picked
We rechecked each course from the 2022 list on its platform: does it still exist, how long is it, when was it last updated, and what certificate does it give? We kept the six that are still available, merged a single Coursera lecture video into the course it belongs to, replaced a removed LinkedIn Learning course with its current equivalent, and dropped two Skillshare classes that now redirect to Skillshare’s browse page. We didn’t take any of the courses ourselves; ratings and enrollment numbers are the ones the platforms showed on September 22, 2026.
The 7 courses at a glance
| Course | Platform | Length | Last updated | Certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Entry Course for Beginners | Udemy | 4.5 hours | August 2025 | Udemy certificate of completion (paid course) |
| Excel Skills for Business: Essentials | Coursera (Macquarie University) | about 3 weeks at 10 hours a week | n/a | shareable certificate, if you buy the certificate option |
| Complete Excel Course: Beginner to Expert | Udemy | 22 hours | May 2026 | Udemy certificate of completion |
| Excel for the Real World | Skillshare | 10 lessons, 1 hour 1 minute | n/a | Skillshare class certificate with a project |
| Excel Quick Tips | LinkedIn Learning | 1 hour 6 minutes | published May 2025 | LinkedIn Learning certificate of completion |
| DATA: Google Sheets 101, Basics | Udemy | 5 hours | September 2019 | Udemy certificate of completion |
| Xero Online Accounting: The Practical Data Entry Course | Udemy | 3 hours | June 2019 | Udemy certificate of completion |
Sources: course pages on Udemy, Coursera, Skillshare and LinkedIn Learning, linked below; checked September 22, 2026.
1. Data Entry Course for Beginners (Udemy)
By Azharul Rafy; 4.5 hours; updated August 2025; about 26,900 students and a 4.4 rating when we checked. A course dedicated to data entry for beginners. Course page.
2. Excel Skills for Business: Essentials (Coursera)
By Macquarie University; “3 weeks at 10 hours a week”; beginner level; rated 4.9 with more than 1.19 million enrolled. It’s the first of four courses in the Excel Skills for Business Specialization (“3 months to complete at 10 hours a week”). To get the assignments and the certificate, “you’ll need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll” (Coursera, Specialization).
3. Complete Excel Course: Beginner to Expert (Udemy)
By Jarrod Hill; 22 hours; updated May 2026; about 11,500 students, rated 4.4. The longest course here, covering Excel from beginner to expert level, as the title says. Course page.
4. Excel for the Real World (Skillshare)
By Al Chen; 10 lessons, 1 hour 1 minute. A short class on basic Microsoft Excel skills. As with every Skillshare class, it includes a project, and you get a class certificate when you finish all lessons and submit it (Skillshare).
5. Excel Quick Tips (LinkedIn Learning)
By David Fortin; published May 2025; 1 hour 6 minutes; it teaches “keyboard shortcuts that eliminate repetitive clicking.” It replaces Excel 2013: Shortcuts from our 2022 list, which LinkedIn Learning has removed (LinkedIn Learning).
6. DATA: Google Sheets 101, Basics (Udemy)
By Chris Aitken; 5 hours; rated 4.6. Last updated September 2019, so parts may be out of date. Course page.
7. Xero Online Accounting: The Practical Data Entry Course (Udemy)
By Marion Thomson; 3 hours; rated 4.7. Useful if your data entry work is bookkeeping in Xero. Last updated June 2019; check that it matches the Xero version you’ll use. Course page.
What kind of certificate you get
| Platform | Certificate | What it proves |
|---|---|---|
| Udemy | certificate of completion for paid courses | that you finished the course; “Udemy is not an accredited institution” |
| Coursera | shareable certificate after buying the certificate option | that you passed the course’s graded work |
| Skillshare | class certificate after all lessons plus a project | that you finished the class and made something |
| LinkedIn Learning | certificate of completion after watching all videos | that you finished the course |
| Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) | certification after a proctored exam | that you passed Microsoft’s Excel exam |
Sources: Udemy, Coursera, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft.
There’s no widely used “data entry certification” from an independent body. The closest is Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate (Microsoft 365 Apps), exam MO-210, with MO-211 for the Expert level. Each exam takes 50 minutes. Microsoft even lists “data-entry logs” among the example work for the Associate level. A US exam voucher from Certiport costs $104, or $120 with a retake; it’s valid in the US only, expires a year after purchase, and testing centers may add a proctoring fee (Microsoft, MO-211, Certiport). The older Office 2016 MOS exams retired on June 30, 2026 (Certiport).
A practical plan: take one of the Excel courses above, then the MOS Excel Associate exam. For certification costs in other fields, see our Certification Cost Index.
Data entry jobs: what the BLS numbers say
| BLS figure | Data entry keyers |
|---|---|
| Median annual pay, May 2025 | $41,340 |
| Employment, 2025 (projections base) | 131,800 |
| Projected employment, 2035 | 98,200 |
| Change, 2025 to 2035 | -25.5% |
| Typical entry-level education | high school diploma or equivalent |
Sources: BLS fastest declining occupations, BLS employment projections.
Data entry keyers rank fourth on the BLS list of fastest declining occupations for 2025 to 2035, behind word processors and typists and two telephone operator occupations. The BLS expects “traditional data entry methods to be replaced by automated processes through use of expanded technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI)” (BLS employment projections data).
For comparison, the broader group of information clerks earns a median of $45,430, with a projected decline of 2% (BLS).
What that means for you: data entry is still a way in, but the skills that last are the ones around it: spreadsheets, checking and cleaning data, and the tools of a specific field such as bookkeeping. That’s why most of the courses on this list are Excel, Sheets or Xero courses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best data entry course for beginners?
For a direct introduction, Data Entry Course for Beginners on Udemy (4.5 hours, updated 2025). For a broader spreadsheet foundation, Excel Skills for Business: Essentials from Macquarie University on Coursera.
Is there a data entry certification?
There’s no standard data entry certification from an independent body. The closest recognized credential is Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate (MO-210); a US exam voucher costs $104.
Can I get a data entry certificate for free?
Udemy doesn’t give certificates for free courses, and Coursera’s certificate requires paying for the certificate option. Paid course certificates show completion, not an exam result.
Is data entry a good career in 2026?
The BLS projects a 25.5% decline in data entry keyer jobs from 2025 to 2035, mainly due to automation. Combining data entry with Excel and field-specific skills keeps more doors open.
How long does it take to learn data entry?
The beginner course on this list takes 4.5 hours of video; the Coursera Excel course about 30 hours over three weeks. Speed and accuracy come with practice.
How we checked these facts. Course details come from the platforms’ course pages and APIs; certificate rules from each platform’s help center; MOS exam details from Microsoft Learn and Certiport; job data from the BLS Employment Projections program. All checked on September 22, 2026. Certificate Quest is not affiliated with any platform or with Microsoft and earns nothing from links on this page.