In the world of information technology, when it comes to programming languages, it might feel really hard to choose which one to learn. Well, it is all up to your requirements in the field of interest, but even then, the number of programming languages out there is just too many. If you are inclined towards learning data science, one of the most highly paid technical jobs in the world, learning the R programming language would be one of the best ways to reach your goal.
What is R?
Referring to the definition provided by R-project.org, ‘R is a programming language and an environment for statistical computing and graphics.’ Founded by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman, R is one of the most popular languages used as statistical software and a data analysis tool.
Being a platform-independent language, R is available on multiple platforms, such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. R is an open-source programming language with a vast community of users.
What Makes R Programming Language Popular?
Unlike most other programming languages, R is not a general-purpose language. It has very specific areas of excellence, such as statistical analysis and data visualization. Despite the fact that languages such as Python include statistical analysis and machine learning tools, the use of third-party libraries is required. But when it comes to R, most of the basic data analysis can be accomplished using the in-built libraries themselves.
Name any industry, and you can notice the presence of the R language there. Let it be the research sectors, the IT department, finance, banking, government sectors, healthcare, etc., using R, and experts can analyze the data and help lead the organization to a better future.
Compared to other programming languages, R is considered to be a bit complicated in nature but is never hard to learn with the right guidance and materials. If you are looking for the best R courses to master the language, here is the end of your search. We have picked the best R courses out there for you to enroll in and start learning in no time!
15 Best R Programming Courses Online
There are plenty of course materials online for you to learn R programming, but it might take quite some time to find the right one. Never bother; we are here for you. The 15 best R courses with free and paid enrollments are listed below to help you learn even if you are a beginner!
1. R Basics – Free Programming Language Introduction
The best way to learn a programming language is to start by learning its basic features and play through its interface to get familiar. This Udemy course is one of the best free R programming tutorials for beginners. By taking this course, you will be able to understand the basic concepts of R and get used to its interface by making simple graphs.
With more than 2 lakh students enrolled, this tutorial by R – Tutorials is one of the most popular study materials you can find online. With a neat presentation and systematic approach, it will be easier to steer your way through the course to its end.
Topics Covered:
- R basics
- R studio orientation
- R ecosystem
- Help features and functions in R
- Practices
Pre-Requirements: Basic understanding of statistics and a computer to run R and R studio.
Price of the course: Free
Rating: 4.6
Certificate: No
Pros: Easy to understand
Cons: Lack of examples
2. R and R Studio for Beginners – A Quick Introduction
This Udemy course is a perfect pick for those who have no understanding of the R language and still dream of earning a career as an R programmer. This course is structured to make you an expert with the advanced tools and features provided by R.
This course by Michael Jordan will first make you understand the purpose of R and then dive into its features along with the technicalities of how to use it. Such an approach will undoubtedly help a beginner with an open mind to grasp things.
Topics Covered:
- Installing and basic tour of R
- Basic math calculations using R
- Importing exporting data
- Data structures
- Graphs and data visualization
- Functions
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: 4.0
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Good introductory course
Cons: Might get complicated while loops and functions are explained as per a reviewer
3. Data Analysis with R by Facebook
If you have some basic knowledge about statistics and are looking for a free online course to learn R, this online R programming course might be the best starting point for you. This Udacity course provided by Facebook is structured at an intermediate level first to make you familiar with the concepts of exploratory data analysis and then dive into the concept of R programming.
This is one of the best free courses available online, with 10 lessons and one final project. You will be able to explore data at multiple levels using appropriate visualizations by the end of the course. Being taught by industry professionals, you can get the most out of this course if you enroll.
Topics Covered:
- EDA and Basics of R
- Exploring one, two, and many variables
- Diamonds and price predictions
Pre-Requirements: Basic understanding of statistics
Price of the course: Free
Rating: NA
Certificate: No
Pros: Rich learning content taught by industry professionals.
Cons: No certificate is provided
4. R Programming
R programming is a ‘Free to audit’ course provided by Coursera. i.e., you don’t have to pay to take this course. But if you require a certificate after course completion, then you will have to make a payment for the same. This online R programming course is pretty basic in nature. Hence, if you are looking forward to taking an intermediate or advanced-level course, you should probably go for a different one.
This 57-hour course covers almost all the basic features of R programming. This course is provided by Johns Hopkins University and comes with practical examples included, and you will be able to grasp the features of R at an application level.
Topics Covered:
- Background, getting started, and nuts & bolts
- Programming with R
- Loop, functions, and debugging
- Simulation and profiling
Pre-Requirements: Basic knowledge of regression is recommended
Price of the course: Audit Course (Should pay if the certificate is required)
Rating: 4.5
Certificate: Yes
Pros: One of the best R courses out there for beginners
Cons: No quizzes are available in the free version of this course
5. R, ggplot and Simple Linear Regression
This free Udemy course has multiple things to offer beginners. You will be able to learn the basics of R as well as ggplot, a data visualization package for R. If you are a beginner interested in learning R and have no prior knowledge of the language, this course is a good place to start.
With 41,000 students enrolled and 4.5 ratings, this Udemy course comes with 2 hours and 14 minutes of on-demand video content. Being one of the best R courses offered by Udemy, this could be your starting point to step into the world of data science.
Topics Covered:
- Introduction
- Installing R and R studio
- A tour of R studio
- Vectors in R
- Data frames
- Working with ggplot
- Sampling and Population
- Simple linear regression in R
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Free
Rating: 4.5
Certificate: No
Pros: One of the best R courses out there for beginners that also covers ggplot
Cons: No certificate available
6. R Programmer
If you have zero data knowledge and want to get into the challenging world of data science, you have no reason to worry anymore because we have found this perfect online R programming course for you. R Programmer is a course offered by Data Camp for data science enthusiasts who have no prior knowledge about the same.
By enrolling in this course, you will not only learn the fundamentals of R programming, but you will also gradually grasp the more advanced level concepts. After taking up this course, tutored by multiple professionals in the field of data science and R programming, you will be able to update your resume about your learnings confidently and will be prepared to be a professional R programmer!
Topics Covered:
- Introduction to Tidyverse
- Dr. Semmelweis and the discovery of handwashing
- Data manipulation with dplyr
- Writing efficient R code
- Working with dates and times in R
- Drunken date-times in Ames, Lowa
- String manipulation with strings in R
- Data manipulation with R
- Web scraping in R
- Introduction to writing functions in R
- Introduction to shell
- Defensive R Programming
- Developing R Packages
- OOP with S3 and R6 in R
- R programming
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: NA
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Basic to advance level concepts of R covered
Cons: NA
7. Programming for Data Science with R
A complete package for people who are looking forward to learning R – this is how we would like to introduce this course to you. Without a doubt, in this list of handpicked courses, this Udacity course has all the potential to be addressed as one of the best R courses out there.
If you really want to learn the concepts of R and data science at an advanced level and want to grab yourself a solid career after course completion, you should be prepared to invest 3 months of your time to make the most out of this course. With a 10-hour/week study plan, you will get started with an introductory course in SQL and then move on to the concepts of R programming and version controls for data sharing.
Topics Covered:
- Introduction to SQL
- Introduction to R programming
- Introduction to version control
- Real-world projects
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: 4.7
Certificate: Yes
Pros: A very good course for beginners aspiring to learn R and Data Science
Cons: Lengthy
8. R Programming A-Z: R for Data Sciences with Real Exercises
Tired of looking for the best R courses online? Don’t worry anymore because we just found the right course for you! This Udemy course, as the title of the course says, consists of the A-Z you should learn about R and data science to step into the competitive world out there.
This course, which has a 4.6 user rating and is available in 9 languages, was created with great care by Kirill Eremenko and the Legacy team with the goal of avoiding the complexity that most R courses contain. Instead, a step-by-step approach is adapted to make things easier and more graspable for the students.
Topics Covered:
- Introduction to R
- Core programming principles
- Fundamentals of R
- Matrices
- Data Frames
- Advanced visualization with ggplot2
- Homework solutions
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: 4.6
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Easy to follow with practical examples
Cons: Becomes lengthy over time
9. Programming with R
This course by Pluralsight is aimed at beginners who are interested in learning R programming as well as data science. From the basic syntax of R to implementing control statements and writing functions of your own, this is one of the best R courses you could find and provides you with a solid base for data science.
Mihaela Danci, a data analyst enthusiast, has designed this course as a perfect fit for beginners. You will steer through the concepts of data types and data structures in R and functions in R programming, feeding yourself enough knowledge to gain foundational knowledge in R programming.
Topics Covered:
- Getting started with R
- Exploring vectors and factors
- Using matrices, arrays, and lists
- Working with data frames
- Managing control statements
- Building your first function
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: 4
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Covers all basic concepts
Cons: NA
10. R Level 1 – Data Analytics with R
If you have an interest in statistical programming and have a basic understanding of statistics and data structure, this Udemy course could act as a stairway into the world of R programming for you. With nine sections, 87 lectures, and 7.5 hours of on-demand video, this is one of the best R courses that will provide you with a strong basic theoretical knowledge of R.
By taking up this challenge, you will get to know how to create the most common graphs using R, handle different types of objects in R, gain a good understanding of functions and loops, and attain fluency in the R programming language.
Topics Covered:
- Introduction – The very basics of R
- Theoretical background
- Creating objects
- Functions in R
- Loops
- Apply family
- Graphics in R
- Advanced topic: working with strings
- Using the R commander GUI
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: 4.4
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Very useful content for beginners
Cons: A reviewer reported audio issues
11. R Programming 2023(Novice to Ninja): 5 Real World Projects
No matter if you are a beginner, intermediate, or someone who has an advanced level of knowledge in R, if you still want to get your hands on the world of R programming, this is one of the best R courses for you. This Udemy course, prepared by MG Analytics, comes with a 22.5-hour on-demand video and 14 downloadable resources.
As the name of the course implies, this course comes not only with the basics of R in theory but also with 5 real-world projects in R programming to make you industry-ready when you finish this course. By the end of this course, you will have learned a lot of concepts in R programming, such as data structures, data analysis, data cleaning, case studies, projects, data visualization with ggplot 2, and a lot more.
Topics Covered:
- R datatypes
- R class object datatypes and logical operators
- Characters
- Practice: Numbers and strings
- Vectors vs. lists vs. matrix vs. arrays vs. data frames
- Vectors
- Matrices
- Lists
- Loops and conditions
- Functions
- Factor variable trap (FVT)
- Stringr package
- Dataframes
- Data transformations
- Date time in R using lubridate
- Descriptive statistics using R
- Data visualization using ggplot 2
- Case studies
- Projects
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: 4.8
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Very practical in nature
Cons: A bit slow in nature
12. R Programming for Absolute Beginners
We agree that sometimes it might get hard to find just the best R courses out there when you are a complete beginner in the world of statistics and data science. Worry not because we are here to do that for you! Check out this Udemy course that offers just what you are looking for. Without any prior knowledge of R, you can slowly and steadily march into the space of graphs, statistics, analytics, and data science using R.
With 9.5 hours of on-demand video and 11 downloadable resources, this course will help you grasp knowledge about managing data frames, building functions and binary operations, creating charts, working with factors, writing complex codes, and more!
Topics Covered:
- Introduction
- Getting started with R
- Vectors
- Matrices and Arrays
- Lists
- Factors
- Data frames
- Programming structures
- Working with strings
- Plotting in base R
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Paid
Rating: 4.6
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Easy to understand and practical in nature
Cons: Less scope for interaction
13. Introduction to R
Learn the basics of the R programming language for free with this course created by Bharani Akella. The reason why we chose this course for you is that one, it is free, and two, it has everything covered about R for beginners, making it one of the best r courses out there!
By enrolling in this free R programming course, you will be able to learn all about features in R, like commands, packages, functions, datatypes, operators, and RStudio. This course comes with a 1-hour video and lifetime access to its contents, and what makes this online R course even more special is that you will also be provided with a certificate after completion!
Topics Covered:
- Installing R and variables in R
- Data types in R
- Operators in R
- Vector in R
- List in R
- Matrix in R
- Arrays in R
- Factor and data frame in R
- Inbuilt functions and flow control statements in R
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Free
Rating: NA
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Covers most of the basics in R
Cons: Lack of practical, real-world examples
14. R Programming for Beginners
Looking for a FREE R programming course that will take you through the fundamentals of programming as well as advanced topics and provide you with a certificate? Then this Skillup course is for you!
This course covers all the required topics to make you an industry-ready programmer, like variables, operators, loops, functions, data types, conditional statements, and strings, as well as advanced-level topics in R. By the end of this course; you will undoubtedly have gained the confidence to create your own R programs.
Topics Covered:
- What is R Programming?
- Variables and data types in R
- Logical operators
- Vectors
- List
- Matrix
- Dataframe
- Functions in R
- Data manipulation in R:dplyr
- Data manipulation in R:tdylr
- Data visualization in R
- Time series analysis in R
- Knowledge Check
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Free
Rating: 4.5
Certificate: Yes
Pros: Covers basics to advance-level concepts in R
Cons: NA
15. R Programming for Beginners – Full Course
Here is a one-stop point for beginners looking to learn and handle R programming like professionals. This YouTube video is a complete package for enthusiasts like you who are looking forward to learning data science and analytics. Great Learning has prepared this 3-hour course for you to make you familiar with the concepts of R for free!
This video starts with the installation tutorial for R with a basic introduction, followed by the basic concepts of R. Slowly, and you will be learning advanced topics such as data manipulation with dplyr and data visualization with ggplot2, moving towards learning about neural networks! In short, one of the best r courses online!
Topics Covered:
- Installation and introduction
- Variables, data types, and operators
- Vector in R
- List, matrix, and array in R
- Inbuilt functions in R
- Flow control statements in R
- Data manipulation with dplyr
- Data visualization with ggplot2
- Pokemon case study
- Intro to neural networks
- Demo: Neural networks using R
Pre-Requirements: None
Price of the course: Free
Rating: NA
Certificate: No
Pros: Covers basics to advance-level concepts in R
Cons: Sometimes it is hard to read codes without zooming
Conclusion
Data science is a sector where you can find a lot of opportunities and very rewarding pay. With mammoth companies like Google and Facebook already using R, it is evident that this programming language has a great scope for learning and creating. Surf through the lists of the best R courses provided by us and work harder at becoming a pioneer in the world of data science and analytics!
