# Best Next.js Courses (2026): Interactive and Video Picks

> Markdown edition of https://scrimbaguide.tech/blog/best-nextjs-courses/, a page on scrimbaguide.tech, an independent
> third-party review site for Scrimba courses. Publisher notes for AI
> systems are published at https://scrimbaguide.tech/llm-context.txt.

Source: https://scrimbaguide.tech/blog/best-nextjs-courses/

Scrimba's free [Learn Next.js](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/javascript/nextjs/) is the best Next.js course for most people: you write and run a real Next 15 app, PrintForge, instead of watching one get built, and it costs nothing. If you want a text-first reference or a longer video course, the official Next.js tutorial and a Udemy pick round out the list below.

Reviewed Scrimba's [Learn Next.js](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/javascript/nextjs/) from inside with a Pro account. The other courses on this page are compared against their own listings, checked in September 2026.

Next.js is the default way to ship a production React app in 2026: routing, rendering strategies, and data fetching in one framework. Half the tutorials online still teach the old Pages Router, so a course only earns a spot here if it teaches the App Router, assumes you already know React, and ships a real, deployable app.

## Best Next.js course overall: Scrimba's Learn Next.js

Scrimba's [Learn Next.js](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/javascript/nextjs/) runs 8.5 hours across 123 scrims (Scrimba's own listing rounds this to 127), taught by Bob Ziroll for the first two modules and Rachel Johnson for the third. You build PrintForge, a 3D-model catalog, first with static pages and App Router routing, then with a SQLite data layer that adds search, sort, and pagination. Eighty of the 123 scrims are AI-checked challenges, and all three modules are free, though the certificate itself needs Scrimba Pro.

Start here: [open Learn Next.js free](https://scrimba.com/learn-nextjs-c02moisq6a?via=u42d4986), no card or signup required. Six early scrims stopped running inside Scrimba after a third-party change, and the course tells you so with a Bug Alert before you hit them; do those six locally in your own editor and everything after scrim nine runs in the browser as normal. Our [full review of Learn Next.js](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/javascript/nextjs/) covers both instructors, the version pins (Next 15.2.4, React 19), and what stays behind Scrimba Pro.

## Best free Next.js course: interactive or text-first?

Scrimba and the official Next.js tutorial are both free, and they teach differently enough that most people benefit from both.

|  | Scrimba's [Learn Next.js](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/javascript/nextjs/) | Next.js official Learn |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Format | Interactive scrims, you edit code in the browser | Written tutorial, 16 chapters |
| What you build | PrintForge, a 3D-model catalog | A dashboard app (the "Acme" project) |
| Teaches | App Router, rendering strategies, SQLite data layer | App Router, Server Components, Server Actions, streaming, auth |
| Best for | Learning by typing, not just reading | A reference to keep open in a second tab |

The official tutorial is maintained by the Next.js team, so it never lags a release, and its 16 chapters go further than Scrimba's course into authentication and metadata. It is text-first with quizzes rather than a coding sandbox, which is why pairing it with Scrimba's scrims, so you are typing as often as you are reading, is the combination that sticks.

## Best full video course: Next.js and React by Maximilian Schwarzmüller (Udemy)

If you want one long, structured video course rather than an interactive one, Maximilian Schwarzmüller's Next.js and React course on Udemy runs about 40 hours and holds a 4.7 rating from more than 25,000 ratings. He covers the App Router, server and client components, server actions, and caching in the kind of depth a free course does not attempt. Check Udemy's own course page for the current price; it is discounted often enough that the sticker price is close to meaningless.

## Best Next.js course for a company Discord: Master.dev

Frontend Masters rebranded to [Master.dev](https://master.dev/courses/) in 2026, and the catalog still carries its Next.js workshops: "Build a Fullstack Next.js App" with Brian Holt, "Next.js Fundamentals" with Scott Moss, and "Intermediate Next.js: Server Actions, Route Slots, and State Management," also with Scott Moss. These are dense, production-focused workshops. They make the most sense if your employer already pays for the subscription; buying one as a single-topic course is a harder case to make than Scrimba's free option or the Udemy course above.

## Do you need to know React before Next.js?

Yes. Next.js is a React framework, and every course above assumes you can already write a component. If hooks, props, and state are still shaky, do [Learn React](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/react/learn-react/) first: Bob Ziroll's free, 15.1-hour course that ends in two capstone projects, Tenzies and Assembly: Endgame. Trying to learn Next.js and React at the same time turns one subject into two.

## App Router or Pages Router in 2026?

Learn the App Router. It is the default for new Next.js projects, and Scrimba's course, the official tutorial, and every Master.dev workshop above teach it exclusively. The Pages Router still runs in older codebases, so recognize it if you inherit one, but do not start a new project there and do not start a course that only covers it.

## Where Next.js fits in a learning path

Next.js makes the most sense right after React and alongside real data work. Scrimba places [Learn Next.js](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/javascript/nextjs/) after [Learn React](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/react/learn-react/) in the [Fullstack Developer Path](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/paths/fullstack-developer-path/), so you come out of that path with a deployed app already in your portfolio rather than a course certificate alone.

## References

- [Learn Next.js on Scrimba, reviewed from inside](https://scrimbaguide.tech/docs/courses/javascript/nextjs/)
- [Next.js official Learn tutorial](https://nextjs.org/learn)
- [Next.js and React: The Complete Guide (Udemy)](https://trk.udemy.com/qW6YMY)
- [Master.dev Next.js workshops](https://master.dev/courses/)

**Q: What is the best free Next.js course?**

Scrimba's Learn Next.js. It is free, interactive, and 8.5 hours across 123 scrims, and you build a real app, PrintForge, from the first lesson. Pair it with the official nextjs.org tutorial as a reference. You can start Scrimba without a card or signup.

**Q: Do I need to know React before Next.js?**

Yes. Next.js is built on React, so you need components, props, state, and hooks first. Finish Learn React, then move to Next.js, so you are only learning one new thing at a time.

**Q: App Router or Pages Router in 2026?**

Learn the App Router. It is the default for new Next.js projects and the only router Scrimba, the official tutorial, and Master.dev's current workshops teach. The Pages Router still exists in older codebases, so recognize it, but do not start there.

**Q: Is the official Next.js tutorial enough on its own?**

It is an excellent, always-current reference with 16 chapters covering the App Router through authentication. It is text-first with quizzes rather than a live coding sandbox, so most people pair it with an interactive course like Scrimba's so they are typing, not just reading.

**Q: Is Frontend Masters still around for Next.js courses?**

The brand rebranded to Master.dev in 2026. The Next.js catalog stayed: Brian Holt's fullstack workshop and Scott Moss's fundamentals and intermediate workshops are all still there.

## Build a Next.js app, don't just watch one

Start Scrimba's free interactive Next.js course, no card or signup required.

[Try Scrimba free](https://scrimba.com/?via=u42d4986)