The best machine learning practice platforms in 2026

Of the 3 machine learning practice platforms we rank, Google Colab is our top pick at 8.7 out of 10. If you are new to this, start with Teachable Machine. If you are experienced, try Kaggle Notebooks. Google Colab: Free of charge, but free GPU access is limited and not guaranteed.

The free places where you'll actually do the exercises from ML courses. No setup, no GPU of your own, and plenty of example data.

3 tools ranked Scored out of 10

Last checked 2 October 2026: free plans and prices on each maker's own pricing page.

The short answer

Best overall: Google Colab8.7 / 10
Best for beginners: Teachable Machine7.8 / 10
Best for experts: Google Colab8.7 / 10

Machine learning practice platforms compared

Every tool at a glance. Select a name to jump to our full review.

Machine learning practice platforms compared by score and audience
Rank	Tool	Score	Best for	Learn it free
1	Google ColabGoogle	8.7 / 10	Good for everyone	Machine Learning Crash Course
2	Kaggle NotebooksKaggle	8.2 / 10	Good for everyone	Kaggle Learn: Python
3	Teachable MachineGoogle	7.8 / 10	Best for beginners	Elements of AI

The full ranking

What each tool is good for, the catch, what it costs and the free course that teaches it.

Number 1: Google Colab
Google
8.7 / 10
Good for everyone
Python notebooks in your browser with nothing to install. It's where most people write their first real ML code, and experts still use it for quick experiments.
Use it for
Following course notebooks, trying ideas quickly, and borrowing a GPU when your laptop can't cope.
The catch
Free GPU access is limited and not guaranteed, sessions time out, and files vanish if you don't save to Drive. Don't build anything long-lived here.
Free plan
Free of charge, but free GPU access is limited and not guaranteed.
Paid plans
Paid plans buy more compute; prices show after you sign in. Google Colab pricing (opens in a new tab)
Visit Google Colab (opens in a new tab)
Learn it free
- Machine Learning Crash CourseGooglesome PythonA good first ML course to pair with notebook practice.
- Practical Deep Learning for Codersfast.aicomfortable coderHands-on deep learning you can run in a cloud notebook.
Number 2: Kaggle Notebooks
Kaggle
8.2 / 10
Good for everyone
Cloud notebooks sitting right next to thousands of datasets and competitions. The Kaggle Learn courses run here, so it's a natural place to practise.
Use it for
Practising on real datasets and reading other people's solutions.
The catch
The free GPU quota is about 30 hours a week, and competition leaderboards reward tricks that don't always matter in real projects.
Free plan
Free, including an NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPU with a weekly quota of about 30 hours.
Visit Kaggle Notebooks (opens in a new tab)
Learn it free
Number 3: Teachable Machine
Google
7.8 / 10
Best for beginners
Train your own image, sound or pose classifier in the browser with your webcam. Ten minutes here makes training data finally make sense.
Use it for
Seeing what training, labels and bad data actually do, without writing a line of code.
The catch
It's a toy for learning. Once the idea clicks, move on to real tools such as Kaggle Notebooks.
Visit Teachable Machine (opens in a new tab)
Learn it free
- Elements of AIUniversity of Helsinkinever codedExplains the ideas behind the model you trained.
- Kaggle Intro to Machine LearningKagglesome PythonThe next step: training models in code.

Free courses to learn machine learning practice platforms

The reviewed free courses that teach the skills behind these tools.

GoogleNo certificate

Machine Learning Crash Course

Google's Machine Learning Crash Course has 12 modules and takes about 13.5 hours by Google's own timings. It is free, with quiz badges and no certificate.

Difficulty

some Pythonmachine learningllms

fast.aiNo certificate

Practical Deep Learning for Coders

Practical Deep Learning for Coders has 9 lessons of about 90 minutes, costs nothing and has no certificate. You deploy your own model by the end of lesson 2.

Difficulty

comfortable coderdeep learningcomputer visionnlp

KaggleFree certificate

Kaggle Learn: Python

Kaggle's 7-lesson Python course takes about 5 hours, costs nothing and pairs every lesson with an exercise notebook. Kaggle gives a free completion certificate.

Difficulty

never codedpython

Questions about machine learning practice platforms

What are the best machine learning practice platforms in 2026?

Our top pick is Google Colab (8.7/10), followed by Kaggle Notebooks and Teachable Machine. Python notebooks in your browser with nothing to install. It's where most people write their first real ML code, and experts still use it for quick experiments.

Which machine learning practice platforms are best for beginners?

Start with Teachable Machine, then try Google Colab. Train your own image, sound or pose classifier in the browser with your webcam. Ten minutes here makes training data finally make sense.

Which machine learning practice platforms are best for experts?

Google Colab is our pick for experienced users, with Kaggle Notebooks close behind. Python notebooks in your browser with nothing to install. It's where most people write their first real ML code, and experts still use it for quick experiments.

What's the catch with Google Colab?

Free GPU access is limited and not guaranteed, sessions time out, and files vanish if you don't save to Drive. Don't build anything long-lived here.

Are there free courses that teach machine learning practice platforms?

Yes. We recommend Machine Learning Crash Course (Google), Practical Deep Learning for Coders (fast.ai) and Kaggle Learn: Python (Kaggle). Each one is free and reviewed on FreeAICourses.com.

Which machine learning practice platforms have a free plan?

Google Colab and Kaggle Notebooks have a free plan or free version.