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# How to teach with Databricks Free Edition

**[databricks](https://daily.dev/sources/databricks)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Databricks Free Edition lets instructors run a full data or AI course on the same platform used in production, at no cost. Students sign up individually, work entirely in the browser, and need no cloud contract or credit card. It supports Python and SQL notebooks (not R or Scala), runs on smaller compute under fair-use limits, and lets up to five people share an account for group projects. Students and instructors can double their daily compute credit up to three times a year during crunch periods. Assignments distribute as .ipynb files, and large datasets can be shared via cloud storage, Open Sharing, or Databricks Marketplace.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.databricks.com/blog/how-teach-databricks-free-edition>

## Questions this post answers

### Is Databricks Free Edition actually free for students and instructors, no credit card needed?

Yes, Databricks Free Edition is perpetually free with no cloud contract and no credit card required to sign up. It runs in the browser on smaller compute sizes under fair-use limits and is intended for learning and non-commercial use rather than production workloads.

_Educators planning a course around real platforms can track tool access changes like this on daily.dev._

### What happens if a student exceeds their compute quota in Databricks Free Edition during an assignment?

If a workspace exceeds its quota, compute pauses for the rest of the day and resumes the next day, so hitting a limit is rare and never permanent. Students and instructors can also double their available daily credit up to three times per year to keep working during crunch periods or exams.

_Anyone planning assignments around shared compute limits can keep tabs on platform quirks like this via daily.dev._

### Does Databricks Free Edition support R or Scala for teaching data science courses?

No, Free Edition's collaborative notebooks support Python and SQL only; R and Scala are not supported. The notebooks let students write and run code against real data while combining narrative, code, and visualizations, making it suitable for intro programming, statistics, and machine learning courses.

_Instructors choosing languages for a course curriculum can compare platform support details on daily.dev._

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [Databricks Free Edition Hackathon: show the world what’s possible in data and AI](https://daily.dev/posts/databricks-free-edition-hackathon-show-the-world-what-s-possible-in-data-and-ai-fljddkkpc) · databricks · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Tutorial: 3 Free Databricks Analytics Projects You Can Do In An Afternoon](https://daily.dev/posts/tutorial-3-free-databricks-analytics-projects-you-can-do-in-an-afternoon-fwnezxkkm) · databricks · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#data-science](https://daily.dev/tags/data-science), [#apache-spark](https://daily.dev/tags/apache-spark), [#databricks](https://daily.dev/tags/databricks)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-teach-with-databricks-free-edition-fmepwkxuj)

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