Codecademy has a bold mission to rethink education from the bottom up, and it's working on that through a handful of nonprofit initiatives. On the web, Codecademy offers courses to make learning to code and designing websites fun and easy. You can learn a specific language, such as JavaScript, or take a crash course in cybersecurity. Even better, many classes are free, though the paid plans offer additional learning tools, courses, community support, and professional opportunities. This makes Codecademy our Editors' Choice pick for free, online coding classes.
(Credit: Codecademy)How Much Does Codeacademy Cost?
After you sign up for free, Codecademy offers recommendations on where to start. Just take a short quiz to determine your programming personality. You can also view the service's full course listing. We previously criticized Codecademy for its lack of video lessons, but now you can watch more than 250 video tutorials on Codecademy’s YouTube channel. However, these lengthy, serious videos seem more geared toward adult students, rather than kids with short attention spans.
Codecademy also offers two paid plans. For $34.99 per month (or $17.49 per month with an annual subscription), the Plus plan includes additional courses, a personalized learning plan, regular quizzes, real-world projects, unlimited code practicing on mobile, and enhanced community resources. The Pro plan ($59.99 per month, or $29.99 per month if billed annually) adds useful professional perks, such as career services, professional certifications, and technical interview prep. First-time subscribers can take advantage of a 7-day free trial, and college students can sign up at a reduced rate. An Android and iOS app called Codecademy Go is also available. Businesses can get Codecademy specifically for their teams (you must contact Codecademy to receive a price quote, however). These prices are roughly in line with paid services without free optionsm such as Code Avengers ($29 per month) or our Editors' Choice pick Treehouse ($25 per month).
Class Selection, Features, and Help
When it first launched, Codecademy focused on teaching beginners. That’s still the case, especially for free users. Now, its courses include more advanced options, such as C++, Ruby, and PHP. You may even learn how to make a video game. Premium users can dive into higher-level course topics, such as Python and mobile app development, as well as Career Path courses that bundle multiple courses under a shared theme like Front-End Engineer. At the end, you receive a certificate.
When you select a course, Codecademy offers a syllabus overview, including the topics you'll need to be familiar with and prerequisite courses. After the intro, you're brought to a new environment to start building. From here, you slowly expand your skills, and complete challenges to move forward with the lesson. Your progress is saved as you go, so you can stop at any time without worrying about losing your work. The home screen displays your current lessons so you can quickly resume.
(Credit: Codecademy)If you opt for introductory classes on specific programming languages, you'll get more detail on how each language works. In addition, you'll perform more basic tasks before moving on to bigger projects. The environment is the same, and you'll also complete challenges along the way. These classes are on par with Treehouse's offerings, though neither goes into quite as much detail as Code Avengers.
All along the way, Codecademy keeps you motivated by awarding badges for various achievements. You can also see all the skills that you've mastered on your dashboard, as well as current class progress. Each lesson includes clickable hints, in case you get stuck, and additional hints if you submit incorrect code. The text editor is clean and stylish, with adjustable visual options to keep everything readable. You can even set a timer to keep yourself focused.
If you run into trouble, each lesson has a dedicated Q&A forum, so you'll be able to interact with students on the same level and troubleshoot code together. For example, you can schedule meetups with nearby students in your city. There's also a page of resources with forum rules, language glossaries, cheat sheets, blog posts, and access to the help center where you can get general questions answered. You can even join the Codecademy Discord channel for live chats. Premium users can study more advanced and detailed project examples. Codecademy bests Treehouse and SitePoint here by a notch, and it tops competing programs, such as CodeHS, too.
(Credit: Codecademy)Codecademy Is a Fun, Free Tool
Learning to code needs to be fun, since the learning curve is often tedious for beginners. Codecademy gets it right with a mix of entertaining lessons, practical exercises, and rewards for your progress. There is more than one way to learn a language. You can choose the process that works best for you. Getting help is easy, which is also key. However, you must pay for a premium subscription to get the most out of Codecademy’s course catalog. If you’re going the paid route, consider fully paid coding classes like our Editors’ Choice pick Treehouse. Still, Codecademy's interactive lessons are easy to follow and keep you motivated, making it our Editors' Choice pick for free online coding classes.
For more, check out The Best Online Learning Courses.