Codecademy is the most popular code-learning website and offers dozens of quality courses bundled into a motivating user experience. Still, it’s possible that after reviewing what it has to offer, you’re looking for an alternative.
Let’s dive into 8 other programming education online platforms giving Codecademy a run for their money:
Viable Alternatives to Codecademy
1. Edabit
Edabit is taking Codecademy’s approach a step further: It turns learning to code into a fun game which lets you collect XP, level up & unlock new features.
It doesn’t provide as many pre-determined learning paths as Codecademy, but instead offers a sheer endless amount of coding problems (10,000+) to keep you leveling up your programming game. Like Codecademy, you get an integrated IDE so you can input your code right there on the platform.
Pricing-wise, if you choose their highly discounted yearly plan, Edabit comes out cheaper than Codecademy’s Plus, and especially as their Pro tier.
Verdict on Edabit as a Codecademy alternative:
For complete beginners and young learners, I can recommend Edabit over Codecademy. It will get you started with the very basics, and it’s one of the most fun ways to learn coding. Sure, this is the same promise as Codecademy’s—but if you’re a complete newbie to programming, Edabit will cater to you even more than CC.
2. Udemy
When you compare Codecademy and Udemy, the biggest differences are style of teaching and content delivery. Udemy’s courses consist of mostly video lessons, while Codecademy is an interactive code-learning platform where you’re learning in a hands-on environment.
Udemy’s huge catalog covers n more programming languages and topics than CC does, at different levels from beginner to high intermediate.
One thing to keep in mind with Udemy trainings is their varying quality—which at Codecademy is consistent between all courses. Luckily, there’s a user rating system and search filter on Udemy, plus a solid money-back guarantee, all but eliminating the risk of picking a rotten apple of a course.
Verdict: Should you go with Udemy instead of Codecademy?
Codecademy is a better platform to learn coding, but Udemy is superior if you want to pick and choose a resource or two as reference material, and spend a bit less money in the process.
3. Onemonth
Like Edabit, OneMonth is another education platform aiming to teach programming to complete beginners. It differs from Codecademy in that its courses don’t lead you to an intermediate or advanced level, but focus on getting you to learn to code as much as you can in just one month.
OneMonth’s lessons are in video format—as opposed to Codecademy’s code challenges that you need to complete in the built-in live editor.
What might make OneMonth a winner for you as an alternative to Codecademy is the personal feedback you can get on the platform. If you send in your homework after you’ve completed a lesson, they’ll get back to you with corrections and tips for further study.
Just like Codecademy, you’ll get a certificate of completion after you’ve successfully gone through one of their courses.
Verdict – is OneMonth a viable alternative to Codecademy?
Yes, OneMonth could be a great alternative option for you, especially if you:
are a complete beginner
prefer video lessons over reading & code challenges
would like human feedback (vs AI-driven) on your progress
4. Coursera
Coursera’s higher learning content puts it in direct competition with Codecademy Pro’s Career Path options. If you’re looking for a Codecademy alternative that’s high-quality, in-depth, and reputable, Coursera could be your go-to platform.
Most of their courses are carried out in partnership with major universities and big tech companies, and you can get a certificate to prove to potential employers that you’ve completed a course with one of these prestigious entities.
Verdict on Coursera as a substitute for Codecademy
Especially if you’re looking for deep dive specializations that get you closer to a career in Software Engineering, Coursera is a good option for you to try in place of Codecademy.
Code-learning might not be as hands-on and fun as with CC. But the quality instruction provided by the professors—plus the reputation conferred by their programs—are a major selling point for Coursera.
5. Datacamp
While Codecademy does have courses on Data Science, Datacamp is specialized in that field and offers different tiers of trainings to take you from beginner to professional Data Scientist. There’s also more videos inside Datacamp, making it a superior choice if you’re more into that style of learning.
Datacamp is more expensive than Codecademy—this means it’s best for the most serious learners looking ready to invest more into gaining specialized skills. Accordingly, Datacamp’s instruction is excellent and in-depth.
Verdict on this Data Science-focused alternative
I can recommend you look into Datacamp if you’re looking to immerse yourself into Data Analysis and Data Science, and don’t mind spending more than with Codecademy to gain even more professional expertise.
The best Codecademy alternative for interview prep: Interview Cake
Codecademy has a good coding interview prep course, but arguably there are even more in-depth alternatives out there.
My favorite when it comes to a balance between educational value and pricing—and that has a good reputation among job-seeking software engineers—is Interview Cake.
You get 50+ hand-picked coding questions, along with in-depth explanations and a live code editor to create your solution on site. You can also check out the detailed article I did on Interview Cake to learn more about its features, pros and cons