“Check if your code is up to scratch using a cloud-based IDE, and there’s a large community to interact with if you’re having trouble.” Best Intro: Codecademy “Codecademy is perfect for beginners thanks to the sheer amount of choices you have to choose from.” Runner Up, Best Intro: Khan Academy “If you ever have any questions or even want to get feedback on a project you’ve just coded, the community is always here to help.” Best University Course: MITx Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python “While rigorous, it’s intended to still be doable for students without prior knowledge, so all you need to do is put in the work.” Best Splurge: Pluralsight “Each course comes with videos, assessments, and exercise files, so you can really make the most of your learning experience.” Runner Up, Best Splurge: LinkedIn Learning “They really have something for everyone, no matter what language you want to get into.” Best for Schools: Code Avengers “It’s structured into different levels so you can teach programming concepts to everyone, regardless of age or skill.” Best Variety: Udemy “Gives you the freedom to choose the specialization that you want, and learn how to program what interests you.” CS50 Introduction to Computer Science is built in a way that the problem sets get more difficult enough every week that they can be challenging, but never in a way that you feel completely left on your own. This course stands out from the rest because instead of simply teaching you how to code, it tries to teach you how it works. Having such a wide range of intro-level courses for free is great because it means that not only can you start learning how to code, you can also learn the differences between programming languages and find out which ones are best for what you want to do. Not to mention there’s a smartphone app, too, letting you practice what you’ve learned on the go. Each course is structured so that you have an info block and then a challenge that builds upon the things you just learned. This type of project-based learning is a great way to start coding, as applying what you’ve learned helps you remember key concepts. Khan Academy is completely free, and it has a whole community around it, too. If you ever have any questions or even want to get feedback on a project you’ve just coded, they’re always here to help. Besides talking with the other students taking this course, you’ll also be able to ask questions to the staff behind the course as well as the community TAs. They won’t tell you any answers, but they’ll nudge you in the right direction and clarify any misunderstandings you might have. If you want to learn coding and more, understand what you’re doing, then this course is right for you. Each course comes with videos, assessments, and exercise files, so you can really make the most of your learning experience. You can even measure how well you stack up against others in the same field. On top of that, some courses have interactive lessons, which can be especially helpful for trying to learn new concepts in a specific language. It might be a bit overwhelming to know where to start, but if you search for the programming language you’re looking for, or the keywords “essential training”, you’ll be sure to find a course that’s right for you. They really have something for everyone, no matter what language you want to get into. The platform also has a series of resources for teachers, with lesson plans and course overviews, as well as being able to see how far into the course each student has come so far, and how well they’ve done along the way. Code Avengers is a great way to get children and teenagers into coding. The courses are uploaded by individuals all over the world, and you can tell by their ranking how good they are. Different instructors have different specialties and picking out the courses that feel relevant to you from a broad spectrum will mean that you see different styles of programming and teaching, helping you find what’s best for you. Our writers spent 6 hours researching the most popular online coding courses on the market. Before making their final recommendations, they considered 9 different online coding courses overall read over 10 user reviews (both positive and negative), and tested 3 of the online coding courses themselves. All of this research adds up to recommendations you can trust.
