Codecademy Review 2024: Course Quality, Pricing, Pros And Cons, And More
Codecademy Review
Mastering the art of coding presents a significant challenge, particularly when it comes to pinpointing the optimal learning resources.
For those embarking on a self-taught coding journey, Codecademy may have caught your attention. This widely embraced online educational platform provides courses, learning pathways, and certifications directly within your browser, spanning diverse subjects like web development, machine learning, and data science.
The question arises: is Codecademy a worthwhile investment?
This Codecademy assessment will delve into crucial aspects of learning to code on the platform. Topics to be explored include Codecademy’s pricing structure, the array of subjects covered, key platform features, user-friendliness, content quality, and more.
Let’s delve into the details!
What is Codecademy?
Let’s begin by briefly examining Codecademy as a company. It’s essential to familiarize yourself with some key details about the website and the individuals involved to determine if it suits your needs.
Established in 2011, Codecademy is an online learning platform headquartered in New York, specializing in tech-related subjects, primarily focusing on coding.
While you can commence your learning journey for free, opting for a paid Codecademy Pro plan provides access to additional content, portfolio-ready projects, and certifications.
Codecademy offers courses in 14 diverse programming languages, allowing you to progress at your own pace. Notably, you can acquire skills in popular languages such as Python or JavaScript, both highly sought after in the job market.
Codecademy pros and cons (Quick summary)
Here’s a brief overview of the advantages and disadvantages associated with learning on Codecademy:
Pros of Codecademy 👍
- Numerous complimentary courses are available.
- Easily initiated through your browser, eliminating the need for software installation and setup on your computer.
- Engage in practical lessons – begin coding immediately and learn through hands-on experience rather than passive video viewing.
- The professional membership is reasonably priced compared to other paid platforms and courses.
- Beginner-friendly sorting quiz to identify your strengths and discover recommended courses tailored to your needs.
Cons of Codecademy 👎
- Courses do not offer an advanced search feature with filters.
- Free resources lack comprehensive content.
- Access is limited to online platforms only.
- Pricing is based on subscriptions, without the option for lifetime access.
What Can You Learn On Codecademy?
Codecademy provides an extensive array of courses that span various domains, encompassing programming languages such as JavaScript and more advanced topics like data science and mobile development. The current assortment of courses covers 15 prominent markup and programming languages, including HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL, Bash/Shell, Ruby, C++, R, C#, PHP, Go, Swift, and Kotlin.
The current curriculum addresses the following subjects:
- Web Development
- Web Design
- Data Science
- Computer Science
- Developer Tools
- Machine Learning
- Code Foundations
- Game Development
- Mobile Development
- Data Visualization
- Interview Prep
- Cybersecurity
For a comprehensive overview, you can explore the complete course catalog here.
How Codecademy Works: Key Features
Every coding course platform varies slightly, and it’s important to explore and acquaint yourself with specific features on Codecademy. Here are some notable aspects to consider:
Sorting Quiz
The brief Sorting Quiz efficiently identifies your strengths, guiding you towards the most fitting skills for acquisition. Respond to a few straightforward questions, and the outcomes will reveal tailored learning routes and resources aligned with your objectives and interests
Learning Paths
Codecademy Pro grants access to a range of organized skill and career paths, featuring a carefully crafted curriculum comprised of specific courses and essential skills that prepare you for employment.
Presently, there are 8 career paths available:
- Data Scientist Path
- Data Analyst Path
- Computer Science Path
- Code Foundations Path
- Full-Stack Engineer Path
- Front-End Engineer Path
- Back-End Engineer Path
- Web Development Path (legacy path)
Quizzes
Quizzes, a feature integrated into the Pro version, provide a convenient method for monitoring your advancement and assessing your abilities.
Blog Articles
The Codecademy blog is an excellent resource for delving deeper into the basics of programming and technology in general.
Supportive Community
You have the opportunity to seek assistance, receive feedback for your projects, and engage with fellow students through the Codecademy Forums. Additionally, you can explore career-related queries, peruse success stories, and collaborate on project ideas with others in this space.
Free Cheat Sheets
Utilize the extensive collection of complimentary cheat sheets as your primary resource for mastering the basics of any skill you’re acquiring. Whether for offline study, print them out, or access them online while progressing through your course materials.
Ease Of Use: Is Codecademy Good For Beginners?
If you’re a beginner in coding, figuring out where to begin can be challenging. Finding a learning platform that allows you to start coding almost immediately is crucial. Unlike many courses and tutorials that require setting up and configuring your coding environment, front-end languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript exempt you from this process.
However, if you’ve delved into languages such as Python, Ruby, or PHP, you’re familiar with the time-consuming tasks of installing software, configuring compilers, and getting your server operational, which can take hours.
Fortunately, Codecademy simplifies this process. All their lessons are accessible through a web browser, eliminating the need to install or set up anything on your computer. With just a web browser, you’re ready to start coding.
Codecademy is particularly suitable for complete beginners. You can quickly create a free account and begin coding within 2 minutes. In summary, Codecademy is an ideal choice if:
- You’ve never attempted a coding tutorial before.
- You seek an uncomplicated learning experience.
- You want to start learning for free.
If coding resonates with you, you can address the technical setup later. Now, let’s explore the Codecademy course catalog.
The catalog is user-friendly, allowing you to sort courses by languages and subjects. Each language provides a brief introduction, reasons to learn it, and an overview featuring:
- Recommended courses
- Featured resources
- Beginner-friendly and intermediate courses
When you click on a specific course for more details, the course homepage is clear, presenting:
- Benefits of learning the tool
- Key take-away skills
- Estimated time to finish the course
- Projects you’ll create
For coding newcomers, this organized layout provides clarity about what to expect. However, an advanced search with filtering options, such as the ability to view only free courses, is currently unavailable.
Codecademy Content Quality
If you are committed to acquiring coding skills, it’s crucial to seek out a course that delivers high-quality content. This is particularly important for individuals entering the tech field for the first time; you need content that is both comprehensible for beginners and challenging enough to maintain your interest.
Codecademy excels in providing its students with current and relevant course material.
However, not all of their content is accessible without cost. While there are numerous free courses for certain programming languages, a few languages have restricted free offerings.
For instance, you can access Python 2 courses for free, but the Python 3 course is exclusive to Codecademy Pro members.
This leads us to the question: “Is subscribing to Codecademy Pro a worthwhile investment?”
Let’s delve into the pricing details next.
Codecademy Pricing
Codecademy offers a subscription-based platform featuring three pricing plans.
The Free Basic plan offers a 100% complimentary experience. Sign up takes only seconds, granting you immediate access to interactive introductory lessons.
Codecademy Pro Lite is a subscription service with a fee, designed to assist you in acquiring new skills for either professional endeavors or personal projects. The subscription offers two billing options.
- The monthly payment is $34.99,
- While opting for an annual payment amounts to $209.88, equivalent to $17.49 per month. This annual plan saves you $210 compared to the cost of 12 months under the monthly billing cycle.
Codecademy Pro is a subscription service with a fee that assists you in acquiring the skills and expertise necessary to secure a job in the field of technology. You have the flexibility to select from two different payment plans.
- The monthly subscription is $49.99
- When paid on a monthly basis. However, if you choose to pay annually, the total cost is $299.88, which is equivalent to $24.99 per month. This annual payment option provides a savings of $300 compared to the total cost of 12 months with the monthly billing cycle.
Attention students: If you are currently enrolled as a student, you may qualify for a 50% discount on Pro plans. Click here to find additional information.
What’s The Difference Between Codecademy Basic, Pro Lite, And Pro?
Both the Pro Lite and Pro memberships encompass all the elements found in the Basic package, with additional content and features such as real-world projects, guided paths, and skill assessments to evaluate your proficiency.
Opt for Pro Lite if you aim to acquire or enhance a specific skill, as it grants access to all courses and most skill paths.
Choose the Pro membership if you intend to kickstart or advance your career, as it encompasses everything available in Pro Lite along with career paths and skill paths tailored for interview preparation.
Are Codecademy Pro Lite And Pro Worth it?
Should you delve into a Pro plan investment? Is opting for Codecademy Pro truly worthwhile?
You might be pondering the precise distinctions between the complimentary and premium subscriptions. While the free tutorials serve as an excellent introduction, they lack in-depth coverage and fail to guide you on applying acquired knowledge to your coding endeavors. This could leave you completing numerous lessons but unsure of your next steps.
Pro Lite and Pro memberships, on the other hand, provide a more immersive, hands-on learning experience. Before committing to a Codecademy Pro Lite or Pro plan, consider the following:
Pro plans extend beyond merely unlocking additional content and tutorials. The real value lies in the opportunities to practically apply your skills to real-world projects, enabling you to create something meaningful.
Pro enables you to construct projects that can be seamlessly added to your developer portfolio, furnishing you with tangible work samples to present to potential employers during job applications.
The curated Career Paths and Skill Paths empower you to establish a clear objective, guiding you through learning essential skills step by step. This ensures you always know what to focus on next, a significant advantage in self-teaching the most pertinent skills for your desired career.
For those new to coding, starting with free resources is recommended to grasp the basics. However, if you’re motivated to delve deeper and embark on a tech career, investing in paid resources is worth considering. They generally provide a more comprehensive learning experience, featuring carefully curated content, hands-on projects ready for your portfolio, and enhanced support.
Attempting Codecademy Pro with a 7-day free trial is a prudent approach. This allows you to evaluate the platform before deciding whether to upgrade.
Learning Experience
Whether you decide to opt for a Pro plan or not, I’d like to guide you through the overall learning journey on Codecademy. Keep in mind that the perspective I’m sharing is personal, and individual preferences may vary. What suits me might not necessarily be the ideal choice for you, and vice versa. So, take my insights with a pinch of salt.
One aspect I appreciate about Codecademy is the minimal entry barrier to commence learning. Within a minute of signing up, you can choose a course and dive straight into the learning process.
The interactive learning interface is user-friendly, offering a straightforward experience. Here’s an overview of what you’ll encounter during your lessons:
The screen is divided into three sections:
- On the left, you’ll find the “theory” component of your lesson. Begin by going through this section.
- In the middle, there’s a simple text editor where you input your code.
- On the right, you can observe the output of your code when you execute it.
This setup allows you to start coding immediately. Even if you’re a novice, don’t fret. The introductory text on the left side covers the fundamentals and directs you to useful resources if you have any queries.
Once you’ve entered your code, clicking “Run” at the bottom of the code editor enables you to check if it’s correct. The output appears on the right, accompanied by helpful tips for resolving any errors.
I find this all-in-one interface advantageous, eliminating the need to switch between various references and sources. Your course progress is conveniently tracked on your account page. Here, you can view all the courses you’ve initiated and continue learning from where you last left off.
Overall, the learning experience is seamless and beginner-friendly. However, I’ve observed occasional connectivity issues. The code editor might take some time to load, though I’m uncertain whether this is due to my own connection or if it’s a Codecademy-related problem
Is Codecademy Right For You?
Considering learning tech skills but unsure if Codecademy is the right choice for you?
Here are some examples of individuals who would benefit from the platform:
- Absolute beginners: Codecademy offers free lessons covering all the basics for those with no prior tech knowledge.
- Individuals with some coding experience in the past.
- Those who prefer hands-on exercises over tutorial videos for effective learning.
- People who value independent, self-paced learning.
- Anyone seeking a structured and easy-to-follow learning path.
Given that you can commence learning for free, there’s really nothing to lose. If you’re new to coding, you might want to compare Codecademy with another platform and choose the one that suits you best.
Codecademy Alternatives
Here are several alternatives to Codecademy that are popular:
- Team Treehouse: For those who prefer learning through video lectures, consider Team Treehouse. Similar to Codecademy, they provide subscription-based courses in technology and design, ranging from $25 to $49 per month.
- Udemy: Unlike Codecademy, Udemy offers standalone courses taught by individual instructors. You can explore a wide range of subjects on Udemy, but it’s essential to pay attention to the quality of content, as indicated by ratings and reviews from previous students.
- Pluralsight: With a single subscription at $29 per month, Pluralsight offers access to over 6,000 tech-focused courses. If you have coding experience, take the Skill IQ test to identify courses that match your skill level.
- Coursera: Coursera provides a broader spectrum of topics and courses compared to Codecademy. Instructors hail from leading universities worldwide, delivering a more academic learning experience. A subscription, priced at $59 per month or $399 per year, grants you full access to their 3,000+ courses, hands-on projects, and certificate programs.
Summing It Up: Is Codecademy Right For You?
If you’re a beginner in coding, figuring out where to begin your learning journey can be challenging. There’s a plethora of platforms and courses to choose from, each with its unique approach.
Ultimately, the key is to find a learning platform that aligns with your preferred learning style. If you enjoy self-paced learning and prefer text-based tutorials, Codecademy might be the perfect fit for you. On the other hand, if you learn better through video tutorials, alternatives like Udemy or Team Treehouse may be more suitable.
While Codecademy offers excellent introductory programming courses, it’s advisable to supplement them with additional resources as your skills advance.
This review aims to provide helpful insights into Codecademy. If you haven’t explored Codecademy yet, consider giving it a try to determine if it suits your learning preferences.
Ready to begin? Sign up for Codecademy here – it’s free. Start with the HTML intro course, for instance, and don’t forget to explore the free trial of Codecademy Pro!
Enjoy coding!
– CODEICAL