Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp — Which is Better?

Did you know that in the USA, coders earn an average of $88,479? Salaries in coding and programming can go as high as $132,012, and the lowest salary, as per zip recruiter, is $27,633.

If you want to start your journey in coding or programming, too, you’ll most probably end up confused between Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp. 

However, I have used both these platforms to learn coding and programming online and have combed thousands of reviews to help you make the right choice. 

I will break down every factor I witnessed and point out how to best use these platforms. Let us dive right into it!

Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp – Quick Comparison

Before we check the details, here is a quick look at some basic features you must consider before deciding which platform is better for you.

Features	Codecademy	freeCodeCamp
Starting Price	$14.99 (Individual plan)	Free
Free Trial	7-day	Free Platform
Courses offered on	Hardware and software	Web & software development
Overall Rating on	3.5/5	3/5
Average Time per Course	3 – 4 hours	300 hours
Free Sign-up	✅	✅
Mobile App	✅	Coming soon
Account Personalization	✅	❌

Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp: Overview

Codecademy and freeCodeCamp are great platforms for people looking to build careers in programming or coding. But which platform is better for you? 

Let’s determine that by first understanding what precisely these platforms are. 

Codecademy Overview

Founded in 2011, Codecademy’s mission is to help everyone with the right tools and resources to code via its online learning platform.

Codecademy offers many free and paid courses on its platform to help its learners develop modern technical skills.

This platform is heaven for a beginner as it uses fun and interactive teaching methods to teach basic concepts. I recommend this platform mainly for novices, but advanced-level learners can also use it to refresh their memories of the basics.

freeCodeCamp Overview

freeCodeCamp was founded in 2014 to help learners get into tech careers using free online learning resources. It is a charity organization that runs on the contributions made to it by its users and teachers.

Apart from being free, what I like about freeCodeCamp is that it has a very passionate community on LinkedIn with over 68k alumni.

I recommend this platform for intermediate and advanced-level learners. They also have a great YouTube page where they actively upload video lessons, discussions, and interviews, which I found very enlightening. Here is an example video lesson –

Pros & Cons Of Codecademy And freeCodeCamp 

Both platforms have their pros and a few cons that can easily be fixed, so let us have a look at them.

Codecademy Pros And Cons

There are many pros to learning on Codecademy, just as there are some cons –

freeCodeCamp Pros And Cons

The pros and cons of freeCodeCamp are-

Codecademy vs FreeCodeCamp: Comparison Factors

Now that you have basic information on Codecademy and freeCodeCamp, let us get into the nitty-gritty.

I will give scores for each factor mentioned below for both platforms, and in the end, we will have a final evaluation that will help you determine which platform is better. 

You can also use individual comparison factors to decide(if that factor is the most important to you).

Codecademy vs FreeCodeCamp: Best For Whom?

Who Is Codecademy for?

As I mentioned earlier, Codecademy is the best option for novices. Many courses on this platform require no prior knowledge and are taught from the perspective of a first-time learner. Making it the best fit for anyone starting their journey as a coder or programmer.

Who Is freeCodeCamp for?

freeCodeCamp is the best option for anyone looking to gain knowledge for free. That being said you will have to research many terms and tools as this platform assumes that you have some prior knowledge on programming.

Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp – Who has better Tutors? 

I took a few free courses on Codecademy and introductory courses on freeCodeCamp. My experience and observations about the tutors are as follows- 

Codecademy Course Tutors

Codecademy does not have dedicated tutors. All the courses are in the self-learning model on this platform. 

You can read the course material ( as shown below) or watch the videos if available, and then you can solve the problem presented to you to move forward in the learning process.

freeCodeCamp Course Tutors

Similar to Codecademy, freeCodeCamp offers no instructor guidance. A few lessons on the platform include pre-recorded instructions from the course makers, but this platform is also majorly a self-learning platform.

Learners must read information provided for a particular course, watch videos if available, do their research outside the platform if necessary, and then use freeCodeCamps’s platform to practice or code.

My Rating- 

I like to put knowledge into practice, but the lack of tutors is a big no-no for me. So, I have rated both platforms based only on the instructional self-learning material and deducted a few points for the lack of tutors.

Codecademy	freeCodeCamp
3.5	3

Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp – Course Content

This was a challenging factor to rate and evaluate as both platforms have high-quality courses.

Codecademy Course Content

As of 2024, Codecademy offers free courses in 12 different programming languages like Python, Go, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, C++, C#, Swift, and markup languages HTML and CSS.

Codecademy offers three ways of learning, namely –

1. Career Paths- to learn all the skills required to start your new tech-related career.
2. Skill paths- learn all concepts to hone a particular skill.
3. Individual courses– gain knowledge on a specific concept.

There are 491 courses on Codecademy, 344 of which are free and 147 of which are paid. Choosing from all these options can be daunting for a novice, but do not worry. Codecademy will create a personalized learning track curated just for you.

Codecademy, unlike freeCodeCamp, helps learners create a personalized learning track by answering a few questions in a quiz format.

freeCodeCamp Course Content

freeCodeCamp offers 10,700+ tutorials for learners to choose from. Their course content is focused on teaching learners web and mobile app development, AI, data science, and coding. 

What I really liked about freeCodeCamp is that they offer course content through various formats, such as open-source curriculum on their website, free tutorials, and YouTube courses.

Currently, there are 12 courses available on their website in the core curriculum of freeCodeCamp. 10 are shown in the image below.

NOTE- You should take these courses in this particular order as this helps with gradual learning.

Two additional certificate courses freeCodeCamp offers are the A2 level English for developers course and the professional C# programming Microsoft Certification.

Most of the video course content is uploaded to freeCodeCamp’s YouTube channel. While learning on freeCodeCamp, I used most of their YouTube videos to acquaint myself with basic terminologies and resolve the problem of lack of tutor instructions.

My Rating-

Codecademy and freeCodeCamp offer excellent, high-quality learning material. However, the lack of structure on freeCodeCamp is confusing and not user-friendly.

Codecademy	freeCodeCamp
4.5	4

Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp- Certifications

Codecademy and freeCodeCamp both offer certificate courses, but neither platform’s certificates are accredited. This means that these are merely course completion certificates that mark that you have completed the course from start to end.

Codecademy Certificates

First, I would like to address how stylish the Codecademy certificates look! I really like their offbeat design, which got me excited to finish the course and get one.

Second, you must pay to get a course certificate on Codecademy. This platform does not offer free certificates. To get a course completion certificate, you must get the Plus or Pro subscription.

freeCodeCamp Certificates

On the contrary, you can get all the certificates on freeCodeCamp for free if you finish your course successfully, build 5 projects, and pass all the tests to get a verified certificate from freeCodeCamp.

The Certificate offered by freeCodeCamp has a simple, classic design, and I have no complaints. It is free, and that is all that matters to me.

It takes approximately 300 hours to finish a course and earn a certificate on freeCodeCamp (or even more if you’re a complete newbie). But do not let this discourage you. It only guarantees that you will hone your skills after taking a course on this platform.

Additionally, after putting so much effort into your course and project, the feeling of achievement upon receiving the certificate will be worth it!

A noteworthy certificate course on freeCodeCamps platforms is the Certificate course for Developers who do not speak English. This is helpful as many codes are written in English, this course will help bridge the gap for coders who do not speak the language. 

My Rating- 

Design-wise, I like the Codecademy certificate better. Codecademy certificates are easier to achieve than freeCodeCamp certificates, but the sense of achievement is much greater when you earn a certificate from freeCodeCamp.

Codecademy	freeCodeCamp
4	3

Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp- Pricing & Subscription

Now, let us move to the most crucial factor, which is — Pricing, which can be a deciding factor for you while going for either of these two platforms.

Codecademy Pricing

Codecademy has three subscription options, as shown in the table below. What’s more it offers promo code which helps you save upto 50% Off on all plans. Find all the details of inclusion and exclusion in an easy-to-compare table made for your convenience.

Features	Free plan	Plus plan	Pro plan
Monthly Plan	❌	$29.99	$39.99
Annual Plan	❌	$179.88	$239.88
Free Trial	❌	✅	✅
Certificates	❌	✅	✅
Best for	Self- Learning	Skill development	Career Building
Access on the mobile app	❌	✅	✅
All courses	❌	✅	✅
Code explanation	❌	✅	✅
Error Explanation	❌	✅	✅
Interview Simulator	❌	✅	✅
Job-readiness checker	❌	❌	✅
Career Path	❌	❌	✅

NOTE- You get 35% off the regular price on Codecademy if you have a student ID.

Apart from the above individual plans, business owners can use Codecademy’s curated plans for larger teams. Find all the details for CodeCademy for Bussiness here.

freeCodeCamp Pricing

freeCodeCamp is a charitable organization that runs this platform for free!

My Rating- 

Codecademy is expensive. Meanwhile, freeCodeCamp is free, making it a clear winner.

Codecademy	freeCodeCamp
4	5

Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp- The Final Score

Based on all the rating factors mentioned above, the final scores are as follows-

My rating Criteria	Codecademy	freeCodeCamp
Best for	Coding for beginners	In-depth learning related to Programming
Tutors	3.5	3
Content	4.5	4
Certificates	4	3
Pricing	4	5
Total Score	16	15

FreeCodeCamp was very confusing to use for a beginner like me. If you decide to go with it, ensure to learn your basics first from other sources. If you are a novice, take Codecademy’s introductory and interactive courses.

Top Courses Recommendations For Codecademy And freeCodeCamp

Here are my top 5 recommendations from each platform.

Top 5 Course Recommendations: Codecademy 

Let us have a look at the most popular free courses on Codecademy’s platform. I recommend these free courses to try the platform and check whether you like its teaching style before getting the subscription.

1. Learn Python 3

This course introduces fundamental programming concepts and the latest version of Python programming language syntax. The Python 3 course is divided into 13 easy-to-understand modules.

2. Learn HTML

Take this free, beginner-friendly HTML course. It is a good starting point for your coding journey. Disclaimer! Although it is a short seven-hour course, since I am a complete newbie, it took me over seven hours to finish.

3. Learn JavaScript

The JavaScript course is free, but you can get the course completion certificate by subscribing to the Plus or Pro plans. This beginner-friendly course will teach you to implement JavaScript data types, built-in methods, and variables.

4. Learn Java

The Java course is another free course. If you pay for it, you can earn a certificate. This course is divided into 16 modules, comprising 14 projects and 15 quizzes. I recommend you take this course since Java is a popular programming language.

5. Learn SQL

Learn to merge datasets using SQL in the free beginner-frienddly SQL course. SQL is a standard data management language that will help you learn bigger coding and programming concepts later.

NOTE– If you want more details on Codecademy, read a detailed, dedicated review here.

Top 5 Course Recommendations: freeCodeCamp

If you want to earn certification without paying a cent, take the courses recommended below-

1. Responsive Web Design

The Responsive Web Design course is the most recommended course on various blogs I read on freeCodeCamp. This course is also the starting point for novices’ programming journeys. In this course, you will learn HTML for content and CSS for design.

2. Front End Development Libraries

Before taking the Front End Development course, another popular freeCodeCamp offering, you must know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. By the end of this course, you will be able to style your site and build a shopping cart.

3. Back End Development and APIs

Once you finish this course, you can build entire web applications. You will also learn to write back-end apps using Node.js and NPM. Make sure you know how to use Gitpod to practice on and create required projects for the Backend Development and APIs certification course.

4. Scientific Computing with Python (Beta)

The Scientific Computing with Python course of freeCodeCamp is a beta course constantly being upgraded and developed for learners. This course will give you comprehensive knowledge of the fundamentals of scientific computing, including data structures and algorithms.

5. Data Analysis with Python

This course requires proficiency in using Gitpod. It is one of the few courses available in video format and was created by Santiago Basulto, who helps you learn the whole data analysis process. Additionally, you will be taught how to use Jupyter Notebook. To get a certificate for this course, learners must finish five projects.

User Testimonials- Codecademy vs freeCodeCamp

Let us now check what other users say about Codecademy and freeCodeCamp, respectively.

Codecademy Testimonials

As shown in the image above, Codecademy’s overall rating on TrustPilot is 3.5. Let’s examine what users have to say about their experience using Codecademy.

freeCodeCamp Testimonials

As you can see, the rating on TrustPilot for freeCodeCamp is lower than that for Codecademy, which contrasts with the result in this review. The only reason for this could be that the reviews for freeCodeCamp are much fewer and older than those for Codecademy. 

However, here is what a few users had to say about freeCodeCamp on Trustpilot.

Related Reads:

• Datacamp Review
• DataCamp vs Codecademy

Wrapping Up: Codecademy Is Our Clear Winner

Even though freeCodeCamp is free and offers comprehensive knowledge, it can be confusing for a novice to learn on this platform. For optimum learning, I recommended that a novice use both platforms. I used Codecademy to learn basic terminology and freeCodeCamp to test my knowledge.

But, if you are an intermediate or advanced-level learner, you may use freeCodeCamp directly. Please remember that your experience may differ from mine, so do not hesitate to try the platforms out for yourself.

If you do not want to waste time figuring out both options, go for Codecademy and make your learning process easier. Sign up for free on Codecademy and begin your learning experience today!

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