Written by
Janosch Herrmann
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Learning to code is probably the most sought-after skill of recent years. With tons of developers needed to meet the global demand for new & better software, learning how to code is also one of the most valuable skills to learn to get a better salary and live a better live. According to Indeed, the average base salary of a software developer in the U.S. is $118,886!
For the last decade, Codecademy has helped people achieve that goal. But is Codecademy a good way to learn how to code? And what does Codecademy even offer?
Let's find out in this full Codecademy review!
What is Codecademy?
Codecademy is an online learning platform that focuses on teaching you how to code through digestible and interactive online courses. It was founded in 2011 by Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski and has since amassed more than 50 million total learners from 190+ countries. Every month, more than 8 million users visit Codecademy's website to learn how to code.
Let's check out some of the things that make Codecademy unique:
Codecademy projects
Codecademy projects
Code challenges
Codecademy challenges
Codecademy workspace
Codecademy workspace
Codecademy mobile app
Codecademy Go app
Pro & Cons
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Interactive & bite-sized courses | Limited amount of total topics available |
Built-in workspace to start coding quickly | |
Supporting community on Discord & their forum | |
Lots of real-life projects to learn with | |
Affordable yearly plan |
Who is Codecademy for?
Codecademy is meant for anyone that wants to learn how to code. It's great as an addition to a computer science degree, as a way to just freshen up your knowledge of software & coding, or as a way to start your career in programming.
Anyone not looking to learn how to code should rather go with platforms that offer a wider range of courses like Udemy, or platforms that focus on other skills like Skillshare.
Codecademy pricing: How much does Codecademy Pro cost?
Codecademy Pro is the premium subscription Codecademy offers. It'll give you access to:
The full Codecademy course library
The Codecademy Go mobile app
Projects to practice your skills
Step-by-step guidance
Certificates
Codecademy pricing
If you don't want to commit to a full year subscription, try it out for one month and then upgrade to the yearly plan to save money.
Codecademy refund policy
Codecademy currently doesn't offer refunds for Codecademy Pro purchases. There is a 7-day free trial available, though, so you can test if Codecademy Pro is for you, before you purchase it.
Free Codecademy courses
If you don't want to go for a paid Codecademy subscription immediately, you can also sign up for a free account, which will give you access to a couple of basic courses to get you started. Once you know that Codecademy is right for you, you can easily upgrade your account.
Codecademy for businesses
Codecademy also has two plans for businesses that want to upskill their employees. There's Codecademy for Teams & Codecademy for Enterprise.
Codecademy for business
Both of these plans give you access to the Codecademy course library and management features to help you track your team's progress. The Enterprise Plan even gives you the option to customize content to tailor it exactly to your team's needs.
Codecademy business reporting
Codecademy for Teams
Access to the full Codecademy course library
Access to all projects, challenges & quizzes
Simple admin dashboard & reporting features
Price: $240/user/year
Enterprise plan
Everything from Codecademy for Teams, plus:
SSO
Reporting API
Customize the content to fit your needs
Price: Custom
Codecademy for students
Codecademy for students
Learning & Customer support
Codecademy offers quite a lot of ways to receive support when you're stuck, or you just want to talk with someone about coding. They have a Discord group for real-time chat and quick questions, a full-blown forum to ask very technical questions when you're stuck with your course/project and a self-service knowledge base for all questions about your account.
They even have what they call "Codecademy chapters", which are in-person meetups organized by enthusiastic community members. If you happen to live next to one of these, you can actually meet up with other learners in person to get help and to help others.
Lastly, they also have Codecademy Docs, which are well-written roundups of important programming language features, concepts and other things you might want to look up again, when going through a Codecademy course. Overall, I would say that even though you don't get any personal support directly, Codecademy still gives you plenty of options to receive help.
Certification
If you complete a course or skill path on Codecademy, you will receive a certificate of completion, which you can use to showcase your new skills on platforms like LinkedIn. Here's what the certificate looks like:
Codecademy certificate
This certificate is not accredited, so it's not a formal proof of your skills. Still, it might very well help you find your dream job as more and more employers look for more than just university degrees.
Create a Codecademy account
To create a Codecademy account, just enter your email and password and click on "Sign up".
Create a Codecademy account
Popular courses on Codecademy
Learn Python 3
Learn Python 3 course on Codecademy
Learn HTML
Learn HTML course on Codecademy
Learn JavaScript
Learn JavaScript course on Codecademy
Codecademy instructors
Codecademy instructors are hired directly by Codecademy, which means that instructors are vetted and are experts in their respective fields. Since all the content is developed by Codecademy, there's not much public information available about the instructors.
But again: Since Codecademy hires instructors to teach a specific topics, I'm sure that all the instructors know what they are doing!
Summary: Is Codecademy worth it?
Codecademy is definitely worth it, if you like to learn how to code in bite-sized and interactive only courses, and you don't dread the thought of learning on your own. Obviously, you have the option to ask questions in the Codecademy Discord community or their forum, but you will still learn mostly on your own. You will love Codecademy for their:
Broad selection of courses on software development & programming languages
Easy online workspace
Useful mobile app
Supporting community
Codecademy
8.6
Codecademy alternatives
DataCamp
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Dataquest
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365 Data Science
Best for Beginners, Data science enthusiasts, Career changers
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