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How To Learn Code Online
Top 27 Websites to Learn to Code for Free
Learning to code will always offer a variety of benefits. For webmasters, having some basic programming skills can make website management significantly easier. Moreover, it can make you less reliant on developers to build and run projects, reducing costs in the long run.
For job seekers and career switchers, coding can open up doors to various programming professions, many of which are in high demand.
These days, learning to code can be very affordable. Tons of free resources are available, whether you want to master a new programming language or start a code-based project.
To help you choose where to learn to code, we’ve compiled a list of the top 27 free online coding courses and resources in this guide.
- 1. BitDegree
- 2. Codecademy
- 3. Coursera
- 4. edX
- 5. Khan Academy
- 6. Code.org
- 7. Codewars
- 8. Udemy
- 9. Dash by General Assembly
- 10. freeCodeCamp
- 11. Code Conquest
- 12. MIT OpenCourseWare
- 13. The Odin Project
- 14. W3Schools
- 15. Hackr.io
- 16. Bento
- 17. Code Avengers
- 18. Sololearn
- 19. Learn by Google Developers
- 20. Upskill
- 21. Pluralsight
- 22. Codeasy
- 23. aGupieWare
- 24. Edabit
- 25. Envato Tuts+
- 26. MDN Web Docs
- 27. Django Girls Tutorial
1. BitDegree
BitDegree is a great place to learn to code for free. This online learning platform has courses on various programming languages, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, jQuery, and Ruby on Rails.
Moreover, there are coding classes for subjects like game development and data science. Some even come with certifications, which can be helpful when looking for a new job.
To get started, simply sign up with an email address and password, and pick one of the available free courses.
Generally, there are two types of online courses to choose from. The first is designed by BitDegree itself and usually comes in an interactive format. There will be a screen with a code editor, allowing students to test the scripts right away.
The other type is composed of standard video lessons developed by experts in the industry. Some may include quizzes, open-ended questions, or exercises to create a more engaging learning experience.
What’s excellent about BitDegree is that it uses a token system to reward students every time they complete a session. They can use these tokens to get a discount for paid coding classes or fund upcoming courses in the Community Votes section.
Other than that, students can check out the Code Playground page to submit their work or check others’ for inspiration.
2. Codecademy
Codecademy is one of the best sites to learn coding. Like BitDegree, it offers free and paid courses on a wide range of programming subjects. Students can choose their class based on the language they want to master or their desired career path.
If you’re unsure where to begin, Codecademy has a sorting quiz to determine what programming job is best for you and which course to start with.
The free coding classes mainly cover introductory lessons, though there are several intermediate ones as well.
Besides essentials like HTML and CSS, Codecademy also features specific programming languages, such as Go and Swift. These are used to make Google and Apple applications, respectively.
The learning experience is quite hands-on. Each course features a set of explanations and instructions, along with a code editor for students to practice their knowledge.
Should you get stuck on the instructions, use the hint provided. The community forums are also accessible within the lesson if you need more information.
Note that Codecademy doesn’t offer certificates for its free courses as BitDegree does. To get them, consider purchasing the Pro plan, which costs $19.99/month. College students can enjoy a 35% discount.
3. Coursera
Coursera is a leading online learning platform. Partnering with top universities and companies, it offers high-quality courses for in-demand skills – including programming.
The subject library is vast, starting from computer science, web development, data analytics to machine learning.
Many of the classes are free, but you will have to pay around $39 or more to get a certificate and complete specific tasks. The paid courses, on the other hand, usually come with a 7-day free trial.
When signing up, Coursera will have you insert some personal information so that they can tailor the course recommendations to your taste.
The learning process generally uses a mix of video content, reading materials, exercises, quizzes, and participant forums. Students can also set a weekly learning goal to stay motivated.
If you want to learn how to code a website, check out this Introduction to Web Development course from UC Davis. It will explain the basics of how websites work and how to use HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
4. edX
Next on the list is edX. It’s a nonprofit that works with world-class universities, like Harvard and NYU, to provide 3,000+ free online courses.
Like Coursera, the lessons are freely accessible, but getting a certificate and doing tasks for grading requires purchasing the course. The cost is between $50 and $300.
The free coding classes are mostly available in the Computer Science category.
There are introductory coding lessons on languages like HTML, JavaScript, SQL, C, C++, and Python. Alternatively, pick subject-specific programming courses, such as website building, mobile app development, data structures, or software engineering.
Aside from videos, the courses usually include readings, exercises, and forums to make the learning experience more interactive. Students who enroll in the free track will have access to these materials until the specified expiration date.
5. Khan Academy
Another non-profit company, Khan Academy, offers excellent beginner-friendly resources to learn to code for free.
The topics are mainly basic computer programming principles, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and SQL. While the collection isn’t as vast as in other platforms, it is sufficient for novice web developers.
Other than that, Khan Academy also has a short and interactive program called Hour of Code. There, students can practice coding for animation, building websites, or managing data.
The primary teaching media consists of videos, flashcards, and practices using a code editor. When the instructor has finished explaining, the participant can practice their newfound knowledge by completing the challenges in the section.
6. Code.org
Code.org is a non-profit company that aims to make programming a part of the mainstream education curriculum.
While the course catalog is primarily for K-12 school students, we find them suitable for beginners of any age. The teaching method mainly uses a block system where users can drag and drop code to the editing interface, which can be less overwhelming for newcomers.
We recommend starting with the grade 6-12 category as they come with introductory programming lessons.
Like Khan Academy, Code.org also has an Hour of Code – quick coding tutorials for building websites, apps, and games.
7. Codewars
Codewars is one of the most popular coding websites among developers. Run by a tech assessment company, this platform offers code challenges called kata to sharpen your programming skills.
What makes Codewars unique is its community engagement. Participants can see how they rank against other members, check what their peers’ answers look like, and create their own kata for others to try.
Moreover, participants can join discussions on GitHub or Discord platforms for live interaction.
To get started, users need to choose a language. Then Codewars will present them with a challenge to prove their skills and determine the difficulty level of their first challenge. As you progress through each kata, the assignments will get tougher.
Some programming languages you can learn are JavaScript, PHP, Java, C#, Python, Ruby, and SQL.
8. Udemy
Udemy is an online education portal with 130,000+ online courses. While most of them are paid, there are tons of free options as well.
The development category alone has 2,000+ classes, including programming languages, game development, data science, WordPress theme development, and more. Feel free to filter the options by duration, subtitles, course features, or subcategories.
With so many choices, it’s best to start with courses that have a high star rating and plenty of reviews. Also, check the instructor’s credentials and the number of students to see their reputability.
Note that with free online courses, you will only be able to watch the video content. Getting a certificate or interacting directly with the instructor won’t be possible.
9. Dash by General Assembly
Dash is a website developed by General Assembly, a coding bootcamp and digital learning platform. With this site, users can learn to code for free by creating basic online projects on their web browser.
No need for any programming experience to get started. Simply sign up with an email address and pick your first project – making a personal website. Each assignment will walk you through the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
As with previous platforms, Dash comes with a code editor for students to try the tutorials. Next to it is the front-end interface where they can see how their site looks in real-time.
To get assistance, feel free to join their Facebook group and ask questions in their feed.
10. freeCodeCamp
With a 3,000-hour curriculum and 40,000+ graduates, freeCodeCamp is one of the most trusted platforms to learn to code for free. Its alumni have secured jobs at distinguished companies like Google, Apple, and Spotify.
After signing up, users will see a set of courses, ordered from a beginner to advanced level. That way, they can begin their coding lessons right away instead of spending hours looking for a suitable class to start with.
Furthermore, students will get a free certification after completing a course.
Another standout feature is that the freeCodeCamp learning and code editing interface is responsive, so you can learn how to code from a mobile device.
After finishing all the available modules, consider giving the challenges a try to hone your coding skills.
Should you require assistance, there’s a community forum to discuss assignments and ask for feedback from fellow learners.
11. Code Conquest
If you’re looking to start a coding career without any programming experience, Code Conquest can point you in the right direction.
This free online guide offers various resources to become a professional coder. Everything from how to master a new programming language, starting a project, and finding a coding mentor.
Aside from that, there are basic programming tutorials for languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails, SQL, Swift, and jQuery. Make sure to try their coding quizzes to test your knowledge.
Code Conquest also publishes coding training reviews and recommendations should you need more resources to advance your studies.
12. MIT OpenCourseWare
The OpenCourseWare Initiative allows free access to MIT’s undergraduate and graduate courses, including the ones from the computer science program.
Novices can start with the Introductory Programming Courses. There, they can learn fundamental theories to develop programming skills, like computational thinking, and basics to languages like Java, Python, C, and C++.
The learning materials come in video lectures, online textbooks, assignments, exams, and self-assessments. However, OpenCourseWare doesn’t offer certifications or degrees.
13. The Odin Project
When you’re trying to learn how to code for free, choosing the right course or tutorial may be confusing.
The Odin Project solves this guesswork by collecting all free online resources and creating a beginner-friendly curriculum based on them. It’s organized to make participants employable as developers by the end of the program.
Complete beginners can start with the Foundations coding course, which will walk you through setting up a development environment and learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
From there, they can take the full-stack Ruby on Rails or JavaScript course. Both paths include a section on how to get hired as developers, covering topics like finding the right opportunity and succeeding in interviews.
Most sections include several assignments to practice the learning materials. Students can submit them to the website to show off their work and provide pointers for new members.
Should you need assistance, the platform has a Discord community where students can ask questions and connect with other learners in chat rooms.
14. W3Schools
As the largest web developer site on the market, W3Schools come equipped with coding tutorials, quizzes, and practices to help those learning to code.
Covering everything from HTML to Python, it’s also a useful reference resource for developers to build their projects.
What’s great about W3Schools is the website has a built-in Google Translate function. That way, non-English speakers can learn to code using their native language.
Start by choosing the programming language to learn and read the introductory materials. This website also has a code editor to test the references and see what they look like on the user’s end.
Alternatively, take the quizzes and exercises to determine your knowledge level and decide which topic to learn next.
15. Hackr.io
With so many programming courses and coding tutorials on the market, you may not know which ones are most worth it. Hackr.io solves this problem by featuring only the best resources voted by the developer community.
To begin, enter the programming language you want to learn on the search engine and select it. The page will show a list of the most popular and trending courses.
Using the filtering tool, make sure to pick only free courses. Aside from that, it’s possible to narrow down the results by skill level, medium, subcategory, and exercise type.
Each course recommendation comes with testimonials from fellow members, which can help with your decision.
Other than that, we suggest checking out the Hackr.io Roadmaps, which are community-recommended learning paths for becoming developers or designers. Their blog is also full of tutorials on how to learn coding.
16. Bento
Bento is another website that curates free coding classes and tutorials and turns them into easy-to-follow curriculums. The founder believes that everyone should be able to learn to code no matter their background.
Users can choose a learning track for mastering a programming language or subject. Each one comes with beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level tutorials. That way, they can start learning to code as a complete beginner and finish the track like a pro.
The coding languages covered are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, and Python. Additionally, there are courses on using Sublime Text, GitHub, and Shell to help navigate the command line.
Once finished with a track, members can check out the Related Topics section to continue their studies.
17. Code Avengers
Code Avengers is a primarily paid platform, but it also offers free courses for learning to code. They mostly come in the form of quick and interactive tutorials for practicing programming languages and concepts.
Upon signing up, choose between the Junior and Create programs. The first one is mainly for children aged from five to 14. Here, the free coding classes revolve around the basics of programming, computational thinking, and data representation.
On the other hand, the Create path is for beginners of 15 years or older. It includes free demonstrative lessons for using JavaScript, Python, HTML, and CSS.
To maximize your learning experience at Code Avengers, consider investing in the paid version, which costs $29/month. It comes with unlimited access to all 500+ tutorials and guided assignments.
There is also a 10-day free trial, and users don’t have to enter their credit card information beforehand.
18. Sololearn
If you want to learn how to code at your own pace, Sololearn is one of the best platforms to do so. This website has helped 44 million+ users start a career in web development, data science, and machine learning.
Sololearn uses bite-sized learning, where each section only centers on one topic rather than tackling multiple subjects. This format makes for a much more digestible studying experience, especially for beginners. The quizzes and practices also help retain users’ knowledge.
Other than that, learners can save the code from previous lessons to review them further.
Members can use the discussion forums to ask questions and connect with fellow students. Or, head over to the Code Playground page to share the latest project and have people collaborate on it.
The website comes in a mobile app, so you can learn to code wherever you like.
After finishing a course, users can earn a certificate to increase their employability.
Sololearn is free, but users can upgrade to the Pro version to remove ads and access more practices to sharpen their coding skills. The price is $5.83/month on an annual subscription and comes with a 14-day free trial.
19. Learn by Google Developers
Developed by Google, this platform is for intermediate and advanced developers who want to grow their coding knowledge and skills. It can also help users build applications or improve their web projects using Google’s technology.
Some example topics you can learn are adding Google Maps to a web app, enabling push notifications, building chatbots, and using Accelerated Mobile Pages. There are also resources for using Google tools like Firebase, Flutter, and TensorFlow.
There are three modes of learning – Codelabs, Pathways, and Topics.
Codelabs are a collection of coding tutorials and exercises, whereas Pathways are structured learning tracks to help users achieve a particular objective. To read more about a specific subject in the Google Developers world, choose Topics.
Learn by Google also makes it possible to pause a material and continue the learning process later. That way, users can complete a Codelab or Pathway at their own pace.
20. Upskill
Upskill is a freemium coding bootcamp known for its beginner-friendly video lectures. It aims to make complex programming concepts much easier to understand by using jargon-less and straightforward language.
It has 200+ free video content and exercises on web development basics and using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The platform regularly adds new materials to the site.
If you want to get more project-based tutorials, Upskill has a Pro membership plan costing $19/month. Students can also learn about WordPress theme development and the React framework with this subscription. A 30-day money-back guarantee is available.
21. Pluralsight
Pluralsight is similar to Code Avengers – it’s a primarily premium platform that offers free programming courses and tutorials.
With a free account, members can access five weekly courses on various tech skills and introductory software development lessons. The subjects covered include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Angular, C#, C++, and Vue.
Moreover, users can assess their programming knowledge using the Role IQ and Skill IQ features. The first one will test your abilities according to your developer job, while the other will determine whether you’re a novice or an expert in a particular skill.
To access more learning materials, Pluralsight provides paid plans starting from $299/year.
22. Codeasy
If you want to learn how to code using C#, check out Codeasy. This website is designed for those with no programming experience, using an adventure story about saving the world from a machine invasion.
Each chapter will teach the fundamentals of C#, which you will use to navigate through the narrative. If you get confused, use the hint provided or join the Slack channel to communicate with fellow members.
It’s also possible to compare answers with other users to see alternative solutions to the problem.
The Elementary course, which covers the introductory tutorials, is freely accessible. To advance to the Beginner or Intermediate levels, you need to buy tokens called Viruses. They’re also usable for enabling the Solve for Me feature if you’re stuck at a chapter.
23. aGupieWare
aGupieWare offers online resources to learn how to code and master computer science.
To start, check out the Online Learning: A Bachelor’s Level Computer Science Program Curriculum article. This post can guide anyone who wants to learn the subject as if they were in a reputable university, but free of charge.
The curriculum covers introductory and core topics about computer science and programming. There are also ten elective choices should you want to focus on a specialization.
For a complete version, check out the intensive curriculum.
Other than that, aGupieWare has guides on using Python, Swift, Linux, and Angular.
24. Edabit
This free online learning platform uses a hands-on approach to help people learn to code.
Using 10,000+ simple challenges, it encourages students to teach themselves by reading the instructions carefully and testing the code on their own. Some people have also used the platform to prepare for a job interview as a software engineer.
After creating an account, users can pick the programming language they want to learn in their desired difficulty level, ranging from the Very Easy to Expert levels. The languages available are PHP, Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, C#, Ruby on Rails, and Swift.
If they can’t respond to a challenge correctly, they can use the additional resources provided or unlock the solution using points.
Users who want to take their coding skills to the next level can try the Shuffle feature. It will create a random task based on the programming language, difficulty level, and tags they’ve chosen.
25. Envato Tuts+
Envato, the platform behind Theme Forest, offers free guides and courses for those wanting to learn to code.
With 29,000+ tutorials, they cover a vast amount of topics.
The web development category alone has 2700+ articles, providing many references for future projects. Guides for popular coding languages like HTML, JavaScript, CSS, SQL, Python, R, and TypeScript are also available.
On the other hand, the free courses are mainly about WordPress web development, such as creating plugins and learning PHP for WordPress.
To make the most out of Envato Tuts+, consider the $16.50/month subscription to access all 1300+ courses and 120+ eBooks.
26. MDN Web Docs
Run by Mozilla and its contributors, MDN Web Docs is a free online learning platform for aspiring web developers.
For beginners, this documentation offers materials for learning web development, such as how a website works and the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. From there, feel free to explore more about user data management, accessibility, client-side frameworks, and server-side programming.
Those who are ready to build their projects can use the web technology references provided. There’s also a guide to using the Firefox developer tools to inspect and test the web code using the browser.
27. Django Girls Tutorial
Django Girls is a non-profit organization that arranges free, one-day coding workshops. Its website offers a beginner-friendly tutorial to build a blog site, using the command line, Python, Django, HTML, and CSS.
The tutorial comes in multiple languages, so non-English speakers can follow along using the language they’re most comfortable with.
After finishing this material, users can move on to the Extensions tutorial to get more learning resources.
Conclusion
This guide has shown you a list of all the best places to learn to code at zero cost. Make sure to pick the ones that align with your goals and offer the materials you’re looking for.Open document settingsOpen publish panel
