There are many opportunities to learn how to code for free online. Enrolling in a free online coding course is one of the best ways to begin the career transition into computer programming and coding. Over the course of the past years, coding courses have become immensely popular. Opportunity for employment in computer programming and computer science has continued to grow year after year. A coding course provides you with the knowledge and understanding required for a career in coding.
There are many options for coding courses online, many of which are quite expensive. Signing up for an expensive online coding course can be a lot to ask of someone, especially if you are not fully committed to the career transition. That’s why free online coding courses are a great option for you to test the waters and see if that is a career path that you may be interested in.
Free online coding courses are offered from many reputable sources online. These courses are well made and offer you a way to learn invaluable coding skills. There is no need to plunk down thousands of dollars or promise a part of your future salary in order to learn to code. Below you’ll find a list of some of our favorite free online coding courses.
1. Code.org
Code.org is a great place if you are interested in a free online coding course. A nonprofit, Code.org has offered free coding courses to students in K-12 for years. Code.org has received support from major technology companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Google. Over 71 million students have received training and education through Code.org. Don’t worry, if you are outside of K-12 there are still plenty of free resources offered to you.
There are many different types of resources available at Code.org. If you are short on time you can choose to take part in one of the site’s One of Hour code tutorials. These tutorials offer a bite-sized lesson on a particular aspect of coding. If you are interested in something a bit more intensive, Code.org offers courses focusing on Javascript, HTML, CSS, and many other computer programming languages. You can also tap into the many resources offered to help with career planning and scholarships.
Code.org is a great resource for those looking for an online coding course as well as established coders looking for support in their computer programming and coding career. We highly recommend that you check out their offerings and enroll in a free online coding course offered by Code.org
Summary
- Courses available for K-12 and beyond
- Offers short bite-sized lessons alongside full courses
- Entirely free
- Operated as a nonprofit
- Signing up for an account lets you synchronize your lesson progress
2. Codecadamy
Codecademy offers an extensive line up of free online coding courses as well as some paid courses that are more advanced. If you are someone who wants to expand their coding knowledge, Codecademy offers a robust catalog of different coding curriculums. You can choose from courses in HTML & CSS, Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL, Bash/Shell, Ruby, C++, R, C#, PHP, Go, Swift, and Kotlin. Most of these courses offer a free introductory course.
Topics covered by Codecademy include web development, data science, computer science, developer tools, machine learning, code foundations, web design, and more. Codecademy is home to one of the more extensive catalogs of coursework. One of the best features of Codecademy is its course playlists designed around particular career paths. Whether you’re considering a career as a data scientist, front-end engineer, or full-stack engineer. While Codecademy is a monetized service, there are a number of free courses that you can choose from to get started on the platform.
If you are looking for a free online coding course that has a vast catalog of additional courses, Codecademy is a really great option to consider. Codecademy’s courses are incredibly well produced and can really help with your understanding of a variety of coding languages.
Summary
- Offers a large selection of different coding languages to choose from
- Allows you to continue on into more advanced courses for a fee
- Offers playlists designed for particular career paths
- Trusted by many major technology companies
3. Codeconquest
Another great option if you are a beginner looking for free online coding courses, Codeconquest offers a large selection of online coding courses designed to teach you the fundamentals. Codeconquest offers a variety of different resources for aspiring coders. New users are suggested to start with the What is Coding course. Through this coding course, you will learn the absolute fundamentals of how coding works and the various different coding languages out there. Codeconquest focuses on the more practical elements of being a coder. You can even enroll in a course called How To Become a Coder in 6 Months.
Codeconquest is a great resource for beginners. Along with their What is Coding series, students can choose from tutorials, training, and the website’s knowledge center. The knowledge center offers coding cheat sheets for coding languages like Python, Swift, and Ruby. These resources can be very helpful to anyone who is just starting out. For those students that are looking to test their knowledge, Codeconquest offers quizzes in HTML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, SQL, and Python. This is a great way for you to stay sharp as you work through your studies.
We highly recommend Codeconquest for those looking for a free online coding course. This website is a great resource for those just starting out. Don’t hesitate to dive into Codeconquest’s offerings.
Summary
- Offers practical advice on how to actually begin a career in coding
- Randomized coding quizzes designed to keep you sharp
- The What is Coding course offers a really great introduction to coding
- Cheat sheets are available putting knowledge right at your fingertips.
4. Codewars
One of the more unique offerings on the list, Codewars leans into martial arts traditions to help students train in a variety of different coding languages. A paid service, Codewars offers a number of introductory courses for students to try for free. This is a great way to expand your knowledge while also test driving the service. Codewars offers lessons via a format known as katas. Katas are a martial arts term for small challenges. Codewars has built off this idea by offering many small coding exercises to test your skills.
Codewars covers a very vast selection of coding languages. These languages include C, C+= C#, Java, PHP, Python, Ruby, and Swift, and many others. The Codewars platform also leans on elements of gaming by offering rankings and leaderboards to see how you rank against your peers. If you are a competitive person or want to begin your coding journey alongside some friends, Codewars is a great way to use your competitive edge to stay motivated.
Codewars is a fun platform with free online coding courses to choose from. If you end up enjoying Codewars, there are a number of additional courses and katas available with a subscription.
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5. Freecodecamp
Backed by a number of major technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Spotify, Freecodecamp is a a top option for those looking for free online coding courses. Freecodecamp’s offerings go beyond just offering free online coding courses. A nonprofit, Freecodecamp offers many different courses, guides, and services to students. The site also has a very active forum which is a great place for students to link up with one another for support.
One of the best parts of Freecodecamp are the extensive certification programs. Requiring 300 hours to complete and five projects to complete, theser certification programs are entirely free and have led to many students getting their first software developer jobs. Freecodecamp has built in integration with LinkedIn allowing students to add their certifications to their LinkedIn profiles to show employers the certifications they’ve received. These certifications include a Responsive Web Design Certification, Data Visualization Certification, JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Certification, and many others.
We love recommending freeCodeCamp to students as it offers some of the most extensive certification coding courses to students absolutely for free. This nonprofit has helped many folks find a new career in software development. We highly recommend that students take some time to check out Freecodecamp’s offerings.
Summary
- Offers a variety of certifications that can be added to LinkedIn
- Covers many coding languages and disciplines
- Designed to directly lead to employment in the field
- Entirely free
6. Khan Academy
Another nonprofit on our list, Khan Academy offers a wide selection of free online coding courses for students. Started years ago as a free online classroom, Khan Academy’s courses range way beyond just coding courses. Offering classes for students K-14, Khan Academy was created to offer almost any type of course online to students for free. Among these offerings is an incredible selection of coding courses designed for students of all ages and all experience levels. Khan Academy has a number of great tools built into its platform that make it very easy to use.
Khan Academy offers really great introductory coding courses to students absolutely free. These online coding courses cover topics like HTML and CSS. The Khan Academy is also home to a JavaScript course. Both of these courses are a great place to get started for students that want to learn more about coding. By making an account at Khan Academy you are able to sync your course progress across multiple devices and share your progress with instructors.
We love to spotlight non profit organizations that are working to help make education more accessible. That’s why we really enjoy pointing potential learners towards The Khan Academy. If you are considering starting a free online coding course, we highly suggest that you check out Khan Academy.
Summary
- Run as a nonprofit
- Courses designed for all ages and all experience levels
- Entirely free
- Covers HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
7. Skillcrush
Skillcrush is another great source of free online coding courses. A subscription based service, Skillcrush does offer students the opportunity to sign up for a free coding course. This free online coding course is a great starting point and focus on a number of important coding concepts. In this free coding course you will study topics including HTML & CSS essentials, visual & web design basics, JavaScript 101, user experience basics, and a course on what it is like to work in tech. Skillcrush is a great place for you if you are curious about a potential career change.
After enrolling in that free coding bootcamp, Skillcrush offers the opportunity to continue your studies for a fee. These courses include courses on Front End Development, Python for Web Apps & Data, User Experience, and much more. While these courses are not free, they can be very helpful for finding work in the tech industry. The coding camp is free so we suggest that you check that out and if you wish to continue studying on the Skillcrush platform then you should check out some of the more specialized courses.
If you are interested in a free coding bootcamp then look no further than Skillcrush. Skillcrush offers a very comprehensive introduction to coding course that can then lead into more paid experiences on the Skillcrush platform.
Summary
- Offers a free coding boot camp
- Designed for those with no tech experience
- No college degree needed
- Can lead into other (paid) courses.
8. Udemy
Udemy is a massive platform filled with online coding courses for you to try. While many of these courses are pay-as-you-go, Udemy does offer a selection of beginner courses for you to try out. What makes the Udemy platform interesting is that the courses are user-submitted and rated by other users. Leveraging user-generated courses, Udemy now has over 180,000 courses to choose from. Topics covered by these courses include Python, Web Development, JavaScript, Data Science, and more.
Another great aspect of Udemy is that they offer course playlists for various career paths. Say you are interested in becoming a web developer, Udemy has created a curated list of courses that can help you on your journey toward gaining the education and experience needed for such a career path. Courses on the platform range from about $20-$120 per course but there are courses in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS that are free coding courses. These free introductory courses are a great way to try out the platform and see if it is a good fit for you.
We really like Udemy for its wide selection of different coding courses. We also like that the courses are all rated by users of the platform so it is fairly easy to determine which courses are good and worth your time. If you are interested in a free coding course, we suggest you check out the introductory courses on Udemy.
Summary
- User-generated courses
- All courses are rated by other users of the platform
- Offers free introductory courses in HTML, CSS and JavaScript
9. W3Schools
W3School is an online tutorial site designed primarily for web development. If you are seeking out free online coding courses for web development, W3Schools is the place for you. A monetized service, W3Schools offers many different courses to students for a paid fee. You can choose to spend $695 for full access to all the tutorials on the platform or pay a la carte. Fortunately for those of you who are searching for free online coding courses, W3Schools offers some of its introductory courses to students for free.
One of the strengths of the W3Schools platform is that it is built on-top of a very robust in-browser editor. Most of the courses lessons happen within this in-browser editor making it very easy to access the courses content from anywhere. Students can choose from introductory courses in HTML, CSS, PHP, and much more. More advanced courses exist on the platform for a free. The vast majority of the introductory tutorials on the platform are not paid for.
What we like most about W3Schools is the slickness of the website and platform itself. It is incredibly easy to use and user friendly. This is very important when it comes to learning something new. The less friction between you and the learning platform the more likely you will stick with your lessons.
Summary
- Free introductory courses
- Easy to use platform
- In-browser editor
- Different subscription models if you choose to pay
10. Web Fundamentals
Check out Web Fundamentals here.
Made available by Google, Web Fundamentals is a great tutorial site designed to help teach the basics of development for the web. What makes this service great is that it comes directly from one of the largest technology companies in the world. Google’s Web Fundamentals focuses on teaching the basics of web development as well as best practices for web development when it comes to properly integrating with Chrome and other Google products. There are dozens of useful courses and tutorial on this platform.
Courses on the Web Fundamentals website include Rendering on the Web, Web Components, Payment Request API, and much more. Google’s Web Fundamentals platform not only covers broad introductory coding courses for free, it also covers more in-depth topics that other services tend to not offer for free. This is great if you are someone who wants to continue their studies without spending lots of money on courses.
Web Fundamentals is a great place for you if you are looking to keep the amount of money you spend on your online coding courses to an absolute minimum. While the platform is more user-directed than some of the other services on the list, the courses offered on this platform are entirely free which is something that can’t be said about some of the other services on offer.
Summary
- Designed and maintained by Google
- Focuses on coding for the web
- Covers beginner topics as well as advanced topics
Why should I take a free online coding course?
Taking a free online coding course is a low stakes way to take the first step towards a career in tech. Coding courses and coding camps can seem very intimidating due to their time commitment and high cost. By choosing to enroll in a free online coding course you can eliminate many of the barriers to entry for these types of programs and see if they are right for you.
Coding careers are some of the higher-paying entry level careers out there. But one of the main factors that keep people away from those jobs is the accessibility of the knowledge needed to thrive in that type of role. Free online coding courses help to level the playing field and make it much easier for those who might not have the means to get the knowledge they need to advance into a new field.
What should I do after my free online coding course?
If you have completed your first free online coding course and found that it is something that you enjoyed doing, we recommend that you try out some of the other free online coding courses on this list. These coding courses may cover different aspects of coding which can be helpful in honing in on the particular coding career that might be of interest to you.
Once you are fairly certain that you are interested in a coding career and have an idea of what that career path might look like, it might be worth considering enrollment in a paid coding camp or certification program. These coding camps can be helpful when it comes to finding actual job placement. Certification programs allow you to show to potential employers that you have been trained in a particular coding discipline.
While paid services can be helpful, we really urge that you exhaust the wealth of free online coding courses available to you. After all, why pay for something when you can get it for free.
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