If you’re someone who’s chosen coding and programming as your career path, you’re probably also constantly looking for ways of how to improve your knowledge in these fields, too. Online learning platforms can be a great way to do so! In this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison, we’re going to take a look at two of the more viable alternatives.
A single look online will tell you that many wannabe-students are looking for some Codecademy alternatives, or simply - other websites like Codecademy. There are many reasons why this might be the case - some of them involve Codecademy’s pricing, while others could concern the types of courses that the site offers. Among popular alternatives you'll see platforms like DataCamp and Udacity. However, in this article, we'll be focusing on freeCodeCamp and Codecademy only.
Either way, once we compare freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy, who knows - perhaps the former is a pretty decent alternative to the latter? On top of that, if you find that neither of the two e-learning sites suit your wants and needs, do check out some of the industry's top MOOC providers, too!
Table of Contents
freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy: Comparison Criteria
Now, before we begin the actual freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison, we should set a few ground rules, just to remain consistent.
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As you’re probably perfectly aware, there are many different angles from which one could evaluate an online learning platform, no matter what that platform might be. For the above-mentioned consistency’s sake, we’ll focus on five core features - course variety & quality, certification, platform usability, supported languages, and pricing.
Many other features and aspects can - and will - be discussed. That said, these are often seen as some of the most important aspects of a well-made and student-tailored MOOC provider. Let’s quickly discuss each of them further, shall we?
- Course Variety & Quality. Course variety refers to the number of different courses available on the site - that’s obvious, right? Now, you might say - but what about this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy, where all of the courses are going to (essentially) revolve around the same topic? Well, simple - variety doesn’t only reference different topics, but also the number of different courses that are available on the same topic! As far as course quality goes, though, this has to be the most important aspect of them all - without proper quality standards, there’s nothing else worth talking about.
- Certification Options. Whether you’re thinking about Codecademy or websites like Codecademy, certificates are likely something that’s always on your mind. There are two types of certificates that you might come across online - simple, course completion ones, and those that are actually accredited. Accredited certificates are, without a single doubt, the most sought-after - that said, they are also going to be the most difficult to get! Either way, this is surely an important aspect of the freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison - make sure to keep it in mind!
- Usability. Whenever you’ve chosen the (seemingly) best online learning platform for yourself, you’re probably going to spend a lot of time on it. Whether it be searching for some specific courses or actually studying some topics from the course material, you’d probably expect the website to provide you with some top-notch usability aspects. A site that’s difficult to use and has some confusing layouts is more likely to sway potential students away - since the bar is set pretty high, it’s definitely something worth keeping in mind - whether it be this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison, or any other!
- Multiple Language Support. While this is a Codecademy VS freeCodeCamp comparison, the term “language” here does not, in fact, refer to programming languages, but rather those that we use to communicate with each other every single day. If an online learning site can be accessed and browsed in multiple different languages, it will attract a much wider audience of people, from every part of the world - accessibility is an important part of receiving your education, and language is one of the common barriers!
- Pricing. Pricing should be seen as a no-brainer here - no matter what it is that you want to learn online, it’s likely going to be one of the main factors that you keep in mind whilst searching for the best e-learning sites. It’s also one of the reasons why people might be looking for Codecademy alternatives, too! In any case, it’s surely another important topic to discuss in this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison!
Again - while the above-mentioned features surely aren’t the only important aspects that are worth considering when trying to pick out the best online learning platform for yourself, they should still give you a pretty good idea of what to expect out of both of the sites talked-about in this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison article.
With that being said, let’s move on to the actual comparison itself.
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freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy: The Comparison
The way that we’ll go about this is by following the above-given list of features, and checking how both freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy compare and contrast against each other on those points. Let’s start off with course quality and variety.
Course Quality & Variety
Course quality is determined by a few different factors. To sum it all up, though, you’d have to look at just how much useful information you receive from studying the course, and how enjoyable the actual learning process was, in of itself.
As far as course variety is concerned, it’s quite simple - if an online learning platform provides a wide assortment of courses, they’ve got that covered. This is true both when it comes to classes that revolve around different topics, and those that might focus on the same field, but explore multiple difficulty levels, different subcategories, and so on.
So, that being the case, how do the platforms of this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison fair against one another in this regard?
A single look at some student reviews concerning both of the above-mentioned sites will reveal to you that the quality of the courses (in freeCodeCamp’s case - content) available on them is actually great!
While most people assume this to be true for Codecademy, if you’re looking for some Codecademy alternatives, you’ll be happy to learn that it’s the same with freeCodeCamp, as well.
Variety-wise, it would once again appear that both of the sites offer their students multiple courses that revolve around the topics of coding, web development, and IT, in general.
Certification Options
As pointed out earlier, in the introductory part of this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison, certifications are among the most important aspects of any online learning site.
The only situations where you likely wouldn’t care about a certificate after finishing the course are when you’d be learning that course for the sake of the act itself, and wouldn’t be planning to apply your knowledge in your job-searching ventures.
As opposed to that, anyone who’s looking to further their career and create some new opportunities will most likely care to receive a certificate of completion once they’ve finished learning a course - makes sense.
There are two types of certificates, though - non-accredited, and accredited ones. Non-accredited certificates won’t really have much practical value - they might help you land a job, but even that’s unlikely. Accredited certificates have the opposite effect - they are valued by most employers, and could seriously increase your chances of getting the job.
As far as the freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison goes, though, there’s some good and some bad news.
The good news is that both platforms do have certificates that you can receive upon completing a course. The bad news, however, is that neither Codecademy, nor freeCodeCamp offer accredited certification.
On top of that, though, Codecademy’s certificates are also paid - freeCodeCamp offers free ones. Surely something to keep in mind while searching for websites like Codecademy!
Usability (Ease of Use)
The usability aspects are a pretty interesting part of our freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison.
Starting with Codecademy, it’s evident as soon as you enter their site that, as far as website navigation and course selection processes are concerned, it’s going to be a pretty straightforward matter. The site is very simple in its design, and there are no complex or confusing features for you to explore.
In some cases, that’s a bad thing - it shows that the website might lack some content, or be made in an unprofessional way. Not the case with Codecademy, though - the course catalog is simple to find and navigate through, and the whole design is made in an interactive, somewhat-retro kind of a way. Cool!
When it comes to freeCodeCamp, however, things are a bit… Different.
Instead of some traditional courses, the information on this website is given in the forms of articles, video and interactive lessons.
While it may be a pretty… Uncanny type of a MOOC provider, there’s no denying that the site itself is super-simple to navigate and find your way through. The content is also very accessible - great!
In short, both of the sites on this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison are very simple to use, and the courses (content) are also quite accessible and easy to manage.
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Multiple Languages Support
If you’re reading this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison, you probably know English pretty well (unless this article was translated into another language - that would make it a bit awkward). No matter how you look at it, English is the most popular language in the world - more and more people every single day are becoming increasingly more proficient with it!
That being the case, there are still millions of people around the world who do not speak English. This does not mean that they do not want to become web developers or professional Python programmers - that said, not knowing English, these people might miss out on some amazing learning-oriented content found online.
Some MOOC providers, like DataCamp, do translate their platforms into multiple different languages. This is true with courses available on these sites, too - often, you’ll find that a course in English is going to have some subtitles in multiple other languages.
Unfortunately, neither of these things are the case with the two sites discussed in this freeCodeCamp VS Codecademy comparison.
freeCodeCamp is a non-profit project - it makes sense that a lot of the processes happening internally are dependant on some exterior funding. That said, this is not the case with Codecademy - the fact that the site and its courses are only available in English is a bit disappointing.
- Easy to use with a learn-by-doing approach
- Offers quality content
- Gamified in-browser coding experience
- Free certificates of completion
- Focused on data science skills
- Flexible learning timetable
- High-quality courses
- Nanodegree programs
- Student Career services
- Nanodegree programs
- Suitable for enterprises
- Paid certificates of completion
- A wide range of learning programs
- University-level courses
- Easy to navigate
- University-level courses
- Suitable for enterprises
- Verified certificates of completion
Pricing
As a final note, let’s discuss the pricing options that you’ll encounter with freeCodeCamp and Codecademy.
As the name should likely imply, freeCodeCamp is a free-to-use platform. Yup, you got that right - all of the content on the website is available for you to use and learn from, completely free of charge!
While it’s true that there are no actual courses available for you to study, the content is displayed in an easy-to-follow manner, and thus shouldn’t cause any annoyance.
With Codecademy, things are a bit different. It operates on a monthly subscription basis - the subscription will cost you $19,99. The site, however, does have a 7-day trial period, and an additional 7-day refund policy, too.
As you can probably see for yourself, as it concerns this Codecademy VS freeCodeCamp comparison, it’s a pretty interesting situation! Pricing-wise, both platforms are pretty unique when compared to each other, and offer some very different benefits to their students!
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Conclusions
With the Codecademy VS freeCodeCamp comparison done, and some of the main features of the two platforms mentioned and discussed, which one of them is actually worth checking out?
Well, admittedly, this is a pretty difficult question to answer! That said, while Codecademy is often seen as the better alternative, I must say - if you’re looking to save some money, and are still only starting out with programming, then freeCodeCamp is surely a decent alternative.
The platform, while being completely free to use, does pack some interesting features, and provides students with a lot of useful content on all-things-coding.
Codecademy, on the other hand, is a professional institution that will allow you to study courses related to the topic, and get somewhat of a more structured outlook on the matter.
Whatever your choice might be, I do hope that this comparison was useful to you, and that you’ve managed to find the best alternative for yourself. If not, though, do check out the earlier-mentioned list of the best online learning platforms out there! You can also use our Comparison Tool so see how the two platforms stand against our other favorites, such as DataCamp.
Best of luck in all of your coding and programming ventures to come, and remember - never stop learning!
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