A Guide to 2020 Online Coding Courses and How to Find the Right One for You

Online coding courses are a great way to find out if you are interested in coding or if you want to further develop your programming skills and increase your employment opportunities and earnings potential. They also allow you to learn from wherever you are.

Online coding courses are vast, with options available to everyone from absolute beginners to experienced programmers. In this guide, we’ll look at different online coding courses and who they target. We’ll also help you find free online coding courses, coding courses for beginners, free college coding courses, Python courses, and other popular offerings. Our list will include many of the best online coding courses. We also compiled a list of free bootcamps.

Choosing the Best Online Coding Course for You

It can feel challenging to look through the long list of online coding courses. However, if you take the time to determine your goals beforehand, it can help fine-tune your search. The first thing to assess is where your skills are. Then ask yourself where you want them to be and why. Some questions that can help you are:

• What programming languages are in-demand, and which ones should I learn?
• What are my ultimate career goals? (Think salary, position, or company you’d love to work for)
• What skills do I need to get my dream job?
• How much money can I (or should I) invest in new skills?
• How much time do I have to dedicate to online coding courses?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can narrow your search. It’s also helpful to look at what courses best suit your learning style (e.g. scheduled or self-paced, live instructor or videos, available support community, hands-on practice, or challenges).

When you have what you want in mind, you can start to look for available courses. Begin with our guide below to see what’s out there and to find the platforms you want to research for online coding courses.

Guide to 25 of the Top Online Coding Courses in 2020

Bento.io

Bento.io’s platform encourages people to be a self-taught web developer for free. Their belief is that learning to code should be available to everyone. You can learn to code through tutorials and course tracks. There are numerous languages, including HTML, CSS, Python, SQL, Git, and JavaScript.

• Beginners
• Popular programming languages
• Free

BitDegree

BitDegree is a blockchain-powered education platform. Users learn coding and programming through courses and a game-like experience. BitDegree is free, but also has paid premium and advanced courses available.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

Code Avengers Pro

While Code Avengers has a strong focus on educating the younger crowd, they also have a nice variety of Pro courses available as well. Choose between “bite-sized” learning modules that fit into a busier lifestyle, or take a heavier course load to work your way toward a new career more swiftly. Based out of New Zealand, Code Avengers aims to make learning to code straightforward and fun. It also allows you to create a portfolio at the same time.

• Beginners
• Popular programming languages
• Monthly subscription

Code Conquest

Code Conquest describes itself as a free guide for the beginning coder. The tutorials and training cover introductions to HTML, Ruby, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, Python, and more. Think of Code Conquest as a beginner course complete with lessons, quizzes, and learning resources.

• Beginners
• Popular programming languages
• Free

Code Conquest

The large selection of courses at Codecademy cover programming languages like Ruby, CSS, HTML, Python, JavaScript, C++, SQL, and more. There are also courses in everything from web development and data science to web and game development. The basic package lets you take coding courses for free, while upgrading to Pro gives access to additional courses.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

Codewars

For those who want a more entertaining learning experience, Codewars offers a popular alternative to the traditional online coding course. Rise your way through the ranks as you defeat each challenge. Each “kata” (training exercise) is designed to teach new skills and solutions.

• Beginners with a basic understanding of coding to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Free

Coursera

Python for Everyone has been featured as one of the top courses at Coursera. However, that’s only the beginning of coding and programming course options. Coursera collaborates with numerous colleges and companies to offer curriculum and free college coding courses that cover current in-demand skills. Classes are ranked by skill level (beginner to advanced). People can sign up for many courses for free, and there is an option to pay and receive a certificate. Degree programs are also available.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Collegiate coding
• Both free and paid

EdX

Founded in 2012 by Harvard and MIT, EdX lets you try your hand at college-level courses offered by over 140 leading worldwide universities. There are more than 2000 free courses, including Programming for Everyone, Python Basics for Data Scientists, CS50’s Introduction to Game Development, and many other courses for both beginners and professionals interested in coding, programming, and computer science.

• Beginner to advanced college level computer science courses
• Popular programming languages
• Collegiate coding
• Both free and paid

Envato Tuts+

Based out of Australia, Envato Tuts+ has both free and subscription-based online coding courses. What makes it unique is the additional resources, which include eBooks, how-to tutorials, and guides. Searching is easy, and you can identify what courses you’re looking for by looking for specific levels, languages, and more.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

GA Dash

General Assembly has a free and fun way to learn coding and web development basics. Dash is a course that covers HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.

• Beginners
• Pre-bootcamp
• Popular programming languages
• Free

Google Web Fundamentals

Google has a whole section of free tutorials, courses, guides, and hands-on practice opportunities. Those who want to learn to code can start with codelab.

• Beginners
• Topics such as Android Wear, Google Compute Engine, Project Tango, and Google APIs on iOS
• Free

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is dedicated to offering free classes so you can learn anything. That includes programming courses of all levels. One of the earliest platforms of its kind, Khan aims to provide a learning trajectory for each user.

• Beginner
• Popular programming languages
• Free

LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)

Lynda.com was one of the first platforms of its kind. It offered courses targeted at increasing your skills, and in particular, professional skills. Lynda.com is now LinkedIn Learning. The site has numerous coding and tech-based courses available. Check first to see if your local library allows you to use LinkedIn Learning for free. If not, a reasonable monthly subscription will get you access to a wide range of courses, including SQL Essential Training, Learning Python, Learning Git and GitHub, and much more.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

Microsoft Virtual Academy

Microsoft has a wide selection of courses. The modules let you work your way through topics and let you go in-depth if you want. You can design your own learning path and pursue certifications. Each module is labeled by level, skill type, and who can benefit from the module.

• Beginners with basic coding skills to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Free

Pluralsight

Grow your coding and programming skills with access to thousands of courses. Pluralsight is a worldwide learning platform targeted toward teaching technical skills. All plans include a path that guides you to which courses you should take and the entire course library. When you upgrade to premium, you get interactive courses, practice exams, and certificates as well. Although the site is more geared toward professionals, once you’ve gotten some foundational skills, the platform offers excellent online programming courses.

• Intermediate and advanced coding levels
• Popular programming languages
• Monthly, annual, or premium subscription

Scotch.io

Scotch.io provides real-world and practical courses and tutorials to learn programming skills for free. Scotch.io promotes top-shelf learning, and lets people start from scratch.

• Web developers
• Popular programming languages
• Free

Skillcrush

Although Skillcrush was originally created for women, they let everybody take their courses. All of Skillcrush’s courses are online and flexible. You can start with their free coding camp and then move on to more in-depth courses. Skillcrush offers plenty of guidance on the right pathway for you.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

Skillshare

Skillshare is a learning platform where experts in the field teach classes. They have a large catalog of online courses dedicated to web development. There are many free classes to choose from, however, there are expanded and unlimited classes with a premium subscription as well.

• Beginner to intermediate
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

SoloLearn

This site is fully dedicated to helping you learn to code through play, crowd-learning and by doing. SoloLearn offers a wide range of free courses for multiple programming languages. You’ll find interactive lessons, practice opportunities, and a supportive community. Download SoloLearn’s apps to learn on the go. A pro subscription is also available for those who want to continue to expand their skills.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Free or subscription

SuperHi

SuperHi has both short (around 6-8 hours) and 8-week courses designed to teach code, design, and project management. Targeted toward beginners, begin with the First Steps Guide, which helps you determine which courses to start with. Once you’ve found your pathway, you can purchase single courses or bundles. One excellent feature provided by SuperHi is the SuperHi Editor. It was designed to teach beginners how to build websites from scratch.

• Beginner to intermediate
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

The Odin Project

The Odin Project targets absolute beginners and works to turn them into full-fledged web developers. The courses are wonderfully designed and completely free. Pick and choose the track you want to take or complete the entire program. The program lets you build a portfolio as you go.

• Absolute beginners
• Popular programming languages
• Free

Treehouse

Treehouse has 300+ courses that are on-demand and self-paced. Interactive code challenges allow you to practice your skills. Try Treehouse for free, then decide if you want to work toward a new career at an affordable monthly price. When you sign up for courses you’ll find a supportive community ready to help you achieve your goals.

• Beginner and intermediate
• Popular programming languages
• Monthly subscription

Udemy

Udemy has a large range of coding courses, from Coding for Beginners to Learn to Code in Python. Conduct an Udemy search for over 10,000 online coding courses. You can fine-tune your search to look for free courses, specific languages (JavaScript, Ruby, CSS, HTML), and more. Udemy also has suggestions, like highest rated coding courses for beginners.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Both free and paid

W3Schools

This comprehensive site offers tutorials, examples, exercises, and more for web developers. There are several programming languages to learn, including JavaScript, Python, C++, CSS, HTML, and SQL. W3Schools is designed for learning, testing, and training with a focus on simplicity and practice.

• Beginners to programming professionals
• Popular programming languages
• Free

Learn to Code Today

There are many options for online coding courses. They are an excellent way to discover and learn coding. They will also give you enough of a taste of coding to decide if you want to pursue a coding bootcamp and will help you further develop your skills and expand your career options.