Coding is a critical skill, and not just for web developers. Whether you’re building a website, creating an app, or making a video game, knowing the coding basics goes a long way. Of course, if you’ve ever tried to learn how to code, you know that it can be a frustrating and overwhelming process. Online learning programs make the education process less intimidating by letting you move at your own pace, seek help when you need it, and repeat lessons as needed until you have a grasp on how and why your code is working the way it does. We looked at a wide variety of online schools aimed at different age groups and skill sets to find the best coding classes. If you want to learn to code, these services will put you on the right path. Here are the best programs for learning to code, followed by what to look for when making your selection.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
September 16, 2025: With this update, we removed CodeHS due to its significant focus on learning in a high school setting. The existing picks have been vetted for currency and availability. Since our last update, we reviewed and evaluated zero new coding programs for potential inclusion in this roundup and our other online learning roundups. We currently have eight programs for learning to code in this list, from makers including GameMaker, Khan Academy, and Treehouse.
- Helpful video lectures, readings, and quizzes
- Impressive test-prep and college-prep resources
- Generous language support
- Doesn’t require you to sign up for an account
- Free
- Lacks foreign language and music instruction
Khan Academy offers an impressive list of free courses for CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and game development. It also covers a variety of topics beyond coding, from math to economics, but coding students will find many useful lectures, readings, videos, and quizzes.
When it comes to prices, it’s hard to beat free. Khan Academy is also great if you’re interested in online education in general, not just coding. However, it’s specially designed for US students and the US education system.
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Khan Academy Review
- 2D and 3D game development
- Visual and text-based programming languages
- Lets you export to the web, mobile, PC, and consoles
- Free subscription option
- Online multiplayer
- Robust marketplace
- Expensive to publish on consoles
Instead of teaching you how to generally code, GameMaker teaches you how to code video games. You can play your self-made games on a computer or sell them on consoles. Multiple award-winning indie games are powered by this engine, including Hyper Light Drifter and Katana Zero. It’s our top pick for video game development software.
GameMaker is for people who want to make games and maybe pursue that as their professional career. The higher subscription tiers are expensive, making them suitable for professional budgets. GameMaker supports multiple programming languages, including a simple visual language that lets novices develop complex games.
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GameMaker Review
- A large variety of coding classes
- Easy-to-understand curriculums
- Slick video lessons
- Useful user forums
- Can pause and renew enrollment at any time
- Monthly fees quickly add up
Treehouse has everything you want from a premium coding class. A wide variety of lessons cover major topics like developing for Android, coding AI, or learning web design. Beyond that, helpful user forums, approachable curriculums, and engaging videos can help any student become a coding master. Even non-coders will appreciate the business lessons.
Treehouse is our top pick for anyone looking for an outstanding overall coding education. Just know that you must pay monthly subscription fees. In a nice touch, you can pause and renew your enrollment whenever you want, so you don’t pay for classes you aren’t actively taking.
Starting Price
$25 per month
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Treehouse Review
- Many free courses
- Exercises include building real websites
- YouTube video lessons
- Professional certifications
- Dedicated, active community
- More features and later courses are locked behind paid tiers
Codecademy’s classes make it easy to start learning the complicated subject, thanks to video lessons and active discussions. Its courses cover everything from coding for beginners to advanced lessons in C++ and mobile app development. By helping you build real websites, it reassures you that the skills you’re learning are viable in the real world, as you can also learn more general business skills like team communication and project management.
Codecademy’s many free courses make it an excellent choice for students looking to try a class without a big financial commitment. If you want to keep going, though, you must pay to unlock all classes and features.
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Codecademy Review
- Educational tracks for kids, adults, and teachers
- Built-in text editor and quizzes
- Responsive customer support
- Free demo courses
- Potentially more expensive for slightly fewer features than the competition
- Lacks community forums
As the name implies, Code Avengers makes learning how to code as fun as learning how to be a superhero. Its tracks cover specific languages, like HTML and Python, as well as broader concepts, like computer science and web design. Free demo courses and quizzes teach you the fundamentals, while the built-in text editor lets you get creative and test your knowledge.
Code Avengers is for coding students of all ages. Kids can take advantage of free courses, adults can pay for something more substantial, and even educators have their own subscriptions to suit their classroom needs.
Starting Price
$29 per month
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Code Avengers Review
- Free
- Thousands of hours of coding lessons
- Integrates with GitHub
- Robust alumni network
- Some online communities are more overwhelming than helpful
- No longer focused on nonprofit outreach
Free Code Camp isn’t the flashiest learning tool, but it does give you thousands of hours of coding lessons free of charge. You can learn how to write CSS and HTML5, how to give websites a responsive design, or how to make an AI chatbot. Lessons are easy to grasp without sacrificing complexity, and video hints help you if you’re stuck.
Free Code Camp is for students who want to immediately apply their new professional skills in the real world. The service integrates with the popular GitHub tool for sharing code. Students even gain access to a robust alumni network for coding job opportunities.
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Free Code Camp Review
- Excellent for learning specific hard skills, such as software development
- A wide range of courses
- High production quality
- May be available for free through libraries and employers
- Expensive when you pay out of pocket
- Overly corporate tone at times
- Marginally relevant course suggestions
- Occasionally confusing page navigation
Coding is one of the most important skills you can have in this modern job landscape. So it’s no surprise that LinkedIn Learning, the online learning component of the famous professional social network, offers a wide range of high-quality (if overly corporate) coding courses for topics like basic HTML and advanced C++.
LinkedIn Learning is for students looking to learn professional skills. It includes coding, but also goes beyond that by including many elements that might help you advance your career (or pivot to a new one) with courses on business, creativity, and technology. You must pay for a LinkedIn Premium account to access these courses.
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LinkedIn Learning Review
Best for Affordable Coding Courses and Ebooks
SitePoint
- Affordably priced
- Provides classes, ebooks, and tech talks
- Curated learning paths
- Videos feature closed captioning
- Stilted coursework
- Course inconsistencies
- Not very interactive
- Lacks a few required tools for getting work done
SitePoint offers a lot of coding learning material at a reasonable price. Classes cover CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Ruby, WordPress, and more. Along with classes, you also get ebooks to read and talks to watch. SitePoint goes deep into coding topics for starting your own business, as well as other lessons for entrepreneurs like project management.
SitePoint is best for self-motivated learners. The classes, while useful, can be a little stilted and dry, especially because they aren’t very interactive. A few fun quizzes would go a long way. Still, it’s a solid wealth of information.
Starting Price
$9 per month
Learn More
SitePoint Review
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The Best Programs for Learning to Code
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Buying Guide: The Best Programs for Learning to Code
(Credit: Treehouse/PCMag)
How Much Do Coding Classes Cost?
Price is always a concern, no matter what you’re buying. Subscription-based programs, such as Code Avengers, SitePoint, and Treehouse, offer access to all classes in the course catalog for a monthly or annual fee. Prices range from around $10 per month to $30 per month. Check to see if the program lets you pause your membership, which is helpful if you want to save your progress without racking up fees while you’re away on a trip or too busy to access the instruction.
LinkedIn Learning ($40 per month) and Khan Academy (free) feature classes on every topic under the sun, as do similar general education services not featured here. There are more than enough coding options to make a subscription or individual purchase worthwhile. If you only care about coding, you might be better served by a program specifically tailored to your needs, especially if you’re willing to pay. Those robust, broad, business-oriented education platforms cater to business teams that want to learn more about tech’s benefits in the workforce.
Codecademy, on the other hand, offers many free courses and materials, but it charges a $30 monthly fee if you want to access quizzes and other learning tools. It even offers extravagant live virtual bootcamps hosted by industry experts for $500 per ticket. Paid classes generally offer more in the way of course depth, breadth, and presentation, but if you’re determined and resourceful, you may find that free classes are sufficient for your needs. Free Code Camp is another solid, completely free option.
(Credit: Code Avengers/PCMag)
What Type of Coding Class Do You Need?
After price, the most important thing to consider in a coding service is the number (and variety) of offered courses. Some feature CSS, HTML, and other web technologies, while others contain advanced languages (like C++ and Python), mobile app and video game development, and APIs. AI classes are much more popular now, too. In terms of the sheer number of courses, paid classes usually have the edge over free ones. A huge library can also be overwhelming, so starting with a smaller, focused program is a good option. And for the most part, you can expect all of these services to offer at least the fundamental languages you need to know to get started on a serious coding education journey.
The course format is worth paying attention to, as well. All you really need to code is a functional text editor, and most of these programs feature one of those. Depending on your learning style, you might appreciate the polished video tutorials from Khan Academy and LinkedIn Learning.
Many of these online coding schools, including Code Avengers, Codecademy, SitePoint, and Treehouse, offer curriculums that let you choose a broad topic (not unlike selecting a college major), and then access all the necessary courses you need to master the topic. This organizes your studies and lets you skip ahead if you’ve already mastered particular skills. Treehouse even offers a structured certification program.
(Credit: Codecademy/PCMag)
How Do Beginners Learn to Code?
If you’re a beginner, you need a program that’s easy to dive into as the material becomes more complex. That’s ideal for learners at all levels. You’ll also need encouragement to keep you going. Most of these services offer badges or other rewards when you hit milestones. and show your progress on a dashboard. The best services offer quizzes and challenges so you can test your skills. Testing isn’t just for beginners—even experienced programmers want feedback on how they are doing. Newer programs also like to treat progress like a game, rewarding students with shiny badges as they level up their skills. You won’t find these features in all programs, though.
However, if you’re serious about pursuing coding as a career, eventually you’ll need to ditch the easy stuff and take on more challenging material. Consider switching to a paid program, such as Code Avengers or Treehouse, to continue your coding education. Free Code Camp helps you take the knowledge you’ve learned and use it to help start your career at a real-life organization.
(Credit: Free Code Camp/PCMag)
The Best Coding Programs for Kids
If you’re a parent or teacher, getting kids to code makes sense. Programming teaches kids to think logically, develops problem-solving skills, and improves their interaction with technology. Plus, it can prepare them for the workforce of tomorrow.
Coding is just another way to make cool things they can show off, which means kids of any age can learn to code. Treehouse, for example, has special pricing and curricula for teachers and students. With coding, as with any kind of language, the younger you can start learning, the better.
Moving beyond the scope of this particular roundup, GameMaker and other dedicated video game design software go even further with gaming, teaching coding (and animation) as an important part of their game-design curriculums. Licenses are pricey, but the lessons are robust. Plus, the apps teach kids how to make everything from 3D platformers to 2D sidescrollers that they can offer for sale in PC gaming marketplaces.
Recommended by Our Editors
(Credit: SitePoint/PCMag)
Where to Get Coding Help and Support
You’ll need help when you get stuck on an exercise or a quiz. We like Codecademy, Treehouse, and other services that offer active student forums to help you work through problems and get a second eye on long code blocks. Code Avengers has live chat and an exclusive Slack channel. Support for bugs and website problems, which most of these services offer in some way, is also key. Some communities encourage you to create a GitHub account, so you can easily collaborate on code with fellow students. Although Khan Academy and LinkedIn Learning are excellent generalist services, they can’t offer this level of coding-specific help and support.
All these considerations depend on your level of skill. You may not need a lot of handholding, in which case you can download ebooks and teach yourself by signing up with SitePoint, or you can dive right into a new language with Codecademy.
Not sure where to start? Most of the paid services here offer a free or low-cost trial or even a money-back guarantee. You may try several online coding classes before you find the right fit. For more, check out The Best Online Learning Courses.
Molly McLaughlin contributed to this article.
