Datacamp vs Coursera 2023: Which is Good to Learn Data Science?
So you have decided to be a data scientist and now searching for a better resource to learn from. You did your research well, but now you are confused between the two very best online course providers Datacamp and Coursera.
Even I was confused when I started my journey in Python.
But no worries, I will help you to choose between the two Datacamp vs Coursera. (from my personal experience of learning from both the platforms)
I’m going to discuss how these courses compare in terms of:
- Subjects/topic taught
- Quality of Instructors
- Pricing
- Ease of use
- Pricing and value for money
- Support
As Data Science is becoming an extremely lucrative space, it can be useful for projecting possibilities, prescribing behavior, predicting trends, and making decisions based on some hidden patterns.
As more and more students are inclined to become a data scientist, more education institutes started offering courses in this field, Datacamp, and Coursera, two being solid options to learn Data Science.
Although you have sorted out two best options from all the online courses that teach Data Science, you are not able to make up your mind between the two. Do you?
Having spent a lot of time learning from both the platforms, I think I am the right person to write on DataCamp vs Coursera, to help you choose the way to pursue your career as a data scientist.
This article is an in-depth comparison of these two popular E-learning platforms.
Let’s continue with the comparison.
So, what are the main differences between Datacamp and Coursera?
In particular, if you’re searching for a data science concentration, DataCamp and Coursera are two of the top websites for learning. Both of them provide courses, professional paths, and other things. Which learning platform would be best for you depends on whether you want to advance in your current career or start a new one.
DataCamp is an online education company that provides interactive courses specifically for data science, whereas Coursera provides a variety of courses in partnership with leading universities.
Coursera and Datacamp both offers self-paced data science courses that run on monthly or yearly subscriptions and are delivered entirely online.
By taking Coursera’s specialization or Datacamp’s career track, you can transform yourself from a complete beginner to a Data Analyst or Data Scientist. So which should you choose –Datacamp vs Coursera?
Let’s break down how Coursera and Datacamp compare to each other in terms of career focus, curriculum, cost, and learning style.
Overview- Datacamp vs Coursera
For those who are new, DataCamp and Coursera are both online education institutes that provide courses on Data Science where DataCamp is specially focused on Data Science, Coursera being versatile in many fields.
Let’s talk about Datacamp first.
DataCamp courses fall under the umbrella of Data Science and R programming (including Python and SQL)
It started its operations in 2014 and is today one of the leading platforms to provide courses on Data Science with a user base of more than 4 million users
Datacamp’s curriculum is specifically designed for students new to data science in general.
Hosting a total of 325 courses on various topics that include Data Visualization, Data Engineering, Probability, and Statistics, etc.
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Also read: Datacamp reviews
On the other hand, Coursera takes a more academic approach. It’s the majority of programs are offered by professors from colleges and universities.
Coursera also offers paid and accredited degrees and master’s programs, so if you’re looking to get a university education online, this is the most popular choice.
Coursera was founded in 2012 by two Stanford professors in 2012
With more than 30 million users to date, it is the largest online learning institute today.
The platform offers a wide variety of accredited online courses that range from computer science to music, including data science.
Both Datacamp and Coursera have their own merits and demerits, depending on what type of information you’re looking for.
Let’s have a look at their prices.
2. Datacamp vs Coursera Costs
Courseraoffers over 1,000 courses that you can audit for free.
Courses range from being completely free to $99.
The price depends on if you want to pay for a verified certificate or not.
In addition to single courses, Coursera also offers specializations.
Specializations are groups of courses that cost you between $40-$80 per month and takes around four to six months to complete.
Coursera also offeres online degrees from universities which costs a hefty $15,000 -$25,000.
When comparing to Datacamp, we are concerned about Coursera’s specializations.
Course price plays an important role when choosing anyone between DataCamp and Coursera.
DataCamp comes with 3 price plans: Free, Basic and Premium
In the free plan, you can take the first course of each topic.
The basic plan will cost $29/month.
You can take as many courses as you can during this period.
I suggest going with the yearly subscription if you have ample time and want to learn slowly.
Even I have enrolled for the yearly subscription.
In this plan, your monthly price is reduced to $25/month($300). In this way, you can save up to $48.
In case you are running short on money, you can choose the set of courses you want to take, and enroll for the monthly plan.
This flexibility allows you to save more while learning more
This is one of the reasons I prefer Datacamp over Coursera.
Takeaway: Datacamp offers more value for money
Subjects/Topics Taught
This is where Datacamp has more advantages over Coursera.
For me, Datacamp was more engaging than Coursera as I was a newbie.
It offered a total of 312 courses on data science only.
Each course takes approx 4 hours.
Datacamp has introduced a skill track and career track to help you choose the right set of courses.
The process is simple.
You start by selecting a programming language (Python, R, or SQL).
Career tracks are meant for students looking to start a new career in data science.
You have the freedom of choosing the role you are interested in like Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Data Analyst, etc. and the career track gives the courses.
Data Science Specialization on Coursera:
- This specialization is a limited course and covers very few essential topics like R programming, Github, Regression analysis, and inference using regression methods.
The prerequisite for the course is that you should be good with Python and regression methods. Also, the course takes 11 long months to complete.
11 months seems to be a long stretch to the concepts they provide.
Takeaway:
I feel this course is good to study topics like R programming and regression methods. I generally do not recommend Coursera to those who want to learn overall Data Science concepts. Datacamp could provide more in less money.
Who Are The Instructors?
It is always necessary to look up who’ll be teaching you. Let’s have a closer look at the instructors of both platforms.
Datacamp has listed all its 300 instructors with their bio which is a brief paragraph about the instructor’s background, as well as links to other courses they teach.
DataCamp instructor are from various organizations and universities
Coursera mostly has its instructors from accredited college or university.
I am more impressed with Coursera for the expertise of the instruction they provide. DataCamp has instructors from various organizations, whereas Coursera has established professors and instructors.
Accreditation & Certificates
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If getting a certificate is your motto behind learning data science online, then Coursera seems to be a winner over Datacamp.
But that is not the case always.
Although Datacamp does not offer accreditation from academic institutions Coursera offers, it surely offers courses on more academic topics
Both Datacamp and Coursera courses are more structured with graded assignments and access to instructors.
Hence certificates from any of these platforms will look better on your resume.
Moreover, I think, Potential employers see Datacamp as a more reliable platform over Coursera to learn Data Science.
Certificates from both Datacamp and Coursera comes in a digitally sharable format.
Coursera has an added advantage that it comes with the name of an institution like Princeton, Yale, or Cambridge.
You can either print copies to put in your portfolio or you can put them straight on to your LinkedIn profiles as well.
Takeaway:
So if you’re looking to enhance your CV or resume, both platforms are unquestionably a good choice
6.Pros and cons of Datacamp and Coursera(Summary – Pros & Cons of Each)
Pros of Datacamp
Easy to use
Datacamp is easy and fun to both navigate and use in general! You will have no trouble finding the things you are looking for like “about” section, course list, partners, pricing), the whole user interface felt intuitive and easy to use.
Offers quality content
Datacamp courses focus on interactive learning with many videos and engaging exercises to complete. Offering a Start For Free plan which gives you access to initial chapters of courses and assessments. All I can say that is the price matches the quality.
Very transparent with their pricing
A clear and simple pricing plan page is pretty refreshing as not all online education institutes are transparent.
Here DataCamp stands out of the crowd. Datacamp has a very clearly placed “Pricing” button on the top of the main page, which leads you to a super-clear pricing plan page.
Beginner-friendly
The platform is suitable for absolute beginners and learners with some intermediate knowledge in Data Science. There is always something for everyone. Students seem to be quite satisfied with DataCamp and the services that they provide.
Cons of Datacamp
No Accredited Certificate
As discussed earlier, Datacamp does not offer any accredited certificate like Coursera but it does offer a statement of Accomplishment after completion of the course
Free users get a relatively small amount of courses
Some video tutorials are a little short and lacking in detail and therefore may leave you feeling like you are missing something.
Some courses include walls of text – they tell, rather than show.
Moreover, free courses are just the first course of each topic.
Coursera Pros
Verified certificates
Coursera does provide an accredited certificate on completion of the course. While verifying, they verify your photo and identity when issuing them. You can use this certificate on your resume, LinkedIn profile, and anywhere else you would want to list a traditional university degree.
Free Audit option
You might be looking up for the skillset rather than the certificate. This is one of the main advantages of Coursera. You can take many of the courses that Coursera offers completely for free. If you’re just wanting to learn Data Science in your spare time, you can learn it completely without spending a single penny.
Different languages available
The platform offers courses in English, Spanish, French, Russian, and other languages. Here you have the independence of learning in your own language.
Coursera Cons
No full courses for free
they offer a good amount of content for free but not all. You can certainly audit most of the courses. But free courses dos not come with access to quizzes and certificate.
Little expensive
Coursera sometimes can get more expensive than Datacamp , particularly when you need to pay for a specialization subscription for several months.
Waiting periods are boring
Coursera courses have specific start and end dates, so you need to sign up and wait for the course to start. Sometimes it might happen that for fewer demand courses, you’ll have to wait for months.
Datacamp and Coursera Alternatives
To learn data science, there are some good alternatives available but they cost a bit higher than Datacamp or Coursera. Here’s the list:
Udacity
Today Udacity is one of the leading online education institute founded by Sebastian Thrun an ex-Stanford professor and also the founder of GoogleX.
Nanodegrees are certifications which are cost and time-effective alternative to traditional degrees. To create these courses Udacity has partnered with companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Salesforce, etc.
Their School of Data Science consists of 9 nanodegrees in total.
Also Read: Datacamp vs Udacity
Springboard
Springboard is an online course website that guarantees jobs to all its graduates in their field in six months. If they don’t, they are entitled to a full refund.
There is hardly any other online learning institute that actually offers definite job opportunities for all graduates.
Udemy
Founded in 2010, it is the largest e-learning platform today, with more than 30 million students (or so they claim) enrolled in 100 thousand courses.With Udemy, individuals who have the will to learn can nurture and develop their careers, expand their knowledge, and explore a wide variety of hobbies.
Udemy offers people a way to transfer knowledge to other would-be learners. But if you’re looking for a platform to get academic credit, Udemy isn’t the place.
Conclusion: Datacamp or Coursera?
When choosing between Datacamp and Coursera, it really depends on what you’re looking to get out of both the platforms.
Coursera seems to be more academic as it gives a feeling of taking a formal university or college program online.
If you’re looking just get a certificate from an accredited university to put on your resume, then you can consider Coursera.
However, it takes more commitment since each course has a specific start and end dates. As well as graded assignments and participation required in between.
Datacamp is a great choice to learn Data Science as it offers a complete package.
I must say, Datacamp is more suitable for beginners and intermediate learners.
For example, you want to start with any programming language, let’s say Python, you can start learning it on Datacamp and move to advanced data science courses.
Both, Coursera vs Datacamp, are effective for learning and offer a wide variety of courses.
Datacamp is better for someone with a more relaxed learning style that wants to go through the course at their own pace.
Hence I suggest Datacamp over Coursera to learn Data Science.
