freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Which Should You Choose?
Learning a tech skill takes time, especially at the beginner level. The last thing you want is to waste weeks studying a course that fails to meet your expectations. When it comes to choosing between freeCodeCamp vs Udacity, you need to be careful.
Don’t get me wrong, both online learning platforms are great. However, I believe they serve two different types of learners. Why? You will find out in this article.
You see, I recently took courses on freeCodeCamp and Udacity. My experience with both services allowed me to create this detailed review which has all you need to know!
If you can’t find time to read it all, I’ve got you covered in the next section. It’s a summary of both platforms and should be enough to help you make a decision right away.
freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Summary and Overview
| freeCodeCamp | Udacity | |
| Course Categories | Front-end development Back-end development Data analysis Information security Machine learning | Data science Artificial Intelligence Programming Autonomous systems Cloud computing Product management Career Cybersecurity Business |
| Price Range | Free | $399 – $2,394 |
| No. of Courses | 13 | 270+ |
| % Of Courses that are Free | 100% | 70% |
| Service Packages for: | Individuals | Individuals Businesses Government Organizations |
| One-one-one Tutor Interaction | None | Available |
| Support Quality | Average | Excellent |
freeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization that provides a platform for beginners to learn software and web development for free. Currently, the site only offers 13 courses, but they come in 8 different languages. You can earn non-accredited certificates but no degrees. You also have to rely on the community for most of your support needs.
Udacity is an online learning platform with over 270 courses in the tech niche. You can join a Nanodegree program to get a degree (non-accredited). With Udacity, you get to interact one-on-one with the industry professionals in charge of your courses. One drawback with the platform is its prices which many might consider expensive.
Still can’t decide? Next are some key differences between the two services.
freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Key Differences
| freeCodeCamp | Udacity | |
| Main Niche | Coding | Tech |
| Degree Programs | None | Nanodegree |
| Accepts Crypto | Yes | No |
| Offers Advanced Lessons | No | Yes |
| Video Lessons | No | Yes |
freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Courses and Subjects
| freeCodeCamp | Udacity | |
| No. of Courses | 13 | 270+ |
| Course Formats | Text | Video and Text |
| Subject Categories | Front-end development Back-end development Data analysis Information security Machine learning | Data science Artificial Intelligence Programming Autonomous systems Cloud computing Product management Career Cybersecurity Business |
| Course Languages | 8 Languages | 1 Language |
| Skill Levels | Beginner | Beginner Intermediate Advanced |
| Degrees Available | None | Nanodegree (Non-accredited) |
| Certificates Available | Project-based certificate of completion | Credential of completion |
| Main Niche | Coding | Tech |
The first factor to consider when shopping for an online course is the curriculum and structure. Let’s start by looking at how freeCodeCamp and Udacity courses are set up.
freeCodeCamp
Courses Overview
freeCodeCamp has a total of 13 courses on its platform. They cover the following subjects:
- Front-end development
- Back-end development
- Data analysis
- Information security
- Machine learning
These are all text-based. Normally, I would prefer some videos, but since they are majorly coding lessons, I don’t mind. If you MUST have video lessons, you can check out freeCodeCamp’s YouTube channel.
All courses come in 8 different languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. The available languages are popular globally. Chances are, you’ll be comfortable learning in at least one of them.
Skill Levels
You need to know if a course covers concepts that benefit your current knowledge and skill. Too complex, and you’ll get confused – too simple, and you’ll get no value. I’m writing this from experience. You don’t want to be there, trust me.
freeCodeCamp only offers beginner-level courses. Their assumption is that you’re just starting out with software development.
Degrees Available
Degrees are nice to have, especially when hunting for jobs. They tell employers you’re qualified because you’ve had the proper training. If your degree is accredited by a university or recognized institution, that places you in an even better position.
Unfortunately, freeCodeCamp doesn’t offer degrees.
Certificates Available
A certificate generally takes a few days, weeks, or months to earn – compared to a degree that could take several years. Hence, they don’t hold as much weight in the job market. However, they do add some value to your resume.
freeCodeCamp offers a certificate of completion, provided you successfully complete all certification projects.
Key Niche
All freeCodeCamp courses fall within the circle of full stack development or, simply, coding.
Udacity
Courses Overview
Udacity offers over 270 courses that come in a combination of video and text-based lessons. You need to understand the English language to learn on the platform. Course subjects are:
- Data science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Programming
- Autonomous systems
- Cloud computing
- Product management
- Career
- Cybersecurity
- Business
The Udacity library is a lot bigger than what freeCodeCamp has to offer.
Skill Levels
You’ll find courses for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level students. That’s another way Udacity trumps freeCodeCamp in terms of range.
Degrees Available
The company has what they call Nanodegree programs, a trademark degree that, although non-accredited, can look pretty impressive on your resume. Many top companies recognize the brand.
Certificates Available
You’ll also get a credential of completion when you reach the end of each stand-alone course.
Key Niche
The majority of Udacity’s courses are tech-focused.
Winner is: Udacity
The company offers a wider range of courses. Plus, you get video lessons.
freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Tutors and Community
| freeCodeCamp | Udacity | |
| Tutor Selection Criteria | Expert contributors | Industry professionals |
| One-on-one Tutor Interaction | None | Available |
| Active Community | Yes | Yes |
| Community Response Time | Within a few hours | Within two days |
| No. of Users | 350k+ | 14+ million |
Next, we’ll check out their instructors, plus how you can interact with them and other learners.
freeCodeCamp
Tutor Selection Criteria
Although freeCodeCamp doesn’t just let anybody contribute to course content, they don’t have any special selection criteria. However, expert contributors are welcome.
The lessons I got were top-quality and well-structured. Most of the freeCodeCamp course contributors already have impressive track records with lots of live software and GitHub projects.
One-On-One Tutor Interaction
I love when an online learning platform allows students to ask questions and get feedback through one-on-one interactions. It really speeds up the learning process.
Too bad freeCodeCamp doesn’t offer any form of one-on-one tutor interaction.
Community
With over 350k users, freeCodeCamp has an active community. In fact, they are so interactive that I got a response within a few hours after posting a forum question.
Also, a lot of the problems I faced were already solved on the forum. All I had to do was check.
Udacity
Tutor Selection Criteria
Udacity only uses industry professionals as tutors. I must say, it is definitely reflected in the superb quality of their lessons.
One-on-one Tutor Interaction
You may interact one-on-one with instructors and mentors using the technical mentor support feature.
Community
Udacity has an active community of over 14 million users. I got a response from the discussion forum within two days after posting on it.
Winner is: Udacity
You get a team of industry professionals as tutors who you can interact with.
freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Online Software
| freeCodeCamp | Udacity | |
| Compatible Platforms | Web | Web |
| Interface | Easy to use | Easier to use |
| Key Software Features | Progress saver | Course recommendationsProgress saver |
| Recommendations | – | Good |
| Support Quality | Average | Excellent |
You also need to consider how easy it is to use the learning software. The features, UX, and support you get make the courses more enjoyable.
freeCodeCamp
Compatible Platforms
freeCodeCamp has no mobile or desktop app. You can only use the web version.
Interface
The interface is easy to use.
Key Software Features
Of all the website features, I could only point to the progress saver as important.
Recommendations
You get no recommendations on what courses to take next.
Support Quality
Being a non-profit, freeCodeCamp has limited resources to handle one-on-one customer support for all users. You’ll need to post on the forum to get help from staff members or other users.
I found their support to be of average quality.
Udacity
Compatible Platforms
Like freeCodeCamp, Udacity only has a web version.
Interface
The interface is a lot easier to use than freeCodeCamp’s.
Key Software Features
You get course recommendations and progress saver.
Recommendations
The website gave some good course recommendations that I found helpful.
Support Quality
For Udacity, I checked their Trustpilot reviews to get a more general opinion. Of their latest 20 customer support reviews, 17 were excellent, and 3 were bad.
It’s clear that Udacity has excellent support quality.
Winner is: Udacity
They have better support than freeCodeCamp.
freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Pricing
| freeCodeCamp | Udacity | |
| Subscription Type | Optional donations: one-time or $5/month | MonthlyMultiple Months Access Bundle |
| Price Range | Free | $399 – $2,394 |
| Free Trial | – | Occasional |
| Free Courses | Yes | Available |
| Discounts & Aid | – | Personalized discountsBundle payment savingsCouponsScholarships |
| Refund Policy | – | 2 to 14 days |
| Certification Pricing | Free | Free |
| Payment Methods | GpayPaypalPatreonCredit cardsDebit cardsCryptocurrencyCheck | Credit cardsDebit cardsPayPal |
Next, we’ll look at the prices of Udacity and freeCodeCamp courses.
freeCodeCamp
Donation Pricing
All courses on freeCodeCamp are 100% free. If you want to support the non-profit organization by making a donation, there are two ways to do it.
- Monthly: $5 a month.
- One-Time: Any amount of your choice at once.
Free Courses
It’s all free of charge, thanks to hundreds of selfless contributors.
Certification Pricing
You don’t have to pay to generate or print your project-based certifications.
Payment Methods
You may make donations with any of the following methods:
- Gpay
- PayPal
- Patreon
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- Cryptocurrency
- Check
Udacity
Subscription Pricing
- Monthly: You pay $399 for every month you remain enrolled in a course.
- Multiple Months Access Bundle: You pay for multiple months of enrollment at once (usually with discounts). The maximum bundle price is around $2,394 for a six-month bundle.
Free Trial
Although I didn’t get one, Udacity occasionally offers a 30-day free trial to some users.
Free Courses
You can get 70% of courses in the library for free.
Discounts & Aid
For savings opportunities, try any of these:
- Personalized discounts
- Bundle payment savings
- Coupons
- Scholarships
Refund Policy
The typical Udacity refund period is 2 days after purchase. However, if you’re in the EU, it’s 14 days.
Certification Pricing
Your certificate of completion comes free of charge.
Payment Methods
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- PayPal
Winner is: freeCodeCamp
The platform offers an insane amount of value for free. That’s pretty impressive.
freeCodeCamp vs Udacity: Pros and Cons
freeCodeCamp
Pros
- You can get a standard knowledge of full-stack development for free.
- The courses come in multiple languages.
- The community response time is pretty fast.
Cons
- The courses cover a very narrow niche.
- There is no one-on-one tutor interaction.
- You can’t use the service to train teams.
- It doesn’t offer degrees of any kind.
- There are currently no mobile apps.
Udacity
Pros
- Udacity provides some of the best tech-focused programs (machine learning, cybersecurity, web design, programming, etc.) on the internet.
- The course library covers a wide range of tech subjects.
- You can earn a Nanodegree.
- You can interact with mentors and tutors one-on-one.
- They have excellent support.
- The service offers lots of discounts and coupons to help you save.
Cons
- You can only learn effectively if you understand English.
- Udacity doesn’t offer accredited degrees.
- There are currently no mobile apps.
FAQ
Is freeCodeCamp better than Coursera?
From experience, Coursera has better course quality and offers accredited degrees and certificates. That makes it a better option.
Are freeCodeCamp courses worth it?
If you’re new to software development and want to earn a free certificate, I strongly recommend freeCodeCamp. It’s worth your time and energy.
Is freeCodeCamp enough to learn?
Yes, freeCodeCamp is enough to learn to code and get a job within a few months of practice. Over 40,000 alumni have secured jobs in companies like Google, Apple, Spotify, and more with their certificates. This is according to the platform’s founder, Quincy Larson.
Alternatives to freeCodeCamp and Udacity
If you realize you want something different from what freeCodeCamp and Udacity can offer, here are some alternatives:
Coursera
With Coursera, you can earn accredited degrees and certificates. The platform has over 10,000 high-quality courses.
Also, read comparison on Coursera vs Udacity: Which Should You Choose?
edX
This platform also offers accreditation. There are over 3,600 courses to choose from at edX.
Udemy
You can enjoy any of Udemy’s 80,000+ courses. They offer multiple freebies too.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose freeCodeCamp if you…
- want to learn the key concepts of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python for free
- need only the basics of front end, back end, or full stack development
Choose Udacity if you…
- want to learn a tech skill without accredited credentials
- want to earn a degree
- want to train a team
- find it difficult to learn without regular support from mentors
- have a large budget to learn from top tech professionals
My Final Verdict
Without a doubt, Udacity is the better platform. This isn’t surprising, seeing that freeCodeCamp is a non-profit that runs on the donations and contributions of its community. I’m impressed with the quality of the courses the freeCodeCamp folks have been able to put together. However, Udacity wins this review, and you should choose it if you can afford the prices.
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