Udemy vs. Codecademy: Which One is Better?

Several global events have changed the world in 2020 and 2021, and as a result, we’ve all been spending more time indoors, trying to find new ways to entertain ourselves while making sure that we don’t let our minds wander with each passing day. 

Since we’ve been stuck indoors for so long, many of us have taken the extra free time to start learning something new, like writing fiction or poetry or learning how to code.

But trying to choose a learning platform can be challenging, especially since there are so many different platforms to choose from. 

Udemy and Codecademy are two of the best online learning platforms out there, but which one would suit you better? 

Both platforms are pretty different from each other. Udemy caters to students searching for courses that come under a wide variety of topics that range from design to business.

At the same time, Codecademy’s focus lies in teaching students how to code. 

In this article, we’ll be comparing Udemy vs. Codecademy. We’ll take a look at the pros and cons of each, break down the features of both platforms, the benefits and drawbacks of each, and what you can expect from both of them. 

Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll better understand what factors to consider when making your decision. 

Which One is Better: Udemy or Codecademy? 

Udemy offers learners more than 155,000 courses to choose from! Their topics range from teaching learners to write flash fiction to learn how to code and program! But, of course, if creative topics like Design or Music are not where your interests lie, you can always sign up for a course that comes under IT, Marketing, Business, or Development. 

Udemy’s courses are also individually priced, making it more affordable if you don’t want to pay for a subscription-based platform. 

On the other hand, Codecademy offers students several courses on 12 different programming languages, and they also provide 12 subjects to choose from. In addition to this, they also offer Career Paths and Skills Paths; we will expand on this later on in the article. So, if you’ve wanted to kickstart your coding journey, then Codecademy is the place for you. Their website is incredibly user-friendly and easily navigable. 

In the table below, we’ve weighed out the pros and cons of each learning platform based on the parameters in the left column. 

Our verdict: we would recommend Udemy for the following reasons:

	Udemy	Codecademy
Course Catalog	✓	✓
Pricing	✓	✓
Website’s User-friendliness	✓	✓
Certificate of Completion	✓	✓
Financial Aid or Scholarships		✓
Course Quality	✓	✓

• An extensive course catalog
• High-quality courses

• A user-friendly website
• The availability of completion certificates.

1. Course Catalog 

We’ve already mentioned this a few times, but Udemy offers students an extensive course catalog with over 155,000 different courses to choose from. From IT Certifications to 3D Animation and Fashion Design, Udemy will always spoil you for choice! Some of the most popular courses come under the topics of Python, Drawing, Excel, and Web Development. 

On the other hand, Codecademy teaches courses on these subjects: HTML & CSS, Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL, Bash/Shell, Ruby, C++, R, C#, PHP, Go, Swift, and Kotlin. In addition to the courses available, Codecademy also offers Skill Paths and Career Paths, which we will expand on later in this article. 

Verdict: Both platforms. 

2. Pricing 

Udemy’s pricing model is much cheaper than other online learning platforms. The instructors on this platform set a base price for their courses, and these prices correspond to a particular tier in a given currency. This can be a little confusing, so for more information about the Udemy pricing, click here for a longer and more detailed explanation. 

When it comes to Codecademy, you can either sign up for free for the Basic model, which gives you limited access to the courses and peer support available. However, you could also opt for the platform’s subscription-based payment system, Codecademy Pro, which charges students $19.99 a month, or $240, if you choose the yearly subscription. 

Verdict: Both platforms. 

3. Website’s User-friendliness

When researching this article and going through each platform, we found ourselves constantly drawn to the user-friendliness of both websites. 

First, let’s take a look at Udemy. 

When you open the Udemy website, there is a list of options at the top of your screen, as shown in the image below. 

When you click on the ‘Categories’ button, this is what you will see: 

This list will help you choose a category that contains a list of courses that you can choose from. After you’ve clicked on the category of your choice, Udemy will take you to the page where you can see a complete course list under that particular category. 

Next, let’s take a look at Codecademy. 

Once you’ve created an account and logged onto the website, this is what you’ll see: 

As you can see, you can explore the website on your own, or you can get a custom recommendation. 

When you click on the option that says ‘I want to explore on my own,’ this is what you’ll see: 

From here, you can search for a topic on your own or scroll down a little and choose from the Popular Topics available. 

Alternatively, if you don’t know what you want to study, you can click on the option that says ‘Give me a custom recommendation,’ and the following options will appear: 

The image above shows the first question out of a series of questions in a questionnaire. All you need to do is go through the questions and answer them according to your needs!

Please note that you can also click on the option on the top right corner of your screen that says ‘Go to Catalog,’ and the following page will appear: 

Verdict: Both platforms. 

4. Certificate of Completion

Both Udemy and Codecademy offer completion certificates at the end of every course. 

Please note that for Codecademy, you must be a Codecademy Pro member to receive the certificate, and you must complete the course or Path in its entirety. 

Verdict: Both platforms. 

5. Financial Aid or Scholarships

Unfortunately, Udemy does not offer financial aid of any kind at the moment. However, as of August 2020, Codecademy offered 10,000 scholarships to help students affected by the 2020 global pandemic. 

Verdict: Codecademy. 

6. Course Quality 

When researching for this article, we discovered that as of December 2020, Udemy has had over 480 million students enroll in the courses provided. As of 2021, there are 40 million students currently enrolled, and we can only assume that that number will continue to grow throughout the rest of 2021. 

Additionally, according to this article by PR Newswire, Codecademy has seen over 45 million students from 190 countries enroll in their courses. They have also reached 100,000 Codecademy Pro subscribers. 

The large number of students enrolled in courses on both platforms can only indicate one thing: that the courses on both Udemy and Codecademy are of exceptionally high quality. As a result, more and more students come back and sign up for courses with each passing year. 

Verdict: Both platforms.

Udemy: An In-depth Review 

Udemy was founded in 2010 by Eren Bali, Gagan Biyani, and Oktay Caglar. This popular online learning platform or MOOC (massive open online course) has seen over 40 million students sign up from over 180 countries. 

As of December 2020, over 480 million students have enrolled in the courses offered in more than 65 languages, and as of 2021, there are more than 155,000 courses available. 

The target audience for courses on this website is students and professionals looking to improve their skills or learn new ones. Additionally, some of the courses offered add credibility to students’ technical certifications. 

Let’s take a look at some of Udemy’s main features: 

• An extensive course catalog 
• Certificate of completion at the end of every course
• Mobile app for on-the-go learning 
• Downloadable reading material available with most courses
• Udemy for business 
• Individually priced courses 

Getting Started with Udemy 

This is what you’ll see when you log onto the Udemy website. The image above shows Udemy’s homepage. You can select a course from the different categories available, or you can sign your team or company up for the Udemy for Business option.

When you click on the ‘Categories’ button, this image below is what you will see: 

The list above shows the various categories of courses that Udemy offers, ranging from Business, Finance, and Accounting, to Lifestyle, Fitness, and Design. 

If you’re not interested in signing up for an individual course, click on the Udemy for Business button, and this is the page that you’ll see: 

At this point, you can request a demo for your team or business. However, if you’d instead get more information first, click on the button at the very top of your screen that says Udemy for Business, and you’ll come to this page: 

While the previous page gives you a form to fill in, this page provides you with detailed information about the various courses on offer for the business and the pricing models for teams and businesses. 

Who is Udemy for?

Individual Learners

The courses that Udemy offers cater to learners with varying degrees of expertise. For instance, if you’re a young student interested in growing and elevating your skills in a particular field, or you’re a seasoned professional looking to update your existing skills, then Udemy is the platform for you. 

Some of the top categories on this website at the moment are: 

• Design
• Development
• Marketing
• IT and Software 
• Personal Development
• Business
• Photography
• Music 

Udemy for Business

When it comes to Udemy for Business, there are more than 5,000 courses available. These courses are designed to provide your team with the skills and expertise required to excel and further develop their careers in their respective fields. Additionally, there are courses available in French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Japanese. 

If you are interested in Udemy for Business, you can request a free demo from the platform, and they will provide you with the pricing and information about what this model entails. 

Pricing

It is at this point that you’re probably wondering how much Udemy courses cost.

Our answer to this question is quite simple: every course is individually priced. While currency differs from country to country, we’ve learned from the Udemy website that “Instructors set a base price for each course, which is used as the course’s list price for instructors who are not opted into the Udemy Deals Program.”

In terms of the Udemy for Business pricing, you must request a demo to gain more information about how much a course costs for a team of 5-20 people. 

Course Catalog 

One of the main features of Udemy that we’ve mentioned multiple times in this article is the platform’s extensive course catalog. 

There are currently more than 155,000 courses ranging from e-commerce, business, and real estate to fashion design, religion, spirituality, and even self-defense and first aid. 

The 13 categories to choose courses from on Udemy are: 

• Development
• Business
• Finance and Accounting
• IT and Sofware
• Office Productivity
• Personal Development
• Design 
• Marketing 
• Lifestyle
• Photography and Video
• Health and Fitness
• Music 
• Teaching and Academics 

As you can probably tell from the courses listed above, the topics and categories on this platform are wide and varied. Udemy also offers discounts from time to time, which means that you can get access to courses with over 30 hours of video footage for less than $15! 

Codecademy: An In-depth Review

In 2011, Ryan Bubinski and Zach Sims founded Codecademy, an online interactive platform offering students the opportunity to learn to code online. This platform gives users 12 different programming languages to choose from, along with 12 subjects. 

In addition to learning to code, you can also learn how to analyze data and build websites! Codecademy’s content is designed to teach learners with zero prior knowledge how to write working code. 

As of 2021, the platform has seen more than 45 million students from over 190 different countries sign up to learn how to code. 

Let’s take a look at Codecademy’s main features: 

• Interactive courses designed to teach beginners how to code
• Cheatsheets, articles, and projects to help you improve your learning 
• Extensive course catalog 
• An interactive community to communicate with other learners
• Codecademy Skill Paths
• Codecademy Career Paths 

Getting Started with Codecademy 

The image below shows you what you’ll see after creating an account and logging onto the Codecademy website. 

As the image above shows, you can either explore the website on your own or get a custom recommendation from the website itself. 

If you choose the option that says ‘I want to explore on my own,’ this is what you’ll see: 

Here, you can either search for a topic on your own or scroll down a little and choose from the Popular Topics when logging in. 

Alternatively, if you aren’t sure about what you want to study, you can click on the option that says ‘Give me a custom recommendation,’ and the following options will appear: 

The image above displays the first question in a questionnaire, so all that’s left to do is answer the remaining ones according to what you need!

Please note that you can also click on the option on the top right corner of your screen that says ‘Go to Catalog,’ and the following page will appear: 

Additionally, if you set your Codecademy account up and revisit it a while later, you may also see the following:

The image above is an example of what your homepage might look like. From here, you can keep track of the courses you enroll in, set goals, and gain access to the other resources that Codecademy offers. 

When you click on the button that says ‘Catalog,’ this is what you’ll see: 

From here, all you have to do is scroll through the list of courses and choose the one that suits you best. 

Who is Codecademy for?

Individual Learners

Codecademy’s content aims to teach learners with no prior knowledge of coding, coding, analyzing websites, and learning the ins and outs of everything related to coding. 

It does not matter how much knowledge or expertise you have because the content on this platform is designed to equip you with skills to translate into a job once you’ve completed a course. 

Some of the most popular courses at the moment are: 

• Front-end Designer
• Learn HTML 
• Learn Javascript 
• Learn Java

Codecademy for Business

Suppose you’re interested in Codecademy for Business. In that case, all you need to do is sign up with your business email address, and you will be provided with more information about Codecademy for Business. 

There are two options to choose from under Codecademy for Business: for Teams and Enterprise. 

For teams, along with access to the platform’s interactive courses, you will also gain access to the following, as quoted directly from the Codecademy website: 

• Unlimited access to all Codecademy content
• Real-world projects designed by experts
• Instructional videos led by professionals
• Exclusive access to new course content
• Weekly progress reports
• Certificates for completed content
• Access to an exclusive community of peers
• Flexible team management with seat reassignments

For Enterprise, you will gain access to the following: 

• Unlimited access to all Codecademy content
• Real-world projects designed by experts
• Instructional videos led by professionals
• Exclusive access to new course content
• Weekly progress reports
• Certificates for completed content
• Access to an exclusive community of peers
• Custom learning paths tailored to learner needs
• Dedicated Customer Success Manager
• SSO integration
• Advanced Reporting and Analytics API
• Flexible team management with seat reassignments

Pricing 

Codecademy pricing model is subscription-based. So while you can sign up for the Basic option, you will have limited access to the platform’s different features. 

However, if you sign up for Codecademy Pro, you will pay $19.99 per month or $239.88 for the entire year. In addition, when you sign up for Codecademy Pro, you will gain unlimited access to the following: 

• Basic courses
• Members-only content
• Mobile practice
• Peer support
• Real-world projects 
• Step-by-step guidance
• Certificates of completion 

If you choose to get a quote for your whole team, you will gain access to the features mentioned above, along with the following features:

• Team performance reports
• Unlimited license switching
• Flexible start dates 

Course Catalog 

As you’ve been reading this article, you’ll have noticed that we’ve mentioned the extensive coding course catalog. In addition, the platform offers courses in the following languages: 

• HTML & CSS 
• Python 
• JavaScript 
• Java 
• SQL 
• Bash/Shell 
• Ruby 
• C++ 
• R 
• C# 
• PHP 
• Go 
• Swift 
• Kotlin

Codecademy also offers courses under the following subjects: 

• Data Science 
• Computer Science 
• Developer Tools 
• Machine Learning 
• Code Foundations 
• Web Design 
• Game Development 
• Mobile Development 
• Data Visualization For Business 
• Cybersecurity
• Web Development

Every course comes with several lessons and tutorials designed to guide learners with varying experience levels through the subject or computer language chosen. 

Career Paths 

Codecademy also offers Career Paths. These paths are designed for learners interested in developing foundational skills and knowledge for careers in the areas of computer science, web development, and data science. Each path includes lessons, videos, quizzes, and projects. 

The Career Path acts as a career advisor and can take anywhere from 6-12 months to complete. 

At present, Codecademy offers 6 Career Paths. They are:

• Data Scientist Paths
• Computer Science Path
• Code Foundations Path 
• Full-Stack Engineering Path
• Front-End Engineering Path
• Back-End Engineering Path 
• Web Development Path 

Please note that to access the Career Paths that Codecademy offers, you must have a Codecademy Pro subscription. 

Skill Paths 

In addition to courses and Career Paths, Codecademy also offers Skill Paths! These paths are designed to give learners like you content to help you develop or hone your skills. These Paths take only 2-3 months to complete, and just like the Career Paths, they contain lessons, quizzes, projects, and videos. 

The Skill Paths that are currently available are:

• Analyze Data with SQL 
• Create a Front-end App with React 
• Analyze Data with Python 
• Build a Machine Learning Model with Python 
• Create a Back-end App with JavaScript 
• Visualize Data with Python 
• Analyze Financial Data with Python 
• Create Video Games with Phaser.js 
• Build Chatbots with Python 
• Develop Basic Android Apps with Java 
• Analyze Data with R 
• Build Python Web Apps with Flask
• Build Web Apps with ASP.NET 
• Pass the Terminal Interview with Javascript 
• Design Databases with PostgreSQL 
• Build Deep Learning Models with Tensorflow 
• Master Statistics with Python

You must have a Codecademy Pro subscription to access the Skill Paths. 

Udemy vs. Codecademy: The Final Verdict 

In this article, we examined the various features of Udemy and Codecademy. We looked at the pros and cons of each platform, the differences between each one, pricing, course catalog, and what learners like you can gain from both platforms. 

Udemy

We’d highly recommend this platform for learners interested in online learning that covers a wide variety of topics. We would also like to recommend this platform for learners on a budget who are not interested in investing in a subscription-based platform. Each course on Udemy is priced individually, making it easier on the pocket. 

Codecademy

We’d recommend Codecademy to learners interested in, well, coding! As the platform’s name suggests, this platform is a one-stop-shop for all things coding and web-related. You can choose from a large variety of topics and computer languages and kick-start your coding journey with no prior experience as well. While this subscription-based platform could be considered an investment, the platform’s benefits far outweigh the negatives.