Codecademy vs. Udacity

If you love learning coding languages and want to work in the tech industry, you may want to consider a career in computer programming. 

Computer programming is a growing industry. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), despite a projected decline of 10% in employment for computer programmers from 2020 to 2030, around 9,700 new job openings are expected annually on average over the decade.

So there is a lot of potential in this industry that you can harness as a software company or professional. 

If you’re looking for an online learning platform for programmers, you may have stumbled upon Codecademy and Udacity (see also ‘Which is better Codecademy or Coursera?‘) (see also ‘Which is better Codecademy or Coursera?‘). They are two leading programming e-learning platforms that coders and other IT professionals can use to improve their knowledge and skills.

Need to zero in on one platform between Codecademy vs Udacity?

Check out our comprehensive guide to make your choice.

Codecademy

Codecademy (see also ‘Which One Is Better Free Code Camp Or Codecademy?‘) is a text-based technical training platform for businesses and individuals who want to learn coding languages and other computer programming subjects on a basic level.

Launched in 2011, the platform is hosted on the cloud and is used by millions of users across the world.

Codecademy offers more than 70 coding courses in 14 programming languages that are great for those who are just starting out in their programming careers.

Pros

• Great for beginners in the programming space
• Easy to set up an account
• Interactive and easy-to-use learning platform 
• Provides bite-sized information for quick learning 
• Has an integrated code editor
• Affordable 
• Offers a free plan
• Offers a greater number of free courses
• Courses taught by industry experts
• Gamification of courses through streaks and badges 
• Has a mobile app version 
• Offers Skill Paths and Career Paths for easy progression in learning 
• Can track the progress of your team or employees with custom reports and analytics
• Can receive certificates on course completion 
• Community forums and local chapters

Cons

• Limited courses 
• Doesn’t offer nanodegrees
• Not great for in-depth courses on programming 
• Not suitable for quick refreshers
• Can’t add courses on resumes as a qualification 
• Has a lot of bugs
• Free trial on Teams account lasts for only two weeks
• Poor customer service 

Udacity

Launched in 2013, Udacity is a video-based online learning platform that offers detailed courses and nanodegrees in technical subjects.

You can get access to over 200 courses in six different categories when you sign up with Udacity (see also ‘What Is Udacity?‘) (see also ‘What Is Udacity?‘). The platform is great for acquiring new skills and knowledge to advance one’s career in programming.

It is targeted towards programmers, business owners and managers, and specialists in data science, artificial intelligence, and related fields.

Pros

• Suitable for those who want to progress in their computer programming career
• Provides a wide range of in-depth courses to improve tech skills
• Can add skills and courses on resumes 
• Offers nanodegrees
• Courses taught by industry experts
• Self-paced courses 
• Easy to master the courses 
• Can get feedback from developers on coding projects
• Offers a 1-month free trial

Cons

• Costly
• A limited selection of free courses
• Doesn’t have a mobile app
• Steep learning curve
• Unaccredited courses
• Limited resources for revising lessons
• Offers certificates only for nanodegrees
• Lacks community forums
• Slow customer service

Read on for a direct comparison between Codeacademy and Udacity, covering essential considerations such as course offerings, ease of use, pricing, and customer support.

Courses

Codecademy

With Codecademy, you can learn the following coding languages:

• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• C
• C#
• C++
• Python
• Java
• JavaScript
• Structured Query Language (SQL)
• Bash/Shell
• Ruby
• R
• Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP)
• Go
• Swift
• Kotlin

You can also sign up for the following subjects:

• Code Foundations
• Computer Science
• Cybersecurity
• Data Science
• Data Visualization
• Developer Tools
• Game Development
• Interview Prep
• Machine Learning
• Math
• Mobile Development
• Web Development
• Web Design

Udacity

Udacity offers nanodegrees, which are essentially multi-course learning programs like Codecademy Pro’s Career Paths (see also ‘Is Codecademy Pro Worth It?‘) (see also ‘Is Codecademy Pro Worth It?‘). The nanodegrees are divided into the following categories:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Autonomous Systems
• Business
• Cloud Computing
• Cybersecurity
• Data Science
• Product Management 
• Programming

Here are some of the courses offered under each category. Udacity offers over 200 in total.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• AI 
• AI for Trading
• AI for Healthcare
• AI for Business Leaders
• AI Product Manager
• AI Programming with Python
• AWS Machine Learning Engineer
• Computer Vision
• Deep Learning
• Deep Reinforcement Learning
• Intel Edge AI for IoT Developers
• Intro to Machine Learning with PyTorch
• Intro to Machine Learning with TensorFlow
• Machine Learning
• Machine Learning DevOps Engineer
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Autonomous Systems

• Intro to Self Driving Cars
• Flying Car and Autonomous Flight Engineer
• Robotics Software Engineer
• Self-Driving Car Engineer
• Sensor Fusion Engineer

Business

• Agile Software Development Business Analytics
• Cloud Computing for Business Leaders
• Data Product Manager
• Data Science for Business Leaders
• Digital Marketing
• Growth Product Manager
• Marketing Analyst
• Predictive Analytics for Business
• Product Manager
• UX Designer

Cloud Computing

• AWS Cloud Architect
• Cloud Developer
• Cloud DevOps Engineer
• Cloud Native Application Architecture
• Hybrid Cloud Engineer
• Site Reliability Engineer

Cybersecurity 

• Introduction to Cybersecurity
• Ethical Hacker
• Security Engineer
• Security Analyst
• Security Architect
• Enterprise Security 

Data Science

• Applying Data Science to Product
• Programming for Data Science with Python
• Programming for Data Science with R
• Data Product Manager
• Data Scientist
• Data Analyst
• Data Engineer
• Data Architect
• Data Streaming
• Data Visualization
• Privacy Engineer
• SQL

Programming and Development

• Android Basics
• Android Kotlin Developer
• Blockchain
• C++
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• Front End Web Developer
• Full Stack Web Developer
• Full Stack JavaScript Developer
• Intermediate JavaScript
• Intermediate Python
• Intro to Programming
• iOS Developer
• Java Programming
• Java Web Developer
• React

Ease of Use

Codecademy

Codecademy’s interface is easy to use and navigate. It features a user-friendly dashboard that gives you a complete overview of your courses and learning progress. You can simply click on the lesson that you are on and access it quickly. 

When you go to the platform’s learning area, the left side provides text-based instructions, while the middle is the editor where you can write code. The area on the right lets you preview your code changes in real-time, enabling faster and more efficient learning.

If you’re stuck anywhere, a yellow bar that says “Get a hint” appears, containing concept reviews that can help you out of any jam. They are basically documents that contain revision materials and can be printed out for reference.

Codecademy’s mobile app version, Codecademy Go, is also easy to navigate and allows you to access your lessons on the go. You can even revise concepts and take quizzes via the app.

Udacity

Learning on Udacity is a breeze. Once you select your course or nanodegree on the platform, you just need to fill a form to get onboarded. You can also opt for a personal career coach to help you along the way.

The courses are self-paced, but you need to complete the nanodegree projects within a given period. Depending on the course or nanodegree program you’ve signed up for, you will get personalized study schedules to keep you on track. You can also set reminders to study.

Udacity has a simple, minimalist platform similar to Codecademy that makes it easy to navigate the courses. You can go through your study plan, track your progress, and resume your lessons quickly. 

Udacity’s video tutorials and presentation slides make it even easier to learn. This proves useful as the in-depth courses can often be quite complex.

Unlike Codecademy, Udacity does not have a code editor, so you need to download one. It also doesn’t have a mobile app, although you can access its website on your mobile browser.

Pricing

Codecademy

Codecademy (see also ‘Is Codecademy Or Khan Academy Better?‘) has several pricing plans that you can choose from:

Basic

This plan is free and allows you to check out the basic courses and get support from your peers. You can also access a limited amount of mobile practice. 

Pro

The Codecademy Pro plan costs $39.99 per month. If you go for the annual subscription, it will cost you $19.99 per month. If you’re a college student, you can sign up for the Pro Student plan at 35% off, thereby costing $149.99 per year.

The Pro plan gives you access to the basic courses along with members-only course content, which includes the complete curriculum. You also get peer support, step-by-step guidance, unlimited mobile practice, real-world projects, and certificates of completion.

With the help of Career Paths and Skill Paths, you can also define your career goals or the skills you want to build and then follow the specific paths to achieve your goals.

You can pause or cancel your Pro membership anytime you want, which gives you greater freedom with your learning schedule.

Teams

The Teams plan costs $240 per year per user. It offers all the features that you get with Codecademy Pro, along with five seats, access to the admin dashboard, flexible start dates, team performance reports, and unlimited license switching. 

Codecademy’s 2-week free trial for Teams users allows you to add ten team members.

Teams+

To get the Teams+ plan, you need to request a custom quote. It allows you to use the features of the Teams plan, along with unlimited training groups, single sign-on, and the ability to create a custom curriculum and co-branded landing page. 

With the help of the reporting API, you can also integrate new data into your dashboard to track your team’s progress. 

Udacity

Unlike Codecademy, Udacity doesn’t offer specific, easy-to-understand pricing or subscription plans. Its courses are free, but it charges for each nanodegree program that you enroll for, which can run up to hundreds of dollars every month. 

To see the price for each nanodegree, you need to check out its Program Details page.

If you’ve enrolled in a nanodegree program and are unsatisfied with it, you can get a full refund within a week of receiving access to the program.

You can also get third-party-sponsored scholarships if you require financial aid.

Are you planning to sign up to Udacity for your business team? Udacity offers an Enterprise plan for companies. To get a quote, you need to fill up a form on the plan’s landing page and sign up for a consultation, after which Udacity’s team will contact you to discuss your plan details.

Customer Support

Codecademy

Codecademy doesn’t have a full-fledged customer support system or team.

But it provides a community forum and community chat feature where you can talk to other coders and programmers and share knowledge. You can also join your local community chapter and meet up with other students online or in person. 

The platform also offers many extra learning resources in the form of articles, documents, videos, blog posts, cheatsheets, challenges, and projects. 

Pro users get access to Codecademy’s Career Center, where you can get additional tools and support to land your dream job in the programming industry. 

Udacity

Udacity provides 24/7 support via a network of over 1,400 highly-vetted mentors.

These mentors go through a five-step hiring process and need to complete a nanodegree program from Udacity, ensuring that you get the best support. The mentors provide personalized feedback on each of your projects, helping you learn and grow better.

You can also be privy to Udacity’s blog, articles, Career Resource Center, Support Community, and Knowledge Center.

An added advantage of using this learning platform is its Career Services, including exclusive job postings, detailed resume reviews,  and customized reviews of your LinkedIn and Github profiles.

Unlike Codecademy, Udacity also provides live chat services and promises a 1-hour average response time to your questions. 

Final Verdict: Codecademy Vs. Udacity

Codecademy vs Udacity — which is better? 

If you’re looking for a simple, text-based learning platform that offers basic programming courses, Codecademy is the perfect choice for you. 

You can easily sign up with a free plan, along with other clear-cut and affordable pricing plans, and easily access an integrated code editor, Skill Paths and Career Paths, gamification, course completion certificates, a mobile app, community forums, and a co-branded landing page for businesses.

On the other hand, if you’re an experienced programming professional who wants to take your skills and knowledge to the next level, Udacity is a better choice. 

Its wide range of self-paced, in-depth courses and nanodegrees, video tutorials and slides, personalized feedback on coding projects from developers, 24/7 support from mentors, and live chat option make it better than Codecademy.

You can also get a personal career coach and add Udacity’s courses as a qualification on your resume, helping you get noticed by hiring managers.

Although it’s tough to choose between Codecademy vs Udacity, we’d go with Udacity for its in-depth learning materials.

Which one would you choose? Do you know of any other excellent learning platforms for programmers? Tell us in the comments below.

Resource Links

• Codecademy
• Codecademy
• Codecademy
• Udacity
• Udacity
• Udacity
• Udacity