Datacamp vs Codecademy | Who Will Be Crowned Our Data Champion?

If you are looking to learn data skills online, then you have probably heard of Datacamp and Codecademy. Whether you are wanting to learn data science, programming or how to code, these are the top platforms to consider.

You are most likely left with plenty of unanswered questions like: What are their prices? Is there a refund policy? Would a course with them help me get a job? Which platform has the best reputation?

To answer all these questions and more, I’ve created an in-depth Datacamp vs Codecademy comparison. Let’s get into it!

Datacamp vs Codecademy: Verdict

Datacamp is best if you are looking to learn data-related skills, AI or a specific programming language like Python. It offers a couple of plans, the Basic (free plan) and the paid Premium plan for individual learners. The Basic plan is very limited and only gives you access to 6 free courses and the first chapter of every course. Whereas the Premium plan gives you full access and can be paid monthly at $39 USD a month or yearly at $300 USD (working out at $12.42 USD a month), it’s significantly cheaper if you opt for the annual plan, but you will need to pay in full upfront. As well as its individual subscription plans, Datacamp offers a Team’s and Enterprise plan. Its courses are designed to learn at your own pace, many are beginner-friendly whilst others are to help learners develop skills for a career path.

Similarly, Codecademy offers subscription plans which you can choose to pay for monthly or annually. It’s a platform that focuses on learning programming skills, offering a huge number of programming languages. You can choose between the Basic free plan, the Plus plan that focuses on learning a skill with paths and projects costing $34.99 USD a month or the $209.88 USD annual plan (working out at $17.49 USD a month). Finally, the Pro plan is for an individual looking to develop their career with courses and interview prep costing $59.99 USD monthly or $359.88 USD annually (working out at $29.99 USD a month). Codecademy also offers a Team plan which includes a 2-week free trial.

In this article, I go into detail about the differences between these two popular platforms, so hopefully by the end of this comparison, you’ll know whether Datacamp or Codecademy is right for you.

Round 1: Which One Is More Popular?

As you see below in this Google Trends screenshot, when it comes to popularity, there’s one clear winner: Codecademy.

DataCamp vs Codecademy popularity on Google Trends

DataCamp is a well established online platform offering 430+ courses on topics like Data Engineering, Programming, Machine Learning and much more. As well as its courses, it focuses on helping learners land their dream data job. With more than 10 million DataCamp learners from 180+ countries, it goes without saying that it’s a trusted and legit learning platform.

The Codecademy platform focuses on teaching code, as well topics like Computer Science or Web Design. It doesn’t just offer courses, it has paths for career and skills designed to help prepare you for a job role. It offers a big bunch of courses for free to get you started and then if you fancy upgrading to a paid plan you can. It currently has 50 million learners from 190+ countries and an engaged community.

Google trends definitely give us an indication on which platform users are looking for. That still doesn’t answer all the questions and doubts you have before committing to either Datacamp or Codecademy? I aim to uncover those doubts and questions in the following rounds.

Round 2: Ease-of-Use & Interface

First impressions are important, right? So, when you first land on an online learning platform it’s important the layout is intuitive, and it’s easy to find what you are looking for. Let’s check out which platform has the easiest system?

Registration

The registration process for Datacamp is really straightforward, you can Start Learning For Free by adding your email and creating a password and instantly an account is created. As well as adding your email address you can register for a free account with Google, LinkedIn or Facebook. Then if you do decide you want to upgrade for a paid account, you can simply select upgrade and add your card details.

Datacamp Registration

Codecademy has a really similar registration process, you can create a free account just by adding your email and password and clicking Sign up. There is also the option to sign up using LinkedIn, Google, Facebook or Github. Then once you are signed up you can choose to upgrade to one of its paid plans.

Codecademy Registration

Backend & Design

Once you are registered with Datacamp you can start exploring its courses, skill tracks or career tracks. As I mentioned before, if you have subscribed to its Basic (free plan) you will only get access to 6 courses and the first chapter of every course.

Welcome to Datacamp

If you do decide to upgrade your account to the Premium plan you will get full access to the content library. A good place to start is by using its Filter Courses (see image below) to start learning.

Datacamp filters

Codecademy gives you the option to take a quiz to get you started, which can be pretty helpful if you are a complete beginner. You just need to answer 8 simple questions, and it will point you in the right direction for which courses and paths to take.

Codecademy Quiz

The Codecademy interface has similarities to Datacamp, its programming languages and subjects are listed on the left-hand side, and you can explore the catalog with its top career paths and most popular courses. It is missing a filter system which comes in handy when you know exactly what you are looking for.

Codecademy Explore the catalog

Overall, Datacamp and Codecademy have really intuitive and user-friendly platforms and make it easy to find what you are looking for. The only feature lacking from the Codecademy platform is a filter system, so you can directly find what you are searching for.

Datacamp and Codecademy both offer an app, but unless you have paid subscriptions and an active internet you won’t be able to enjoy the full learning experience.

Round 3: Datacamp Vs Codecademy Courses & Skills

One of the most important factors to consider before choosing a course on a new platform are the details surrounding the course like: What topics do they offer? Who will be my instructor? Are there different types of courses and learning programs?

Course Information

Datacamp specializes in topics like data science and analytics and offers 430+ courses, as well as skill and career tracks which are designed to prepare you for a particular role or career path. Its courses are designed in a way to be really interactive and engaging for users with exercises to complete along the way.

Datacamp interactive exercises

Datacamp user reviews

There are a small number of learner reviews across the Datacamp platform. Sadly, there aren’t any that are course-specific, but it may be reassuring for you to read that previous learners have had a positive experience.

Codecademy Sorting Quiz

Codecademy offers a smaller number of courses across 20+ subjects and 15 programming languages. It is a platform that specializes in coding and offers courses related to data science and analytics. A great place to start is by taking the sorting quiz (see image above) which takes you through a series of questions to help find out which career, programming languages and course would suit you best based on your personal interests and strengths.

Codecademy Learner Stories

Codecademy has an array of learner stories talking about their experience with Codecademy. Some even include a video, which shows the effort put into collecting these learner testimonials. I must say, Codecademy has exceeded itself here, so that new learners can watch and read about previous learners.

Round 4: Free Courses at Datacamp & Codecademy

A question that always crops up is: Where can I find free courses?

I am always quick to point out that free doesn’t always mean quality. Saying that, for some, a free course, can be their way to start out with online learning, and let’s be honest, who here doesn’t love a freebie?

Datacamp Basic Free Plan

Datacamp offers a free basic plan which anyone can sign up for, this gives you very limited access to the platform. There are only 6 courses included in the free plan as well as the first chapters of every course. This isn’t the most generous free plan, but honestly, I am seeing less and less free courses and plans offered these days from online learning platforms.

Codecademy Basic Plan

Codecademy like Datacamp offers a basic free plan, which everyone can sign up for. The Codecademy free Basic plan gives you access to 180 hours of basic courses, peer support and the option to start more advanced ones. You can upgrade to a paid plan easily with both platforms.

The fact that you can try out both platforms before financially committing is pretty generous, especially compared to other online learning platforms. Codecademy has a slightly more generous free plan giving you access to more courses and other features, it could be a good place to start before subscribing to a paid plan.

Round 5: Available Languages At Datacamp & Codecademy

I promise this is a quick round.

Datacamp is a platform that teaches in English, as its community are primarily English speakers or wanting to learn in English. It does offer subtitles in English, German, Spanish, Arabic and Simplified Chinese.

Available subtitles with Datacamp

Whereas Codecademy only offers its courses and site navigation in English, so for anyone whose second language is English and was hoping for subtitles, even in English can be helpful to follow along, will be disappointed.

Round 6: Datacamp Vs Codecademy Certificates

I know that earning a certificate can be essential for some learners for a number of reasons. It can be proof of successfully completing a course or learning program, something to show to a future employer, or it can be added to your Resume or LinkedIn profile. It is important to point out here that not all certificates are verified, which means the online learning platform and its courses are not partnered and issued by a credible University or Institution.

Recently, Datacamp has added Professional Certifications to its catalog of courses (see image above). It currently offers a Data Scientist and Data Analyst Professional Certifications. They are designed to prepare a learner to be job-ready for these particular roles and have been created by Datacamp itself, built on a foundation of job market data. These certifications are built in partnership with industry leaders, which will help to show the employer that you have the skills needed. For all other courses at DataCamp you can earn statements of accomplishments, and these are all included in your membership plan.

Datacamp Professional Certification

Codecademy offers certificates of completion with its paid membership plans when you successfully complete a course or path. This certificate acts as an acknowledgement and a learner can save these and share as they please.

Round 7: Datacamp Vs Codecademy Teachers & Community

For some, the teacher or instructor of the course is one of the most important factors to consider. You may have some questions about your teacher, that you want answered before you decide to commit like:

Does the teacher have qualifications to teach this subject? How many years of experience do they have? Will I be able to ask my instructor for personal feedback?

Datacamp has a network of 270+ instructors that are subject-matter experts in data science and analytics. Datacamp works closely with its instructors to support them during the course development process, but they do take ownership of their work. However, you aren’t able to reach out directly to answer questions or receive feedback.

Datacamp Instructors

Datacamp has an active community who uses Slack to communicate, it has various channels and the option to send direct messages to teammates who can help answer questions or doubts you may have. If those questions can’t be answered, then you can submit a support request.

Datacamp Slack Community

Codecademy works a little differently as they have a team of hundreds of employees who work together to design, create and produce its course catalog. Its approach means there isn’t a face behind each course, instead it’s a team and the platform.

Codecademy Team

Codecademy has an area dedicated to its community with forums, chapters and events to help answer learners’ doubts or questions. In terms of the Forums I am not convinced how much it is really used as some posts were last made more than a couple of years ago.

Codecademy Community

Round 8: Is Datacamp or Codecademy Support Better

If you are anything like me, then slow support and bad customer service is so frustrating, right?

Datacamp has a standard support page where you search for your question and hopefully find an answer to what you are looking for. You can also send a message about a specific product or service like a course you are learning on, account & billing or more. When I contacted Datacamp about a question on one of the courses I was learning on it took them 48 hours to reply.

Datacamp Support

Like Datacamp, Codecademy has a standard help page with various articles to help answer questions and doubts. It also has a chatbot to help answer questions you may not be able to find on the support page. Like any chatbot, if they are unable to answer your question you can send them an email, which I did, and they took them less than 24 hours to reply.

Codecademy Help

Round 9: Which One Is Better for Businesses

Online learning Platforms don’t just offer plans for individuals and Datacamp and Codecademy are no different. The fact that more teams and businesses are needing to upskill and train its employees, mean that turning to online learning is a convenient and cost-effective way to do it.

Datacamp offers a couple of different plans: Teams and Enterprise. The Team plan is designed for a smaller number of users (between 2-100). The Enterprise plan is for a larger business and its pricing is custom based on the needs of the larger organization. Datacamp has worked with 2,500+ companies to provide employee training for Google, Microsoft and ebay are just some of its clients. If you want to find out more information on Datacamp for Business you can directly request a demo (see image above).

Datacamp for Business

Codecademy offers mirroring business plans, the Teams and Enterprise. Its Team plan is for a smaller number of seats (between 5-25). Then its Enterprise plan is custom-based and for 25+ employees. Codecademy offers free trial on its Team plan, and you can request a demo on its Enterprise package.

Codecademy for Business

Round 10: Datacamp Vs Codecademy Pricing & Refunds

We have come to the final round, pricing. It’s what most of us have to consider first before we financially commit to anything. Some of the obvious questions you may have are: What’s included in my membership plan? Is there a refund policy?

Is Datacamp or Codecademy free?

Both Datacamp and Codecademy offer basic plans which give you access to a limited number of courses for free. This is a great place to start as not many online learning platforms offer free courses or plans anymore. But what I would say is, if you are serious about learning data science or programming, it is worth trying out a paid plan which you can pay for monthly or annually to get the full learning experience. If you decide in that first month that it isn’t for you, then you can cancel your Datacamp or Codecademy monthly subscription plan.

Datacamp and Codecademy work with a subscription model, which are very similarly priced, let me explain in more detail about pricing below;

Datacamp Premium plan includes the following:

• Course library (430+)
• All tutorials
• Certificates & Employment-ready programs
• Live code-alongs & Competitions
• Slack & Priority customer support

Codecademy Plus & Pro plans include the following:

• Course library
• Community Support
• Assessments & Personalized practice
• Real-world projects
• Certificates, Career paths & Interview prep
• Priority customer support

Codecademy Pricing Plans

Datacamp and Codecademy have the option of a monthly or annual subscription which will be charged on a recurring monthly or yearly basis, starting from the date you sign up. In both cases, it does work out cheaper to opt for the annual plan, but that does mean committing for the full year. Sadly, neither of the platforms offer a refund policy, but if you do decide to cancel your subscription plan you can do so at anytime, and you will still have access to the platform for the remaining subscription period. If you aren’t ready to financially commit, then you can try out the free basic plans on both platforms to give you a taster and what to expect.

Datacamp does offer a feature to monthly users that you can pause your account for as long as you need. After that time period, your subscription will automatically reactivate, and you can continue without losing any progress. I have not seen this feature with any other online learning platforms, and it’s a great way to keep your learning flexible, especially if you have an upcoming trip or unexpected life event. So, purely for that reason, the point will have to go to them.

Bonus Round: Datacamp & Codecademy Alternatives

If you made it this far, firstly, thank you. It isn’t easy to summarize all the differences between these two elearning platforms. If you have got to the end of this comparison and realized that neither Datacamp nor Codecademy is right for you for any number of reasons.

It may be that neither of these platforms can offer a verified certification or there isn’t help with career advice. I put together some alternative online learning platforms for you to consider.

Coursera

If earning an accredited certificate is something you are looking for, then Coursera would be your best bet. It partners with 200+ Universities and Companies like Duke and Google. It offers a whole variety of high-quality courses, specializations, degrees and more.

Coursera an alternative to Datacamp or Codecademy

You can sign up to Coursera for free or pay for a course or subscribe to Coursera Plus a subscription plan and begin to explore its 5,000+ courses and learning programs.

More information

Visit Coursera.com

Udacity

Udacity is an online learning platform that specializes in technology topics with a particular focus on helping prepare you for a job role. It partners with leading technology companies like Google and Microsoft to create its Nanodegree programs. Nanodegrees is the name for their learning programs which are designed to prepare for a role like a Data Engineer or Data Scientist.

Udacity an alternative to Datacamp or Codecademy

You can sign up to Udacity for free, which will give you access to 200 of its programs for free. If you then decide you want to try out a paid Nanodegree you can upgrade easily.

More information

Visit Udacity.com

Pluralsight

Pluralsight is an online learning platform that offers courses on technology related topics to help individuals develop the skills of tomorrow. It offers subscription-based plans for both individuals and teams in topics like software development, IT ops, AI, machine learning and much more.

Pluralsight an alternative to Datacamp or Codecademy

Its individual and team plans come with 10 and 14 day free trials which give you access to its expanded library of 7,000+ courses. It has worked and helped organizations like FedEx and Ford.

More information

Visit Pluralsight.com

Udemy

Udemy is the largest online learning platform on the market. It currently offers 213,000+ courses and a wide variety of topics from Business to Lifestyle to Music and much more.

Udemy an alternative to Datacamp or Codecademy

All of Udemys courses are paid for per course. Its pricing can range from $9.99 USD to $199.99 USD, and you are entitled to a 30-day refund policy. As well as individual learners, Udemy offers plans for teams and businesses

More information

Visit udemy.com

Final thoughts: Datacamp vs Codecademy

Alright, after this long and detailed comparison, you will have a good overview of both platforms. It’s important to consider that Datacamp and Codecademy have many similarities, like its learning style and pricing plans. But at the same time, there are some major differences, like the level of detail covered in its categories, Datacamp offers multiple career paths and goes into way more detail on topics which maybe helpful for some developing and advancing their career. Whereas Codecademy has more courses on programming languages and maybe more appealing to beginners. I put together each platform’s pros and cons to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each platform.

Datacamp Pros

Datacamp Cons

Codecademy Pros

Codecademy Cons

There’s a lot to consider when choosing an online learning community, so if you still have some questions, please leave a comment below, and I’ll do my best to help you.

Article Updates:

07/30/23 – Datacamp Pros and Cons – Updated

06/28/23 – Datacamp vs Codecademy: Pricing – Updated

05/30/23 – Datacamp vs Codecademy: Verdict

05/02/23 – Datacamp vs Codecademy: FAQ

04/04/23 – Final Thoughts Datacamp vs Codecademy Updated

03/13/23 – Datacamp vs Codecademy: FAQ

02/28/23 – Codecademy Pricing Plans

02/14/23 – Upskillwise discount coupon – 25% off Datacamp

02/08/23 – Is Datacamp or Codecademy free?

02/03/23 – Datacamp vs Codecademy: FAQ

01/27/23 – Datacamp vs Codecademy Pricing & Refunds Updated

01/24/23 – Datacamp & Codecademy Pros and Cons Added

01/01/23 – Codecademy Pricing Updated

12/13/22 – Datacamp vs Codecademy for Business Updated

11/29/22 – Udemy Alternative for Datacamp vs Codecademy

11/22/22 – Datacamp Certifications

11/17/22 – Datacamp vs Codecademy Pricing & Refunds Updated

10/18/22 – Datacamp vs Codecademy Pricing & Refunds

09/28/22 – Added Pluralsight Alternative

09/23/22 – Round 1 DataCamp vs Codecademy Updated

09/06/22 – Datacamp vs Codecademy Alternatives

08/31/22 – Datacamp vs Codecademy Published

Catherine Cooke

Hey. I am Catherine and I have been working as a freelancer for many years now. In 2005, I graduated from a BA honours in Art & Design from BCU and then went onto complete a Master’s Degree in Teaching from UEL. The skills I gained from learning and teaching have led me to create Upskillwise, a place for learners like myself to find the best possible resources and courses to train and upskill themselves, either personally or professionally. If you have a question, please feel free to ask me anything or leave me a comment.