Codecademy vs Khan Academy 2025: Which One To Choose?

Choosing between Codecademy and Khan Academy to learn to code? I’ve been there! Both platforms are great, but they serve different needs.

Codecademy is hands-on, guiding you step by step as you write real code. It’s perfect if you want to dive right in and build projects.

Khan Academy, on the other hand, explains coding concepts in a super simple way, making it great for beginners who want to understand the “why” before the “how.”

So, which one is better for you? That depends on how you like to learn! In this comparison, I’ll break down their features, teaching styles, and which one might be the best fit for your goals.

Let’s find out which platform can help you master coding faster and easier!

Codecademy vs Khan Academy 2025: (Head-to-Head) Comparison

The two platforms are quite different, and finding the one that suits your needs is essential. One charges a substantial fee, while the other is free as a non-profit.

Choosing between paid and free options may seem easy, but compromising on quality can impact your learning and career significantly. There’s more at stake than just money.

Feature	Codecademy	Khan Academy
Best For	Coding & IT Skills	General Education (Math, Science, Humanities, etc.)
Number of Courses	700+	300+
Number of Users	50M+	120M+
Languages Supported	1	44
Pricing	Free & Paid Plans (from $10.50/month)	100% Free
Free Trial	7 Days	Unlimited
Subscription Plans	Monthly & Annual Plans	Free
Refund Policy	7 Days	N/A
Company Headquarters	New York, USA	California, USA
Founded	2011	2008

Codecademy vs Khan Academy: Teaching Styles

Codecademy’s Teaching Style

If you Google for a place to learn to code through online courses, one of the first results in the search would be Codecademy. Codecademy courses offer 12 different coding languages.

Some of them are Java, C++, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, CSS, Python, and HTML. The coding lectures on Codecademy have been constantly improving ever since the inception of the website.

This has helped them cater to over 45 million users so far, which can at least be compared to the number of users of Khan Academy.

Codecademy has an easy-to-use interface and is highly accessible with free beginner’s courses. It offers features that are most appealing to all amateurs.

These are people who are planning on pursuing coding not as a full-time career but more as a hobby. The low pricing compared to peers also indicates the same and encourages more and more people to pursue it as a hobby.

Codecademy has divided itself into three different fields: first being documentation, next being code editors, and finally virtual browsers.

The platform will automatically check your code. Once you catch on the right, you progress on to the subsequent lesson.

Codecademy’s learning tracks, which are referred to as “Career Paths”, are extremely helpful to someone looking to extend their coding knowledge. Career Path programs include courses like Code Development, Web Development, Data Science, and more.

Khan Academy’s Teaching Style

Khan Academy offers beginner to advanced courses in web development, web design, mobile development, and game development taught by a team of instructors from Khan Academy.

Its courses are aimed at beginners who are looking to find out the required coding skills for a career within the tech industry.

These courses tend to stay at the beginner level even though they are called Advanced.

Khan Academy has been working with a wide audience, but the audience is mainly due to the other courses rather than the coding courses. These courses are best for beginners who look towards coding as a hobby that might help them at some point or another.

Apart from this, Khan Academy isn’t able to form a community of coders the way Codecademy has been able to.

This is a major disadvantage to the website since forming a community is crucial to the coding culture and has great benefits to the users. They are helpful in case you are facing any difficulties. 

Khan Academy delivers its curriculum through video classes. After each lesson, there is a challenge for the user. This challenge is Khan Academy’s way of testing what you have learned from the lesson.

These challenges are creative, but in my experience, they are not as good as the ones on Codecademy and lack the tools to test the depth of the understanding. Codecademy clearly shines in this aspect when comparing the two websites.

Khan Academy also breaks down the lectures into smaller parts to ensure maximum retention, keeping in mind the smaller attention span of users.

How Much Time Would You Need To Invest?

Codecademy Course Duration

Codecademy offers hourly estimates for all of its career tracks.

• The online Development course on Codecademy takes approximately 300 hours to finish.
• In about 350 hours, you’ll complete the Programming and Computing program on Codecademy.
• In an equal amount of your time, you’ll also complete your Data Science program.

Khan Academy Course Duration

An academy offers a single course in coding called Computer Programming, which includes various coding languages as smaller subcourses within it.

The entire course takes approximately 50 hours to complete, although this can vary based on how creative you choose to be with the challenges after each session.

If you fully engage with the challenges, it may take considerably longer, but if you prefer to stick to the basics, you could finish in about 50 hours.

The course is self-paced, allowing you to complete it in just over three days or extend it over a couple of months, depending on how much time you are willing to dedicate.

Codecademy vs Khan Academy: Pricing Review

Codecademy operates on monthly subscriptions. On the other hand, Khan Academy offers all its lessons for free.

Codecademy Pricing

Codecademy follows a subscription-based model, offering both free and paid plans. The free plan provides access to basic lessons, but premium features like real-world projects, certificates, and career tracks require a Codecademy Pro subscription.

Codecademy Pro costs $39.99 per month or $239.88 per year (which lowers the monthly cost to about $19.99). Unlike Udemy, where you own the courses forever, Codecademy’s subscription gives you unlimited access only while you’re subscribed.

This is great for those who want a comprehensive, structured learning experience, but it may not be ideal for students who prefer a one-time payment model.

They also give you access to various Codecademy forums, including a private Facebook group where people can interact with fellow users and clear their doubts regarding coding.

Khan Academy Pricing

Khan Academy, as we have mentioned many times before, is a completely free website.

You don’t need to pay anything to access any of the resources available on the app. This means you can participate in all the sessions and challenges whenever you want, at no cost.

You might be wondering how they make any money. The truth is, they don’t, as they operate as a non-profit organization.

However, you do have the option to support them by donating money or volunteering your time. This is a great way for those who can spare extra time to contribute.

Khan Academy has developed a loyal following among its users because it offers excellent lessons for free and has been endorsed by many well-known figures, including Bill and Melinda Gates.

Donation amounts are flexible; you can contribute as little as $1 or any amount you wish. This provides a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to learn coding without spending any money.

Codecademy vs Khan Academy: Which One is Worth the Money?

Feature	Codecademy (Best for Advanced Coding)	Khan Academy (Best for Beginners)
Focus	Offers in-depth coding courses for career development	Provides introductory lessons in multiple subjects, including basic coding
Learning Style	Interactive, hands-on coding with an in-browser code editor	Video-based lessons with step-by-step explanations but no real-time coding practice
Course Variety	Covers quality engineering, data analysis, visual design, UX, business literacy, and soft skills	Focuses on basic computer science and general education subjects like math and economics
Course Structure	Structured career paths designed to develop professional coding skills	Teaches fundamentals, helping learners transition to more advanced platforms later
Certifications	Certificates available with Codecademy Pro (not accredited)	No certificates offered
Pricing	Paid subscription ($39.99/month or $239.88/year)	Completely free for all users
Best For	Aspiring programmers looking for a well-rounded, structured approach	Beginners looking to explore coding without financial commitment

Codecademy vs Khan Academy: Users & Reviews

Codecademy Users

Khan Academy Users

FAQs 

👉Is Codecademy free?

Certainly not, you can get the 7 day trial for free so that you can decide if it suits you best before making any payments. Codecademy also offers tiered plans for 6 months and 1 year. These semi-annual and annual plans are a bit cheaper compared to the monthly renewal plans.

👉Is Codecademy a good place to learn to code?

Codecademy can be very well stated as a good place to learn to code. Step by step guided tutorial approach is the winning factor we must say.

👉Is Khan Academy free?

Khan Academy is absolutely free for all its users. You can contribute to them with donations or by volunteering.

👉What options are available to learn to code online?

There are many online websites that teach how to code but Codecademy and Khan Academy are the leading ones due to their curriculum, assessment techniques, and method of teaching.

👉What other websites are available to learn to code?

There are various other websites as well like Coursera, Udemy, Treehouse, and many others that can help you learn how to code at prices much affordable than a local class.

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Conclusion: Codecademy vs Khan Academy Comparison 2025

Have money to spend on learning a new skill that would help you beef up your resume? Codecademy will blow your mind with its lessons, challenges, and community support.

They will give you good value for your money and let you build a portfolio that you can take to your future employer to show him your work before he hires you.

On the other hand, if you don’t want to spend that money on this and learning to code is more of a hobby thing for you, then Khan Academy covers you well.

All the lessons are offered for free, so you cannot go wrong monetarily. Since you don’t want a job revolving around coding anyway, you don’t need a portfolio, and you can showcase your creativity in the challenges.

Hopefully, the comparison between Codecademy and Khan Academy will help you choose the right academic path for you.