DataCamp vs Codecademy — Which Is Better?

Want to learn data science, programming, or how to code online? DataCamp and Codecademy are two of the most popular online learning platforms for studying data science on your own terms.

However, are they really worth it? Which one is better for studying Python, R, or any other language or topic related to data science?

In this comparison review, I will compare DataCamp and Codecademy on several fronts. I will examine things such as the topics they cover, course content and quality, career tracks, certification, real-life exercises, and pricing.

If you’ve been wondering whether to invest your money in DataCamp or Codecademy, this article is for you. Let’s get into it!

DataCamp vs Codecademy: Introduction

What Is DataCamp?

DataCamp was founded in 2013, so it’s been around for a bit. Its current CEO is Martijn Theuwissen, who has headed the company since 2019.

DataCamp offers courses on data science and programming languages such as R and Python. It claims to have over 8 million learners, but that’s probably the number of users registered on the platform, both free and paid, not necessarily all those who have completed courses.

In addition to offering courses to individuals, DataCamp offers programs for businesses who want to offer courses to their employees and teachers who want to teach data science to their students.

What Is Codecademy?

Codecademy was founded in New York in 2011 — a bit earlier than DataCamp. One of its co-founders, Zach Sims, was a Columbia University dropout who wanted to make coding and data science learning available even to those who do not attend college or a university.

Codecademy has both free and paid lessons. However, the paid plan only showed up later — Codecademy started out as an entirely free resource for learning data science online.

Codecademy partnered with the United States government, when then-president Barack Obama started an initiative to advance entrepreneurship. Codecademy agreed to meet up with 600 learners from disadvantaged communities, in person, and teach them how to code.

You can read more about it in the archives of Obama’s White House press releases.

Codecademy has some powerful investors, including Thrive Capital and Bloomberg Beta. Its mission is to make coding and technology skills available to anyone who wants to learn them – regardless of race, socioeconomic class, and so on.

Codecademy vs DataCamp: Topics And Languages Taught

DataCamp

DataCamp focuses on teaching data science. You can learn popular languages such as Python, R, and SQL.

DataCamp is actually great if you want to learn R — there is a huge range of courses, ranging from Introduction to R to more advanced courses like Exploratory Data Analysis With R.

There are actually over 150 courses related to R, including data science and statistics in R. There are a similar number of courses related to Python.

On the other hand, there are fewer than 30 courses on SQL.

Some other technologies you can study on DataCamp include:

• Scala
• Shell
• Git
• Power BI
• Tableau
• Excel
• Spark
• And more

Some technologies are not covered that broadly. For example, there is currently only one course on Excel — Data Analysis In Excel.

In general, courses focus on topics such as:

• Data visualization
• Data manipulation
• Machine learning
• Data engineering
• Programming
• Cleaning data
• Importing data
• Case studies
• Applied finance
• And similar topics as related to the technologies mentioned above

If you want to learn about a specific topic, and you are wondering whether DataCamp covers it, check out its course catalog. You can filter based on technology or topic to find the courses you want.

So, how many courses are there altogether on DataCamp?

Right now, there are over 350 courses altogether.

Some topics and technologies, like R and data manipulation, are covered more extensively. Other topics and technologies, like Excel and cleaning/importing data, have less content — but you can still learn the basics.

Codecademy

If you want to go beyond R, Python, and SQL, Codecademy might be a better choice. It seems to have a broader selection of languages, including:

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

Common topics Codecademy’s courses cover include:

• Data science
• Web development
• Data visualization
• Computer science
• Cybersecurity
• Code foundations
• Mobile development
• Web design
• And many others

As you can see, there is a big difference between DataCamp and Codecademy.

DataCamp focuses more on data science.

Codecademy, on the other hand, focuses more on coding, so there are courses on a wider range of languages, including popular ones like JavaScript, CSS, C++, and C#.

You might see some of those topics covered on DataCamp in specific lessons. For example, the course Optimizing R Code With Rcpp has lessons on C++.

However, it is harder to find that content, as there are no filters for it in the course catalog.

It’s in the names, really. DataCamp is called DataCamp because it focuses on data science, while Codecademy focuses on code.

You can view Codecademy’s catalog here.

DataCamp vs Codecademy: Skill Tracks And Career Tracks

One area in which DataCamp and Codecademy are similar is that both of them have career tracks and skill tracks. However, what are they, and which one offers better tracks — DataCamp or Codecademy?

DataCamp

DataCamp has 12 career tracks and 51 skill tracks at the moment.

As you might expect, career tracks are designed to help you prepare for a specific career. The tracks incorporate various courses from the DataCamp platform, all put together in a specific order to take you from A-Z in preparation for that career.

For example, there are career tracks for aspiring data analysts, data scientists, R programmers, Python programmers, and more. Some careers have more than one track — with each track having its own slant and some taking longer than others.

The skill tracks are a bit more specific. They are much shorter than the career tracks and focus on a specific skill as opposed to a set of skills needed when working in a specific position.

Examples of skill tracks include:

• Data manipulation
• Statistics fundamentals
• Python fundamentals
• Applied finance

The skill tracks still incorporate multiple courses in a specific order, so you’ll learn more than by studying a single course. Single courses are shorter than the tracks, which take you from A-Z in a specific skill, such as data manipulation basics.

Codecademy

Codecademy also has career and skill tracks (they are called paths on Codecademy). However, it only has 8 career paths and 33 skill paths — that’s fewer than the number of tracks DataCamp offers.

Also, while DataCamp makes it clear in the tracks catalog how many hours each track lasts, in addition to the number of courses in the track, Codecademy only lists the number of lessons in each track.

That can make it a bit harder to pick the track best for you, especially if time is one of your top priorities.

On the other hand, Codecademy does label each track as either Beginner Friendly or Intermediate, so that can help you pick the right track if you are starting from scratch.

Here are the 8 career tracks available on Codecademy:

• Data analyst
• Computer science
• Back end engineer
• Front end engineer
• Full stack engineer
• Data scientist
• Learn data analysis for your business
• Learn full stack engineering for your business.

Codecademy vs DataCamp: Projects

Both DataCamp and Codecademy let you work on real-life projects, so you get a chance to practice your data science and coding skills. But are the projects better on Codecademy or DataCamp, and which one has more projects?

DataCamp

DataCamp has 96 projects at the moment. That’s quite a lot!

Some skills or topics you will have to know to work on the projects include:

• Data manipulation
• Data visualization
• Working probability and statistics
• Creating case studies
• Machine learning

Most of the projects take 30 or 45 minutes to complete — it will say how long the project takes in the catalog.

Almost all the projects on DataCamp are guided, but there are a couple of projects that are unguided, which means you will have to work from scratch and really know your stuff.

Codecademy

Right now, Codecademy only has 25 projects available. That’s quite a bit less than DataCamp — in fact, it’s only a little more than a quarter of the number of projects DataCamp has.

Nevertheless, Codecademy’s projects span a wider range of subjects, allowing you to practice additional skills. For example, some skills and languages you will need to know for the projects on Codecademy include:

• Data science
• Web development
• Programming
• Java
• Python
• Pandas
• CSS
• C++
• JavaScript
• C#
• SQL
• HTML

So, for example, if you want to work on real-life projects with C++, HTML, or JavaScript, Codecademy would be a better choice for you.

Also Read: DataCamp vs Coursera

DataCamp vs Codecademy: Certification

Both Codecademy and DataCamp offer certifications. Let’s examine what the certifications involve, how to get them, what they cost, and whether they would help you find a job.

DataCamp

After completing any track on DataCamp, you will get a Statement of Accomplishment certificate. You can download this Statement of Accomplishment and attach it to your resume or when applying for jobs.

However, this Statement of Accomplishment only states that you completed the track. If you want to make yourself more attractive to employers and recruiters, you can get the professional DataCamp Certification.

To get this certification, you will have to do more than complete lessons and exercises — you will have to go through a three-step assessment process to prove your worth. Here are the three steps you must complete to be certified in data science by DataCamp:

• Timed assessments: There are three timed quizzes you need to take first. There is a certain bar you must pass; if you don’t get enough answers right, you will have to redo this step before moving on to the next one.
• Coding challenge: DataCamp will present you with a coding challenge to test your coding skills.
• Case study: Given a certain data set, you will have to create your own case study.

Finally, once you complete all three steps successfully, you will get your DataCamp certificate.

Will either a Statement of Accomplishment or a DataCamp Certificate help you land a job? It will probably make you a more attractive candidate to recruiters, as it will show that you spent your free time putting in the effort to learn and master a skill.

However, it can’t really replace a degree from a real university.

Codecademy

Codecademy will give you a certificate when you complete a course or a path — but not all courses and paths give you a certificate.

You can add your name to the certificate, download it, and show it to employers and recruiters.

However, it seems like that is it — there is no assessed certification possible, though you do need to complete the quizzes and exercises in each course to get a certificate for it.

In this regard, I’d say DataCamp wins by a slight margin.

Both Codecademy and DataCamp certificates don’t really hold much value in the job market when compared to a college degree. However, DataCamp at least makes it clear that you need to go through many assessments and challenges to get a full certificate.

That might impress recruiters just a bit more — if they know what a DataCamp certification entails.

Also Read: Best Kahoot Alternatives

Codecademy vs DataCamp: Job Placement/Career Help

While both Codecademy and DataCamp offer certificates, only one of them offers help with landing a job.

DataCamp

DataCamp offers career training and job placement help — for a price. While it will usually cost you $400, they are currently running a promotion — you will get career coaching for free if you get a DataCamp certification before September 30, 2021.

So, what does the DataCamp career coaching service include? Let’s go over some of its benefits:

• Branding: To land a good job, you need to brand yourself the right way. DataCamp will review your LinkedIn profile and resume to help you optimize them.
• Job matching: DataCamp will work with you to match you with jobs.
• Planning: DataCamp will help you plan and set your career goals.
• Workshops: Attend workshops to learn how to improve your chances of finding a job.
• Networking: Attend networking sessions with recruiters — they might help you land a job.

You need to be certified in order to enjoy DataCamp’s career services.

Codecademy

Unfortunately, Codecademy does not offer any job placement or career preparation services — they’ll only provide you with a certificate. However, in the Codecademy resource section, you can find many articles with tips and advice on how to find jobs in different fields.

DataCamp vs Codecademy: Mobile App

Both DataCamp and Codecademy have mobile apps, so you can learn data science and coding on your phone.

DataCamp

DataCamp has apps for both Android and iOS devices. One of the cool things about DataCamp, if you use it on mobile, is that you can take advantage of its mobile-only plan.

The mobile-only plan will not let you study DataCamp courses on a desktop — you’ll need the full plan for that. With the full plan, your courses and progress will sync across all devices you are signed into.

The mobile-only plan is good for mobile learners who will never use DataCamp on a desktop.

The downside of the mobile-only plan is that you will have to do the exercises on your phone. If you end up working in data science, you will probably work on a desktop — it can be hard to code from your phone at times.

However, if you don’t own a desktop, that’s irrelevant. Also, a lot of the exercises on DataCamp are fill in the blank, so you will only have to type a few words of code.

Check Out: Best Khan Academy Alternatives

Codecademy

Codecademy Go, Codecademy’s mobile app, is available for both Android and iOS devices. However, unlike the DataCamp app, which you can use by itself, Codecademy Go is meant to supplement your desktop learning, review what you learned, and do simple exercises.

Here are some of the things you can do on Codecademy Go:

• Complete the daily review and practice and maintain a streak by doing it every day
• Use the review cards to refresh your memory about specific concepts
• Use fill in the blank exercises to keep your skills sharp
• Learn with review sections and articles

If you want to learn only on mobile because you don’t have access to a desktop computer, I would say that DataCamp is a better choice — sign up for the mobile plan.

Pros & Cons

DataCamp Pros

• If you want to learn data science, it is a great place to go.
• You can easily filter for courses based on technology or topic.
• It can help you with your career (career services and professional certification).
• There is Workspace — a browser tool for running data analysis.

DataCamp Cons

• There is almost no free content.
• You don’t get access to projects unless you pay for the most expensive plan.
• Career services can be expensive.

Codecademy Pros

• You can learn for free — there are tons of free content.
• There are more topics covered, making it a good choice for learning many programming languages.
• You get a certificate after each course.
• The paid plan is affordable.

Codecademy Cons

• You need the Pro plan to do the exercises and get certificates.
• There is no general professional certification offered.
• No career services are available.
• The mobile app is meant only as a supplemental tool.

Pricing & Free Trial

Let’s talk about pricing on both platforms. In this section, you will learn whether Codecademy or DataCamp offers either a free plan or a free trial.

DataCamp

Unfortunately, DataCamp is not free. However, it does offer some free content on its very limited free plan — you get three basic courses for free.

The first chapter of every course is free as well. That can give you a chance to get a feel for what the course talks about, the teaching style of the professor, and decide whether it is worth it to sign up.

In addition, you will get access to three practice challenges and seven complete projects.

Pricing ranges between $25-33/month, depending on your plan. There is also a business plan starting at $25/user and a custom Enterprise plan, where you pay per hour of learning or per user.

To access the entire project library, you will need the $33/month plan. Courses on some technologies, such as Power BI, are also only available to users who pay $33/month.

If you are a college or university student, you can get a massive discount off the normal price — almost 60 percent off. Also, if you are an educator and want to teach data science to your students, you will be able to use DataCamp for free.

Remember that pricing is subject to change at any time, so do check the pricing page for updated pricing information.

Codecademy

Unlike DataCamp, Codecademy has a substantial selection of free content. In fact, as I explained at the beginning of this article, Codecademy actually started as a free learning platform — the Pro membership was only added later.

If you do get the Pro membership, you will get exclusive content that is only available to paying members.

In addition to the exclusive content, you will need the Pro membership to access the quizzes and exercises in each course, as well as the real-world projects.

And, since you need to complete all the exercises in a course to get a Certificate of Completion after finishing the course, you need to be a Pro member to get certificates as well.

However, Codecademy Pro is cheaper than DataCamp. Pricing starts at just $19.99/month — you would need to pay at least $33/month to access projects on DataCamp.

Make sure to check the pricing page for updated prices.

Codecademy also offers a discount to students, and its business plans are cheaper per user than DataCamp’s.

Similarities And Differences

	DataCamp	Codecademy
Learn For Free	✗ (Not Enough Free Content)	✓
Paths/Tracks	✓	✓
Projects/Exercises	✓	✓
Certificate After Completing Courses	✓	✓
Professional Certification	✓	✗
Career Services/Job Placement	✓	✗
Browser Workspace Tool	✓	✗
Mobile App	✓	✓
Business Plan	✓	✓
Discount For Students	✓	✓
Cheaper	✗	✓

Wrapping It Up: Which Is Better, DataCamp Or Codecademy?

Overall, I would recommend Codecademy. It has been around longer and started off as a free platform for learning how to code, so they’re not just after your money.

In addition, it has plenty of free content, unlike DataCamp, and it is cheaper if you sign up for the free plan.

Finally, while DataCamp does have some advantages (such as the career services), Codecademy covers a wider range of topics, allowing you to learn more.