Hi, I’m Olga! I have years of experience in data science, most recently at eBay. Now I work as an industry mentor at Pathrise, helping data scientists land a great role through technical workshops and 1-on-1s. Check out my article where I compare Codecademy vs Treehouse.
- Similarities and differences between Codecademy vs Treehouse
- Topics offered on Codecademy vs Treehouse
- Prices for Codecademy vs Treehouse
- Ratings and reviews of Codecademy vs Treehouse
- Alternatives to Codecademy vs Treehouse
- How do Treehouse and Codecademy compare to Pathrise?
Similarities and differences between Codecademy and Treehouse
Codecademy and Treehouse both offer courses in data analytics, machine learning, web development, and software engineering. Similarities
- Both programs are remote and self-paced.
- Free and low-cost options are available.
- Courses are open to anyone with no formal admissions process.
- The learning experience is hands-on with live coding assignments, quizzes, and projects.
Differences
- Treehouse hosts a wider variety of topics, including UX design, business, and job search skills. Codecademy only teaches software engineering, data science, and web development courses.
- Codecademy has more free content available including full courses without a subscription. Treehouse only offers a 7-day free trial.
- Treehouse’s courses can be more in-depth, with opportunities to build a polished portfolio and get personalized feedback from tech experts.
- Treehouse also offers a Slack community, expert-led video courses, and weekly office house with experts to their students.
Courses offered by Codecademy and Treehouse
Both Codecademy and Treehouse offer courses that cover the following topics:
- Web development
- Software engineering
- Data analysis
- Machine learning
- Databases
- Computer science
- 12+ coding languages
Treehouse also teaches:
- UX design
- Cybersecurity
- Quality assurance
- Digital literacy
- Job search skills
- Digital marketing
- Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion (GDI)
Prices for Codecademy and Treehouse
While Codecademy used to be free, now only their beginner courses and a few intermediate level classes are free. However, these individual free courses are still very comprehensive with as much content as their paid courses. Access to paid courses requires a membership plan starting at $40 per month, available as low as $20 per month when billed yearly. In addition to more coding content, this paid “Pro” plan comes with mobile practice, real-world projects, step-by-step guidance, and opportunities to collaborate with peers.
Treehouse costs $29.99 per month and only offers a 7-day free trial. Individual courses tend to be short, ranging from 1 hour to 58 hours of content. However, their full “techdegree” programs are much more intensive and pricer, lasting 3-12 months with monthly payments of $199. Techdegree program offers more support and individualized learning, with video lectures led by experts, live chat support, community Slack channels, personalized feedback, and opportunities to build a polished portfolio. While self-paced, techdegree courses are comparable to tech bootcamps, with students putting in much more work for a formal certificate upon graduation.
Ratings and reviews of Codecademy and Treehouse
Reviews for Treehouse are mostly positive. They hold a 4.25/5 star rating on Switchup where users appreciated that although courses were self-paced, they were still hands-on. Reviewers explain that there is “a lot of community support through Slack and A LOT of questions already answered in forums.” Another SwitchUp reviewer liked that their classes were more practical than many other degree programs online. They felt confident that the program “gives you the skills to get a job tomorrow, not to continue your studies on to a PhD.” Their UX courses are especially well reviewed, listed on UX Planet as one of the best online courses for learning UX design.
Grads on Reddit described Treehouse’s program as “great for newbies”, but some felt that “for anything seriously advanced or developing a full fledged web application or otherwise, it would probably be better to go somewhere else.” Some G2 reviewers also felt the curriculum could be improved, warning “some of the videos felt a little too gimmicky” and that the “production value didn’t actually help enhance the course.” A reviewer was disappointed that many of these video courses are “teaching by rote memorization or repetition instead of explaining what’s going on under the hood.” Overall, however, most users were impressed with Treehouse’s low-cost and self-paced courses that still managed to be hands-on and engaging.
Codecademy has mixed to positive reviews. Many Quora users appreciated the hands-on projects and assignments as well as the very thorough free courses. However, the program is only rated 3.24/5 stars on Switchup because some users noticed errors in the curriculum and bugs in their system. Similarly, some reviewers on Reddit didn’t think the paid content was worth the cost. Others were disappointed by Codeacadmey’s administration. Some students were charged for services they had canceled and then ignored by support. However, Codecademy is still extremely popular. Their free courses are the go-to tool for many tech bootcamps and schools who want to get their students up to speed. On the whole, Codecademy users seem satisfied with the hands-on free and low-cost courses.
Alternatives to Codecademy and Treehouse
If you decide not to enroll in Codecademy or Treehouse, you might want to look into one of the alternative resources below instead:
- The massive online learning platform Udacity hosts free and paid courses on dozens of tech topics. They collaborate with top tech companies like IBM and Google on the curricula. Students in their nanodegree programs get 1-on-1 mentoring with both a career coach and a technical mentor. Learn more about Udacity in our review.
- Similarly, the online learning platform Udemy hosts 100k+ courses on tech topics like software engineering, data science, and UX design. Their courses are self-paced with both paid and free options.
- Like both Codecademy and Treehouse, the popular online learning platform Skillshare is remote and self-paced. They host 19,000+ free and paid courses in a wide variety of tech topics, including web dev, UX/UI design, business analytics, and more.
- Aspiring software engineers and UX designers can check out Kenzie Academy, a full-time tech bootcamp that offers in-person and online courses. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Another big online learning platform is edX. They have self-paced courses with degree certificates from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Their courses cover a wide variety of tech topics, including software engineering, web dev, UX design, digital marketing, and more. Learn more about edX in our review.
- Similarly, the online platform Coursera hosts thousands of online courses on tech topics like web development, UX design, software engineering, data science, and more. Their courses are also taught by professors from accredited universities with hands-on assignments, recorded video lectures, and community discussions.
- The popular tech bootcamps, BrainStation, Thinkful, and Flatiron School offer programs in software engineering, data science, and many other topics. While they may be more intense than self-paced programs like Codecademy and Treehouse, students learn tech skills at a very fast pace with even more support than Treehouse’s techdegree programs.
- The self-paced coding bootcamp CodeX Academy helps people launch new careers in software engineering and web development. Students get job support and even 1-on-1 mentoring similar to Treehouse’s techdegree courses. Learn more about CodeX Academy in our review.
- Students seeking digital marketing or UX design courses can also check out GrowthX Academy. Their SaaS program includes 1-on-1 mentoring with lots of hands-on, practical assignments with a similar style to both Treehouse and Codecadmy’s hands-on coding projects and quizzes. Read more about GrowthX Academy in our review of the program.
- For people interested in self-paced data science learning, Data Science Dream Job offers remote, flexible courses for aspiring data analysts and data scientists.
- Metis has part-time introduction courses as well as onsite & online bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
- The popular online data resource DataCamp has over 300 short courses on data science subjects. Like Treehouse and Codecademy, their courses are short and flexible, only about 4 hours each.
- Students seeking a product design program with self-guided options can check out DesignerUp.Their courses include video lectures, quizzes, and even 1-on-1 mentoring opportunities for students in their mastercourse. Read more about DesignerUp to see if it’s right for your goals.
- Similarly, the online bootcamp Designlab teaches the skills people need to land an entry-level UX design job. Read our review of Designlab for more details.
- With courses in programming, data science, and much more, Springboard can be a good alternative. Students receive 1-on-1 mentoring and build over 14 portfolio projects. If students don’t land a great job in 6 months, they get a refund. Learn more about Springboard in our program reviews.
How do Treehouse and Codecademy compare to Pathrise?
Codecademy and Treehouse both offer online courses that help people learn the skills they need to launch tech careers. While both programs host part-time and self-paced courses in web development, software engineering, and machine learning, Treehouse also teaches UX design, cybersecurity, quality assurance, digital marketing, job search skills, and more. Students in these courses are typically beginners and don’t have any prior experience in the field.
Fellows in the Pathrise program should already have some experience in their chosen field so that they can get the most out of our technical interview curriculum. We offer tracks in software engineering, product design, data science, digital marketing, sales, product management, strategy, and ops.
As a full service organization, Pathrise helps with every phase of the job search, including resume writing, LinkedIn profile optimization, portfolio reviews, reverse recruiting & cold emailing strategies, behavioral & technical interview prep, salary negotiation, and much more. Fellows in our program work 1-on-1 with experienced mentors who have already helped 700+ students and professionals land great tech jobs.
Rather than upfront payments like Treehouse and Codecademy, fellows in our program can pay with a 9% income share agreement (ISA) so they don’t pay until they land a great tech job. On average, fellows find great jobs in just 3-5 months.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that optimizes the job search through 1-on-1 mentoring. With our tips and guidance, fellows can see their interview scores double and their application responses triple. If you want to land your dream job faster by working with one of our mentors, become a Pathrise fellow.
Apply today.
