Even three years ago, it seemed like EVERYONE was learning to code. The job market had seen stunning growth over the past decade, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was projecting that jobs like software developer, quality assurance analyst, and QA tester would outperform the US labor market by a factor of five leading up to 2030.
Now, the BLS hasn’t changed their position, but it hasn’t been all roses in the tech world. Massive layoffs at the biggest companies have made headlines in national newspapers, and Business Insider suggests that these have disproportionately affected those “learn-to-code” roles like software engineer, software developer, and web developer. Even the BLS, optimistic in their assessment of the future of software developers, sees a coming contraction in demand for computer programmer hires over the next decade.
There is evidence that these layoffs aren’t signaling a downturn in the industry so much as a correction after the volatility of the pandemic years. Certainly nobody is saying that a tech profession is off the table for those looking to build up their coding skills and (hopefully) land a job with $100k+ compensation. But in what is still an uncertain economic climate, an aspiring web developer, software developer, or full stack engineer would be easily forgiven for being hesitant to make big, potentially risky investments in their career aspirations.
And what’s the big, potentially risky investment of the moment if you’re interested in coding? A coding bootcamp. In many cases coding bootcamps do lead to entry-level jobs, but lack of transparency when it comes to outcome and the relative newness of the format can give frugal coders-to-be understandably cold feet. The good news: there are loads of free coding bootcamps that offer many of the benefits of a paid coding bootcamp (with some key differences) for a fraction of the price!
Below, we’ll dive into just how free coding bootcamps differ before running down a list of our favorites. At the end, we’ll suggest even more free resources that you can use to level up your coding skills for nothing more than your time.
What is a coding bootcamp?
A coding bootcamp is an intense, accelerated (3-6 month) training program that aims to help aspiring coders skill up in software development, software engineering, and/or web development in order to land an entry-level software developer, software engineer, or web developer job.
Most coding boot camps feature project-based learning, which allows students to gain hands-on, practical experience in coding languages, frameworks, and development tools deployed in the real-world every day. Different bootcamps feature or specialize in areas of development like front end development, mobile app development, UX/UI development, game development, web applications, data science, or even machine learning.
By learning through projects, students are already a step ahead for their job hunt: these projects form the basis of a portfolio they can share with prospective employers to show off their skills. Bootcamps complement these portfolio-ready projects with dedicated career services like resume review, interview prep, networking tips, and even private jobs boards.
Bootcamps can be found both online and in-person, with different formats and durations. Some are full-time programs, demanding a significant time commitment, while others — especially online coding bootcamps — offer part-time or flexible schedules to accommodate individuals who may have other obligations. Similarly, some require a daily commute to a site where students can learn together and receive in-person instruction from industry pros, while others allow students to tune in from anywhere in the world.
How much does a typical coding bootcamp cost?
BestColleges looked at over 600 boot camp programs and pegged the typical cost at around $13,500, with the most expensive bootcamp surveyed costing $30,000 and the least expensive costing around $1,500. Online bootcamps averaged around $1,000 less than in-person options.
For comparison, an average four-year computer science degree in the US costs $102,828 for students paying in-state tuition at a state school and $218,004 for students at a private university, according to educationdata.org.
What changes in a free coding bootcamp?
Of course, for many, $13,500 is still too much to part with for a coding bootcamp, even with financing options like private loans, income share agreements, payment plans, or job placement guarantees. Often, it’s not the tuition itself that presents a challenge, but this tuition paired with the opportunity costs associated with taking time off to study part- or full-time.
For these people, cheap or free coding bootcamps can offer a great alternative to the pricey, big name options like General Assembly, Hack Reactor, Fullstack Academy, or Coding Dojo — but just as there’s no such thing as a free lunch, free coding bootcamps can come at a price. In particular, free coding bootcamps can differ from their paid counterparts in the following ways:
Level of instruction
With software engineers and software developers making so much money in industry, bootcamp providers rack up significant expenses putting together competitive compensation packages for instructors with professional experience. (Alternatively, some simply hire their own graduates).
With no tuition pool to draw this compensation from, free bootcamps are often less able to compete for the best instructors. Instead, some ask instructors to donate time, while others draw on community support or grant funding. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the level of instruction suffers, but it can. When looking at free options, you’ll want to make sure that the information they are providing is accurate, reasonably current, and delivered by someone with professional experience.
Learning modality
A related issue when you remove tuition from the equation is that it becomes more difficult to provide live instruction in the first place. As a result, many free coding bootcamps leverage highly scalable asynchronous learning environments, with “set-it-and-forget-it” content that requires some up-front cost or effort to produce but doesn’t require much to maintain or keep running.
While asynchronous content is far more financially and logistically accessible, it can quickly become out of date and won’t necessarily suit all styles of learning.
Career services
No tuition also means less likelihood that a bootcamp is able to provide personalized career services to its students. When the goal of a bootcamp is to help students land entry-level coding positions, this is certainly not ideal, but an obstacle that can be overcome with industrious leveraging of one’s own network and a get-up-and-go attitude.
Student interaction
With fewer live learning opportunities, student interaction moves to formats like message boards and Discord servers. While this might not befit the social butterfly, it’s authentic to the online-native coding community and remote coding jobs.
What are the advantages of a free coding bootcamp?
We’ve covered how free coding bootcamps might differ from paid coding bootcamps, but let’s get down to business: what are the real advantages presented by these differences?
Price
The biggest advantage is obvious: price. By removing any monetary costs from the equation, the only real investment you’ll make in a coding bootcamp will be your time. If you land an entry-level job and embark on a lucrative career as a software engineer, you’ll see incredible (incalculable!) return on investment. And if for some reason your coding journey doesn’t work out, you’ll be no worse off than you were before, excepting the time you spent studying.
Community
It might sound crazy, but having to rely on decentralized communities of coders to learn how to program can actually be an asset, helping you build a strong network early on that can help you stay more current with the latest coding trends and potentially even open up career opportunities down the road.
Flexibility
While asynchronous study might provide less in the way of personal interaction with your instructor and fellow students, it can also offer you the flexibility to study on your schedule. This can allow you to continue working while you study or fit your career-change in around your family obligations.
What are the drawbacks of a free coding bootcamp?
Of course, with the advantages of free coding bootcamps come drawbacks. While none of these are necessarily deal-breakers alone, together they might mean that a free coding bootcamp simply isn’t for you.
Lower Engagement
While some thrive in asynchronous learning environments, for others they can be difficult to find engaging. And if you’re not engaged in what you’re learning, you’ll often find that maintaining motivation and retaining what you’ve learned becomes more difficult.
Less Guidance
Looking for a job, especially in the days of LinkedIn, is anything but easy, especially if you are trying to jump into an unfamiliar industry. While some can leverage previous professional and personal relationships and social networks effectively and teach themselves recruitment skills like how to master a technical skills interview, even some of the best coders need help navigating this minefield. While free coding bootcamps might help you learn all the skills you need to know to perform well in a coding position, guidance in this area will be either community-supported (not necessarily a bad thing!) or hands-off.
Potentially Out-of-Date Instruction
If you’re learning to code, it makes sense to learn the most popular languages, frameworks, and tools. Unfortunately, when curriculums are community-supported or only able to be updated infrequently, they might not offer the latest preparation you need to succeed in an industry that’s famously on the cutting edge.
Who are free coding bootcamps right for?
With these advantages and drawbacks in mind, we’d suggest that a free coding boot camp might be right for you if you’re part of one of the following groups:
Free coding bootcamps can be beneficial for certain individuals who meet specific criteria. Here are some groups of people who might find free coding bootcamps suitable:
Our picks for the best free coding bootcamps
1. freeCodeCamp
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: Varies
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Expansive library of courses
- Browser-friendly integrated coding environment
- Forum, Discord, and YouTube channel with loads of coding tutorials
Cons:
- No student:instructor interaction
- Amount of content can be overwhelming for beginning coders
2. 42
Location: 49 campuses worldwide
Learning Format: In person
Program Length: 18 month core curriculum, 3 years total
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Supportive, inclusive community
- Gamified learning experience
- No prerequisites
Cons:
- No distance-learning option
- Lengthy admissions process
3. Codecademy
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: Varies
Price: Free (basic membership)
Pros:
- Mobile app lets you practice on the go
- Community forum
Cons:
- Limited course offerings for free tier
- No career services
4. MIT Open Courseware’s Intro to Computer Science and Programming
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: Equivalent to 1 college semester
Price: Free
Pros:
- Instruction from a world-leading university
- Includes problem sets to complete in order to earn a certificate
Cons:
- No interaction with instructor or fellow students
- No opportunity to apply learning through independent projects
- Focuses only on Python
5. Harvard University’s CS50: Introduction to Computer Science
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: 11 weeks, 10-20 hours per week
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Comprehensive overview of computer science
- Produced by leading authority
- Frequently cited on Reddit as go-to resource
Cons:
- Low-touch user experience
- Less emphasis on practical application than other courses
- Potentially more difficult than other courses
6. Flatiron School: Free Software Engineering Prep
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: 38 hours
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Offers low-risk taste of what coding is all about
- Bootcamp prep from a leading bootcamp provider
Cons:
- Broad overview without too much detail
7. App Academy Open
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: 24 weeks
Price: Free!
8. The Odin Project
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: Self-paced
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Community-maintained, so curriculum remains current
- Two different web dev paths: Ruby on Rails and JavaScript
- Includes professional development module
Cons:
- Considered difficult by some
- Only for web development; not for software dev
- Low name recognition outside of coding circles
9. Upskill
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: Self-paced
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Video content is great for visual learners
- Large library of courses to choose from
Cons:
- Infrequently updated
- No community forums or other student:instructor or student:student interaction.
10. Resilient Coders
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Live online
Program Length: 18 weeks
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Full-service bootcamp, completely free
- Committed to equity in the tech space
- $98,000 average graduate salary
Cons:
- Limited space
- Extensive eligibility restrictions
11. Ada Developers Academy
Location: Seattle, Atlanta, or Remote
Learning Format: In person or live online
Program Length: 6 months, full-time
Price: Free!
Pros:
- The most extensive free bootcamp available
- Committed to equity in the tech industry
- Internship opportunities
Cons:
- Competitive admission
- Significant time commitment
12. Camp Skillcrush
Location: Remote
Learning Format: Self-paced online
Program Length: Varies
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Fun way to get started coding
- Provides a broad overview of key web development areas
Cons:
- Curriculum lacks depth
- Excessive marketing overtures within the learning environment
13. Founders and Coders
Location: London
Learning Format: In-person and online
Program Length: Self-paced, 12 weeks part-time (Software Foundation), 21 months or less (Software Developer apprenticeship)
Price: Free!
Pros:
- Not just free: they pay you to learn while embedded at a real company
- Complete instruction in a web stack
Cons:
- Only available in the UK or Europe
- Actual bootcamp curriculum is more limited compared to other bootcamps
14. Per Scholas: Full Stack Java Developer
Location: Remote or at one of 31 campuses
Learning Format: In person or live online
Program Length: 15 weeks
Price: Free!
Pros:
- High-level curriculum developed in collaboration with potential employers
- High placement rates
Cons:
- Dry user experience
- Extremely competitive
How else can you learn coding for free?
Here, we’ve shown some of the great free coding bootcamps out there — but they aren’t the only way to learn how to code for free. Here are some other options:
Next Steps
Above, we’ve laid out all you need to know about free coding bootcamps and given you some great options to get started in your research. We’ve also suggested some other ways you can start learning to code or practicing your existing skills for free. But still think a paid coding bootcamp might be the way to go? Looking for more personal interaction, an easier path to admission, or career services that will help you nail your interview and land the job? Then get matched with a coding bootcamp today.