7 Best Educative Alternatives for Beginners (2024)

Looking to learn Python as your first programming language? At Programiz PRO, we have the best course on the internet to get familiar with programming using Python.

Our Master Python Learning Path has 6 curated courses — Learn Python Basics, Practice: Python Basics, Python Intermediate, Practice: Python Intermediate, DSA with Python, and Python Interview Questions — all designed to help you learn Python seamlessly and approach a career in tech with confidence.

Both Programiz PRO and Educative have a similar feel to their learning environment — both include quizzes, challenges, a real-time AI assistant, and a code editor that works in your browser.

However, the real difference is in the materials and the method. Where Educative’s resources can feel a bit surficial, Programiz PRO lets you struggle with problems instead of giving you straight answers and easy wins all the time.

If you want to pursue a college education in computer science (or something similar) but would rather do it remotely, Coursera is your best bet.

Unlike Educative’s coding courses and skill paths, Coursera provides full university CS degrees from institutions like Duke University, Stanford University, Princeton University, etc. Of course, they also have career-focused courses from places like IBM, Google, Oracle, etc., if that’s what you want.

While Coursera is more expensive than Educative, the certifications from Coursera partners are more valuable. And they have a more rigorous assessment system, improving the learning experience.

MIT OpenCourseWare is like Coursera, but free (and lacking a few things).

Like Coursera, MIT OCW provides college lectures and learning materials, but only from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These are recordings and text materials of the different courses at MIT and are of great quality.

However, there are a few misses. The most important one is interactivity — the courses don’t force you to practice coding as you learn. Another is certifications — you won’t get certificates after completing courses from OCW.

The main reason why OCW is a great alternative to Educative is the quality of the resources. You can use OCW as your primary resource for learning or as a supplement to your college classes.

Are you looking to learn how to build cool websites? The Odin Project is a great alternative to Educative for this purpose.

The Odin Project is a free, open-source curriculum that gives you a full roadmap to become a full-stack developer. It’s like Educative’s front-end skill path in that sense.

TOP is mostly text with little to no interactivity. It directs you toward great learning materials and gives you projects to build after every significant lesson. You’re expected to write code and build projects, but you’re not forced to.

In contrast, Educative makes you play around with code during your lessons i.e., it’s more interactive. However, since the materials are a bit too dumbed down, you can end up with a false sense of accomplishment.

If you have enough self-motivation and drive to stick to TOP’s materials, you’ll learn the same thing as with Educative, but for free.

Like The Odin Project, freeCodeCamp also specializes in web development. But, where TOP only provides materials and end-of-lesson projects, freeCodeCamp makes you write code every step of the way.

freeCodeCamp is a better alternative to Educative for a few reasons. First, it teaches you the same things as Educative for free. Second, it lets the learner do most of the heavy lifting instead of too much hand-holding. A good example of this is their Responsive Web Design course.

And third, freeCodeCamp lets you dive into building projects without any prior knowledge and learn as you go. On Educative, you have to understand the required concepts before you can dive into projects, which isn't exactly true project-based learning.

If you aim to eventually land a job at the biggest companies out there, LeetCode is where you should be.

LeetCode is the industry go-to when it comes to coding challenges and interview preparation. It has over 3,000 coding challenges, plus study plans for specific topics like DSA and System Design. It even has curated interview questions for top companies like Facebook and Apple.

In comparison, Educative has ‘Assessments’ and grokking interview prep courses but not individual coding tasks like LeetCode. Educative also doesn't have the industry acceptance like LeetCode (if you're strictly looking for interview preparation).

Thinking of learning to code for work and your company's paying for it? Go for Pluralsight.

Pluralsight is one of the first recommendations when it comes to employee upskilling, which speaks volumes about their quality and reputation. Their in-depth video courses and practice environment is great for anyone just getting into tech or moving up the ladder.

For instance, if you're looking for a quick rundown on Python, Pluralsight's Flying Through Python course is much better than similar Educative offerings.

Educative and Pluralsight differ in their teaching methods — Educative is exclusively text-based; Pluralsight is heavily video-based. If you learn better through videos, Pluralsight is a great alternative to Educative.