Best Apps and Websites for Learning Programming and Coding

Variety and creativity come together to get early learners coding

Bottom Line: Early coders will enjoy the colorful interface and variety of activities as they progress through different worlds and develop foundational programming skills.

Race into coding with fun, varied puzzles, but no teacher supports

Bottom Line: Block-based coding puzzles provide a fun, surface-level intro for some; others will still need lots of additional teacher support.

Drag-and-drop programming is an effective intro for budding coders

Bottom Line: With a little adult help, this is a rich platform for getting kids into programming and digital creation.

Block-based coding with cute characters and social elements

Bottom Line: This is a great, free choice for classroom coding that empowers students to create.

Animate stories with accessible drawing tools and coding blocks

Bottom Line: Kids get a simple peek at computer programming principles by animating stories using their own creations.

Animated block coding app can be overwhelming for young learners

Bottom Line: Great block coding app for Hour of Code, but the large number of challenges in the main curriculum make it hard to implement in the classroom.

Substantial subscription-based coder offers lots of levels, few supports

Bottom Line: This one app takes students from knowing nothing about coding to creating their own simple multiplayer games, but there's little help along the way.

Fun programming logic for kids, great resources for teachers

Bottom Line: A fun way for young students to understand coding, and an impressive resource for teachers to support their progress.

Puzzler's use of real code fills niche in crowded learn-to-code genre

Bottom Line: A great intro to coding that, with solid teacher support, gets students using real programming languages.

Popular games, big names get kids and teachers pumped to program

Bottom Line: A thoughtfully planned, produced, and curated set of free resources bound to get kids hooked on learning to code.

Approachable and powerful coding curriculum with a lot of support

Bottom Line: Tynker empowers students of all ages and experience levels to create custom coding projects for a variety of platforms.

Appealing puzzle game reinforces essential coding concepts

Bottom Line: This well-designed game introduces basic coding syntax and is best used for practice.

Comprehensive coding platform has impressive resources for teachers

Bottom Line: This learn-to-code program has the breadth and depth required to meet the needs of almost any teacher.

Crafty, mostly screen-free approach to computer science

Bottom Line: These creative, beautifully made craft- and interest-based projects have the potential to bring students -- particularly girls -- into the world of coding and computers.

Emoji-based coding tool demystifies web design and animation

Bottom Line: Emoji-based lessons engage and empower kids to explore web design and animation, with instant website creation.

A useful intro to block-based coding for motivated learners

Bottom Line: Teachers will need to do some scaffolding and act as tech support, but if that works for you, this can be a good beginner coding sandbox.

Creative sandbox opens the door to coding in any subject area

Bottom Line: Scratch draws students of all types into coding and lays a foundation for future learning.

Coding puzzler covers a lot of computer science ground

Bottom Line: This is a program that merges games and computer science, and gives you all the tools you need to teach -- even without coding experience.

Middle school CS curriculum has stellar resources, room for creativity

Bottom Line: A high-quality introductory CS curriculum where students can be creative, collaborate with others, and express themselves, in the classroom or at home.

Clear connection between blocks and coding languages in game-based platform

Bottom Line: Seamless switching between blocks and text plus easy onboarding make this coding curriculum great.

Differentiated text-based coding makes for truly authentic experiences

Bottom Line: The well-designed Python lessons and user interface is great for serious coding instruction.

Cross-curricular coding swoops in with strong supports for students

Bottom Line: This cross-curricular coder supports teachers and gives students thoughtful feedback as they apply JavaScript to science, math, and games.

Teach a vast number of CS concepts with quality, depth, and choice

Bottom Line: Zulama will help any middle or high school implement a comprehensive computer science program.

Challenging puzzles teach with real code; best for more advanced kids

Bottom Line: A superb programming tutor, well worth the effort to keep students going.

Computer science curriculum offers great feedback, fun challenges

Bottom Line: Effective tools and clear lessons teach real programming, but you'll have to spend some cash to help kids master it.

Excellent text-based coding site a great way to learn real-world skills

Bottom Line: For both introductory and higher skill levels, it teaches the breadth and depth of skills for programming careers.

Tutorials, challenges, and practice in a variety of coding languages

Bottom Line: Straightforward site to learn to code lets users compare how to do the same functions in a variety of programming languages.

Fun, self-paced web development and coding lessons offer high value

Bottom Line: A solid learning solution for self-starting students who want to grasp the wide array of programming topics.

Popular game development platform has classroom potential, pitfalls

Bottom Line: Creating games for an authentic audience encourages coding and design skills, but real risks require extra caution.

Clear connection between blocks and coding languages in game-based platform

Bottom Line: Seamless switching between blocks and text plus easy onboarding make this coding curriculum great.

Challenging puzzles will grab the imagination of any coding enthusiast

Bottom Line: For teachers with some coding background, this is a great game-based tool for learning to code.

Dungeon-crawling adventure where code is king

Bottom Line: While not everyone loves fighting ogres, CodeCombat offers a classroom-ready platform and an authentic learning experience.

Engaging games teach programming concepts from blocks to code

Bottom Line: These varied games are great for introducing the fundamentals and practicing but aren't sufficient as a complete curriculum.

Simple coding game a fun intro to algorithms

Bottom Line: This coding game is a fun and helpful introduction to basic algorithm development, but other resources will be needed for more depth.

Zelda-inspired puzzler lets players peek behind the code curtain

Bottom Line: A great intro to variables and how algorithms work, this game would shine as a supplement to a larger unit on programming.

Deceptively gentle coding game really packs a problem-solving punch

Bottom Line: This gorgeous, immersive programming game encourages novel solutions.

Amusing puzzler challenges kids, teaches programming principles

Bottom Line: This high-quality puzzle game is a fun way for students to learn effective and efficient programming skills.

Engaging manga-themed quest to become a game designer

Bottom Line: Game design quests have everything students want but perhaps not everything teachers need.

Modify Minecraft with this fun, applied use of coding

Bottom Line: For students who already know and love Minecraft, this is a valuable way to hook students into coding.

Code-free game development tool helps kids program and publish

Bottom Line: It ups the sophistication of building block coding by connecting student work to major publishing platforms.

Fun programming site gets kids to build their own mobile apps

Bottom Line: A fantastic, open-ended introduction to the world of mobile programming.

Ideal 2D game builder supports students to create, innovate

Bottom Line: Limitless game options, reasonable cost, and extensive support make this programming environment perfect for an educational setting.

Great interface, flexible publishing options make game-making a snap

Bottom Line: This engaging platform will empower budding game designers, but the price tag could be a deal-breaker for tight school budgets.

Authentic AI-powered projects make kids' creations feel like magic

Bottom Line: It takes a topic that would be difficult to teach in any practical way and makes it accessible for the classroom.

Build a working iOS or Android app, even without coding experience

Bottom Line: Fun, practical way to get kids programming, though teachers will need a clear plan to support them in the process.

Complete game creation curriculum gives students real-world experience

Bottom Line: It's a slick, fun, and effective way to get students building games right away, with plenty of room for depth.

One of the best creation tools available for aspiring game developers

Bottom Line: Great choice for a full unit or class on game design; fuels students game-making dreams.

Storybook creation tool offers cool blend of ELA, art, and coding

Bottom Line: This is a great storytelling tool for younger kids that also offers an entry point into coding and computational thinking.

Song builder with coding instruction will be music to students' ears

Bottom Line: Challenging tool for students to explore coding in a meaningful way.

Cool coding tool tuned to teens' passions aids creativity

Bottom Line: Women-created platform expands the traditional scope of coding to visual elements students interact with online everyday.

Brilliantly designed iOS coding app great for newbies or pros

Bottom Line: If you have iPads or Macs, this is an inspired choice for learning how to create and tweak code.

First-class free app for learning to code with JavaScript

Bottom Line: This app will no doubt help individual, motivated learners see how coding works using real programming language.

Well-thought-out coding platform for real game programming

Bottom Line: Codea is a professional tool that has enough help features that kids can learn programming hands-on.

Game-making platform fuses coding and physical play

Bottom Line: This platform could appear gimmicky at first, but in practice it blends SEL, movement, collaboration, and STEM learning in clever, compelling ways.

Versatile mini robot tailor-made for teaching coding

Bottom Line: Evo encourages students to be creative, emphasizing that coding is a tool in your pocket, not the end game.

Serious robotics programming with seriously adorable robots

Bottom Line: It's the most challenging and versatile of the Dash and Dot apps and will keep engineering-savvy kids engaged.

Robotics kit makes design possibilities virtually limitless

Bottom Line: For schools with healthy budgets, KOOV helps kids design and code interactive robots with blocks, sensors, and imagination.

Innovative STEAM package takes robot coding to the next level

Bottom Line: A nearly perfect spin on STEAM coding that combines a bunch of technologies into one, and effectively fuses the real and virtual worlds.