Short answer
- Codecademy teaches coding in the browser with interactive lessons. Free Basic covers free courses only; certificates of completion require Plus or Pro, and Pro adds “Exams and Professional Certificates” (Codecademy).
- Treehouse is video courses plus projects: $25 a month (Courses), $49 (Courses Plus) or $199 (Techdegree) (Treehouse). Courses earn badges; a Techdegree ends with a verified credential.
- Both have a 7-day free trial, and neither refunds subscription fees.
- Choose Codecademy to learn by typing code from the first minute, across many languages. Choose Treehouse for a guided web development program with projects, or if you want college credit.
Codecademy and Treehouse are both built for beginners who want to learn to code, and both have changed since they were compared on this site in 2022. Codecademy has belonged to Skillsoft since 2022 and now offers Professional Certification on its career paths. Treehouse has belonged to Xenon Partners since 2021 and offers college credit through a partner. This comparison covers plans, prices, certificates and who each suits. We checked both on September 22, 2026.
Codecademy vs Treehouse at a glance
| Codecademy | Treehouse | |
|---|---|---|
| Learning style | interactive lessons, you write and run code in the browser | video courses, quizzes, code challenges, projects |
| Free option | Basic: free courses only, no certificate | 7-day trial; free through participating public libraries |
| Paid plans | Plus, Pro, All Access (monthly or annual) | Courses $25/month, Courses Plus $49/month, Techdegree $199/month |
| Trial | 7 days, card required | 7 days |
| Certificate | certificate of completion (Plus, Pro); Professional Certification after exams (Pro) | badges (courses); verified Accredible credential (Techdegree) |
| College credit | none mentioned | 3 credits per course through UPI, $35 transcript fee |
| Refunds | “We do not grant refunds, prorated or full, for subscriptions” | “You will not be entitled to a refund for any fees already paid” |
| Owner | Skillsoft (since April 5, 2022) | Xenon Partners (since December 14, 2021) |
Sources: Codecademy plans, Codecademy free trial, Codecademy refund policy, Skillsoft, Treehouse plans, Treehouse terms, Treehouse college credit, Treehouse acquisition.
What kind of certificate you get
Codecademy has three levels, and the free plan gets none of them.
- Certificate of completion: “You will receive a personalized certificate of completion once you have fully finished a course or Path … while being a Pro or Plus member.” And: “Free accounts (completing lessons only) will not be granted certificates” (Codecademy).
- Professional Certification (Pro): “certificates provided after you pass all of the exams within certain Career Paths.” It currently applies to six career paths: Full-Stack Engineer, Front-End Engineer, Back-End Engineer, Data Scientist: Machine Learning Specialist, Data Scientist: Analytics Specialist and Computer Science. Codecademy says it “verifies that you’ve demonstrated technical proficiency against the learning standards defined in the Career path” (Codecademy).
- Vendor certification prep: Codecademy has prep paths for exams from AWS, Microsoft, CompTIA and others. The exam itself “is not covered by the cost of a Codecademy Pro or Plus subscription. This industry exam will be an additional fee” (Codecademy). Codecademy’s pricing page lists these paths only for Pro and All Access, so plan on Pro if you want them.
Treehouse has badges, a Techdegree credential, and college credit.
- Badges: “Students earn points and badges of completion as they finish courses” (Treehouse blog).
- Techdegree credential: “Add a verified Accredible credential to your resume and LinkedIn profile” (Treehouse). Treehouse describes a final proctored exam as part of the program (Treehouse blog).
- College credit: through University Pathways International, courses “approved by the American Council on Education (ACE) and/or the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS),” 3 credits each, $35 transcript fee. Whether a college accepts the credit is up to the college (Treehouse).
Neither is a certification from an independent certifying body. Codecademy’s own blog puts it plainly: “You can’t get certified through Codecademy courses alone” (Codecademy). For what the vendor exams cost, see our Certification Cost Index.
Prices
Treehouse publishes US prices: $25, $49 or $199 a month, with a 7-day trial and no annual individual plan on its plans page. It says it is also “available for free through participating public libraries nationwide.”
Codecademy shows prices in your local currency and its help center refers to the pricing page instead of listing amounts. When we checked from Germany on September 22, 2026, it showed:
| Codecademy plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Plus | €14.99/month | €29.99 |
| Pro | €17.99/month | €35.99 |
| All Access | €45.99/month | not offered |
Source: Codecademy pricing (euro prices include VAT). Check the page from your location for your price. Codecademy offers 50% off annual Pro for military, government and social sector staff and more than 35% off for students, both for the first year (Codecademy discounts).
Watch the trial terms on both: Codecademy charges after day 7 and requires a card; Treehouse charges after its trial without a reminder: “You will not receive a notice from us that your free trial period has ended.”
Learning style
Codecademy is built around interactive lessons: “Write and run code right in your browser,” with “guided paths and interactive lessons” (Codecademy). Paths bundle courses into a career or skill track, and Pro adds the exams on the career paths.
Treehouse describes “expert-led video courses,” with “browser-based learning, interactive quizzes, and code challenges” and hands-on projects (Treehouse). Its Techdegree adds graded projects. Techdegree programs listed in September 2026 include front-end web development, full-stack JavaScript, Python development, data analysis and UX design.
Which one to choose
| You want… | Better fit |
|---|---|
| To start coding for free | Codecademy Basic (no certificate), or Treehouse through your public library |
| To type code from the first lesson | Codecademy |
| A structured web development program with projects and one credential | Treehouse Techdegree |
| An exam-based certificate for a career path | Codecademy Pro (Professional Certification) |
| College credit | Treehouse (via UPI) |
| Vendor exam prep (AWS, CompTIA, Microsoft) | Codecademy Pro |
What happened to Code School?
Code School was a learn-to-code platform that Pluralsight bought in January 2015 for $36 million (Pluralsight). Pluralsight shut down the Code School website on June 1, 2018 and moved active users to Pluralsight (Pluralsight). A “Code School vs Treehouse” comparison today is really a Pluralsight vs Treehouse comparison.
Related comparisons: Sololearn vs Codecademy, Udemy vs Treehouse.
Frequently asked questions
Is Codecademy or Treehouse better for beginners?
Both target beginners. Codecademy lets you write code from the first lesson and has a free tier; Treehouse is video-based with projects and a structured Techdegree.
Does Codecademy give certificates for free?
No. “Free accounts (completing lessons only) will not be granted certificates.” Certificates of completion need Plus or Pro; Professional Certification needs Pro.
Is a Codecademy certificate worth anything?
A certificate of completion shows you finished a course or path. Professional Certification requires passing exams on a career path. Neither is an industry certification; vendor exams like AWS or CompTIA cost extra.
How much is Treehouse per month?
$25 for Courses, $49 for Courses Plus, $199 for a Techdegree, after a 7-day free trial.
Can I get a refund?
Neither platform refunds subscription fees. Codecademy says support can look at individual requests, but its policy is no prorated or full refunds.
How we checked these facts. Codecademy rules come from its help center and pricing page; Skillsoft’s acquisition from Skillsoft’s investor relations site; Treehouse prices and rules from teamtreehouse.com and its blog; the Code School history from Pluralsight. All checked on September 22, 2026. Certificate Quest is not affiliated with Codecademy, Treehouse, Skillsoft or Pluralsight and earns nothing from links on this page.