Scrimba vs freeCodeCamp
freeCodeCamp is a free, project-gated nonprofit curriculum with 11 certifications; Scrimba is a Norwegian startup selling a paid interactive-video platform where you pause the instructor mid-sentence and edit the code they just typed. Pick freeCodeCamp if budget is the constraint or you want blank-editor practice graded by automated tests. Pick Scrimba if a narrated walkthrough teaches you faster than reading a spec, especially for React and AI.
It comes down to three decisions about how you study.
The three decisions that matter
1. Paid-but-interactive, or entirely free. Scrimba Pro is a real subscription (see scrimba.com/our-pricing (opens in a new tab) for the current rate). freeCodeCamp is donation-funded. If budget is the gate, start with freeCodeCamp.
2. Project-driven, or lesson-driven. Each freeCodeCamp certification ends with 5 required projects you build from a blank editor, gated on passing automated tests (certifications overview). Scrimba builds projects inside lessons (Learn React's Tenzies and Assembly: Endgame are walked through scrim by scrim), which is gentler. Its blank-canvas test is the Solo Projects: a design file and a written spec with no walkthrough, and those are Pro.
3. How much weight you put on the certificate. That is the argument learners have most often, covered below.
The Verdict
freeCodeCamp wins on cost (truly $0), breadth (11 certifications including data analysis, info security, and ML), and project-by-doing rigor. Scrimba wins when reading text drills exhausts you faster than the lessons teach you, and when you want a human voice walking through React, AI, or modern JS while you type.
Pros
- freeCodeCamp: 100% free, 11 certifications, project-gated
- freeCodeCamp: huge community (forum, Discord, study groups)
- Scrimba: pause-and-edit video makes React click for visual learners
- Scrimba: focused web dev and AI curriculum, less to wade through
Cons
- freeCodeCamp: no live instructor voice on most tracks
- freeCodeCamp: certifications carry limited weight with employers (see below)
- Scrimba: Pro subscription required to unlock career paths
This comparison table may scroll horizontally on smaller screens.
| Feature | Scrimba | freeCodeCamp |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free tier + Pro subscription | 100% free, donation-funded nonprofit |
| Teaching format | Interactive video scrims (pause and edit) | Text lessons + browser test runner |
| Instructor voice | Yes (Bob Ziroll, Per Borgen, others) | Text-first; separate YouTube channel for video |
| Certifications | 4 career path certificates | 11 certifications, ~300 hrs each, 5 projects each |
| Project rigor | Guided builds in lessons; Solo Projects (spec plus design file, no walkthrough) are Pro | Build from blank editor; tests must pass |
| Topics | React, JS, TS, Python, AI, cybersecurity | Web, Python, data analysis, info security, ML |
| Community | Discord (basic free, Pro-only channels) | Forum, Discord, local study groups, 10M+ YouTube subs |
| Best for | Visual learners on React and AI | Self-starters comfortable reading specs |
What freeCodeCamp covers
freeCodeCamp is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Quincy Larson founded in 2014, and the entire curriculum runs on donations (Wikipedia). The curriculum is 11 certifications, each roughly 300 hours, each requiring 5 projects (freeCodeCamp certifications): Responsive Web Design, JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures (a new v9 launched December 2025 with a sit-down exam, news post), Front End Development Libraries (React, Redux, Sass), Data Visualization (D3), Relational Databases, Back End and APIs (Node, Express, MongoDB), Quality Assurance, Scientific Computing with Python, Data Analysis with Python, Information Security, and Machine Learning with Python.
Scrimba does not cover this surface area. No D3, no info security cert, no ML certification. If those are what you need, freeCodeCamp is the only one of the two in the conversation.
The certification debate
This is the recurring argument on Reddit, HN, and the freeCodeCamp forum. Do hiring managers care about a freeCodeCamp certificate? Short answer: not much, but they care about what you built to earn it.
A 2025 hackr.io review puts it plainly: "the certificate will not likely get you a job or impress an employer ... the portfolio projects will be more valuable than its certificates" (hackr.io review). The DEV.to thread "Is a freeCodeCamp Certificate Worth It?" lands in roughly the same place: the certification proves you sat through the work; the 5 finished projects prove you can ship (DEV.to). The freeCodeCamp forum's own advice on resume listings is pragmatic: lead with the projects and treat the cert as a footnote (freeCodeCamp forum). The newer Full Stack Developer path drew the same mixed reception on Hacker News in late 2024 (HN discussion).
What carries freeCodeCamp graduates into jobs is the project portfolio and public GitHub history, not the cert. Scrimba's career path certificates sit in the same spot. Neither is a credential the way a degree or AWS exam is.
The "no instructor voice on most tracks" point is the trade you are making with freeCodeCamp: you give up hand-holding and a narrated debugging walkthrough in exchange for cost-free credentialing and the kind of blank-editor practice employers notice. Whether that trade is worth it depends on whether you stall when you cannot see someone else stuck on the same bug. If you do, the Scrimba free tier covers the same React surface area with a human voice at zero cost.
Curriculum comparison: React
This is the one place where format makes a sharp difference.
freeCodeCamp's React track lives inside Front End Development Libraries. Read instructions, write code, pass tests. The 5 capstones (Random Quote Machine, Markdown Previewer, Drum Machine, Calculator, Pomodoro Clock) are blank-editor builds with no instructor. If you finish, you have shipped 5 React apps from scratch.
Scrimba's Learn React (15.1 hours, free) is Bob Ziroll on video, built with Mozilla MDN. The recording pauses 170+ times for a challenge written as comments in the file, and you type into the same editor. Gentler on first-timers because the abstractions (state, effects) get a human voice while you type. The projects are a ReactFacts page, a Travel Journal, Chef Claude, a Meme Generator, and two capstones, Tenzies and Assembly: Endgame. Bob's line on those last two: "Do not under any circumstances skip these capstone projects."
If "ship 5 React apps with nothing but tests guiding you" sounds energizing, freeCodeCamp. If "I need someone to explain why useEffect ran twice" sounds like you, Scrimba, and that question can also go to the EXPLAIN button in the lesson, where Scrimba Explain answers it as a short video.
Two different theories of learning
Quincy Larson runs the freeCodeCamp Podcast, which restarted in 2023 and now publishes weekly (podcast playlist). The recurring theme across his interviews is consistency over cleverness: show up, build the project, publish it, repeat for a year. The platform does not try to make you feel fast; it tries to make you finish.
Scrimba optimizes for the opposite: reducing friction between "I see the concept" and "I have typed the concept." Both legitimate, different shapes.
Using both, low-risk sequence
Most learners run them in parallel. This order keeps your spend at zero until the paid format has proved itself:
- Start freeCodeCamp Responsive Web Design. Free, project-gated, no decisions to make.
- When you hit JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures and want a human voice, open Scrimba's free Learn JavaScript with Per Borgen alongside it (9.4 hours, 140+ challenges, free in full). Still no card needed.
- Try Scrimba's free Learn React (15.1 hours, 358 lessons, free in full; only the two Solo Projects carry a PRO label) before deciding whether to pay for anything.
- Only upgrade to Scrimba Pro if step 3 clicks and you want the Frontend or AI Engineer career path on top.
Bottom line
freeCodeCamp wins on cost and breadth: it's free, and 11 certifications cover ground Scrimba never touches, from data visualization to machine learning. Scrimba wins on format: pause-and-edit video with a real instructor teaches React and AI faster than reading a spec, and the free tier (Learn JavaScript, Learn React) costs nothing to try first.
If you stall without someone narrating the bug you're stuck on, start with Scrimba's free courses. If you want project-gated credentials and don't need the hand-holding, freeCodeCamp is the only one of the two built for that.
Related pages
- Scrimba pricing | Best free Scrimba courses
- Scrimba vs The Odin Project (the other free option worth weighing)
- Scrimba vs Codecademy | Scrimba vs Udemy
- Scrimba vs YouTube
- How scrims work
Neither is universally better. freeCodeCamp wins on cost and breadth. Scrimba wins when text drills exhaust you and you want a human voice walking through React or AI while you type.
Mostly the projects, not the certificate. The 5 required projects per certification and your public portfolio do the persuading; the certification is supporting evidence.
Yes, about 24 free courses including Learn React, Learn JavaScript, and Learn TypeScript. Pro unlocks career paths and the rest of the 50+ course catalog.
Different shape. freeCodeCamp makes you ship 5 React projects from a blank editor with no instructor. Scrimba's Learn React (15.1 hrs, free) is video-led with Bob Ziroll where you pause and edit inline. Pick the one that matches how you study.
Yes, and most learners we hear from do. A common pattern is freeCodeCamp for structured certifications and Scrimba's free courses for any topic where the text-first format is slowing you down.
Once Scrimba Free has clicked, Pro unlocks the career paths
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