15 Best Programming Courses for Beginners
We compared 15 Programming courses currently listed on Coursera, edX and Udemy, priced from $19.99 to $199.99. 5 come from a named university or institution, including Vanderbilt University, University of Colorado System and University of California San Diego. They are ordered by our CourseAsk score, which is built from how thoroughly each course describes what it teaches, whether it comes from a named institution, and how it compares on price — not from star ratings, which our course data does not include.
- Courses compared
- 15
- Price range
- $19.99 – $199.99
- Providers
- Coursera, edX, Udemy
- Last updated
- 30 Aug 2026
How these 15 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from Coursera, edX, Udemy, matched to "programming" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.
There are no star ratings on this page — the course feeds we license do not include them, and we would rather leave a column out than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. What we do have is price: these range from $19.99 to $199.99, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
Introduction to Programming with MATLAB
Offered by Vanderbilt University
This course teaches computer programming to those with little to no previous experience. It uses the programming system and language called MATLAB to do so because it is easy to learn, versatile and very useful for engin...
$49.00listed price -
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2
Introduction to C++ Programming and Unreal
Offered by University of Colorado System
This course is all about starting to learn how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal Engine on Windows or Mac. This course assumes you have previous programming experience in some other...
$49.00listed price -
3
Biology Meets Programming: Bioinformatics for Beginners
Offered by University of California San Diego
Are you interested in learning how to program (in Python) within a scientific setting? This course will cover algorithms for solving various biological problems along with a handful of programming challenges helping you...
$49.00listed price -
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4
Introduction to Computer Science and Programming
Offered by Institute of Science Tokyo
The term “Computation” refers to the action performed by a computer. A computation can be a basic operation and it can also be a sophisticated computer simulation requiring a large amount of data and substantial resource...
$79.00listed price -
5
C, Go, and C++: A Comprehensive Introduction to Programming
Offered by University of California, Santa Cruz
This specialization is intended for all programming enthusiasts, as well as beginners, computer and other scientists, and artificial intelligence aficionados seeking a comprehensive introduction to programming. Starting...
$49.00listed price -
6
Java Programming for Complete Beginners
Do you want to learn how to code and land a cool Java programming job? Java is a really popular language for creating applications and websites. It's awesome because the code you write can run on any computer. Now is a g...
$19.99listed price -
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7
Udemy CertificateJava School 1: Basic Programming for Students and Beginners
Welcome to Java School, the perfect course for anyone looking to learn programming from the ground up! This course is designed for:High school students who are approaching coding for the first time.First-year university...
$24.99listed price -
8
Udemy CertificateC++ for Beginners: Learn Programming, OOP, STL & Projects
C++ is one of the most important programming languages used in software development, system programming, and game development. It’s also the foundation for learning data structures, algorithms, and competitive programmin...
$19.99listed price -
9
Udemy CertificateC# in 3 Hours: C# Programming Tutorial for Beginners
LEARN C# IN 3 Hours BRAND NEW COURSE! BEST C# BEGINNERS COURSE ON UDEMY! This course will not waste your time, Are you tired of watching tutorials that take hours to explain simple concepts? You came to right place. All...
$99.99listed price -
10
Udemy CertificateComplete Python Programming 2020: Beginner to Advanced
Above and Beyond of Python Programming..!If you are a beginner but you want to be advanced in Python, and if you want to develop your skills and become master of it to do Machine Learning, Data Science or Artificial Inte...
$199.99listed price -
11
Udemy CertificateThe Complete LabVIEW Programming 2024: Beginner to Advanced
The Complete LabVIEW Programming 2024: Beginner to Advanced, aims to teach LabVIEW for those who are inexperienced and have not enough knowledge about it. In this course, despite teaching fundamental concepts, It has bee...
$169.99listed price -
12
Udemy CertificateBasic Python Programming for Beginners: Getting Started
Welcome to the udemy course " Basic Python Programming for Beginners: Getting Started ". This course is designed for beginners who want to enter in the world of Python programming.My name is Dr. Sunil Soni, academician a...
$19.99listed price -
13
Udemy CertificateProgramming for Parents and Beginners: Learn to Code
--Certification for people who finish this course included----Coming from a team of experts working with students around the world—Do you believe in making a profound and transformative impact on the world through coding...
$199.99listed price -
14
Udemy CertificateThe Complete Introduction to C++ Programming
Learning the basics of programmation can be very complicated no matter the programming language espescially if you never did any programming before. Being able to program in C++ is not different. This is why this course...
$74.99listed price -
15
Udemy CertificateA Python Tale • A Relaxed Programming Course for Beginners
A different way of learning to code in Python. This course takes you through the basics of programming in a teaching style that's friendly and relaxed.The focus is on clarity and really understanding what's going on.I've...
$29.99listed price
Best Programming Courses for Beginners compared
Prices shown are the provider's listed price when we last updated this page. Confirm on their site before enrolling.
What the prices here tell you
The 15 priced courses on this page run from $19.99 to $199.99, with the middle of the range around $49.00 — a spread of $180.00. That is a wide gap for one subject. A higher price on this page usually reflects who is behind the course rather than how much material it contains, so it is worth opening two or three at different price points and comparing their syllabus before deciding.
Who is behind these courses
These courses come from Coursera, edX and Udemy. The platforms differ in how they sell: some charge once per course, others expect a subscription, and the listed price is not always what you pay at checkout after a promotion. 5 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including Vanderbilt University, University of Colorado System and University of California San Diego — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.
Before you enrol
Open the provider’s own page and check three things this comparison cannot tell you: when the course was last updated, what the syllabus actually covers in its later sections, and what recent learners say. Prices shown here are the provider’s listed price when we last rebuilt this page on 30 August 2026 — they change often, and a promotion can move them substantially. We earn a commission if you enrol through our links, which costs you nothing and never affects the order courses appear in.