15 Best Software Development Courses for Beginners
We compared 15 Software Development courses currently listed on Coursera and edX, priced from $9.99 to $672.30. 11 come from a named university or institution, including Duke University, Vanderbilt University and University of Colorado Boulder. 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
- $9.99 – $672.30
- Providers
- Coursera, edX
- Last updated
- 30 Aug 2026
How these 15 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from Coursera, edX, matched to "software development" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.
The grade on each entry scores how much the provider publishes about the course before you pay — the length and detail of the description, whether it lists learning outcomes and objectives — and whether a named university or institution stands behind it. A is fully documented and institution-backed; E is little more than a title and a price. Courses with almost nothing published are left ungraded rather than marked down, because an unknown course and a poor one are not the same thing.
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 $9.99 to $672.30, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
Amazon Q for beginners: Software Development with GenAI
Offered by Coursera
This Guided Project was created to help software developers seamlessly integrate Amazon Q into their workflow, enhancing their coding efficiency and accuracy. In this 1-hour long project-based course, you will learn how...
$9.99listed price -
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2
Coursera MOOC / Non-creditIntroduction to Generative AI for Software Development
Offered by DeepLearning.AI
This course is designed to enhance your skills by integrating AI chatbots as pair programmers in your development process. You’ll learn about how large language models (LLMs) work and how this general-purpose technology...
$49.00listed price -
3
Introduction to GitHub Actions
Offered by Duke University
GitHub Actions allows you to automate your software development workflows and seamlessly integrate with GitHub. This 2-hour long project will guide you through the fundamentals of GitHub Actions, helping you leverage its...
$9.99listed price -
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4
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 -
5
BiteSize Python for Absolute Beginners: Flow Controls
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
This course focuses on mastering Python’s control flow mechanisms, including branching, looping, and functions. It covers essential concepts such as making decisions with if, if-else, and if-elif-else structures (branchi...
$49.00listed price -
6
Introduction to Programming with Python and Java
Offered by University of Pennsylvania
This Specialization starts out by teaching basic concepts in Python and ramps up to more complex subjects such as object-oriented programming and data structures in Java. By the time learners complete this series of four...
$79.00listed price -
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7
Introduction to Python
Offered by Arizona State University
In today’s society, uses for new technologies are broadening in scope and revolutionizing the world. Many new technologies automate redundant tasks so people may complete tasks of greater priority. These new automated te...
$49.00listed price -
8
Python: A Guided Journey from Introduction to Application
Offered by Arizona State University
In today’s society, uses for new technologies are broadening in scope and revolutionizing the world. Many new technologies automate redundant tasks so people may complete tasks of greater priority. These new automated te...
$49.00listed price -
9
Introduction to Programming
Offered by Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani
This course aims to prepare you for problem solving through programming. In this course, you’ll be introduced to the C Programming Language. You’ll learn about various constructs supported by C Language and use them to w...
$49.00listed price -
10
Introduction to Python Functions
Offered by University of Colorado Boulder
How many times have you decided to learn a programming language but got stuck somewhere along the way, grew frustrated, and gave up? This specialization is designed for learners who have little or no programming experien...
$49.00listed price -
11
Introduction to Programming with C Language
Offered by International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore
The 'Introduction to Programming with C Language' course is suitable for learners with no prior programming experience. The course covers the fundamentals of the C programming language. At the end of this course, the lea...
$49.00listed price -
12
Introduction to Scripting in Python
Offered by Rice University
Developed by Rice University's world-class Computer Science & Data Science faculty, this specialization is intended for beginners who would like to master essential programming skills. Through four courses, you will cove...
$49.00listed price -
13
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 -
14
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 -
15
Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming with Java
Offered by The Georgia Institute of Technology
This course provides an introduction to Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) using Java, a fundamental programming language widely utilized in various software applications. You'll learn essential OOP concepts, enabling you...
$672.30listed price
Best Software Development Courses for Beginners compared
| # | Course | Provider | Offered by | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon Q for beginners: Software Development with GenAI | Coursera | Coursera | $9.99 | View → |
| 2 | Introduction to Generative AI for Software Development | Coursera | DeepLearning.AI | $49.00 | View → |
| 3 | Introduction to GitHub Actions | Coursera | Duke University | $9.99 | View → |
| 4 | Introduction to Programming with MATLAB | Coursera | Vanderbilt University | $49.00 | View → |
| 5 | BiteSize Python for Absolute Beginners: Flow Controls | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $49.00 | View → |
| 6 | Introduction to Programming with Python and Java | Coursera | University of Pennsylvania | $79.00 | View → |
| 7 | Introduction to Python | Coursera | Arizona State University | $49.00 | View → |
| 8 | Python: A Guided Journey from Introduction to Application | Coursera | Arizona State University | $49.00 | View → |
| 9 | Introduction to Programming | Coursera | Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani | $49.00 | View → |
| 10 | Introduction to Python Functions | Coursera | University of Colorado Boulder | $49.00 | View → |
| 11 | Introduction to Programming with C Language | Coursera | International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore | $49.00 | View → |
| 12 | Introduction to Scripting in Python | Coursera | Rice University | $49.00 | View → |
| 13 | Introduction to Computer Science and Programming | edX | Institute of Science Tokyo | $79.00 | View → |
| 14 | C, Go, and C++: A Comprehensive Introduction to Programming | Coursera | University of California, Santa Cruz | $49.00 | View → |
| 15 | Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming with Java | edX | The Georgia Institute of Technology | $672.30 | View → |
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 $9.99 to $672.30, with the middle of the range around $49.00 — a spread of $662.31. 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 and edX. 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. 11 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including Duke University, Vanderbilt University and University of Colorado Boulder — 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.