15 Best Software Development Courses for Beginners
We compared 15 Software Development courses currently listed on Coursera, edX and Udemy, priced from $9.99 to $189.99. 12 of them teach the subject directly and 3 are built around a certification exam. 6 come from a named university or institution, including Vanderbilt University, Duke University and University of Pennsylvania. 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 – $189.99
- Providers
- Coursera, edX, Udemy
- Last updated
- 18 Sep 2026
How these 15 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from Coursera, edX, Udemy, 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 $189.99, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
Introduction 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 -
2
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 -
3
IT Fundamentals for Business Professionals: Software development
Offered by Universitat Politècnica de València
Working with Information Technology (IT) without the necessary background? Learn the fundamentals of software development
$69.00listed price -
4
MTA 98-361 Software Development Fundamentals Complete Course
**** This course contains pretty much everything you need to pass the exams. ****Welcome to the MTA 98-361 Software Development Fundamentals Complete Course by Dr. Chris Mall. This course covers everything you need to kn...
$189.99listed price -
5
MTA Exam 98-361: Software Development Fundamentals with C#
Are you ready to pass the Software Development Fundamentals Exam (MTA Exam 98-361)? Find out by testing your knowledge with this new course on Udemy. There are three practice tests in the course. Each practice test provi...
$99.99listed price -
6
MTA 98-361: Software Development Fundamentals Prep Exam
Do keep in mind that this is a preparation course, consisting of only practice questions and detailed solutions (with resources you can study), to help you successfully pass the MTA 98-361 Exam.These MTA Software Develop...
$99.99listed price -
7
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 -
8
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 -
9
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 -
10
Python Programming Fundamentals
Offered by Duke University
This introductory course is designed for beginners and individuals with limited programming experience who want to embark on their software development or data science journey using Python. Throughout the course, learner...
$49.00listed price -
11
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 -
12
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 -
13
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 -
14
Information Technology (IT) and Cloud Fundamentals
Offered by IBM
In today’s connected world, core knowledge of IT hardware, software, networking, cybersecurity, and cloud technologies is vital for almost every function, or role within an organization. Adding storage, updating an opera...
$49.00listed price -
15
Programming Fundamentals
Offered by Duke University
Embark on your programming journey! This introductory course teaches you the fundamental principles of programming in C that are applicable to any language you might want to learn. Master a powerful seven-step problem-so...
$79.00listed price
Best Software Development 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 $9.99 to $189.99, 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. 6 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including Vanderbilt University, Duke University and University of Pennsylvania — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.
Courses versus exam preparation
3 of the entries here are built around a certification exam rather than teaching Software Development from scratch. They are the right choice only if you already know the material and want to pass a specific exam; if you are starting out, pick one of the taught courses first and come back to exam preparation afterwards.
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 18 September 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.