Software
Business
Streaming
Finance
Learning
Books
Leisure
AI
ReviewsFour platforms where 'free' means actually free — no hidden tier, no audit-mode trick, no card. Here's what each one teaches best.
| Khan Academy | freeCodeCamp | MIT OpenCourseWare | CS50 (Harvard) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Truly Free | Truly Free | Truly Free | Truly Free |
| Free Score | 100/100 | 100/100 | 98/100 | 97/100 |
| Value | 10/10 | 10/10 | 9/10 | 10/10 |
| Card needed | No | No | No | No |
| Account | Optional (tracks progress) | Optional (saves progress) | None needed | Optional for graded track |
| Limits | None | None | No graded feedback or certificates | The paid item is the verified certificate |
| You get | The full curriculum: math K through calculus, science, economics, history | Thousands of hours of coding curriculum | Lecture videos, notes, and exams from thousands of MIT courses | Every lecture, in full production quality |
| Real cost | Nothing. Nonprofit, donation-funded. | Nothing. Nonprofit; even the certifications are free. | Nothing. Actual MIT course materials, published open. | Nothing to take the full course. |
| Full review | Read → | Read → | Read → | Read → |
Our pick
For K–12 through college fundamentals: Khan Academy. For learning to code from zero to employable: freeCodeCamp. For university-depth self-study in any field: MIT OCW. For the single best intro to computer science: CS50. All are truly free. Use them together.