Top 8 online Python courses

Learning online has never been easier and there are a plethora of high quality courses available all over the internet from established institutions. But sorting through this vast sea of options can be a daunting task. No worries—we’ve done the hard work for you and have listed the top places to take Python courses online.

Code School

Code School describes itself as an “interactive learning destination for aspiring and experienced developers.” It offers a wide range of courses that are categorized into paths. The Python path has four courses: two that introduce the basics of Python programming and two on Django, which is a Python framework for web applications.

Code school courses consist of videos that introduce and explain a new concept followed by interactive coding challenges. The videos are presented by a course instructor and are in a slideshow format. Bonus for the Python course instructor, the very adorkable Sarah who is an experienced teacher and very pleasant to watch.

Once you finish a video you move on to the interactive coding challenges for that section. Each challenge has several tasks where you write code, and the occasional multiple choice question. Challenges are conducted in an interactive editor with instructions on the left and editor and output windows on the right.

The two Python Code School courses are very well done and a great way to get introduced to Python. The first course alone is really just a taste of what’s to come in the second, so you’ll need to go through both if you want to begin building a solid foundation in Python. A nice helpful feature is that you can download the course slides for easy review anytime.

Code School’s Python courses are a great place to if you’re new to Python or programming in general. They are quick, easy to use, and provide a solid foundation to the language. Good for beginners only.

Lynda

Lynda.com has an excellent reputation for well made courses, classes, and tutorials across a wide range of subjects. If we browse the library we’ll find Python in the Developer category. Inside you have over 30 courses and over 1000 videos to chose from. This can be a bit overwhelming but luckily Lynda has organized things into Learning Paths.

There is one Python learning path on Lynda called Become a Python Developer. It contains 6 courses starting with the basics and then covers topics like Python3, GUI development, and Django. If you are new to Python then this is obviously the place to start on Lynda and if you complete all six courses in the path, you’ll have acquired some pretty solid Python programming skills.

However, Lynda is also a great option if you’re looking for intermediate or advanced topics. Check out courses like: Machine Learning & AI Foundations, Python Data Analysis, and Advanced Django.

Lynda’s course pages are very well laid out with some nice features. The main video player has all the standard features like full screen, subtitles, skip back 10 sec, etc. On the left is a window that has the clickable course contents for easy navigation, and a notebook tab. Here you can quickly make notes for each video, for example if there is a point you want to review later on.

You really can’t go wrong with Lynda when it comes to programming courses or so many other topics.

Pluralsight

Pluralsight is one of the most popular sites for online courses and videos. In fact they are the parent company of the aforementioned Code School. And while Pluralsight lacks the interactive code editor of their child company, they offer an enormous catalog of videos from the most basic and up through highly advanced topics.

If we perform a search on ‘Python’ the results show 100 course and 3 learning paths. The Python path “will take you from the basics of the Python language all the way up to working with web frameworks and programming a Raspberry Pi.”

Their video interface is pretty slick. You have your table of contents and notes on one side, and video on the left. Toggle the side menu and full screen.

It’s easy to navigate the course, particularly with the help of the notes feature. When you make a note, it bookmarks the exact second of the video you were on when the note was made. This makes is super easy to come back to a specific point.

The Python path is quite comprehensive. It covers the fundamentals with two courses stretched over 8 hours. From there you have three intermediate and three advanced courses for nearly 30 hours of videos. If you make it through all of this, you’ll be well on your way to being a professional Python developer.

Pluralsight offers downloadable exercise files, course discussion forums and monthly plans with no long term commitment—perfect if you want to take a few weeks and do some intensive training at home.

Skillshare

Skillshare bills itself as “an online learning community where anyone can discover, take, or even teach a class.” This means the platform is designed not only for independent students but also for independent teaches. They claim to have had over 2 million students and over 5 million dollars paid out to teaches—pretty big numbers!

Skillshare isn’t focused as much on technology as a site like Pluralsite and you can take courses in things like watercolor, time management, or even Beef 101: Ten Popular Cuts and How to Prepare Them at Home. Serious.

But just because there’s cooking and painting doesn’t mean their development classes aren’t serious. Do a search for Python and you’ll get 59 different videos. There are several beginner options like Learn Python in 1 day and also more advanced topics such as Goal-Driven Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

If you’re looking for a broad range of topics in Python but also maybe want to learn to sew, then consider giving Skillshare a try.

Udemy

Udemy is another platform that allows its users to become online teachers—and it’s massive. A quick search for Python returned nearly 500 results. Well, that should keep you busy for awhile. This again sounds like an overwhelming amount of content to sift through.

But Udemy is a topnotch platform and they have taken the necessary steps to make sure the user can find exactly where they’re looking for. Their search has excellent filtering options that work really well.

I started my ‘Python’ search with 494 results. After filtering for language (English), level (beginner), and features (coding exercises) I had it whittled down to a much more manageable 4 courses. I’d recommend The Python Bible: Everything You Need to Program in Python.

Udemy is a high quality, professional platform with a modern interface. Taking a course on their site is quite comfortable. Also, each course is peer reviewed so you can really get a sense of the course before you sign up. Last, you can buy each course individually so no need for a long term subscription. If you’ve got a specific Python skill you’ve been meaning to learn then Udemy has more than likely got you covered.

Coursera

Coursera is a bit different than our other options in that every course they offer is “taught by top instructors from the world’s best universities and educational institutions.” This of course comes with advantages and disadvantages.

On the plus side you’re getting world class education from Universities like University of Penn, Stanford, Duke, and countless others.  “Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.” Also you can take part in discussions with thousands of peers and get help with material you may be struggling with.

A disadvantage could be that much like in a real university course, it’s going to take awhile. The course Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) has a 7 week syllabus. This means you won’t be able to take a weekend and pound out 48 straight hours of Python like you could with others online courses. Though that might not be the best idea anyway.

With an estimated 2-4 hours of work per week for 7 weeks this course would be great if you are busy and want to take your time developing a new skill.

Treehouse

Treehouse is similar to Code School in that it features an interactive code editor right on the site so that you don’t have to install or setup anything in order to get started. Their 22 hour Python track is broken down into 8 courses covering topics like basic object oriented programming, RegEx, Databases in Python, and even Python testing.

Treehouse consistently gets great reviews and their UI/UX is second to none. Their target audience is someone looking to start a career in development, so if you’re serious and ready to commit then you can really go far with the Learn Python track.

Simplilearn

Last on our list is Simplilearn which is one of the biggest providers of professional certification courses. Unlike some of their main competitors, they stay focused on technology and IT with content specific to project management, digital marketing, big data analytics, agile, cloud computing, cyber security and more. They also have a lot of content in mobile and software development.

Their Python Basics Training course consists of 26 lectures totaling over 4 hours. They cover the basics: variable, loops, functions, all that fun stuff. There is also a more comprehensive All-in-One Python Development Suite which includes learning Django for web app, and even basic game development with a flappy bird clone.

Wrapping up

With all of the options available today, nothing is holding you back from taking the first steps to launching a new career path and hopefully you’ve got a good idea where to start. Now all that’s left is to make some coffee, sit yourself down, grab some headphones and get to learning! Happy coding.