Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

CodePen VS SoloLearn

Compare CodePen VS SoloLearn and see what are their differences

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CodePen logo CodePen

A front end web development playground.

SoloLearn logo SoloLearn

Learning has never been this social and accessible for so many!
  • CodePen Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30
  • SoloLearn Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-12

CodePen features and specs

  • Real-time Collaboration
    Developers can collaborate with others in real-time, making it easy to work on projects with teammates or seek help from the community.
  • Immediate Visual Feedback
    CodePen allows you to see the results of your code as you write it, which is highly beneficial for learning and debugging.
  • Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
    CodePen provides a comfortable and feature-rich online IDE environment with syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and more.
  • Community-Driven
    Users can share their work with the CodePen community, receive feedback, and explore a wide range of projects created by others.
  • Extensive Resources
    CodePen offers a wealth of examples and templates for various web development tasks, making it a useful resource for learning and inspiration.
  • Cross-Device Accessibility
    Being an online platform, CodePen can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, making it convenient for developers on the move.

Possible disadvantages of CodePen

  • Limited Offline Functionality
    Since CodePen is primarily an online tool, it requires an internet connection for most of its features to work, limiting its usefulness in offline environments.
  • Performance Constraints
    Complex or resource-intensive projects may not perform as well on CodePen as they would in a full-fledged local development environment.
  • Subscription Costs
    While many features are free, advanced functionalities and additional storage options require a paid subscription, which may not be ideal for all users.
  • Limited Backend Capabilities
    CodePen is primarily designed for front-end development, so it offers limited support for backend technologies, making it less suitable for full-stack or server-side development.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies and libraries can be cumbersome compared to local development environments which have better tools for this purpose, like npm.
  • Security Concerns
    Sharing projects with the public can expose your code and assets to unauthorized use, posing potential intellectual property and security risks.

SoloLearn features and specs

  • Accessible for Beginners
    SoloLearn offers a user-friendly interface that caters to beginners, making it easy for newcomers to navigate and start learning coding from scratch.
  • Mobile-Friendly
    The platform has a well-designed mobile app, allowing users to learn and practice coding on the go.
  • Community Support
    SoloLearn features an active community where learners can ask questions, share knowledge, and receive feedback from peers and mentors.
  • Variety of Languages
    The platform covers a wide range of programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and more, providing diverse learning options.
  • Gamification
    SoloLearn uses gamification elements such as points, badges, and leaderboards to motivate and engage users.
  • Free Access
    Many of the courses and features on SoloLearn are available for free, making it an affordable option for learners.

Possible disadvantages of SoloLearn

  • Limited Advanced Content
    The platform is primarily focused on beginner to intermediate levels, which may not be sufficient for advanced learners seeking in-depth knowledge.
  • Ads and Premium Content
    Free users may encounter ads, and some content and features are reserved for premium subscribers, which can be a limitation for those not willing to pay.
  • Inconsistent Quality
    The quality of content can vary from course to course, leading to an inconsistent learning experience.
  • Lack of Hands-On Projects
    While SoloLearn provides coding exercises, it may lack comprehensive hands-on projects that are crucial for building a portfolio.
  • Limited Depth in Explanations
    Explanations and lessons might be too brief, lacking the depth required for fully understanding complex programming concepts.
  • No Accreditation
    SoloLearn certificates do not carry the same weight as those from accredited institutions, which might be a concern for learners seeking formal qualifications.

CodePen videos

What Is Codepen?

More videos:

  • Review - Learn to use CodePen from a co-founder of CodePen
  • Review - Using CodePen For Inspiration & Learning

SoloLearn videos

How to Learn to Code - SoloLearn App Overview

More videos:

  • Review - SoloLearn review, full but short one
  • Review - Teaching Myself to Code with SoloLearn!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to CodePen and SoloLearn)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Online Learning
0 0%
100% 100
Programming
100 100%
0% 0
Education
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using CodePen and SoloLearn. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare CodePen and SoloLearn

CodePen Reviews

Best Forums for Developers to Join in 2025
Codepen is a social network for developers to show off their work, ask and answer questions, and exchange ideas. It's like a Reddit for coding and design, with a large community of talented web developers.
Source: www.notchup.com
Top 10 Developer Communities You Should Explore
Codepen is a social development environment that allows developers to showcase their work and experiment with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a collaborative space. Codepen’s focus on visual and interactive development makes it an excellent community for front-end developers and designers.
Source: www.qodo.ai
8 Best Replit Alternatives & Competitors in 2022 (Free & Paid) - Software Discover
Codepen is a social development environment for front-end designers and developers. Build and deploy a website, show off your work, build test cases to learn.
Best Online Code Editors For Web Developers
Probably the most popular online code editor. CodePen is fast, easy to use, and allows a web developer to write and share HTML/CSS/JS code online.
Source: techarge.in
Top 25 websites for coding challenge and competition [Updated for 2021]
CodePen is a cool online IDE that allows you to write code in your browser and see the result just as you build it. CodePen challenges is a place for leveling up your skills by building things. Each week, new challenges appear for you to tackle, and the best “Pens” get picked.

SoloLearn Reviews

  1. Best Place to Learn Coding for Free

    I've been using SoloLearn for nearly 2 years, every single day, and it's almost replaced facebook for me. I mean, it's an awesome place, with awesome people. Great place to learn the basics of coding, and practice writing codes, and have a great time.

    👍 Pros:    Friendly and safe community|Well designed courses and challenges|Great gamification
    👎 Cons:    A few connection issues when servers are overloaded.

Top 25 websites for coding challenge and competition [Updated for 2021]
SoloLearn is one of the best places to learn how to code, with over 39 million learners, 1784 lessons, and 14k quizzes. I started learning how to code HTML and CSS on this website and it’s amazing.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, CodePen seems to be a lot more popular than SoloLearn. While we know about 503 links to CodePen, we've tracked only 15 mentions of SoloLearn. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

CodePen mentions (503)

View more

SoloLearn mentions (15)

  • Best way to learn JS, Node.JS SQL and Python for "free"?
    You could stick with freeCodeCamp or use SoloLearn. It's a duolingo style app that teaches programming in small exercises instead of full projects. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Is 45 credits in one term difficult to complete? Should I push my start date and study more before beginning the term?
    That being said, I wouldn't push it back that far. At best, push it back a month, and spend that month on sololearn.com focusing on the Java courses. If you know Java, you can learn Python on the fly. Then keep track of your intended schedule (once you've discussed the order you'll attempt classes with your Mentor; I've just copied your list verbatim) with due dates, as below. The Buffer weeks are there to... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Programmer in game development. Advice?
    Watch this video by Game Maker's toolkit to understand Unity, after that, learn C# using SoloLearn, it's a Duolingo style (mobile/web)app that teaches programming languages. When you finish both, start doing your own projects and when you don't know something look for documentation, if you don't find any, then search on google, if you still don't find how to do what you want, then you ask on Reddit and StackOverflow. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • need Advice from USA developers
    Additional Certifications never hurt. You could bang out the HTML, JavaScript, and CSS certs on sololearn.com in no time. I challenged my daughter to learn c# and I did it along with her ... 2 weeks and a few hours total later I had a new addition for my linkedin profile. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Anyone else use code academy to learn programming?
    Whatever you use, just stay far, far away from shady sites like https://sololearn.com. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing CodePen and SoloLearn, you can also consider the following products

JSFiddle - Test your JavaScript, CSS, HTML or CoffeeScript online with JSFiddle code editor.

Codecademy - Learn the technical skills you need for the job you want. As leaders in online education and learning to code, we’ve taught over 45 million people using a tested curriculum and an interactive learning environment.

CodeSandbox - Online playground for React

Free Code Camp - Learn to code by helping nonprofits.

GitHub - Originally founded as a project to simplify sharing code, GitHub has grown into an application used by over a million people to store over two million code repositories, making GitHub the largest code host in the world.

edX - Best Courses. Top Institutions. Learn anytime, anywhere.