Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Exercism VS HackerRank

Compare Exercism VS HackerRank and see what are their differences

Exercism logo Exercism

Download and solve practice problems in over 30 different languages.

HackerRank logo HackerRank

HackerRank is a platform that allows companies to conduct interviews remotely to hire developers and for technical assessment purposes.
  • Exercism Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-28
  • HackerRank Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23

Exercism features and specs

  • Free Access
    Exercism provides free access to a wide range of coding exercises and learning resources, making it accessible to everyone regardless of their financial situation.
  • Mentorship
    Offers personalized mentorship from experienced developers who can provide feedback and guidance on your code submissions.
  • Wide Variety of Languages
    Supports numerous programming languages, which allows users to learn and practice coding in multiple languages.
  • Structured Learning Tracks
    Organizes exercises into structured tracks, guiding learners through progressively challenging problems in a logical order.
  • Community Support
    Has an active community forum where users can discuss problems, share insights, and ask for help.
  • Open Source Contributions
    Encourages contributions to the platform itself, offering an opportunity for users to give back and improve the resources available to others.
  • Focus on Clean Code
    Emphasizes writing clean, well-documented code, which is beneficial for developing best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Exercism

  • Variable Mentorship Quality
    The quality of mentorship can vary, as it depends on the availability and expertise of volunteer mentors.
  • Learning Curve
    There can be a steep learning curve for beginners who may find some exercises too challenging without sufficient initial guidance.
  • Limited Interactivity
    Exercises are primarily text-based without interactive or visual learning aids, which might be less engaging for some users.
  • Dependence on Volunteers
    The platform relies heavily on volunteer mentors, which can lead to delays in getting feedback and may affect the consistency of support.
  • Interface Complexity
    Some users find the interface and workflow somewhat complex and unintuitive, particularly for those new to the platform.
  • No Real-Time Collaboration
    Lacks real-time collaboration features, meaning users cannot code together or get instant feedback.
  • Focus on Individual Learning
    The platform predominantly focuses on individual learning rather than collaborative projects, which can be a downside for those looking to develop team-working skills.

HackerRank features and specs

  • Skill Assessment
    HackerRank provides a structured way to assess coding skills through a wide range of programming challenges and problems.
  • Wide Range of Languages
    Supports numerous programming languages, making it versatile for users with different preferences and expertise.
  • Interview Preparation
    Offers various interview preparation kits and company-specific challenges to help candidates prepare for job interviews.
  • Community and Collaboration
    A community of coders where users can discuss problems, share solutions, and collaborate on coding projects.
  • Company Recruitments
    Many companies use HackerRank for recruitment, and performing well on the platform can lead to job opportunities.
  • Leaderboard and Gamification
    Features like leaderboards and gamification elements motivate users to improve their rankings and skills continuously.
  • Educational Resources
    Provides tutorials and explanations that help users understand algorithms and data structures better.

Possible disadvantages of HackerRank

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Beginners may find some problems too challenging, which can be discouraging if they lack foundational knowledge.
  • Potential Focus on Competitive Programming
    The platform may emphasize competitive programming skills, which are not always directly applicable to all real-world software development scenarios.
  • Quality Variance in Problems
    The quality and difficulty of problems can vary, which may affect the consistency of the learning experience.
  • Limited Real-World Project Experience
    The focus on algorithms and coding challenges means there's less emphasis on full-scale project development experience.
  • Limited Feedback
    Automated grading provides limited feedback, which may not be enough for users to understand their mistakes fully.
  • Subscription Costs
    Access to some premium content and features requires a subscription, which may not be affordable for all users.
  • Network Dependency
    Requires a good internet connection to participate in coding challenges and access resources, which may be a limitation for some users.

Analysis of Exercism

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Exercism is considered good for learning and improving programming skills.

Why this product is good

  • Exercism offers free access to a wide variety of exercises in over 50 different programming languages, catering to both beginners and experienced programmers.
  • The platform provides a unique mentorship model where volunteers review submitted solutions, offering personalized feedback and guidance.
  • The exercises are well-structured, facilitating both practice and mastery of language-specific concepts and problem-solving skills.
  • Exercism encourages learning through doing, promoting an active learning environment which can be more effective compared to passive learning styles.
  • The platform allows for self-paced learning, enabling users to progress at their own speed and revisit topics as needed.

Recommended for

  • Beginner programmers seeking practical coding exercises to reinforce their learning.
  • Intermediate and advanced developers looking to hone their skills or learn new programming languages.
  • Individuals who appreciate personalized feedback and mentorship to improve their coding practices.
  • Students and educators searching for supplementary resources to support coursework or syllabus requirements.
  • Professionals aiming to practice coding interview problems and enhance their problem-solving abilities.

Analysis of HackerRank

Overall verdict

  • Yes, HackerRank is generally considered a good platform for improving coding skills and preparing for technical interviews. It is widely used by developers to hone their coding abilities and by companies to assess candidates' coding proficiency.

Why this product is good

  • HackerRank is a popular platform for coding enthusiasts, offering a wide range of programming challenges and competitions. It stands out for its extensive problem library, which is beneficial for practice and learning. The platform supports multiple programming languages and provides detailed feedback on submissions, making it a valuable tool for both beginners and experienced programmers.

Recommended for

    HackerRank is recommended for students, individual learners, and job seekers looking to improve their coding skills, as well as for companies seeking an efficient way to evaluate candidates' technical abilities during the hiring process.

Exercism videos

Learn with Exercism.io

More videos:

  • Review - JavaScript Exercise | Learn JavaScript with Exercism | #0 Setup
  • Review - exercism.io 01 hello-world

HackerRank videos

Is HackerRank A Good Idea?

More videos:

  • Review - LeetCode vs HackerRank
  • Review - Difference between HackerRank, LeetCode, topcoder and Codeforces

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Exercism and HackerRank)
Online Learning
68 68%
32% 32
Hiring And Recruitment
0 0%
100% 100
Online Education
57 57%
43% 43
Online Courses
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

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

Exercism Reviews

LeetCode Alternatives: Top platforms for coding practice
What are LeetCode and LeetCode alternatives good for?LeetCode๐Ÿ’กInterested in leveling up your career? Apply to the Formation Fellowship today!ApplyHackerRankCodeSignalAlgoExpertCodewarsGeeksforGeeksEdabitExercismTopCoderShould you use LeetCode for advanced interview prep?Get holistic interview prep with Formation
Source: formation.dev
8 Best LeetCode Alternatives and Similar Platforms
Exercism is the alternative to LeetCode learning platform, with over 4000 activities in up to 52 popular programming languages. It is very different from other comparable programming websites in that it emphasizes solo practice and also mentor-based learning. The greatest part about this software is to have an active developer community that assists novices all around the...
The 10 Most Popular Coding Challenge Websites [Updated for 2021]
Exercism is a coding challenge website that offers 3100+ challenges spanning 52 different programming languages. After picking a language that you'd like to master, you tackle the coding challenges right on your machine (Exercism has their own command line interface that you can download from GitHub).
Top 25 websites for coding challenge and competition [Updated for 2021]
Best qualities: Exercism starts off with language tracks that allow users to choose their preferred languages. Moreover, there are human mentors who will check your code and help you improve as you progress. This makes the platform perfect for total beginners who want to deepen their understanding of a new programming language.

HackerRank Reviews

LeetCode Alternatives: Top platforms for coding practice
What are LeetCode and LeetCode alternatives good for?LeetCode๐Ÿ’กInterested in leveling up your career? Apply to the Formation Fellowship today!ApplyHackerRankCodeSignalAlgoExpertCodewarsGeeksforGeeksEdabitExercismTopCoderShould you use LeetCode for advanced interview prep?Get holistic interview prep with Formation
Source: formation.dev
Top 10 Developer Communities You Should Explore
HackerRankโ€™s challenges cover a wide range of topics and difficulty levels, allowing developers to enhance their problem-solving skills and learn new algorithms and data structures. The competitive nature of HackerRank challenges adds a fun element to the learning process. Developers can track their progress, compete with others, and participate in company-sponsored coding...
Source: www.qodo.ai
Discover the Top Leetcode Alternatives
HackerRank offers a wide array of challenges across various domains such as algorithms, mathematics, SQL, and functional programming. Its interface is user-friendly, and the platform provides detailed feedback on submissions, which is ideal for beginners and experienced coders alike.
Source: codenquest.com
Best Alternatives to LeetCode For Data Science
HackerRank is another valuable alternative to LeetCode. They're not very "niche" but I had to include them on this list because they're a great resource for data science practice. On HackerRank, you can learn and test your competitive programming skills. If you have basic knowledge of Python and SQL and you're looking to sharpen your skills for an interview, then this...
15 Best LeetCode Alternatives 2023
HackerRank is a platform that matches developers with companies. The platform has two options. The first one is for companies looking to hire developers. The second option is for job seekers looking to improve their coding skills, prepare for interviews, and get hired.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Exercism should be more popular than HackerRank. It has been mentiond 318 times since March 2021. 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.

Exercism mentions (318)

  • AI made me lazy. I didnโ€™t notice until it was too late.
    Exercism.org structured deliberate practice, no AI required. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Free Python Resources
    Providing free coding exercises and mentorship, Exercism helps developers practice and improve their programming skills step by step. Their Python Track offers a series of exercises that guide learners from beginner to more advanced levels. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Collaboration Circles for Developers (2026)
    Exercism is a code practice + mentoring platform in 74 languages. Why it can work: although it is not exclusively focused on groups of five, its mentoring and peer review model allows forming mini-circles where participants give each other mutual feedback. Limitation: it is not originally intended as a "venting circle" (My favorite), but more technical-practical. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Cracking Blackjack with Go: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your First Move
    Keep practicing, keep coding, and most importantlyโ€”have fun with it! If you enjoyed this exercise, explore more challenges on exercism to continue building your Go skills. As always, you can find the complete code in my GitHub repo: https://github.com/RubenOAlvarado/algorithms. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: What book should my CS1 students read?
    (concepts/topics) : The New Turing Omnibus, 66 Excursions in Computer Science[1] Code Complete [2] Debugging The 9 Indispensable Rules of Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems [3] Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software [4] -- backround stories on how 'computer' things came to be -------- [1] : https://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibus-Sixty-Six-Excursions/dp/0805071660... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
View more

HackerRank mentions (67)

  • How to Stop Getting Lost in Endless Resources and Stay Focused as a Developer
    This way, you transfer what you already know (problem-solving) but only change the syntax. Platforms like Hackerrank are also great to solve the same problem in different languages and learn from other peopleโ€™s solutions. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Pick up new languages faster this way!
    Firstly, solve some common data structure problems with it. Implement some data structures like arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, etc. You can check common problems on LeetCode, Hackerank or some other resources. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Offline alternative of hackerrank.com to practice coding offline
    I don't have a consecutive internet connection and I can't keep up learning process so I started practicing in hackerrank.com I have started some challenges in python and c++ there. Thus I have no internet connection so I cannot practice if anyone know any alternative that works like Working: Gives a challange User sumbits code and it test into testcases. Source: over 2 years ago
  • 6 Key Tips for Beginners Learning JavaScript
    An effective way to improve your JavaScript skills is working through coding challenges and exercises. Sites like ReviewNPrep, FreeCodeCamp, and HackerRank have tons of challenges that allow you to practice JavaScript concepts by building mini-projects and solving problems. These hands-on challenges force you to apply what you learn. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Help needed for selecting Colleges.
    I'm 18M Indian. Growing up I've always been a daydreamer, if you may. Since 8th grade - I'm fascinated by programming. And I'm good at it too. But I'm not cocky too. I wouldn't say I'm at an advanced level, but I can most probably solve any problem - in time - with my skills. I also keep my skills brushed by solving problems on Hacker Rank (every day or alternate days) and try my best to contribute on... Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Exercism and HackerRank, you can also consider the following products

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

LeetCode - Practice and level up your development skills and prepare for technical interviews.

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

Codility - Codility provides a SaaS platform with advanced validation, security and protection features to evaluate the skills of software engineers.

Treehouse - Treehouse is an award-winning online platform that teaches people how to code.

CodeSignal - CodeSignal is the leading assessment platform for technical hiring.