Coding For Kids: 46 Free Classes, Websites, and Apps

Coding for kids is more important than ever. Technology has become a part of our everyday lives. As a result, coding has become a crucial second language for children and adults alike.

However, parents may find it difficult to teach children if they don’t have any experience themselves. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help parents bridge that gap and provide a great learning experience for their kids.

There are many online programs that teach coding for kids and provide the structure needed for kids to learn while being flexible enough to meet the demands of the modern family. Not only are there ample options for classes, but there are also tons of other free games, websites, apps, and other resources that help kids learn coding skills.

Read on to learn more about how to teach your kids how to code and free resources that can help you along the way.

Free Coding for Kids Resources

46 of the best free classes, websites, and apps to help kids learn coding.

Free Coding For Kids Apps

CodeKarts

Ages: 4+
Format: iOS/Android

A pre-coding game for preschoolers to play. Kids learn to develop observational skills, concentration, and logic by guiding a car through various tracks.

CodeSpark Academy

Ages: 4+
Format: iOS/Android/ Kindle Fire/Windows

With over 1,000 fun, free activities and a simple-to-use interface, CodeSpark Academy is the perfect app to introduce kids 5-9 years old to programming.

Hopscotch

Ages: 4-11
Format: iOS

Create games, art, stories, and more with kid-friendly programming. Kids, ages 4-11, can program and publish unique games and apps to Hopscotch’s fully moderated community, where others can play and learn from their creations.

Scratch Jr.

Ages: 5-7
Format: iOS/Android/Kindle Fire/ChromeBook

With the ScratchJr. app, children 5-7 years old can program interactive stories and games to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer. They can also play games created by kids just like them.

Move the Turtle

Ages: 6-12
Format: iOS

Using visually engaging graphics, kids as young as age 6 can implement various programming concepts to direct a virtual turtle and complete unique tasks. The app comes in both iPhone and iPad format.

Swift Playgrounds

Ages: 8-12
Format: iOS

Swift is a coding language for developing Apple iOS programs and apps. Especially useful for beginner programmers (even those with no Swift experience) Swift Playgrounds lets kids work at their own paces with visually appealing and educational challenges.

Mimo

Ages: 15+
Format: iOS

Mimo puts the power to learn in your child’s hands! With over 23 free courses to choose from and comprehensive lessons, Mimo enables kids of any age to begin coding and advance their skills.

Codea

Ages: 13+
Format: iOS

A fully customizable code editor, Codea allows users to introduce all the colors and visual aids they may desire to assist in their coding efforts. It’s a free app for kids that lets your child turn thoughts into interactive creations.

Coding Safari

Ages: 2+
Format: iOS

A free app with a focus on pre-coding skills like problem-solving, decomposition, and computational thinking. Coding Safari is engaging and educational for children as young as two years old!

Algorithm City

Ages: 8+
Format: Android

Algorithm City is a 3D style game where kids can learn the basic concepts of programming, such as command sequencing, functions and loops, and more. Play and code to make a character progress by collecting gold and solving levels.

LEGO Boost

Ages: 7-12
Format: iOS/Android

Lego Boost is an app that allows kids to build different Lego models and program them with code. Children can program their models to make sounds and move using drag and drop code.

Daisy the Dinosaur

Ages: 5-7
Format: iOS

This app teaches basic code concepts like sequencing and conditionals in the form of fun little challenges. Make Daisy the dinosaur move, jump, and dance with drag and drop commands as kids experiment and learn.

Cargo Bot

Ages: 4+
Format: iOS/Android

Students can learn to sequence with this app by choosing the preset actions of their robotic arm and putting them in the right order. These challenges can help students to think concisely and find the simplest solution to a given problem.

Box Island

Ages: 6+
Format: iOS

Box island introduces kids to fundamental coding and the basics of algorithms, pattern recognition, sequences, loops, and conditionals. The friendly characters, colorful and bright 3D game world and entertaining story parts make the experience fun for any child. Kids progress through the super fun and challenging gameplay as they build their coding skills.

Run Marco

Ages: 6-12
Format: iOS

This game uses simple commands like “move one step forward” and “repeat” to help students learn how to sequence a set of actions. Children will play and learn to modify their code to complete the task at hand, as well as design their own levels.

SoloLearn: Learn to Code

Ages: Varies
Format: iOS/Android

Aimed at older students, SoloLearn offers a list of programming languages like C, C++, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Python. The course starts off with the basic foundations of each language and builds as you proceed through levels. Kids and teens can even compare their skills in head-to-head challenges with others.

Grasshopper

Ages: Varies
Format: iOS/Android

This app, created by Google, teaches JavaScript for kids through mini-games they can play. It offers two courses: one for brand new coders and another for more advanced coders. For beginners, the app will take you through a set of slides explaining the basics of how to code followed by a short quiz to review and improve their understanding.

decoder

Ages: Varies
Format: iOS/Android

DCoder is a mobile code compiler. This app is meant for more experienced individuals who are looking for fast and easy ways to compile and run their programs on the go!

Free Coding For Kids Websites

RoboCode

Ages: 5+
Cost: Free

Ever heard of robot fighting? Well here is a cool alternative! RoboCode lets kids build a robot in Java or .NET in order to play and compete against other robots.

Codemoji (Ages 5-8)

Ages: 5-8
Cost: Free

Targeted at kids 5-8 years old, Codemoji.com is a unique programming website for kids where they can learn the foundations of web development in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Using drag-and-drop emojis, kids will be able to work through beginner, intermediate, and advanced level beginner courses to further their understanding of important concepts and how to use them.

Code for Life

Ages: 6+
Cost: Free

Code For Life is a non-profit easy-to-use resource that provides teaching and lesson plans, user guides, and engagement through our two fun coding games: Rapid Router and Kurono. Rapid Router uses Blockly to introduce kids to Python. They then advance to Kurono where they will write Python code. Play over 100 levels while you learn.

Stencyl

Ages: 6+
Cost: Free

Quickly and easily create games that you can publish to iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux & HTML5. All of that and you don’t need to write any code. The platform is drag-and-drop and extends Scratch’s simple block-snapping interface with new functionality and hundreds of ready-to-use blocks. It’s free to use for Flash publishing and you can upgrade for more features.

Gamestar Mechanic

Ages: 7-14
Cost: Free

Learn game design and make your own video games by playing fun, game-based quests. Go on quests to power up or code your own games that you can then share with friends. It’s an easy-to-use design tool and has a library of hundreds of sprites plus a community of game developers.

Create & Learn

Ages: 7-10
Cost: Free

Create & Learn lets kids play and explore multiple interests like Scratch, robotics, and digital design. They offer a free Scratch class for getting started and host online events with top experts.

Roblox Studio

Ages: 8+
Cost: Free

Create your own games on the popular Roblox platform with Roblox Studio. Use this immersive creation engine to make any game you can imagine then share it with millions of players. There are game templates that make getting started very simple. In our Roblox camp, we use these templates to build an obby game that is personalized by the student.

Now you code activities at codewizardshq

CodeWizardsHQ Activities

Ages: 8+
Cost: Free

Free activities and tutorials, right here at CodeWizardsHQ. Try our Scratch, HTML, and CSS activities that are perfect for beginners and kids 8 years and older. It’s also a fun way to practice your coding skills and personalize your own games and projects. If you have questions, we’re ready to help in our STEM, Coding, and Robotics Facebook group.

Code Monster

Ages: 9-12
Cost: Free

Code Monster is an interactive tutorial where kids are guided through lessons that focus on action and results. Great for beginners as it’s a simple and gentle introduction to programming that advances from simple shapes to animation and fractals. Made for preteens, but may work for younger kids with help.

StackOverflow

Ages: 13+
Cost: Free

This is a resource for kids and teens who want to learn a programming language by themselves, but still want the support of an experienced community of people! StackOverflow is a question and answer site meant to answer a diverse range of computer science questions.

Code Maven

Ages: 13+
Cost: Free

CodeMaven is an interactive tutorial where teens and adults can learn important programming concepts like variables, loops, conditionals, expressions, and functions are introduced by example. It’s easy to follow and has over 50+ lessons that students can finish at their own pace.

BitDegree

Ages: 16+
Cost: Free

As one of the most popular eLearning platforms out there, BitDegree offers a multitude of fun computer science courses!

Game Maven

Ages: 16+
Cost: Free

Game Maven is part of the Crunchzilla family of games and learning tools. It’s an interactive tutorial to learn JavaScript. Follow the simple directions to code animations and games immediately. They do not offer a lot of explanation around the code though, so it’s helpful to supplement with tutorials or textbooks.

CodinGame

Ages: Varies
Cost: Free

Learn new concepts by solving fun challenges in 25+ languages addressing all the hot programming topics. In CodinGame, compete with other developers in games and contests to top the leaderboards. Kids and adults can discover new languages and algorithms or tricks.