CodeHS Alternatives for Teachers and K-12 Classrooms

CodeHS is a computer science platform for schools, with courses, an in-browser editor, a gradebook and teacher tools. It still runs, and its pricing page offers a free plan for unlimited teachers. That free plan has real limits. Lesson plans, handouts and problem guides cover only the first 5 lessons, code history keeps the 5 most recent saves, and there are no due dates, assessment reports or AI hints. The Starter plan (one teacher, up to 100 students), School plan and District plan all say "Request a Quote" instead of a price.

Teachers who leave usually want one of two things: a free curriculum with full lesson plans, or a different style for younger students. The six picks below are chosen for classrooms first. Four are free outright. One older option is off the table: CodeHS acquired Tynker in May 2025, so Tynker is now a sister product, not a competitor. Replit deleted Teams for Education on August 1, 2024, and GitHub decommissioned GitHub Classroom on August 28, 2026.

If you teach yourself rather than a class, our Odin Project alternatives page covers self-paced paths for adults. For free school subjects beyond coding, see our Khan Academy alternatives.

Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

CodeAI (formerly Code.org)

Most teachers will know this one as Code.org. The nonprofit became CodeAI on June 2, 2026, and its rename page says all existing Code.org courses remain available and supported. Old URLs and logins redirect. Its about page counts more than 155 million students reached and more than 3 million teachers across 190 countries. For a teacher leaving CodeHS, the main gain is the price: every course, tool and activity is free, with no lesson cap like the CodeHS free plan's 5-lesson limit.

The rename comes with new AI courses. AI Foundations is now a full-year high school pathway, and the press release says more than 75,000 students have taken it. AI Discoveries, for middle school, builds on CS Discoveries. Hour of Code is now Hour of AI, which has drawn more than 33 million learners since June 2025. Teachers who only want coding can ignore the AI strand and keep using the courses they already teach.

Best for: Schools that want a full free curriculum from elementary through high school, with lesson plans and professional learning included.

Pricing:

• Free for students and teachers: courses, tools, activities and professional learning resources
• No paid plan or quote process

Watch out for:

• Links may move. The rename FAQ keeps redirects "for an extended period" and promises guidance on "any domain changes", so check LMS links and bookmarks over the next year.

Official site: CodeAI (formerly Code.org). Our listing: CodeAI (formerly Code.org).

CodeCombat

In CodeCombat, students type real code to move a hero through levels. Common Sense Education lists Python, JavaScript and HTML, and describes classes using it for a semester or full-year computer science course, or for an after-school code club. Students get the motivation of a game but still write text, which is a step past drag-and-drop blocks.

Teachers can try the first course, CS1: Introduction to Computer Science, with their students at no cost, per CodeCombat's help center. That gives a full unit to test before talking to sales. The model is closer to CodeHS than the free picks here. You pay per classroom licence for the later courses, and the schools page pitches it as a full school solution rather than a free tool.

Best for: Middle and high school classes where students need a game to stay with text-based Python or JavaScript.

Pricing:

• CS1: Introduction to Computer Science: free for teachers to use with students
• Classroom licences for later courses: no public price; contact sales for a quote

Watch out for:

• Common Sense reviewers found the in-game supports "extensive but text-heavy" and said they "may cause more frustration than relief".
• One reviewer on the same Common Sense page wanted "more lessons that align to the AP big ideas" and named lists as a gap. Check it against your AP CSP syllabus before buying.

Official site: CodeCombat.

Snap!

Snap is a drag-and-drop language presented by UC Berkeley and developed by Jens Mönig at SAP, with design help from Brian Harvey, per its about page. It runs in the browser, and an offline version covers labs with bad Wi-Fi. Every part of it is free and open source under a GNU General Public License.

The reason to consider it as a CodeHS replacement is the course built on top. The Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) is an endorsed AP Computer Science Principles course and was one of the five initial pilots for AP CSP from the College Board and the National Science Foundation. It targets non-CS majors from high school juniors up to college freshmen. Berkeley runs summer PD for BJC teachers and already has an interest form for summer 2027.

Best for: High school teachers who want a free, College Board endorsed AP CSP course taught with blocks.

Pricing:

• Snap: free and open source (GNU GPL)
• BJC course materials: no price listed on the BJC site

Watch out for:

• BJC is written for juniors through college freshmen, per the BJC site. It is not a fit for middle school as is.
• Summer 2027 PD has no published dates or details yet, only an interest form.

Official site: Snap!.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy's computing units are short, free and easy to assign next to its math and science. The help center lists three languages: JavaScript, SQL and Python. Courses include Drawing & Animation (JavaScript with ProcessingJS), two HTML/JS courses, Intro to SQL and Intro to computer science in Python.

Its classroom tools come with "no paywalls" and "no ads", per the teacher page. Compared with CodeHS it is thinner on structure: you get self-paced units, not a full-year course with a sequenced gradebook. We cover its non-coding rivals in our Khan Academy alternatives guide.

Best for: Teachers who want free, self-paced JavaScript, SQL or Python units to assign alongside other subjects.

Pricing:

• Free for teachers, students and classes
• Khanmigo AI tools and district plans: no price shown on the teacher page

Watch out for:

• Part of the web material is dated. One of the two HTML/JS courses is built on jQuery, per the languages article.
• Khan Academy advertises AI-powered teacher tools but does not publish what Khanmigo costs or where it is offered.

Official site: Khan Academy. Our listing: Khan Academy.

Scratch

Scratch, from the MIT Media Lab, is still the usual first language in elementary classrooms. It is a free programming language and online community, and students build animations and games by snapping blocks. Teachers can set up classes through a free teacher account.

Next to CodeHS, Scratch is a creative tool rather than a course platform. You bring the lessons, or pair it with CodeAI's free elementary courses. Projects can be shared to the community, so students can open and remix each other's work.

Best for: Elementary and middle school teachers who want free block coding with student accounts managed by the teacher.

Pricing:

• Free, including teacher accounts

Watch out for:

• A teacher account class holds at most 150 students, per Scratch support. Bigger groups need several classes.
• It is blocks only. Students ready for typed Python or JavaScript need a second tool.

Official site: Scratch.

Microsoft MakeCode

Classrooms with micro:bits, robots or Minecraft Education licences get the most from MakeCode. Microsoft lists editors for Arcade games, micro:bit, Minecraft, Adafruit Circuit Playground Express, LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3, Chibi Chip and the Cue robot on its MakeCode page. A toggle moves students from blocks to JavaScript or Python in the same project, so the step to text is gradual.

The micro:bit editor runs in a simulator, so no hardware is needed to start. MakeCode is open source, built by Microsoft Research and the Visual Studio team, and the blocks map to Static TypeScript underneath. Microsoft also publishes lessons, tutorials and skillmaps for teachers.

Best for: Schools teaching physical computing with micro:bit boards, robots or Minecraft Education.

Pricing:

• MakeCode editors: free
• Hardware and Minecraft Education licences are bought separately

Watch out for:

• The Minecraft editor requires Minecraft Education, and the hardware editors need the boards, per the MakeCode page. Budget for those before planning a unit.
• Microsoft does not list which editors support the Python view, so check your target before promising Python to a class.

Official site: Microsoft MakeCode.

How to choose

When to stay with CodeHS

Stay with CodeHS if your school needs the admin side, not just the lessons. The paid plans add assessment reports, due dates, AI hints and a customizable gradebook. School plans add LTI integrations and cross-section data, and District plans add LTI Advantage, administrator dashboards and teacher PD management. None of the free picks here offers that package in one place.

Frequently asked questions