CodePen Alternatives for Front-End Demos and Prototypes

CodePen is the browser playground where you write HTML, CSS and JavaScript in three panels and see the result live. Its Pro features page lists paid plans "starting at $8/month", with unlimited private Pens, asset hosting, Collab Mode and Professor Mode. People look for alternatives when they need a real npm project instead of a single Pen, want private work without paying, or need a shareable app with a backend.

One name has dropped off most lists. Glitch announced on May 22, 2025 that "project hosting and user profiles will be shut down" on July 8, 2025. Redirects set up before December 31, 2025 stay active at least through the end of 2026, but you cannot build there any more. The six picks below are all running today.

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

Quick comparison

JSFiddle

JSFiddle works much the way CodePen does: HTML, CSS and JavaScript panes with a result pane, and a short URL to share. The homepage says it is used by "4+ million" developers and names React and Tailwind among the setups it supports.

The free version shows ads in the editor and listing pages. Pro removes them and adds private fiddles and collections, plus Fiddle Pages, which publish a fiddle on a custom domain.

Best for: CodePen users who mainly post small snippets in bug reports, Stack Overflow answers and docs.

Pricing:

• Free, with ads
• Pro: €8 per month, or €80 one-time for 1 year

Watch out for:

• Collaboration is not part of the offer. The homepage lists no live co-editing among Pro features, so there is nothing like CodePen's Collab Mode.
• Prices are in euros only on the homepage, so US buyers pay whatever the exchange rate makes it.

Official site: JSFiddle.

CodeSandbox

CodeSandbox suits the moment a Pen turns into a project with a package.json. You start from a template, add npm packages and get a live preview, and the free Community plan includes public sandboxes and static file hosting, per its pricing page.

The company has a new owner. Together AI bought it on December 12, 2024, to use its infrastructure as a code interpreter for AI models. The release put CodeSandbox usage at "more than 4.5 million developers every month."

Best for: Sharing a React, Vue or Vite reproduction with real dependencies.

Pricing:

• Community: free, public sandboxes
• Pro: $12 month-to-month, or billed annually (the page did not show the annual figure); adds unlimited private sandboxes and private GitHub repos
• Pro Workspaces for teams: closed beta, no public price

Watch out for:

• Private sandboxes need Pro. The free plan is public only, which CodePen Pro users may not expect.
• Team plans are not on sale. The pricing page lists Pro Workspaces as "currently in closed beta" with a waitlist.

Official site: CodeSandbox.

StackBlitz

StackBlitz runs Node.js inside the browser tab using its WebContainers technology, so npm install and a Vite dev server work without a remote VM. The pricing page says the free Personal plan "includes unlimited public StackBlitz projects and Github repositories."

That makes it good for bug reproductions: a reporter forks a starter and the whole toolchain runs locally in the tab. The company also makes Bolt.new, its AI app builder, which the pricing page links in its top navigation.

Best for: Framework and library demos, and bug reproductions that need a real Node toolchain.

Pricing:

• Personal: free, unlimited public projects and GitHub repos
• Teams: paid; private repositories need a paid seat; no public price
• Enterprise: contact sales

Watch out for:

• Browser support is uneven. The WebContainers docs say Chrome and most Chromium browsers are fully supported, Safari is in beta from 16.4, and Firefox support is limited.
• Private work is paid. The pricing page says a team member "must be upgraded to a paid user" to open private repositories.

Official site: StackBlitz.

Visual Studio Code

Sometimes the best CodePen alternative is not a website. VS Code is free for private and commercial use, per its FAQ, and the latest stable release is 1.145 from November 4, 2026. Add Microsoft's Live Preview extension, installed more than 14 million times, and you get an embedded browser that refreshes as you type.

Your files stay on your disk, in Git, with no account. For a starting file to open, our HTML5 Boilerplate alternatives page lists current templates.

Best for: Developers who prototype offline or need to keep client work off public sites.

Pricing:

• Free
• Live Preview extension: free

Watch out for:

• Live Preview's own page says "This extension is still under development" and works best with VS Code Insiders. It is meant for plain HTML projects, not React or Angular apps with their own server.
• There is no share link. To show someone your demo you still need hosting, a Git repo or one of the online tools above.

Official site: Visual Studio Code. Our listing: Visual Studio Code.

Replit

Replit goes far past a front-end playground. Its workspaces run server code as well as front-end files, and the plans are built around AI models that write code from a prompt. That makes it a fit when the demo needs a server, which a Pen cannot run.

The pricing page lists Core at $18 a month billed annually, with $20 of monthly credit toward AI models, and Pro at $90 a month billed annually with $100 in credits and up to 15 collaborators. Core also lists up to 60 projects on Free Mode.

Best for: Prototypes that need a backend, a database and a public URL, built partly with AI.

Pricing:

• Core: $18 per month, billed annually (shown against a $20 list price); includes $20 toward AI models
• Pro: $90 per month, billed annually (against $100); $100 in credits, up to 15 collaborators
• Enterprise: contact sales

Watch out for:

• Costs are usage-based. The plan price includes a set amount of credits, and the pricing page also lists unlabeled amounts from $215 to $2,000 a month, so heavy AI use can cost far more than a CodePen plan.
• Teachers should check before moving a class. Replit removed Teams for Education and deleted its data on August 1, 2024, so there is no direct match for CodePen's Professor Mode.

Official site: Replit.

PlayCode

PlayCode is a JavaScript playground whose paid plans now center on AI app building. The free plan publishes a static website on a PlayCode address with PlayCode branding, which is enough for sharing a front-end demo.

Paid plans are built around AI credits and hosting. The pricing page lists Pro at $17 a month, charged as $199 a year, with 76 credits a month and up to 3 published apps with a database. Max is $83 a month, charged as $1,000 a year, with 400 credits and up to 10 Cloud apps.

Best for: Solo developers who want a JavaScript sandbox and the option to publish a small app with a database.

Pricing:

• Free: static site on a PlayCode address with branding, no published Cloud apps
• Pro: $17 per month, $199 charged yearly; 76 AI credits a month; 100 GB bandwidth
• Max: $83 per month, $1,000 charged yearly; 400 credits; 1,000 GB bandwidth
• Credit top-ups from $25 for 100 credits

Watch out for:

• Free trial credits depend on location. The pricing page says eligibility "depends on your country and signup offer."
• PlayCode bills both paid plans yearly, so there is no single month to test Pro.

Official site: PlayCode.

How to choose

When to stay with CodePen

Stay on CodePen if your Pens are part of a portfolio or you teach with it. The public feed and embeds put work in front of other front-end developers, and Collab Mode and Professor Mode cover live pairing and classes, which none of the picks above match. At a starting price of $8 a month, Pro is also cheaper than most of the alternatives' paid tiers.

Frequently asked questions