How to Cancel Codecademy Pro in 2026 (Stop Auto-Renewal + Free Alternatives)
Updated 2026-02-21 · 6 min read
⚠️ The free tier is a funnel: Codecademy's free plan gives you the first few lessons of each course, then locks the rest behind Pro ($17.99/mo or $239/year). By the time you hit the paywall, you're invested enough to subscribe. But freeCodeCamp covers the same material — completely free, no paywalls.
What Codecademy Pro Actually Costs
Pro Monthly: $34.99/month ($419.88/year if you forget to cancel)
Pro Annual: $239.88/year ($19.99/month equivalent)
Pro Student: $149.99/year (requires .edu email verification)
Plus (formerly Basic): $17.99/month — limited course access, no projects or certificates
Free tier: First few lessons only — a free trial in disguise
Codecademy will offer a discount (usually 30-50% off) — decline if you want to fully cancel
Select a reason → Confirm cancellation
💡 Important: If you subscribed via the iOS App Store, you must cancel through Apple: Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions → Codecademy → Cancel. The Codecademy website can't cancel App Store subscriptions.
Codecademy Refund Policy
7-day trial: Cancel within the free trial to avoid being charged
Annual plan: No official refund, but contact support within 7 days of purchase — some users report success
Monthly plan: No refund for the current month; cancellation prevents future charges
Auto-renewal: Email support@codecademy.com within 48 hours of an unwanted renewal charge
Save Your Progress Before Canceling
Certificates: Download all completion certificates from your profile
Projects: Export your portfolio projects — they'll be locked behind Pro after cancellation
Notes: Copy any in-browser notes or code to a local file or GitHub
Free tier access: After canceling, you keep access to the free lessons (first few per course), but lose projects, quizzes, and certificates
Why People Leave Codecademy
The illusion of learning: Codecademy's fill-in-the-blank exercises feel productive, but many graduates struggle to write code from scratch. The guided format doesn't build real problem-solving skills
freeCodeCamp exists: Literally the same topics (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, React) taught for free with real projects, not toy exercises
No real portfolio projects: Codecademy "projects" are heavily guided walkthroughs. Employers want to see projects you built from scratch
Certificate value is near zero: No employer has ever hired someone because of a Codecademy certificate. GitHub activity matters infinitely more
AI changed coding education: ChatGPT and Claude can explain any concept, debug your code, and help you build real projects — better than any pre-recorded tutorial
Content goes stale: Web development moves fast. Some Codecademy courses teach outdated patterns
Best Codecademy Alternatives (All Free)
freeCodeCamp (free): 11 certifications, 3,000+ hours of content, real projects, active community. The most direct Codecademy replacement
The Odin Project (free): Full-stack curriculum (HTML/CSS/JS/Ruby/React/Node). Project-based, teaches you to Google and problem-solve like a real developer
CS50x on edX (free): Harvard's intro to computer science. The best foundational CS course ever made — free to audit
Scrimba (free tier + $18/mo): Interactive screencasts where you can pause and edit the instructor's code. More engaging than Codecademy's text-based exercises
MDN Web Docs (free): Mozilla's documentation is actually tutorial-quality for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
JavaScript.info (free): The most comprehensive free JavaScript tutorial on the internet
💰 The math: Codecademy Pro ($239/year) vs freeCodeCamp ($0) + The Odin Project ($0) + CS50x ($0) = $0 total. You save $239/year and get education that actually teaches you to code independently instead of following guided exercises.
The Codecademy Completion Problem
Here's the uncomfortable truth: most Codecademy subscribers never finish a single learning path. The platform is optimized for sign-ups, not completions. The streak system and gamification create the feeling of progress — you completed 5 exercises today! — without building actual skills. If you've been subscribed for 6+ months and can't build a simple web page from scratch, the platform isn't working for you. Cancel, switch to project-based learning (freeCodeCamp or The Odin Project), and build real things.
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