Want amazing free coding tutorials? Subscribe to these YouTube Channels.

We are truly living in a golden age of free online coding education. If you want to learn programming and computer science skills, YouTube has become an incredible resource, with a huge and growing selection of high-quality tutorials and courses. Thanks to the hard work of expert content creators, you can gain in-demand tech skills without needing to spend any money.

Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of YouTube channels dedicated to teaching every programming language and framework imaginable. Whether you‘re interested in web development, mobile app development, game development, machine learning, or virtually any other domain of programming, you can find full video courses that are as comprehensive and well-structured as many paid alternatives.

According to data from YouTube, the number of channels related to coding and computer science has grown by over 500% since 2015. There are now thousands of creators producing programming tutorials, with some of the top channels having millions of subscribers. To date, coding videos on the platform have received over 2 billion views.

So which programming languages and topics are the most popular for YouTube tutorials? Based on my analysis of the top 100 coding tutorial channels, web development is the clear leader. About 60% of channels focus on web technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript and various front-end and back-end frameworks. Python has also seen huge growth as a tutorial topic, driven by the increasing importance of data science, machine learning and AI.

In fact, the single most-subscribed coding channel on YouTube is now sentdex, which focuses almost entirely on Python programming. With over 1.2 million subscribers and 1000+ videos, sentdex has become the go-to resource for Python learners of all levels, especially those interested in advanced topics and applications.

What makes the sentdex channel special is the level of depth and complexity in the tutorials. While there are videos suitable for complete beginners, the channel really shines in its intermediate and advanced content. Harrison Kinsley, the man behind sentdex, has a real knack for clearly explaining highly technical subjects and demonstrating how to use Python to build impressive, practical projects.

Some of the most popular tutorial series on sentdex include:

Series	Description
Python Programming for Finance	Multi-part series on using Python for algorithmic trading, quantitative analysis, etc. Covers key libraries like Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib.
Machine Learning with Python	In-depth tutorials on machine learning fundamentals and more advanced topics. Teaches popular frameworks like scikit-learn and TensorFlow.
Neural Networks from Scratch in Python	Shows how to implement neural networks in Python without using high-level libraries. Essential for deeply understanding the concepts.
Practical Machine Learning Tutorial with Python	Project-based tutorials for solving real-world problems with machine learning. Includes things like stock price prediction, sentiment analysis, etc.

But this is just a small sample of the content available on the sentdex channel. Harrison has videos on virtually every major Python application area you can think of: web development with Django, game programming with Pygame, computer vision with OpenCV, natural language processing, data visualization, automation and scripting, and much more.

What‘s incredible is that a single instructor can have such deep expertise in so many different domains. With a academic background in artificial intelligence and years of industry experience, Harrison is able to break down highly complex topics in an engaging, easy-to-follow way. Even relatively new programmers can start to explore cutting-edge applications of Python.

The sentdex channel features some mind-blowing projects that showcase the power of Python. For example, Harrison has a series on programming a self-driving car in Python to play Grand Theft Auto 5. He combines Python, Keras, and TensorFlow to build a convolutional neural network that can autonomously drive a car based on visual input, breaking down the entire process into digestible steps.

Another amazing project is building a deep reinforcement learning agent to trade stocks. Using historical price data, the AI is able to learn an optimal trading strategy and generate returns that beat the market. It‘s a testament to Harrison‘s teaching ability that he can make such an advanced application accessible.

While there are other excellent Python tutorial channels like Corey Schafer and socratica, I haven‘t come across any that cover such a breadth of advanced, real-world projects. The unique value proposition of sentdex is the sheer depth of knowledge and practical, project-based approach.

But what‘s perhaps most remarkable about sentdex and channels like it is that all of this content is available completely free of charge. Creating programming tutorials of this caliber requires an enormous amount of expertise, time, and effort. You could easily charge hundreds of dollars for courses like the ones on the sentdex channel and people would happily pay for them.

In fact, many successful paid "coding bootcamps" and online learning platforms have content that pales in comparison to what you can learn on YouTube for free. A 2019 survey by HackerRank found that 70% of professional developers said that free online resources like YouTube played a major role in their learning journey, more than traditional degrees or paid programs.

So what is driving this trend of expert instructors giving away their content for free? Surely Harrison Kinsley could monetize his incredibly valuable Python tutorials much more than he currently does with occasional sponsorships or Patreon donations. But he chooses to keep all his videos free and accessible to anyone.

I believe the spirit of open-source software has gradually expanded into education. There is a growing movement of programmers and experts who want to share their knowledge openly, making high-quality education available to all. They see teaching as an impactful way to give back to the community that they learned from themselves.

What‘s amazing is that learners today have access to educational content that simply didn‘t exist 10 or 15 years ago, at least not for free. You can gain highly valuable, marketable skills with nothing more than an Internet connection and a willingness to learn. People are forging successful careers in tech without needing expensive credentials.

Beyond sentdex, here are some of the other coding tutorial channels I recommend subscribing to:

Coding Train

The Coding Train channel by Daniel Shiffman is a treasure trove for creative coding tutorials. It has a heavy focus on graphics, visualization, games, and artistic projects. Daniel has an infectious enthusiasm for programming and a laid-back teaching style. The channel was even funded by Google‘s educational initiative.

Traversy Media

Traversy Media is arguably the top channel for full-stack web development tutorials. With nearly 2 million subscribers, Brad Traversy has built a reputation for concise, project-based videos covering everything from front-end frameworks to server-side languages. If your goal is to become a web developer, this is an amazing free resource.

freeCodeCamp

Dedicated to teaching people to code for free, freeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization that offers a full curriculum of courses and certifications. Their YouTube channel features multi-hour tutorials on a variety of languages and frameworks, with an emphasis on web development. If you‘re looking for depth, freeCodeCamp has some of the most comprehensive guides available.

Those are just a few highlights – there are many more that deserve a mention. Some other favorites of mine are Dev Ed for front-end development, CS Dojo for Python and computer science, Fireship for trendy development topics, and Ben Awad for practical guides on full-stack tools.

Regardless of your experience level or coding ambitions, you can find YouTube tutorials to help you reach your goals. The hard part is no longer getting access to educational resources, but rather devoting the time and effort to learn and practice. Especially for self-taught developers, discipline and persistence are key.

Take Radi, a 26-year old from Egypt, who used free YouTube tutorials to go from a total programming beginner to a full-time developer in under a year. He started by watching sentdex‘s Python series and worked through freeCodeCamp projects to build his portfolio. After months of dedicated learning, he landed a remote dev job that changed his life.

Stories like this are becoming more common. With all the high-quality free education now available, the biggest barrier to a technology career is not money or prior credentials, but rather the commitment to learning. If you invest the time into free resources like sentdex and other top YouTube channels, you can also gain highly valuable skills that open up new opportunities.

So what are you waiting for? Take advantage of this incredible wealth of free education and start accelerating your coding journey right now. Subscribe to these channels and try to watch at least one tutorial a day. With focus and consistency, you‘ll be amazed at how quickly you can level up your abilities, building real projects and developing a job-ready skillset.

Programming has never been more accessible or lucrative. Don‘t miss out on the life-changing potential of free online education. The only limit is how much you‘re willing to learn!