Numerous online courses and bootcamps offer data science education, but identifying the best data science courses can be challenging. How do you select the top materials from hundreds of authors and providers?
Indeed, asking these questions is wise—conducting initial research might save you hundreds of hours or even months. Choosing the best data science certification online could be the deciding factor in securing your dream data scientist role. Therefore, making the correct decision is paramount.
Understanding the importance of this choice, I'm excited to offer my expertise. With 10 years in online course development—impacting over 2.5 million globally—I discern between impactful, high-quality courses and those falling short. These selected top data science courses have been meticulously assessed for thorough data science training.
Table of Contents
- How to Find the Best Data Science Courses?
- Our Best 10 Data Science Courses
- 365 Data Science
- Analytics Vidhya
- Kaggle
- EdX
- FreeCodeCamp
- Data Science Dojo
- Datacamp
- Dataquest
- Coursera
- Udacity
- Conclusion
- FAQs
How to Find the Best Data Science Courses
This article features a curated selection of premier data science learning platforms and course providers. I will critique each platform against four essential criteria to aid your search for the best data science courses, evaluating:
- Content Quality
- Instructor Expertise
- Real-World Examples
- Business Relevance
Our Best 10 Data Science Courses
1. 365 Data Science
Pricing: \$36/mo, \$348/yr
Since its inception in 2017, 365 Data Science has become a leading platform for learning data science online—renowned for its clear, simple, and effective training that has benefited millions of students.
Content Quality
365 Data Science stands out significantly in providing the best data science online courses, mainly due to its superior video quality over other platforms. This advantage stems from its use of animated and professionally edited videos. Each lesson undergoes meticulous scripting and delivery, with regular revisions to enhance the content.
The excellence of 365 Data Science's online courses can be attributed to the authors' months-long dedication to developing each course, ensuring exceptional content quality despite a smaller course catalog.
Instructor Expertise
A key advantage of 365 Data Science is its instructors—comprising former data scientists, ML engineers, and data product managers from such leading tech firms as Meta, Netflix, Google, Ikea, Henkel, PwC, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Coca-Cola, and more.
This provides students a unique opportunity to learn data science from industry experts—equipping them with the in-demand skills employers seek. You'll study alongside professionals who understand your position and are eager to share the practical expertise gained from their experiences.
Real-World Examples
Given 365 Data Science instructors' industry backgrounds, the course examples are guaranteed to be relevant. The company has designed a program offering an authentic data science training experience. Through hands-on exercises—including analyzing 365's platform data—you'll learn to tackle real-world analysis.
Business Relevance
Each course includes a comprehensive hands-on example and a capstone project addressing a business challenge. The 365 Data Science program not only equips you with the essential tools for a data scientist but also provides well-rounded training from a business perspective.
You can take courses on Product Management, Project Management, Strategy, Marketing, Communication, Digital Marketing, Business Analytics, Finance, Real-world Machine Learning Applications, and more. The platform offers the best data science online courses that blend technical and business skills.
Pros:
- Top-tier course quality
- Industry-expert instructors from leading companies
- Intense business emphasis
- Cultivates data scientist mindset
- Practical learning: exams, projects, exercises
- Interactive gamification
- Personal mentorship
Cons:
- Browser-based coding unavailable until July 2024.
2. Analytics Vidhya
Pricing: Bundle courses available; prices range from \$230 to \$1,499
Since 2013, Analytics Vidhya has been a premier provider of data science training—equipping individuals with knowledge and skills in an emerging field. Their extensive experience and expertise in content creation and instruction highlight their leadership in the industry.
Content Quality
Analytics Vidhya offers top-notch online data science courses, catering to professionals from different backgrounds eager to pivot into data science. These comprehensive courses enrich learning with guided projects, mock interviews, and mentorship—further enhancing skills and knowledge. The platform rapidly generates content, presenting various video courses for selection.
Instructor Expertise
The company provides data science courses taught by highly skilled instructors with experience in Big Tech and industrial companies. It specializes in a bootcamp format, featuring instructors who teach specific topics but often don't contribute more than once.
This approach enhances the data science training with a varied instructor team but also risks redundancy—potentially leading to repetitive teaching of the same concepts and analyses.
Real-World Examples
Analytics Vidhya's data science program provides excellent real-world examples. Its guided projects and competitions offer practical experience, though beginners may need additional support.
Business Relevance
Analytics Vidhya primarily offers technical online data science courses, focusing on tool implementation rather than providing a 360-degree preparation—a common issue with many course providers.
Pros:
- Experienced instructors
- Wide range of courses and projects
- Good content quality
Cons:
- Lacks a business orientation
- Course content sometimes repeats
3. Kaggle
Pricing: Free
Initially renowned for hosting premier data science competitions and an extensive ML model repository, Kaggle expanded its scope to include online data science courses, which have since gained significant popularity and success within the community.
Content Quality
Kaggle’s content quality is excellent despite its courses being primarily text-based with limited multimedia and interactive exercises. If you prefer textbook learning, Kaggle could be among the top data science programs for you.
Instructor Expertise
Many of Kaggle’s data science courses are created by its in-house team. This ensures continuity and creates an excellent structure for your learning journey.
Real-World Examples
Kaggle primarily concentrates on the technical elements of being a data analyst and data scientist, with less emphasis on real-world practical examples. Although they offer gold-standard datasets—a crucial component of data science training—you may need guidance when selecting projects. Beginners might also find it challenging to interpret the data and incorporate business insights into their data analysis work.
Business Relevance
Kaggle’s data science courses teach technical and theoretical aspects with less emphasis on business understanding and analysis.
Pros:
- Outstanding content quality
- Knowledgeable instructors
- Easily accessible
Cons
- Lack of interactivity
- Lacks a business-oriented approach
4. EdX
Pricing: Certificates cost between \$50 and \$300
EdX—in collaboration with leading entities like MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, and Google—provides comprehensive online data science courses covering such diverse fields as Computer Science, Language Training, Data Science, Business & Management, Engineering, and Humanities.
Content Quality
Platforms like EdX and Coursera typically dedicate less time to content production, with lessons often being filmed in a university classroom setting. If you have a shorter attention span and are searching for more dynamic data science training, this could pose a challenge.
Instructor Expertise
Instructor quality is exceptional as EdX works with top-notch universities and globally recognized organizations. This platform is a rare opportunity for you to attend Harvard and MIT classes, making it unique among the best data science courses available online.
Real-World Examples
Although university teaching can be an excellent way to lay the foundations of your studies, on certain occasions, it fails to build the bridge between theoretical foundation and practical implementation. Real-world examples are essential in the best data science courses to ensure you can use the concepts you have learned in your future jobs.
Business Relevance
EdX offers an extensive portfolio of data science and business courses. But, their learning paths fail to show students how to solve complete data science problems they might encounter in the real world.
Pros:
- Reputable certification
- World-class lecturers
- Easily accessible
- Includes a comprehensive capstone project
Cons:
- Emphasis on theory
- Lack of interactivity
- Little focus on business acumen
5. FreeCodeCamp
Pricing: Free
FreeCodeCamp, a widely acclaimed educational platform, provides free access to top programming and data science courses. It's an ideal choice for budget-conscious learners lacking other resources. Their idealistic approach—offering vast knowledge at no expense—earns my high praise. The platform enables students to develop projects and attain online data science certification.
Content Quality
Free content creation can be limited by time and resources, impacting the perfection of the output. Consequently, FreeCodeCamp does not top the list of platforms for the best data science course—mainly because of the program's materials' limited interactivity. Nevertheless, for those unable to make a monthly investment of about \$30, its offerings are sufficiently high-quality to learn data science online at no cost.
Instructor Expertise
FreeCodeCamp’s data science courses are taught by distinguished professionals working for some of the most prominent organizations in the US and worldwide.
Real-World Examples
The platform focuses on technical skills and doesn’t extensively cover real-world situations—including the subtleties required to blend analytical, technical, and business skills.
Business Relevance
FreeCodeCamp lacks business courses and won't instill a data scientist's mindset.
Pros:
- Easy Access
- Reputable instructors
- Engaging content
Cons:
- Insufficient Lack of interactive materialIncomplete analytical skill development
- Lack of business training
6. Data Science Dojo
Pricing: Bootcamps start at \$2,849 and \$749 for self-paced courses
Data Science Dojo offers online data science courses and bootcamps in several formats—including in-person, virtual, and self-paced programs. They emphasize teaching data science skills that can be applied in a real-world context. In addition to organizing bootcamps for private individuals, Data Science Dojo also offers its bootcamps to corporate employees worldwide.
Content Quality
Data Science Dojo's courses—often recorded live for an engaging student experience despite the occasional dip in production quality—embody the company's practical approach while providing structured data science training and meticulously organized learning paths.
Instructor Expertise
Data Science Dojo’s program is produced by industry professionals happy to pass on their knowledge. Some instructors, however, lack experience in online teaching, contributing to a high turnover rate.
Real-World Examples
The company provides comprehensive learning paths for mastering practical data challenges—blending technical, theoretical, and business data science knowledge.
Business Relevance
Most of their data science courses feature business scenarios and enable you to enhance both your business skills and analytical comprehension.
Pros:
- Expert-led
- Live training sessions
- Practical business skills emphasis
Cons:
- Expensive
7. Datacamp
Pricing: \$300/yr
Datacamp shines as a top choice for data science online courses thanks to its pioneering 'coding in the browser' technology, which enables immediate coding without the need for IDE installation. Offering over 400 self-paced courses blending text, video, and interactive exercises, Datacamp presents a perfect mix of theoretical and practical learning, securing its spot among the best data science courses available.
Content Quality
There’s room for enhancement in production quality. The content—mainly PowerPoint slides—constitutes roughly 20% of the materials. I encountered some confusion with the interactive exercises, which lacked intuitiveness compared to other offerings from the best data science courses. Datacamp excels in project-based learning, and its 'coding in the browser' feature is now integrated with GTP.
Instructor Expertise
Datacamp’s courses are created both by in-house and external instructors. Their instructors are industry veterans with impressive credentials, offering solid data science training. But apart from their in-house instructors, there’s a significant turnaround among external instructors.
Real-World Examples
Some Datacamp instructors provide real-world examples, and others don’t. Most courses are short and don’t provide a comprehensive practical example for students to grasp the big picture.
Business Relevance
Datacamp stands out among the top data science course providers for its effort to integrate business skills with technical education. But the courses primarily cater to beginners.
Pros:
- Interactive learning
- Wide range of courses
- In-browser coding
- Strong theoretical content
Cons:
- Production quality
- Repetitive content
8. Dataquest
Pricing: \$49/mo or \$399/yr
Dataquest is renowned as a premier website for coding, ideal for aspiring data analysts. It offers some of the best interactive data science programs. Its emphasis on practical learning and sleek, minimalistic design make it a standout platform. Dataquest ranks among the best data science courses for those who prefer hands-on learning over theory.
Content Quality
Dataquest excels at providing a balanced learning experience. It effectively teaches the technical skills sought by employers without burdening you with excessive information. But its platform offers less theoretical preparation and soft skills content.
Instructor Expertise
If you take courses from the platform, you’ll learn data science from exceptionally knowledgeable and well-prepared instructors.
Real-World Examples
In this domain, the focus leans toward browser-based interactivity and coding, often overshadowing real-world examples that offer deep contextual insights and business acumen. Most case studies and examples remain straightforward, designed for ease of understanding.
Business Relevance
One of Dataquest’s significant disadvantages is the platform’s limited focus on business studies and advanced use cases. The data science courses lack depth in business understanding and cases. But many of the examples presented along the way have a practical aspect.
Pros:
- Interactivity learning
- Ideal for technical preparation
- Hands-on experience
- Streamlined learning approach
Cons:
- Limited business case studies
- Inadequate theoretical foundation
9. Coursera
Pricing: \$39/mo
Coursera—a giant in online education—is celebrated for its data science training, mainly because of its collaboration with Google, which magnetizes many students because of its robust brand recognition.
Content Quality
This platform offers well-structured, comprehensive online data science courses meticulously prepared by dedicated individuals who have devoted much time to its creation. But there's a pronounced emphasis on technical content, focusing less on business applications.
Instructor Expertise
Thanks to their partnership with Google—a company renowned for using the latest data science technologies—we can be confident that instructors have world-class credentials.
Real-World Examples
Emphasizing case studies and practical business examples may restrict students' understanding of the essential skills needed for success as data analysts or data scientists.
Business Relevance
Despite its popularity, this online learning platform’s collection of data science courses won’t give you a comprehensive understanding of applying data analysis and data science techniques in a real-world working environment—giving it a low ranking on our list of the best data science programs.
Pros:
- High certificate brand recognition
- Quality content
Cons:
- Lack of business focus
10. Udacity
Pricing: \$249/mo; multi-month commitment required.
Udacity stands out in e-learning, offering specialized Nanodegrees, including one in data science, developed by industry experts. Its data science Nanodegree—known for comprehensive preparation and practical business projects—ranks among the best data science courses.
Content Quality
Udacity works with employers to understand their needs and tries to adapt its Nanodegrees accordingly. Its courses are frequently updated, and students can use mentorship opportunities while participating in the program—enhancing their data science training.
Instructor Expertise
The platform partners with leading companies and instructors to develop its curriculum—resulting in materials prepared by high-quality instructors.
Real-World Examples
While studying on Udacity’s platform, you must complete a series of projects to help you build your data science project portfolio and reinforce what you’ve learned in the lessons. This allows you to consolidate your learning and provide concrete examples to show potential employers—which we consider crucial for any of the best providers of data science courses.
Business Relevance
The projects offered by Udacity give you a rare opportunity to practice with real-world data and solve tasks similar to those that employers will ask you to solve in the workplace—giving you great hands-on experience.
Pros:
- Project-based learning focus
- Mentorship availability
- Structured learning
Cons:
- Expensive
Conclusion
In the vast sea of data science courses, we've curated a list of those that stand out on the global stage. Embarking on your data science journey is an exciting step, and your chosen program can significantly shape your success. Checking all available options is crucial before deciding which course fits you best.
We've done the heavy lifting to aid your research. Whether you want to learn data science from scratch or advance your skills, the best online data science courses and data science certification programs listed here offer you a comprehensive learning experience.
Armed with this knowledge, you can confidently choose the best data science courses, setting you up for success in the competitive data science arena.
Want to learn from some of the best experts in the field?
Click here to start your data science learning journey for free.
FAQs
