Treehouse Review – Does This Site Have The Right Tech Courses?

by | Nov 12, 2020

Technology fields grow every day, with new knowledge, new jobs, and new programs needing to be built. This a great place to build a career—but you first you need to be able to learn how to speak the language. Just like you can’t build a house before you understand how to measure and how to use a saw, so you can’t work in a technology field without knowing code or how systems work.

But how do you learn all of this? You don’t have the time (or the money) for a formal class, and who knows if those YouTube videos are any good. You want to jump into this field—but you don’t have much time to study in between your other responsibilities.

That’s where online learning sites are here to help. These enable you to learn the skills you need, taught by reputable teachers, in small segments. You won’t have to worry if you get busy over the holidays and have to take things slower—most of these sites let you learn at your own pace, so you take charge of your own future. Treehouse is one of these sites, and though it’s less well-known, that doesn’t mean it’s lower quality. Let’s dive in and see if it is right for you with this Treehouse review!

Treehouse: Meet The Site

Treehouse was founded in 2011, and seeks to “make tech more accessible through affordable and engaging online tech education.” They have an emphasis on EDI—Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion. Because of this, they display both the ethnicity and the gender of their 50K students on their profile. 

Treehouse Logo

Treehouse offers around 300 courses on 23 different tech topics, ranging from “Beginner Python” to “Advanced Android Apps.”

Treehouse Topics

Treehouse works on a subscription model, where you have access to the entire library of their courses. These courses are made up of video instruction along with quizzes and coding challenges. Treehouse has a “gamified” approach to learning, using points and badges to encourage you to persevere in your studies.

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How Treehouse Works

Signing up is simple, you simply need your email and payment information. Treehouse offers a 7-day free trial, so you have a chance to test out the site and courses before you commit. Once you create you account, Treehouse walks you through an onboarding process, asking about your interests, goals, and studying timeline—so they can recommend personalized study paths for you

Treehouse Guidance

As you enter Treehouse’s library, you’ll see the courses divided into 24 different categories, such as Machine Learning, Java Script, or Data Analysis. Once you choose a category, you’ll be taken to a listing of different courses, workshops, and practice exercises that teach you how to build specific skills.

Treehouse Topics

You’ll be able to see how long each course takes, what mastery-level it is intended for, the teacher, and the overview of what you can learn with each course.

Starting a course is as simple as pressing “Go.” Once you do so, the first video will begin. You have the ability to speed up/slow down the video, as well as being able to read over the transcript. If you want to skip ahead to something new, you can do that, as well as come back to review old material.

You’ll also have access to further reading material, and any course downloads. If you need some help, each video has a Q+A forum below it, where you can get input from teacher and peers.

Treehouse Video

Treehouse uses a gaming system to make learning fun—every video you watch, every quiz you take, and every course you finish earns you points and special badges. In their TechDegree subscription, you can also earn certificates for completing courses.

Is Treehouse Accredited?

No—but most online learning sites aren’t. Because there is no overseeing organization, nor third-party tests, most online courses aren’t officially certified. However, that doesn’t mean that Treehouse is low quality.

Treehouse hires instructors that are industry leaders, or that have taught in the field for several years. The information is accurate and up to date, as Treehouse regularly refreshes their content. You can put any certificates you earn on your resume, and demonstrate to your employers that you truly know what you’re doing. However, how effective that is will change from employer to employer.

Is Treehouse Legitimate?

Though Treehouse may not be as well-known, it’s not a scam. They have courses that partner with Android, teaching you how to use their systems to build your own apps, and all of their courses are up to date with the newest information. Since they hand-pick their instructors, they ensure that all their courses are high-quality.

Treehouse also has an easily-available and active customer service—another sign of a reputable company. They offer forums where you can get input from both other students and instructors—but they also offer an email to interact with customer services as well.

Treehouse Community

Is Treehouse Worth The Price?

Is Treehouse worth how much you pay for it? Yes and no. Treehouse offers three level of subscriptions—but some levels are better than others. First is the basic Courses subscription, which is $25 a month, and gives you access to all of their courses, workspaces, and community. Courses Plus is the next level of subscription, costing $49/month, offering the ability to download courses—which gives you the ability to learn on the go, but not much else. Finally, the TechDegree track costs $149/month, and gives you access to curated curriculum, project reviews, an exclusive Slack Community, and certificates.

Treehouse Prices

While the basic subscription’s price is average for online learning sites, and include a lot for the money, the other levels leave much to be desired. We don’t think it’s worth paying an extra $25 each month just to download courses, and we’re not sold on the perks of the $150/month TechDegree. Treehouse is worth the money for its basic track—but don’t waste your cash on the premium subscriptions.

Treehouse Purpose

However, Treehouse does offer special perks and discounts for its students. They offer discounts on Grovemade, InVision, and other sites designed for technology professionals. Once you create your account, navigate to their perks page to take advantage of these discounts

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Treehouse Vs Udemy

Udemy Logo

Udemy is another online learning site, but unlike Treehouse, you purchase courses individually instead of with a subscription. This gives you life-time access to any course you take. Udemy also has a cheaper listing price than Treehouse, with courses costing $10-$25.

However, Treehouse is simpler to use than Udemy, as it’s learning tracks take you from beginner to expert easily. Udemy also has quality problems—because anyone can teach, you can never be sure if the information you’re getting is correct, or up-to-date. Udemy also has problems with video consistency, as one teacher may create videos that look completely different from another teacher’s.

Want to compare these two more thoroughly? Read our full review of Treehouse vs Udemy here!

Treehouse VS GoSkills

GoSkills Logo

GoSkills is another contender in the online learning field—but unlike others, GoSkills is completely accredited. By taking their courses, you can earn CEU’s or PDU’s to display on your resume.

However, this accreditation comes with a price—GoSkills only offers a few courses (70 to be exact) in 9 different categories.  They also cost more, $29/month or $199/year. GoSkills’ accreditation may make it more valuable than Treehouse in some cases—but if it doesn’t have the courses you need, that accreditation will do you no good.

Conclusion: Treehouse

If you’re new to the technology and coding world, Treehouse is a great place for you. They offer a wide breadth of courses on all thing’s tech, and offer a variety of courses, workshops, and practice exercises to make you adept in any field. Their gamified system makes it fun to learn, and their bite-sized approach makes it easy to fit that learning into your busy life. If you want to jump into coding, machine learning, or any other technology field, then Treehouse is right for you.

Andrew Green

Andrew is a successful entrepreneur and lifelong learner. Throughout his career, he has watched hundreds of online courses that have allowed him to achieve success in highly competitive fields such as online marketing, investing, and sales. Andrew is committed to expanding his knowledge and expertise and he reviews the premium courses he watches on his online blog.
Overall Rating: 3.63 out of 5

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