Codewars
Codewars helps people build coding skills through community-created exercises called kata.
What Codewars is
Codewars helps people build coding skills through community-created exercises called kata. Challenges cover different techniques and difficulty levels, and users can solve them in a browser with test cases to check their work as they go. Completing harder-ranked kata advances a user’s profile level. After a challenge, learners can compare solutions and discuss different approaches with others. Members can also write kata, share solutions, and give feedback, while community leaders moderate content and the community. Freestyle Sparring, also called Kumite, lets participants take turns modifying and refactoring one another’s code. Codewars supports more than 55 programming languages and computer science topics. Its platforms are web and API; API v1 provides public JSON endpoints without authentication for user, challenge, and kata information. The documentation describes that API as minimal and inconsistent, notes that it was not actively developed, and says a v2 is planned without an ETA. Codewars has a free plan. Codewars Red costs $5 a month, $24 a year billed every 6 months, or $40 a year billed annually.
Good
- Browser-based kata include test cases for checking work.
- Challenges span beginner through expert ranks.
- Users can compare solutions and discuss approaches.
- More than 55 programming languages are supported.
- A free plan is available.
Watch out
- API v1 is described as minimal and inconsistent.
- API v2 has no stated ETA.
- Webhooks are poorly documented and not very usable.
Who it suits
It suits learners who want to practice programming through graded exercises and compare solutions with a community. The language range and user-authored kata may also suit people building or sharing focused challenges.
Verdict
Codewars centers learning on practice, progression, and comparing approaches rather than passive lessons. Its free plan and broad language support make it worth considering, though its API and webhook documentation has stated limitations.
Plans and prices
From Codewars's own pricing page, checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Codewars Red Monthly | $5 a month | Enhanced Statistics · Ad-Free Experience · Compare your progress to peers · Access to beta features · Exclusive profile badge · billed monthly |
| Codewars Red Semi-annual | $24 | Enhanced Statistics · Ad-Free Experience · Compare your progress to peers · Access to beta features · Exclusive profile badge · billed every 6 months |
| Codewars Red Annual | $40 a year | Enhanced Statistics · Ad-Free Experience · Compare your progress to peers · Access to beta features · Exclusive profile badge · billed annually |
The facts
Each one read from Codewars's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Age eligibility
- The Terms of Use say the services are available only to individuals at least 16 years old.checked 8 Oct 2026
- API
- Codewars API v1 exposes public JSON endpoints without authentication for user, completed challenge, authored challenge, and kata information.checked 8 Oct 2026
- API limitation
- The API documentation describes v1 as minimal and inconsistent, says it was never actively developed, and says v2 is planned without an ETA.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Authoring
- Users can create kata focused on particular interests and skill sets, including interview questions.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Community
- Users author kata, share solutions, and comment with constructive feedback.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Compare solutions
- After completing a kata, users can compare their solution with others and discuss approaches with the community.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The privacy policy says users may sign in through a third party such as GitHub, which can transmit account content or information to Codewars.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Kata practice
- Users practice with community crafted coding exercises called kata, intended to strengthen different coding techniques.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Languages
- The site says it supports more than 55 programming languages.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Peer learning
- After solving a kata, users can compare their answer with other users and learn from their approaches.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Codewars helps users learn, train, and improve coding skills by solving programming tasks of varied types and difficulty levels.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Ranks
- Kata are ranked from beginner to expert, and completing higher ranked kata advances a user's profile level.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Security
- Codewars says it uses physical, technical, organizational, and administrative security measures appropriate to the personal data and its processing, while noting no internet transmission or storage method is completely secure.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- The About page lists [email protected] as a contact address.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Training modes
- The docs describe learning through increasingly difficult challenges, repetition, solution improvement, and comparisons with other users.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Webhook limitation
- The documentation says webhooks were never actively developed, are poorly documented, and are not very usable at the moment.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Webhooks limitation
- The API documentation says webhooks were never actively developed, are poorly documented, and are not very usable at the moment.checked 8 Oct 2026
The company
- Company
- The Terms of Use identify Andela Inc. as the owner and operator of Codewars and its services.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Owner
- Codewars' privacy policy says the service is owned and operated by Andela Inc.checked 8 Oct 2026
Money
- Freestyle sparring
- The About page lists Freestyle Sparring, where users take turns remixing and refactoring others' code through Kumite.checked 8 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- In browser
- Users can solve kata in the browser and use test cases to check their work as they progress.checked 8 Oct 2026
- In-browser practice
- Users can solve kata in the browser and use test cases to check their work as they progress.checked 8 Oct 2026
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