Alps vs CodeAI
Both help schools teach computer science. Here’s what each one is for, and where they differ.
What each one is for
Alps
Alps helps every CS student reach mastery: practice matched to each student, help when they’re stuck, and a view of who needs help and why. It runs on open textbooks, publisher titles and your own material.
Who it serves: CS classes from block coding through AP and college CS.
CodeAI
CodeAI, known as Code.org until June 2026, is a nonprofit with a free K-12 curriculum in computer science and artificial intelligence, taught on its own platform with coding labs and professional learning.
Who it serves: K-12 students and teachers, from kindergarten through AP.
How they compare
| Topic | Alps | CodeAI |
|---|---|---|
| What you teach from | ||
| Course material | ||
| Course material | 40+ open and publisher titles, 10,000+ practice problems, and your own material. | Its own free K-12 curriculum; teachers can hide lessons or units. |
| Several sources in one class | ||
| Several sources in one class | Several titles and your own activities in one class; each section sees the units you choose. | One course or unit assigned to a section at a time. |
| Languages and tools | ||
| Languages and tools | Python, Java, C/C++, SQL, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, notebooks, block coding and a cyber range, in the browser. | Block, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, Python and Java labs in the browser. |
| Practice and help for each student | ||
| Mastery tracking | ||
| Mastery tracking | Estimated skill by skill from every run, hint and test result, and shown by unit in the Gradebook. | Class completion mapped to CSTA standards in K-5; teachers judge mastery, with mini-rubrics in CS Discoveries. |
| Practice at each student’s level | ||
| Practice at each student’s level | Alps matches each student’s practice to their mastery, from 10,000+ leveled problems with verified solutions and tests. | The same lessons for the whole section, shown or hidden by the teacher; lesson extras for early finishers. |
| Differentiated assignments | ||
| Differentiated assignments | Alps groups the class by mastery and engagement, then builds each group’s work in under a minute; you review first. | The teacher sets one course or unit per section; the AI Teaching Assistant chat suggests ways to differentiate. |
| Help when a student is stuck | ||
| Help when a student is stuck | On by default on most coding problems: a hint, an outline, then the step as a puzzle; help, not the answer. | Hints in puzzles; an AI Tutor chat asks guiding questions in select middle and high school levels. |
| Grading | ||
| Code grading | ||
| Code grading | Unit tests on submit, written for you on your own activities, plus checks on how Python and Java code was written. | Validation tests in Java Lab and some Python levels; most projects teacher-reviewed. |
| Written answers | ||
| Written answers | AI grading against a rubric, criterion by criterion, with feedback; your score stands. | Free responses shown in a gallery; Student Snapshot drafts lesson feedback that the teacher edits and sends. |
| Insights for the teacher | ||
| Live view during class | ||
| Live view during class | Who is working, reading or stopped, and on what; students who stall rise to the top. | Progress by lesson and level, with time spent and last activity. |
| Why a student is stuck | ||
| Why a student is stuck | Groups students by what stops them (a failing test, a repeated error, lost working code), each with a next step. | Student Snapshot summarizes one student’s lesson at a time, with misconceptions and next steps. |
| Where the class is stuck | ||
| Where the class is stuck | Wrong answers and errors many students share, what to revisit and why, and how other classes did. | The section’s answers on each question level, as a bar graph or a gallery of free responses. |
| How the work was done | ||
| How the work was done | A replay that flags the same error run after run, working code that broke, or a large paste. | Version History: the teacher opens each saved version of a student’s code, in several labs. |
| Running it in a school or district | ||
| Sign-in and rosters | ||
| Sign-in and rosters | Google, Microsoft, Clever or ClassLink sign-in; rosters from Google Classroom or your LMS, not Clever or ClassLink. | Clever, ClassLink, Google Classroom, Canvas and Schoology sign-in and roster sync. |
| Grades to your LMS | ||
| Grades to your LMS | Google Classroom and any LTI 1.3 LMS; assignments appear there and grades sync back automatically. | Canvas and Schoology over LTI 1.3 for sign-in and rosters; grade sync “not yet available.” |
| Student data privacy | ||
| Student data privacy | FERPA and COPPA compliant; signs district DPAs and the NDPA. | Signs district privacy addenda; state NDPAs on the SDPC registry. |
| Reporting for leaders | ||
| Reporting for leaders | Progress and mastery by school, course and section, with dashboards built to your questions. | Teacher and student accounts; district reports on course access. |
| Training and support | ||
| Training and support | Office hours and email support; training and PD by quote. | Free self-paced PD, and workshops through 57 regional partners. |
| Other differences | ||
| Elementary curriculum | ||
| Elementary curriculum | Block-coding projects for younger students, not a grade-by-grade K-5 curriculum. | CS Fundamentals: one course per grade, K-5. |
| AP endorsement | ||
| AP endorsement | Endorsed AP courses: CSAwesome for AP CSA; The Beauty and Joy of Computing and Mobile CSP for AP CSP. | College Board–endorsed for AP CSP and AP CSA. |
| Courses on artificial intelligence | ||
| Courses on artificial intelligence | The Generative AI course, plus machine learning in Jupyter. | AI Foundations for grades 9-12 and AI Discoveries for 6-8, free. |
| Price | ||
| Price | A free plan runs a whole class with practice, hints and auto-grading; paid plans, at published prices, add licensed titles, rubric grading and LMS sync. | Free; some regional workshops for grades 6-12 charge a fee. |
Where each one is a strong fit
Where CodeAI is a strong fit
If you want a free K-12 pathway from one nonprofit, from kindergarten through AP, with AI Foundations and AI Discoveries, translations into 30+ languages and workshops in 49 states.
Where Alps is a strong fit
If you want practice matched to each student, help when they’re stuck and grades back to your LMS, on several textbooks in one class, or you teach beyond K-12.
As of October 2026. Details about CodeAI come from its own public pages, listed below, and details about Alps from this site. If something here has changed, email support@alps.2sigma.us.