Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a creative coding environment for young learners who want to make games, animations, art, and stories. It is strongest for children and educators who want project-based learning and a moderated place to share work. The free account offers a starting point, while the choice between paid plans depends on whether a learner wants more play access or more room to create.

Overview

Hopscotch teaches programming through projects: learners can follow video tutorials or start from scratch, then publish work for others to play and remix. That makes coding concepts serve a visible creative goal, which suits beginners better than a tool built around abstract exercises alone. The community element adds an audience and examples to learn from, though project creation and publishing capacity vary by plan.

Hopscotch is designed for ages 10 and up; its primary audience is also described as ages 9–15. Educators can use free educator accounts, classroom accounts, and lesson plans, although some tutorials require a subscription.

Key features

Project-based coding: Learners make games, animations, art, and stories without prior coding knowledge. Tutorials provide a guided route into a project, while starting from scratch is better for those ready to explore independently.

Community sharing: Published projects can be played and remixed by others. The educator page describes the community as fully moderated and COPPA-compliant, a relevant safeguard for a child-focused platform.

Creative tools: Unlimited adds drawing tools, custom art uploads, additional coding blocks, exclusive characters, and unlimited drafts and published projects. These tools give ambitious creators more room to personalize work; they are not part of the Free Account.

Community connections: An Open Project block can link to other Hopscotch community projects, making it possible to connect work within the community.

Privacy and support: Hopscotch says it does not sell or rent personal information or display ads, and says its privacy and safety practices are certified COPPA-compliant. It also says it investigates breaches involving personal information and trains staff on app security. Email support is available, with prioritized support on paid plans.

Pricing

Hopscotch is freemium, with paid plans from $1.99/mo. The parents page advertises a 7 day trial with cancellation at any time.

PlanPriceWhat it includesFree AccountfreePlay community games, create games, basic characters, essential coding blocks, and 0 monthly seeds.Play Pass$1.99 a month30 seeds/month, uninterrupted play, and prioritized support.Unlimited$9.99 a month30 seeds/month plus 10 bonus seeds, custom art upload, drawing tools, and unlimited drafts and published projects.The Free Account is a sensible way to try basic game creation and community play, but its 0 monthly seeds and basic toolset set a clear ceiling. Play Pass is the lower-cost subscription for uninterrupted play and a monthly seed allowance; it does not add the expanded creation tools or unlimited project capacity. Unlimited costs more, but is the fit for learners who want to upload art, draw in the app, and keep unlimited drafts and published projects. Educators can access free accounts and lesson plans, though some tutorials require a subscription.

Platforms

Hopscotch supports Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows. Its coverage across mobile, desktop, and browser gives learners more than one way to access projects.

Who it's for

Hopscotch is best suited to children around ages 9–15 who learn by making and sharing creative projects, and to educators seeking lesson plans and classroom accounts. It is a weaker fit for learners who need an uncapped creation experience without a subscription, or who want a programming environment beyond Hopscotch's project-based approach.

Pros and cons

Pro: Tutorials and scratch creation support both guided starts and independent experimentation, so beginners need not arrive with coding experience.

Pro: Publishing and remixing give projects a social learning dimension, with moderation and COPPA-compliance emphasized for the community.

Pro: Free educator and classroom accounts plus lesson plans give teachers a way to use Hopscotch in learning settings.

Con: The Free Account has 0 monthly seeds and only basic characters and essential coding blocks, limiting the value of its no-cost option for sustained creation.

Con: Drawing tools, custom art uploads, and unlimited drafts and published projects require Unlimited at $9.99 a month; some tutorials also require a subscription.

Alternatives

If Hopscotch's creative, child-focused projects are not the right fit, Coding Learning Software covers the broader category. Consider Mimo for a freemium learning option on Android, iOS, and web, with Basic offering limited course, career-path, and AI Tutor access and Pro offering all courses and career paths. Choose Progate if its introductory free lessons or one-time 12-month Plus option suits your learning plan; Plus costs $9.92, paid once, billed Total $119.00 paid one time at registration.

MIT App Inventor is a free educational platform for building Android and iOS apps, while Scratch is a free digital platform for creating and sharing projects. For classroom instruction, CodeHS offers a permanent free plan with a free teacher plan, 100+ courses, a browser-based code editor, and automatic code submission and section management. Educative is another freemium option with a free trial.

Codio is a paid alternative with a free trial and a $10 a month plan for unlimited courses and labs with standard Linux containers. Kodable is another freemium option across web, iOS, and Android; its Monthly plan is $24.99 a month for up to 4 child profiles, while Yearly is $119.99 a year for up to 4.

Verdict

Choose Hopscotch for a young learner who is motivated by making and sharing creative projects, or for an educator who wants project-based coding activities and classroom resources. Its tutorials, remixable community, and broad platform support make the learning approach appealing; the main reason to look elsewhere is that richer creative tools and unlimited project capacity require the $9.99 a month Unlimited plan.