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FREE GUIDE

Learn C++ Programming Free

C++ is a fast, low-level systems language that powers everything from game engines to operating systems. These free courses, tutorials, tools and communities will take you from your first program through modern C++20 idioms without spending a dollar.

10 SECTIONS · 65 RESOURCES · STATUS: [ ALL LINKS FREE ]
► INSIDE THIS GUIDE 10 SECTIONS
01

Free Online C++ Courses

9 RESOURCES
MIT OpenCourseWare: Introduction to C++ (6.096) ocw.mit.edu

A fast paced MIT intro course to C++ with lecture notes and assignments, no registration needed, good for people with some programming background.

MIT OpenCourseWare: Effective Programming in C and C++ (6.S096) ocw.mit.edu

Covers object oriented programming, memory management and optimization with an emphasis on good practices.

MIT OpenCourseWare: Introduction to C and C++ (6.S096, 2013) ocw.mit.edu

Fast paced coverage of memory management, pointers, preprocessor macros and debugging.

MIT OpenCourseWare: Introduction to C Memory Management and C++ OOP (6.088) ocw.mit.edu

Goes from basic C through C++ classes and the Standard Template Library, ending with interview prep tricks.

Coding for Everyone: C and C++ (UC Santa Cruz, Coursera) coursera.org

A Coursera specialization that can be audited free, teaching C and C++ fundamentals from the ground up.

CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science (Harvard, via edX) edx.org

Legendary Harvard intro course that starts in C, free to audit and also fully released on YouTube.

CS50x (Harvard, official course page) cs50.harvard.edu

The official CS50 homepage with the free self paced version of the course including weekly C focused problem sets.

Learn C++: Introduction (Codecademy) codecademy.com

An interactive beginner course covering variables, data types, conditionals and small projects, free to complete on Codecademy's free tier.

Learn Intermediate C++ (Codecademy) codecademy.com

Covers scope, storage classes, OOP, namespaces and templates as a free follow on course.

02

Free C++ Video Lessons and YouTube Channels

7 RESOURCES
C++ Programming Course, Beginner to Advanced (freeCodeCamp) youtube.com

A full 31 hour free course covering modern C++ through C++20, from variables through polymorphism.

freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel youtube.com

Publishes complete long form free courses on C, C++ and many other languages, all free to watch.

The Cherno: C++ series playlist youtube.com

A near 100 video deep dive series on how C++ actually works under the hood, memory, templates and performance.

The Cherno (main channel) youtube.com

Yan Chernikov's channel with C++ tutorials plus real game engine building content applying the language.

C++ Weekly With Jason Turner youtube.com

Short weekly videos on modern C++ idioms and features from a veteran C++ committee member, free and ongoing since 2016.

C / C++ Programming Language Tutorials playlist youtube.com

A structured playlist of C++ programming language lessons for step by step learning.

Learn Object Oriented Programming (OOP) in C++ (CodeBeauty, via freeCodeCamp) freecodecamp.org

A full free video course focused specifically on OOP concepts in C++, good for learners past the basics.

03

Free Online C++ Tutorials

8 RESOURCES
Learn C++ (learncpp.com) learncpp.com

A comprehensive, continually updated, free text tutorial series widely regarded as the best structured path through modern C++.

C++ Tutorial (learncpp.com table of contents) learncpp.com

The full lesson index for learncpp.com, organized from absolute basics through advanced topics.

cppreference.com en.cppreference.com

The de facto standard online reference for C++ language features and standard library, used by professionals daily.

C++ Programming Language Tutorial (GeeksforGeeks) geeksforgeeks.org

A well organized step by step tutorial with practical code examples for beginners through advanced programmers.

C++ STL Tutorial (GeeksforGeeks) geeksforgeeks.org

Focused free guide to the Standard Template Library, a critical and often confusing part of C++ for newcomers.

C++ Tutorial (TutorialsPoint) tutorialspoint.com

A simple steps style tutorial usable with zero prior programming knowledge.

C++ Tutorial (javatpoint) javatpoint.com

Another free structured text tutorial covering syntax and concepts with examples.

C++ Tutorial (W3Schools) w3schools.com

A free, example heavy quick start tutorial with a built in try it yourself editor.

04

Free Online C++ Practice and Interactive Exercises

8 RESOURCES
HackerRank C++ domain hackerrank.com

Free graded coding challenges specifically for practicing C++ syntax and problem solving.

Codewars C++ kata codewars.com

A large free library of community submitted C++ coding challenges solvable directly in browser.

Exercism C++ track exercism.org

A free track with about 100 exercises plus optional free human mentoring on your solutions.

Exercism C++ exercises list exercism.org

The full free exercise catalog for the C++ track, from simple to advanced concepts.

LeetCode leetcode.com

Free tier with a huge bank of C++ solvable problems widely used for interview and skill practice.

Codeforces codeforces.com

Free competitive programming platform with regular contests and a large problem archive usable in C++.

Project Euler projecteuler.net

A free math and programming problem set excellent for practicing C++ on non trivial logic.

C++ Exercises (W3Schools) w3schools.com

Short free drills to reinforce specific syntax points right after reading a lesson.

05

Free C++ Books and Documentation

7 RESOURCES
C++ Notes for Professionals (GoalKicker) goalkicker.com

A free, community compiled reference book covering C++ topics from basics to advanced in a Stack Overflow documentation style.

Free C++ Programming Book (GoalKicker landing page) books.goalkicker.com

The landing page for the free downloadable C++ Notes for Professionals PDF.

The C++ Programming Language, 4th Edition (Bjarne Stroustrup) chenweixiang.github.io

The language creator's own definitive reference text, freely accessible as a hosted PDF.

The C++ Programming Language, 3rd Edition (Stroustrup) www-f9.ijs.si

An earlier full edition of Stroustrup's core reference, freely hosted.

Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ (Internet Archive) archive.org

Stroustrup's own introductory textbook aimed at true beginners, available to borrow and read free on Internet Archive.

C++ Core Guidelines isocpp.github.io

Free authoritative guidance from the C++ community on how to use modern C++ well and avoid common pitfalls.

Free C++ Books collection (FreeComputerBooks) freecomputerbooks.com

A curated directory linking to many other free C++ books and lecture notes.

06

Free C++ IDEs, Editors and Developer Tools

6 RESOURCES
Compiler Explorer (Godbolt) godbolt.org

A free browser tool showing exactly how your C++ compiles to assembly across many compilers, great for understanding the language deeply.

OnlineGDB C++ compiler onlinegdb.com

Free in browser compiler and debugger with gdb support, no install needed to start writing C++ immediately.

Replit C++ replit.com

Free browser based IDE that compiles and runs C++ instantly and lets you share projects.

Visual Studio Community visualstudio.microsoft.com

Free full IDE for individuals, students and open source contributors with built in C++ compiling and debugging.

C/C++ extension for VS Code (Microsoft) marketplace.visualstudio.com

Free official extension adding IntelliSense, debugging and error checking for C++ in the free VS Code editor.

Configure VS Code for Microsoft C++ (guide) code.visualstudio.com

A free official walkthrough for wiring up a working free C++ toolchain inside VS Code on Windows.

07

Free C++ Podcasts

4 RESOURCES
CppCast cppcast.com

The first podcast made by C++ developers for C++ developers, with monthly guest interviews on news and practice.

CppCast episodes archive cppcast.com

The full free back catalog of CppCast episodes covering topics from C++17 through C++26.

ADSP: The Podcast (Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs) adspthepodcast.com

An informal free podcast from software engineers discussing algorithms, data structures and C++ heavy programming topics.

Two's Complement twoscomplement.org

A free programming podcast hosted by Matt Godbolt, creator of Compiler Explorer, and Ben Rady, heavy on C++ and compilers.

08

Free C++ Cheat Sheets and References

4 RESOURCES
C++ Cheat Sheet and Quick Reference (quickref.me) quickref.me

A free, dense one page reference to core C++ syntax and standard library methods.

C++ Cheatsheet (GeeksforGeeks) geeksforgeeks.org

A free quick revision guide covering key C++ concepts without needing to jump between sites.

C++ Quick Reference PDF (Hooman Bahrampour) hoomanb.com

A compact, printable free PDF reference card for core syntax.

C++ Cheat Sheet PDF (Hackr.io) hackr.io

A free curated syntax cheat sheet aimed at interview prep and quick lookups.

09

Free C++ Communities and Help

6 RESOURCES
r/cpp reddit.com

A large, active subreddit for C++ discussion, articles and news skewing toward professional and advanced topics.

Stack Overflow, C++ tag stackoverflow.com

The largest Q&A archive for specific C++ error messages and problems, free to search and post in.

C++ Forum (cplusplus.com) cplusplus.com

A long running, beginner friendly free forum where no question is considered too small.

Together C & C++ Discord discord.com

A free Discord community of over 60,000 members for asking questions and meeting other C++ programmers.

#include <C++> Discord includecpp.org

A free, welcoming global Discord community for C++ developers of all levels.

Standard C++ (isocpp.org) isocpp.org

The official community site of the Standard C++ Foundation, with news, articles and links to the wider ecosystem.

10

Free C++ Project Ideas and Real-World Practice

6 RESOURCES
project-based-learning (practical-tutorials, GitHub) github.com

A large free curated list of build your own X tutorials spanning many languages, including C and C++ projects like databases, emulators and compilers.

C++ projects for beginners (suzana-ilic, GitHub) github.com

A free small repo of beginner appropriate C++ project examples to study and extend.

C++ projects for beginners (browsable version) suzana-ilic.github.io

The browsable version of the same beginner C++ project collection.

cpp-projects topic (GitHub) github.com

A free, constantly updated directory of open source repositories tagged as C++ projects, good for finding real code to read and contribute to.

beginner-project topic filtered to C++ (GitHub) github.com

A filtered free listing of specifically beginner labeled C++ project repositories.

C/C++ Programming for Beginners (The-Young-Programmer, GitHub) github.com

A free repo of basic to advanced C/C++ programming material and example projects.