shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Automate the Boring Stuff with Python?

Practical programming for total beginners — free to read online, automatetheboringstuff.com

Worth it

Buy it if you have zero coding experience and want to automate files, spreadsheets, and web chores — the whole book is free online.

Confidence

High confidence.

Based on ~20 public sources including the official site, publisher page, reviews, and community threads.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support model; it's a book.
  • Security postureA book has no software attack surface.

Pricing

Free

Read online, Full book under Creative Commons, All chapters

Print / ebook~$39.95 print3rd edition, Publisher purchase includes free ebook
Copies sold500,000+self-reported by author
Read onlineFreeCreative Commons license
Latest edition3rdPublished Nov 2023
Print price$39.95No Starch Press
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Total beginners with zero coding experience
  • Office workers drowning in file and spreadsheet chores
  • Sysadmins adding Python basics
  • Anyone wanting a free, self-paced intro

Not for

  • Experienced developers — far too basic for you
  • Anyone needing a reference manual — the book says it isn't one
  • Learners wanting production-grade, advanced, or ML Python
  • Teams wanting finished automation tools instead of learning to code

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Free PDFs online are often old editions — confirm you're reading the 3rd (Nov 2023).

low

You will outgrow it fast; plan a second, deeper resource.

low

Its own text admits the coding style sometimes breaks best practices.

low

Paying ~$39.95 for print when the full text is free online is optional.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Entire book free to read online under Creative Commons.
  • Over 500,000 copies sold; proven with beginners.
  • Written for people with no programming background at all.
  • Publisher purchase includes a free ebook.
  • Widely recommended by practitioners on Reddit and GitHub lists.

Cons

  • Beginner-only scope; explicitly not a reference manual.
  • Some example coding style goes against best practices.
  • Older editions circulate as free PDFs; easy to read outdated content.

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/24/2026, Based on 8 sources, No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x3review x4news x1

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