shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Codrops?

Fueling web creativity since 2009 — free frontend tutorials, demos, and creative coding resources - tympanus.net

Worth it. Free since 2009 and consistently praised by frontend developers for creative CSS, animation, and WebGL tutorials with MIT-licensed demo code. It is not a product purchase — no support, accounts, or SLAs — so it only fits buyers who want to learn and adapt code themselves.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~14 public sources; formal review coverage is thin (1 Trustpilot review), so verdict leans on official pages and years of Reddit feedback.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo evidence of any support channel
  • Security postureNo security findings or documentation in evidence

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Frontend devs learning creative effects
  • Designers hunting WebGL/animation inspiration
  • Indie builders needing copy-paste demo code

Not for

  • Non-coders wanting no-code website tools
  • Teams needing vendor support or SLAs
  • Anyone shopping deployable software — this is a blog
  • Buyers requiring security or compliance documentation

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Guess: demos are creative experiments; production use means your own testing, debugging, and maintenance

medium

Security page 404s, so no public security or reliability documentation exists

low

MIT license requires keeping the copyright notice when you reuse demo code

low

No formal review base to verify quality claims — one Trustpilot review total

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free tutorials and demos since 2009
  • Demos are MIT licensed for commercial reuse
  • Long-standing Reddit praise for CSS tutorial quality
  • Creative Hub archives open-source community demos
  • Includes a CSS reference and detailed case studies

Cons

  • It is a tutorial blog, not a deployable tool
  • The Codrops Collective newsletter appears discontinued
  • Only one Trustpilot review — thin independent feedback
  • The security page returns a 404

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/27/2026 - 11 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x6review x4security x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Everything is free, demos MIT-licensed
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Reddit praises clear examples and instructions
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Tutorials, demos hub, CSS reference, case studies
  • Support quality. No evidence of any support channel
  • Security posture. No security findings or documentation in evidence
  • $0 Price Free tutorials and demos
  • 2009 Running since Independent web design publication
  • 82,509 Facebook followers Codrops official page
  • 1 Trustpilot reviews Very thin formal review data

Pricing

Free

$0

  • All tutorials and case studies
  • MIT-licensed demo downloads
  • Creative Hub access

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Reddit frontend developers have praised Codrops for years as a top CSS and creative-coding tutorial source, though some mourn its discontinued newsletter.

“Elegant designs, great functionality and easy to nab for your site. Codrops gives the best CSS tuts on the net. an amazing style to them.”
Reddit, r/web_design
“I really used to enjoy the Codrops Collective newsletter. It was such a nice weekly roundup of design/dev links, experimental projects, small tools”
Reddit, r/webdev
“I feel like Tympanus fits this bill with all of their amazing playground stuff. Very nice examples and instructions.”
Reddit, r/web_design
Full analysis

Based on ~14 public sources; formal review coverage is thin (1 Trustpilot review), so verdict leans on official pages and years of Reddit feedback.

Free, MIT-licensed frontend tutorials and demos; great for coders chasing creative effects, useless as a supported product.

Methodology

Based on ~14 public sources; formal review coverage is thin (1 Trustpilot review), so verdict leans on official pages and years of Reddit feedback.

Sources

  1. Codrops — Fueling web creativity since 2009tympanus.net
    official
  2. Codrops License page (MIT)tympanus.net
    official
  3. Creative Hub — open-source demostympanus.net
    official
  4. Codrops Tutorials archivetympanus.net
    official
  5. Codrops CSS Referencetympanus.net
    official
  6. Reddit, r/web_design — 'best CSS tuts on the net'reddit.com
    review
  7. Reddit, r/webdev — missing newsletter threadreddit.com
    review
  8. Reddit, r/web_design — playground examples praisereddit.com
    review
  9. Trustpilot — Codrops reviewstrustpilot.com
    review
  10. tympanus.net/security (404)tympanus.net
    security
  11. Codrops Facebook pagefacebook.com
    official

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