The first step in becoming a web3 developer is learning Solidity, and the easiest way to master Solidity is through online courses and Solidity tutorials. 

Solidity is the fundamental programming language for developers who want to learn how to create and deploy smart contracts on the Ethereum network. Once developers know Solidity, they can turn their dreams into functioning and deployable code.

Whether devs want to create a new DeFi project, make a new NFT collection, or launch a DAO, a thorough understanding of Solidity will allow them to do so. 

Best Solidity Courses (2023)

While some developers have been able to learn the basics of web3 development on YouTube or through trial and error, one of the best ways to learn Solidity is through a dedicated online course specific for learning how to become a Solidity developer. 

Online Solidity courses can be standalone courses that last a couple hours and cover the fundamental concepts of Solidity, or they can be a series of courses combined in a Solidity bootcamp, to teach intermediate and advanced Solidity programming concepts.

For each of the following courses we will cover the course overview, duration, format, level, and cost.

1. Alchemy University's Solidity Development Course

The free Solidity Development Course is an intermediate-level series of guided video lessons and hands-on projects for learning the fundamentals of writing Solidity smart contracts. The course covers Solidity basics including:

1. Smart contracts
2. Functions
3. Value types
4. Sending Ether
5. Reverting transactions
6. Calling contracts
7. Escrow contracts
8. Reference types
9. Arrays, structs, and mappings
10. Contracts for voting, inheritance, etc.

Developers are encouraged to complete Alchemy University's free JavaScript for Ethereum course before starting the Solidity course.

2. Alchemy University's Ethereum Developer Bootcamp

Developers can attend our free 7-week Ethereum Developer Bootcamp to learn about cryptography, Ethereum, smart contracts, and dApps. At Alchemy University, we offer a hands-on learning experience where programmers build blockchain protocols after attending masterclasses from experts.

Course Overview

Our Ethereum Developer Bootcamp helps aspiring web3 developers and senior web2 developers looking to transition to Ethereum development learn Solidity, the most popular web3 programming language. Graduates from our bootcamp have been hired by web3 companies, including OpenSea, Zapper, and many more great blockchain startups.

The course guarantees four key milestones that students will achieve by the end of the course:

1. Acquire Core Blockchain Cryptography Skills

Students learn foundational cryptography skills that allow them to understand the fundamentals of blockchain technology that underlie all major blockchain ecosystems. 

2. Gain a Deep Understanding of Ethereum

Ethereum is a surprisingly complex ecosystem, and to fully understand it, devs must master the Solidity language in which its smart contracts are built. In the course, students gain a fundamental understanding of the technology behind Ethereum, the history of the network, its applications, and the future of where it may go. 

3. Master Smart Contract Development

By the time developers complete the Solidity bootcamp, they will have mastered smart contract development. Our instructors ensure students start with manageable smart contracts to understand the fundamentals and then get progressively more advanced.

The course also includes multiple games, puzzles, and coding challenges to hone their Solidity skillsets.

4. Build and Deploy Decentralized Applications

Our Solidity bootcamp gives students an opportunity to build and deploy decentralized applications under the mentorship of blockchain developers. This structure, guidance, and managed approach makes it the best solidity course in 2023. 

Duration

The Ethereum Developer Bootcamp is 7-week collection of Solidity courses, and each day has around 3 hours of course material to complete. During the 7-week bootcamp, students will learn a different aspect of Solidity development.

Here are some of the topics covered in the bootcamp:

• UTXO & Account Models
• Merkle Trees
• Ethereum JSON-RPC
• Ethereum Transactions
• Ethers.js
• Intro to Solidity + Smart Contracts
• Solidity Functions + Visibility
• Contract ABI, Bytecode + Solidity Events
• Events + Contract Listening
• Solidity Error Handling
• Solidity Mappings
• Solidity Modifiers + Structs
• Inheritance
• ERC-20 Tokens
• Interfaces, call, delegatecall, fallback
• Re-Entrancy
• Libraries
• Smart Contract Upgradeability

Format

Our Ethereum Development Bootcamp takes a multimodal approach to help students become Solidity developers. For example, during some days of the bootcamp, there will be a live class, coding exercise, and article. However, on other days, students may be assigned a video to watch, work on a project, or take an assessment. 

Once you finish the course, you will receive a certificate that distinguishes you as a successful Solidity developer!

Level and Prerequisites

Before joining the bootcamp, students should understand the fundamentals of JavaScript and the Solidity course mentioned above. Students will use JavaScript, and the appropriate libraries, to build the front end of their decentralized applications and communicate with the Ethereum blockchain.

Other than that, we don't require a complete understanding of blockchain or Ethereum technology, just a passion for learning Solidity!

Cost

The Ethereum Developer Bootcamp, run initially by ChainShot and priced at $3,000, is now completely free for new students following ChainShot’s acquisition by Alchemy. Alchemy and ChainShot have partnered to make the course accessible at no cost.

3. Ethereum and Solidity: The Complete Developer's Guide

This course is a self-paced asynchronous video tutorial series on Udemy, taught by Stephen Grider. By the end of the course, students should be able to “use Ethereum, Solidity, and Smart Contracts to build production-ready apps based on the blockchain.” Once students finish this course, they receive a certificate of completion. 

Duration

This course has nine sections, 267 lectures, and is 24h 17m in total length. If students want to take the course slowly and complete one section a week, the course will take around nine weeks. However, if a student wants to finish the course quickly, they could do so in as short as a week. 

This class is an asynchronous, self-paced video lecture series and also includes over 30 articles, 100+ downloadable resources, and a certificate of completion.

• Duration - 24 hours of content across 267 lectures
• Format - self-paced, asynchronous
• Level - beginner to intermediate
• Prerequisites - basic understanding of JavaScript and npm (Node Package Manager)
• Cost - $29

4. Master Ethereum & Solidity Programming From Scratch

The "Master Ethereum & Solidity Programming From Scratch" course is a self-paced asynchronous video tutorial series on Udemy, taught by Andre Dumitrescu. The course comes with over 40 downloadable resources and over 20 suggested articles. Once students finish this course, they receive a certificate of completion. 

• Duration - 9 hours of video content 
• Format - self-paced, tutorial series with supplemental resources
• Level -  intermediate and above
• Prerequisites - proficient in programming, a basic knowledge of blockchain
• Cost - $16.99

5. Certified Solidity Developer [Blockchain Council]

Blockchain Council is a blockchain developer education center and certificate provider. Blockchain Council’s Certified Solidity Developer program is designed to suit enthusiasts from all backgrounds.

students typically watch the lectures, practice the learned content by themselves, and then proceed to the following lecture. Because this program has an exam, students will also have to study for the exam and get a passing grade. 

• Duration - 5 hours of video content 
• Format - self-paced, asynchronous
• Level - beginner to intermediate
• Prerequisites - proficiency in a programming language is advantageous but not mandatory
• Cost - $249

At over two hundred dollars, Blockchain Council has the most expensive course on this list. However, some students are willing to pay for the credibility garnered by passing Blockchain Council’s exam. 

6. Ethereum Blockchain Developer Bootcamp With Solidity

This Udemy Solidity development course is taught by Ravinder Deol, Thomas Wiesner, and Haseeb Chaudhry. This course hopes to allow students to “become an Ethereum blockchain developer with one course.” It aims to help students master Solidity, web3.js, Truffle, Metamask, Remix, and more.

Like most of the other courses on this list, this class is a self-paced video tutorial format, which means students will read the required articles, watch the lectures and then complete the exercises.

• Duration - 12 hours of video content 
• Format - self-paced, asynchronous
• Level - beginner to intermediate
• Prerequisites - proficiency in programming suggested (not mandatory)
• Cost - $19.99

At the end of the course, students will receive a certificate of completion. 

The Best Courses for Learning Solidity

When choosing a Solidity course for learning how to become an Ethereum developer, it's important to evaluate the teachers, topics, format, and supplemental resources, and learning experience.

For example, ChainShot's Ethereum Developer Bootcamp exhaustively covers what it takes to learn Solidity, is taught by engineers, and has a seemless developer experience for learning and building from your browser.