Compare
cracked.guide vs OSSU
OSSU (Open Source Society University) is a free, complete undergraduate computer science curriculum built from online courses. cracked.guide is a narrow, deep path: two interpreters, then all of Knuth. Choose OSSU for the breadth of a degree; choose cracked.guide for depth in algorithms and systems. Plenty of people should do OSSU first.
At a glance
| Compared | OSSU | cracked.guide |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A degree's worth of CS courses (intro, core, advanced electives, final project) | A dated 145-week path: Crafting Interpreters, then TAOCP Vols 1 to 4B, with NeetCode 150 and a Play track of programming games |
| Time | About 2 years at roughly 20 hours a week, per OSSU | About 8 to 12 hours a week for 145 weeks (or half pace, 290) |
| Cost | Nearly all free; some courses charge for graded work | Free site; books and games extra (Crafting Interpreters is free online) |
| Format | MOOCs from Coursera, edX, MIT OCW and others, plus some books | Two books, one problem list, ten games, with a reading guide for every chapter and section |
| Checks | Each course's own assignments | Book test suite on GitHub Actions, LeetCode profile, MIX programs graded in the browser |
| Community | Discord, with a channel per course | Monthly cohorts and public profiles |
Where OSSU is the better pick
If you want everything a CS degree covers (programming, math, systems, theory, security, applications, ethics) and you want it in course form with lectures and problem sets, OSSU is the best free option there is. It is also better if you are earlier in your programming life: it starts from an intro course, while cracked.guide assumes you can already write small programs.
Where cracked.guide is the better pick
If you already program and want to get unusually good at the core, cracked.guide goes much deeper on fewer things. OSSU's algorithms courses give you a semester's worth; cracked.guide gives you two years of Knuth with exact analysis and thousands of exercises to choose from. And every week has a date and a check, which is what most self-paced curricula lack.
Doing both
They fit together. A common route: OSSU's core for breadth, then cracked.guide for depth. Or cracked.guide's 28 weeks of Crafting Interpreters as a project between OSSU courses. See the self-taught CS roadmap for the trade-off in general.
Questions
Is OSSU free?
Nearly all of it, per OSSU's own page. Some courses charge for graded assignments or certificates, and Coursera and edX offer financial aid.
Is OSSU a degree?
No. It follows the coursework of an undergraduate CS degree, minus general education, but it is not an accredited credential.
Sources
A free, dated 145-week path: two interpreters, then all of Knuth.
Every week has a date and a reading guide, and the work is checked: the book's own tests, your LeetCode profile, MIX programs in the browser.