#1 – Python

It was no surprise to us to see Python at the top of this list. Not only has it dominated Pluralsight’s and everyone else’s rankings for the last few years, the fact that Python has entire data science and machine learning libraries makes it more relevant than ever in 2025, when many companies are in a mad rush to adopt AI. It’s also an incredibly easy language for beginners to learn.

#2 – In Java

Like Python, Java has been a consistent entry on our list, holding the #2 spot since 2022; Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Why is it so popular? Java can run on all types of devices, is open source, has a large developer community, and is also easy to learn and use.

Java is also very popular among enterprise-sized companies because Java applications are stable, efficient, and scalable; It’s everything you want when you have an application dealing with potentially millions of transactions. This makes it a valuable addition to any developer’s resume.

#3 – JavaScript

Ah, JavaScript, one of the most loved and hated languages ​​of all time. It’s a vital tool for web developers and, as a high-level interpreted language, it’s easy to learn. On the other hand, many developers find the way it behaves “weird” compared to other languages, leaving a bad taste in their mouth after seeing people use it clumsily.

Debate aside, no one is disputing how widely used it is, given that it underpins 98% of all websites on the internet. Given its “popularity”, it’s no surprise that JavaScript will be one of the most sought-after languages ​​by tech students on the Pluralsight platform in 2024.

#4 – C++ (+1 Up)

Although C++ makes this list:hardest languages ​​to learnAlongside languages ​​like Cow and Whitespace, which are impractical “joke” languages, it remains popular for its unrivaled performance as a low-level language. While it’s not the most fun language to learn as a beginner, it’s a great skill to have if you’re doing something that requires high performance, like real-time simulations, financial trading systems, or similar workloads.

#5 – C# (Down -1)

C++ and C# swapped places like cars racing for the lead in our rankings this year. C# is a general-purpose, high-level language that is easier to learn and less error-prone than C++, but it is not as fast and has larger memory footprint. Considering that this need can currently be met by other languages, this may explain why C# has fallen a bit lower.

#6 – Heads (Up +2)

TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that adds features like optional static typing, classes, and interfaces, and allows IDEs to detect errors as you type. All this increases productivity, code quality and maintainability. TypeScript’s tagline is “JavaScript that scales,” making it essentially an enterprise-friendly language, so it’s easy to see why its popularity has soared over the last 12 months.

#7 – SQL (Down -1)

SQL, a domain-specific language used to manage data, is currently on the rise in popularity for 2023, but has been declining slightly over the last 12 months. However, we predict that SQL will become more important in the future.

From where? The vast majority of companies are implementing or planning to implement AI projects but have not taken the time to clean the underlying data. This will lead to increased demand for skilled data professionals, and they will use SQL as their bread and butter to process data. So we count this as “temporarily down, but definitely not gone.”

#8 – C (Down -1)

There’s a bit of a funny thing about C; some sortings bring C++ and C together, while others separate them. We preferred the latter and treated C as a separate language. C has been dropping in the rankings, coming in at #6 in 2022, and is now at #8 as other languages ​​grow in popularity. Even though it’s an older language, it’s still widely used and influential, ranking above other newer languages ​​like Rust, Swift, and Ruby.

Chapter 9 – Go (Golang)

Go (Aka. Golang) is a statically typed, high-level, open-source programming language. Like many entries in the top 10, it is easy to learn and focuses on simplicity, reliability and efficiency. Go broke into our top 10 rankings last year, with its popularity remaining steady over the last 12 months.

#10 – PHP

PHP is a widely used, open-source, server-side language used for web development. According to W3Techs it is used by: 75.6% of all websites For server-side programming in 2024. Like JavaScript, this is a topic that many people debate. On the one hand, it is open source, supported by a large community and resources, and easy to learn. On the other hand, many developers claim that it is messily designed, resulting in developers writing bad PHP code.

Other major ranking changes this year

We don’t always publish the full rankings (most people don’t want to read an exhaustive list of languages ​​and ranking numbers) but there are always some interesting changes that make the top 10 not worth mentioning:

• Rust It has been climbing up the rankings, coming in at #15 in 2022 and currently sitting at #11 in this year’s rankings. We expect to see it officially in the top 10 in the near future.
• Fast It’s also climbing up the rankings, failing to even reach our 2022 numbers and currently sitting in 15th place. Only time will tell whether another language will be put forward to take the top spot.
• R. (#12) and Ruby (#14) is popular, but is slowly falling in the rankings behind the scenes as other languages ​​sneak past it.
• Technology students on the Pluralsight platform include languages ​​such as: Kotlin very popular, but this is not yet reflected in industry usage.

Want to learn more about current trends in technology? Check out our latest article: “The 8 most in-demand tech skills in 2025 (with skills tests).”