Frontend Masters
Frontend Masters "CSS Grid and Flexbox, v2" Review — Honest Analysis of 27 Developer Opinions
Jen Kramer's "CSS Grid and Flexbox, v2" is the course developers point to when someone wants to learn modern CSS layout properly rather than fight floats and copy-pasted hacks. Across two parts, Kramer teaches Flexbox and CSS Grid through hands-on builds at a beginner-friendly pace that reviewers praise as clear and in-depth. The main caveats: it needs a Frontend Masters subscription rather than a one-time purchase, and because v2 predates subgrid and container queries, learners wanting the newest features should consider Kramer's v3 instead.
Final score
from 27 analysed opinions
Published AI-researched, editor-audited
Distribution of opinions
Per-criterion scores
Covers responsive layout across two parts — Flexbox (grid systems, navigation, responsive images) and CSS Grid (Mondrian and magazine layouts, cards). Reviewers say it teaches modern layout "without hacks", though v2 predates subgrid and container queries.
Jen Kramer is the most-praised element — a long-time CSS educator who explains layout clearly and at a beginner-friendly pace. Learners and a Hacker News commenter call her CSS courses "very good" and her teaching "well taught, in-depth".
Requires a $39/month (or $390/year) Frontend Masters subscription rather than a one-time purchase — strong value if you use the wider catalog, weaker if you only want this one course. The course is included in the standard subscription.
More hands-on than most CSS courses: each section ends in build exercises and a capstone, including a Mondrian painting and magazine layouts. The builds are small practice pieces rather than a full portfolio site, but they reinforce the concepts well.
Flexbox and Grid are the everyday tools for production layout, and learners report finishing real site layouts noticeably faster afterward. The main gap is currency — the newer features (subgrid, container queries) are covered in Kramer's v3, not this version.
What learners said
What people loved
5- Jen Kramer explains layout clearly and at a beginner-friendly pace — repeatedly called one of the best teachers for CSS×12
- Hands-on throughout: each section ends in build exercises and a capstone, including Mondrian and magazine layouts×9
- Teaches modern, robust layout without the float-based hacks older CSS tutorials still rely on×8
- Learners report finishing real website layouts noticeably faster after applying Grid and Flexbox from the course×6
- Well-structured progression from Flexbox to Grid that suits developers who got little usable CSS from a bootcamp×5
What frustrated learners
4- Requires a Frontend Masters subscription (~$39/month or $390/year) rather than a one-time purchase×6
- v2 predates subgrid and container queries — for the newest layout features you need Kramer's v3 course×5
- Aimed at junior developers, so experienced engineers may find the early Flexbox material slow×4
- Focused narrowly on layout — it is not a full HTML/CSS or web-development course on its own×3
Real quotes from real users
“They're not free, but Jen Kramer's CSS courses on Frontend Masters are very good, and are pretty recent.”
“I really like https://frontendmasters.com/, they might not have a class just for what you're looking for, but there are some that cover much of what you're asking”
“Sign up for Frontend Masters, take the courses on React, Vue, Angular, Typescript, and CSS”
“This is the best course for understanding layouts. It's so well taught, in-depth, and covers the latest features.”
“I learned so much about Flexbox, Grid, and organizing styles better. The examples were practical, and I feel more confident now in building clean, responsive designs.”
“This course is awesome! I would definitely recommend it to someone who wants to dive deep into grid as well as some other modern CSS features.”
“It exposed me to tips and techniques for achieving the same or more with less CSS. For instance, I didn't even know it was possible to have variables in CSS!”
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How we evaluated this
This review synthesizes 27 opinions collected across the public web. Final score = Bayesian average penalising small samples, then weighted by the positivity ratio. No paid placements, no hidden agenda.
- 5 from Hacker News
- 7 from Blogs
- 11 from Official course platform
- 4 from Other