Don’t have much time to learn Python? Cheat sheets to the rescue!

Cheat sheets are among the most efficient ways to acquire knowledge. A great cheat sheet focuses on the key learning material and skips the rest. If you read over them every day, you’ll quickly learn all the basics you need to know to master Python.

In this article, we’ll share the top 11 Python cheat sheets with you. Download them, print them, put them on your wall and watch your Python skills grow!

If you just want to download your free PDF Python cheat sheet and be done with it, click the following PDF symbol. It’s a direct PDF download link of the great Python 3 cheat sheet by the French Python star Laurent Pointal:

[ATTENTION] While this free cheat sheet is the best single cheat sheet you’ll find in the world 🌍 (maybe even in the universe), it’s not enough to become a great coder. I LOVE cheat sheets 🥰 and believe in the power of the 80/20 principle. So, I’ve developed a method for training basic Python skills by sending you regular Python cheat sheets.

What’s better than one Python cheat sheet? Eleven Python cheat sheets! 🐍 Grab them, print them, and stick them all to your wall. Then watch yourself to become a Python master. Register for my free Python cheat sheet email course here:

The rest of the article gives you an overview of the best Python cheat sheets in the world!

Ultra short summary:

You want the most dense cheat sheet in Python? Check out this cheat sheet!

You want the most comprehensive cheat sheet course? Check out this cheat sheet course!

Have you downloaded the cheat sheet of Laurent Pointal via the PDF button and registered for my free Python course? Good, then move on into the wonderful world of condensed programming knowledge! 🐱‍🏍

All given links open in a new browser tab!

Best Python Cheat Sheets

So let’s dive into the best Python cheat sheets recommended by us.

This is the best single cheat sheet. It uses every inch of the page to deliver value and covers everything you need to know to go from beginner to intermediate. Topics covered include container types, conversions, modules, maths, conditionals and formatting to name a few. A highly recommended 2-page sheet!

Some might think this cheat sheet is a bit lengthy. At 26 pages, it is the most comprehensive cheat sheets out there. It explains variables, data structures, exceptions, and classes – to name just a few. If you want the most thorough cheat sheet, pick this one.

Some of the most popular things to do with Python are Data Science and Machine Learning. In this cheat sheet, you will learn the basics of Python and the most important scientific library: NumPy (Numerical Python). You’ll learn the basics plus the most important NumPy functions. If you are using Python for Data Science, download this cheat sheet.

This Python data science cheat sheet from DataCamp is all about getting data into your code. Think about it: importing data is one of the most important tasks when working with data. Increasing your skills in this area will make you a better data scientist—and a better coder overall!

This cheat sheet is for more advanced learners. It covers class, string and list methods as well as system calls from the sys module. Once you’re comfortable defining basic classes and command line interfaces (CLIs), get this cheat sheet. It will take you to another level.

Want to learn Python well, but don’t have much time? Then this course is for you. It contains 5 carefully designed PDF cheat sheets. Each cheat sheet takes you one step further into the rabbit hole. You will learn practical Python concepts from the hand-picked examples and code snippets. The topics include basic keywords, simple and complex data types, crucial string and list methods, and powerful Python one-liners. If you lead a busy life and do not want to compromise on quality, this is the cheat sheet course for you!

The wonderful team at Dataquest have put together this comprehensive beginners cheat sheet. It covers all the basic data types, looping and reading files. It’s beautifully designed and is the first of a series.

This intermediate-level cheat sheet is a follow-up of the other Dataquest cheat sheet. It contains intermediate dtype methods, looping and handling errors.

NumPy is at the heart of data science. Advanced libraries like scikit-learn, Tensorflow, Pandas, and Matplotlib all built on NumPy arrays. You need to understand NumPy before you can thrive in data science and machine learning. The topics of this cheat sheet are creating arrays, combining arrays, scalar math, vector math and statistics.

This is only one great NumPy cheat sheet—if you want to get more, check out our article on the 10 best NumPy cheat sheets!

Want to master the visualization library Bokeh? This cheat sheet is for you! It contains all the basic Bokeh commands to get your beautiful visualizations going fast!

Pandas is everywhere. If you want to master “the Excel library for Python coders”, why not start with this cheat sheet? It’ll get you started fast and introduces the most important Pandas functions to you.

You can find a best-of article about the 7 best Pandas Cheat Sheets here.

Regex to the rescue! Regular expressions are wildly important for anyone who handles large amounts of text programmatically (ask Google). This cheat sheet introduces the most important Regex commands for quick reference. Download & master these regular expressions!

This cheat sheet is the most concise Python cheat sheet in the world. It contains keywords, basic data structures, and complex data structures—all in a single 1-page PDF file. If you’re lazy, this cheat sheet is a must!

If you love cheat sheets, here are some interesting references for you (lots of more PDF downloads):

Related articles:

What Cheat Sheets are NOT a Replacement For

Your wall could be full of cheat sheets. You shelves full of the most up to date coding books. You could be subscribed to all the best online Python courses. But none of this matters if you don’t put in the work.

To become a coder, you need to sit down and actually write code. It’s best to do it every day. This ensures you are making continuous progress. Even 20 minutes per day adds up to 121 hours over a year – 3 working weeks!

It doesn’t matter what you do. You can read over a cheat sheet, work through a course, or sit down and try to build something you think is cool. Whatever it is, the most important thing is that you typing Python into your computer. Cheat sheets are here to make that process easier, not as a replacement for it.

Now let’s look at some other things to help you on your Python journey.



Cheat Sheet Alternatives

We all learn in different ways. What works well for one person may be terrible for another. So here are some alternatives to cheat sheets.

Flashcards

Flashcards took me from amateur to professional. I recommend that you write down all the information you want to remember on flashcards. You could create them in real life. But far better is the free app Anki. It works on your phone, tablet and computer. They use a scientifically proven spaced repetition system to help you learn. This means it shows you flashcards you find difficult more often than the ones you find easy. Instead of scrolling through social media next time you’re waiting in line, why not answer some coding questions that you wrote?

Personalised Cheat Sheets

The cheat sheets in this article are great to give you inspiration. But they may include information that you already know. Plus, you’re 10x more likely to remember something if you’ve written it down and created it yourself. So, at the end of a topic you’ve learned, make a 1-page cheat sheet of all the most important info. This ensures you only include information that’s relevant to you and that it’s valuable every time you look at it.

Projects

At Finxter, we believe in the power of project-based learning. Programming is supposed to be fun and interesting. What’s more fun than building something you think is amazing?

Come up with an idea and start creating it. If you get stuck, google is your best friend. There is so much content out there and so many wonderful communities. They are happy to help aspiring coders like you. Start typing and playing and see what happens. You’ll learn loads and have a lot of fun too!

If you want to learn Python as quickly as possible through project-based learning, check out our Python Freelancer course.

Summary

Cheat sheets are a wonderful way to apply the 80/20 principle. You only need to put in 20% of the learning effort and you get 80% of the results. These helped me when I was first learning Python and I know they will do the same for you. Best of luck!

Do you want the most dense cheat sheet in Python? Click here!

Do you want the most comprehensive cheat sheet course? Sign up now!