[sudo-discuss] recommendations for vps for beginning hacker/coder

my friend Christopher is trying to learn linux and coding of various kinds, but he doesn't have a computer that he can install software onto, so i'm recommending that he get a VPS somewhere, install linux on it, and play with web stuff and use it as his computer until he can get his own hardware back. is linode a good choice? i'm not sure if he has funds to pay subscription fees or whether he would need to find a free one, or maybe he can get started with a digitalocean free giftcard if someone has one. anyway, pipe up if you have recommendations for him. thanks, -jake