This paper examines to what extent undergraduate students perform better and experience lower cognitive load when programming in Algot, a visual programming language that supports programming by demonstration, than in the textual programming language Python. To answer this question, we recruited 38 first-semester computer science university students who had received prior instruction in the programming language Python but were unfamiliar with Algot. Participants reviewed a 12-minute video tutorial about Algot and performed the same programming tasks in Python and Algot. We graded student submissions, estimated cognitive load through physiological measures and a validated post-test survey, and evaluated free-form feedback. Students experienced lower negative (extraneous and intrinsic) and higher positive (germane) cognitive load when programming in Algot and scored significantly higher (avg. grades 5.8 and 3.4 on a 10-point scale, respectively), while free-form responses indicated that Algot was well-received by students.