Years operating
11
Variety of courses/programs
4,400+
Tuition
$50-$25,000
EdX Pros & Cons
Pros
4,400+ courses across a wide range of topics
Certificates include logo of partnered university or company
Most courses can be taken for free on a non-certificate track
Cons
Relatively few courses for trades or creative skills
Limited academic support for most courses
EdX at a Glance
9
Editorial ScoreYear Founded
2012
10.0
Variety of Programs
10+ programs
10.0
Tuition
From 13,000
9.0
Duration
From 12-24 weeks
9.0
Payment Options
Initial deposit followed by monthly payments
7.0
edX in a Nutshell
Years operating | 11 |
Tuition | $50-$25,000 |
Variety of courses/programs | 4,400+ courses |
Suitable for | People who want a certificate from a widely recognized university or company |
Online experience | Sign up online and register for your first course in minutes Self-paced and live courses available Transparent pricing and time commitment for each course Online help center with FAQs |
Overview
edX is an online learning platform founded in 2011 by four scientists from MIT and Harvard. Today, the platform has more than 81 million students worldwide and partners with more than 250 universities and companies to offer courses.
edX has more than 4,400 courses across topics like tech, programming, business administration, biology, history, language, social science, and more. The platform offers short one-week courses to year-long bootcamps and online master’s degrees. Every course is offered in partnership with a university or company, and your completion certificate bears this partner's logo and the edX logo.
What is edX?
edX is a global online learning hub aiming to make advanced topics accessible to everyone. It’s a tremendous resource for individuals who want to learn about a new subject, advance their skills, or get the training they need to change career tracks. The platform emphasizes tech and business skills but also has hundreds of courses covering science and humanities topics.
edX courses are fully online, but they take different formats. Some courses are short and fully self-paced, while others involve live classes and can be up to a year in length. edX even offers online master’s and doctoral degree programs that can take several years to complete.
Is edX Safe and Reliable?
edX has been operating for 11 years and is one of the largest online learning platforms in the world. It was originally a nonprofit organization but became a for-profit institution in 2021 when it was acquired by educational technology company 2U.
All edX courses are offered in partnership with major global universities or companies. Some of edX’s partners include Harvard University, Australian National University, Caltech, McGill University, Sorbonne Universite, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM.
edX has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot.
How edX Works
Anyone can sign up for edX for free and browse available courses. Each course has its tuition, time commitment, prerequisites, and format, and these details are listed in the course description. Most courses have start and end dates, and students must complete the course by the listed end date to achieve a certificate.
Most edX courses are self-paced and revolve around pre-recorded video sessions and individual assignments. Some courses require students to attend live video sessions or participate in group assignments.
How to apply to edX
You can browse edX courses without creating an account. If you find a course you want to take, you must ensure enrollment is open. If not, you can sign up for an email notification when enrollment opens.
You must create an edX account with your name and email to enroll. You can choose between a free audit track or a paid certificate track for most courses.
When auditing a course, you get access to all course materials and discussions. However, you can’t submit assignments for grading and won’t receive a completion certificate. This can be a good option for learners on a budget.
You must check out online to enroll if you choose the paid track. Enrolling only takes about a minute.
Once the course starts, you’ll get access to the course materials in your edX dashboard. Some instructors release all materials at the start of the course, while others release new content as the course progresses.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites vary by course and are set by the instructors. For most courses, there are either no prerequisites or minor requirements, such as a high school education or a background in tech. edX doesn’t check whether you’ve met the prerequisites for a course, although instructors may ask about your experience.
Cost
Each edX course is priced individually. Costs typically range from around $50-$250 for short, self-paced courses. Longer professional certificate courses typically cost $500-$1,000, while live bootcamp programs usually cost around $10,000-$15,000. Online master’s degree programs can cost $20,000 or more.
edX offers financing options for some programs. For example, paying for a coding bootcamp in monthly installments with 0% interest is an option. You can also apply for edX’s financial assistance program.
You can take most short courses and professional certificate courses (but not bootcamp programs) on an audit track free of charge. You won’t receive a completion certificate when auditing a course.
edX Student Resources
Pre-recorded course materials are available 24/7 through your edX account. If you pay for the certificate track, you’ll always have access to these materials, even after the course ends. If you audit a course, you’ll lose access to the materials at the end of the course.
You can get help with an edX course by posting a question in your course’s discussion forum, which the instructor monitors. There’s no way to contact instructors directly by email.
If you need help using the edX platform, contact edX’s support team by email or live chat 24/7. I found that replies typically take a few minutes for live chat and several hours for email.
edX offers a free online career resource center, regardless of whether they graduated from an edX course. It includes information about popular career paths, guides for writing a resume and cover letter, interview preparation resources, and more.
edX Alternatives
How edX compares with other tech bootcamps
edX | Brainstation | CareerFoundry | Springboard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Years operating | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
Tuition | $50-$25,000 | $2,450-$16,500 | $690-$8,705 | $8,900-$13,860 |
Variety of courses/programs | 4,400+ | 10+ | 20 | 5 |
Student resources | - Career resource center - Technical support | -Learning Advisor - Career pages - Career guidance - 1:1 coaching - Academic support | - Academic support -Contact form - Student community - Free live events - Program library - Career support | - Academic mentorship - Career support - Academic advisors - Free academic support |
Online experience | - Fast course enrollment - Audit courses for free - Self-paced and live courses - Transparent pricing - Online help center | - Quick application process - Generic FAQs - Pricing on request of course package - Live sessions - Recorded lectures - Updated blog pages | - Streamlined application process - Extensive blog - Free live events - Helpful FAQ - Transparent tuition fees - Pre-recorded classes | - Quick application process - User-friendly website - Updated blog - Transparent pricing - Live and recorded classes |
edX vs Brainstation
Brainstation focuses exclusively on programming and tech courses, whereas edX has a much wider range of course content. Brainstation offers more student resources, including one-on-one coaching and career workshops. We recommend Brainstation if you want to change careers and edX if you want to add skills within your current field.
edX vs CareerFoundry
CareerFoundry is an online learning platform focused exclusively on programming, data science, web development, and digital marketing. It has a limited selection of courses available, but they all use pre-recorded lectures, so you can take the course at your own pace. CareerFoundry is significantly cheaper than edX for bootcamp courses, so it’s a good option to learn to code on a budget.
edX vs Springboard
Springboard offers software engineering, cybersecurity, data science, and UI/UX courses for people looking to switch careers. You get one-on-one mentoring, a career coach, and a guarantee that you’ll land a job or get your money back. If you aim to land a job at the end of your course, Springboard’s guarantee can be a major benefit over edX.
Bottom Line
edX is a massive online learning platform that offers everything from short, self-paced courses to bootcamp programs to online graduate degrees. There are more than 4,400 courses, spanning programming, science, humanities, and more. Every course is delivered in partnership with a well-known university or company, which adds more value to your certificate when looking for a job.
You can audit most courses for free. This is a great way to learn new skills at no cost if you don’t need a certificate to show potential employers.
Overall, I think edX is a great choice for anyone who wants to add to their skillset or transition to a new career. That said, edX doesn’t offer the same academic or career support as other learning platforms, so it’s best for self-motivated learners who are comfortable asking questions and working independently.
FAQs
Is edX free?
You can take most edX courses for free through the audit track. When auditing a course, you can access all course materials but can’t submit graded assignments or receive a completion certificate. Auditing isn’t available for bootcamps, professional certificates, or graduate degree programs.
Do employers recognize edX?
Many companies recognize certificates awarded for completing an edX course. Companies may consider these certificates when hiring or making promotion decisions. edX certificates include the name and logo of the university or company that partnered with edX on that course, which can increase the weight that employers give to these certificates.
Does edX offer real degrees?
edX partners with universities in the US and worldwide to offer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. All degree programs are fully accredited, and the degrees granted are the same as those students would earn by attending the partner university in person.
