edX review

edX brings university courses online, from single classes such as Harvard's CS50 to Professional Certificates, XSeries, MicroMasters and MicroBachelors programs, executive education and full online degrees. Its partners include Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, the Georgia Institute of Technology, MIT Sloan and Oxford Said. Registration is free, and the catalog ranges from free courses to paid degrees, so you can try a course before paying for a certificate. edX says 100 million learners use the platform and that 84% of learners who earned a certificate saw professional growth. Employers can buy edX Enterprise subscriptions for their staff. The weak points for individuals are pricing and pace: there is no all-in subscription like Coursera Plus, every certificate or program has its own price, executive programs cost far more than a course, and academic workloads can be heavy. The US App Store lists certificate upgrades at a range of prices, so we keep the USD price pending.

Who it is for

Adults who want university-level courses, MicroMasters programs or executive education.

Price

Free courses available; certificates and programs priced per course: see vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Courses from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge and others
• Professional Certificates, XSeries, MicroMasters and MicroBachelors programs
• Executive education from schools such as MIT Sloan and Oxford Said
• Online bachelor's and master's degrees
• edX Enterprise subscriptions for employers

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Academic depth, including Harvard's CS50 courses
• Strength: Free courses to try before paying for a certificate
• Strength: Paths from a single course to a full degree
• Weakness: Pricing differs per course and program, with no single subscription for individuals
• Weakness: Executive education programs are expensive
• Weakness: Many courses follow an academic pace and workload

Key facts

• Learners: 100M, per edX
• Program types: Courses, certificates, MicroMasters, executive education, degrees
• Free courses: Yes

Where it ranks

edX is No. 6 in our Best Online Learning Platforms verdict.