edX was one of the most commonly recommended e-learning platforms by my friends, but I was not convinced to take the edX review instantly because even the name edX sounded weird and uncommon.
Still, I was wondering how effective edX could possibly be since I started seeing advertisements on edX everywhere, so I decided to hop in the drill and take some courses in edX.
Only then did I realize all the hype about edX. I mean, it would not be nice if I revealed how edX was in a sentence or two, so I decided to write a full-fledged review on edX and its benefits.
In this article, you will learn everything about edX, the best features of edX, my experience with edX, the suitability of edX, the pricing of edX, and the pros & cons of edX in detail.
You can also see the answer to the most anticipated question – “Is edX worth the hype?”
What is edX?
edX is not just another online learning platform but a new way of pursuing education virtually.
The non-profit online course provider, edX, has partnered with prestigious universities like MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, and even top excelling companies like Microsoft, which means the quality is top-notch and teaching style is at an advanced level. That’s the A-grade package right there.
edX ensured to raise its professionalism with millions of dedicated users globally. In edX, you basically get college-level curated content, easy-to-navigate resources, instructor-led courses, and accredited certificates on completing certain courses. edX offers a lot of benefits.
edX has made its platform versatile and accessible for users of all understanding levels. Even if you are a beginner, you might find various valuable course categories and options in edX.
Speaking of diversity, edX also offers courses in multiple languages like French, Spanish, English, and even Italian. In case you are a non-English speaker, edX can help easily.
More than 3000 courses are available in edX. The best part about edX is that the categories on which the courses are divided are endless. For instance, there are plenty of courses from architecture to business to design to law to history to music. edX is indeed diversified.
What’s more? edX is flexible, which means you can take the courses in edX on any device. All IOS and Android devices are compatible with edX so that you do not miss out on learning.
How Does edX Work?
Many edX courses are available for free, where you can audit all the content without paying a single penny. But you will need to get a course completion certificate to go through the entire content. For that, you need to purchase the verified track of the course. To get access to any course, you just need to click on the enroll button and sign up for that course using your credentials.
After you finish the sign-up, you will be redirected to a page where you will be asked to choose between the verified track (paid) and the audit track (free). You can choose anyone and upgrade later on. edX does not work on a subscription basis; you will need to buy each course separately to get unlimited access to the course material and a course completion certificate.
What Type Of Courses Are Available On edX?
edX offers more than 3000 courses from top universities and colleges, and all of them vary in terms of duration, subjects, and commitment. You can build new skills and get advancement in your career with edX courses. All the courses of edX are divided into subjects, and these subjects have multiple topics, and every topic contains at least 2-3 courses.
Here are some of the subjects available on edX:
- Architecture
- Art
- Biology
- Business Administration
- Chemistry
- Business Communications
- Computer Programming
- Design
- Data Analytics
- Education
- Economics
- Environmental Science
- Engineering
- Healthcare
- Nutrition
- Science
- Physics,
- And many more
All the courses of edX vary in difficulty and also require prerequisites. These courses last between 4 to 12 weeks, and you need to give 5-10 hours every week to complete the course on time. If you’re just auditing the course, you can take as much time as you want to complete it, but if you want a certificate for the course, you will need to finish the course on time.
5 Best Features in edX
edX has greatly developed its platform with added benefits. You might have read about the overview of edX earlier. Let me briefly explain the best features in edX till date now.
Easy Pathways
Unlike other expensive competitors in MOOCs, edX has really curated a well-crafted pathway for its users so that there is no trouble in finding the best learning courses according to their needs.
Say you are opening a learning platform but are unsure how to pick up the right course despite looking at the pricing, quality, ease of use, and requirement. In that case, edX helps deliver accessible pathways home to multiple programs under a single roof. It is the best feature.
The programs in edX include the MicroMasters program, MicroBachelors program, Bachelor’s Degrees, Master’s Degrees, Professional Certificates, Executive Education, and Bootcamps.
Let me explain. All the listed programs are curated with special courses destined for specific needs. For instance, students looking for certificate courses to boost their resumes can go for Professional Certificates. Likewise, Degree courses are also available.
Customization
Although edX has introduced pathways for users to skim through various courses and programs, the customization feature in edX is very helpful. You get to filter out certain factors in edX and find the most appropriate course that suits your requirement. Sounds easy, right?
In edX, the search for courses is easy wherein you simply have to select the subject you are opting for, the partnering institution where you want to learn from, the desired edX program, the level of understanding from beginner to advanced, and the availability of the courses in edx.
In fact, you can also customize the search results to find out if there are any upcoming courses on a specific niche that you want to learn about in the future. Even customization based on language is available, which means you cannot give excuses to not learn from edX.
Financial aid
Are you worried that you cannot afford quality education since it is highly priced or is in an abroad country? edX does not discriminate and can lend a helping hand to you. Yes, it’s true!
With the financial assistance offered by edX, you get to take up courses and programs and complete them without any hassles or worrying about the budget. You can call it scholarship since it works similarly in edX. All you have to do is apply for financial aid in edX, which is easy.
Like college applications and scholarship programs, edX will review the application for financial aid and send approval in a couple of days. On receiving the confirmation mail, you will get a unique code that can be availed at the payment process in edX.
I was glad to have found the financial aid feature in edX since there are several potential students out there who cannot pursue their dreams due to the financial crisis in their families.
Self-paced learning
The best part about taking courses on the internet, especially in edX, is that you get to take them whenever you want, wherever you want, and however, you want.
The availability of a relaxed study schedule in edX with no pressure and zero deadlines is a relief for most students and even users who are full-time workers too.
Since college-going students may not find time to religiously take the courses at a particular time, the self-paced courses in edX come to their rescue. Even if you get overwhelmed after certain sections, you have the option of taking a break and resuming learning after a while.
Beginner-friendly
No other big learning platform would offer beginner-friendly courses easily. edX is different. It has ensured to consider users’ needs and the demand for learning new skills.
In edX, most courses are beginner-friendly. Even if you are looking for advanced-level courses, you still have the option of customization and getting the best results. All the beginner-friendly courses are well-structured for easy understanding and are taught by experts in each field.
There is no compromise in quality, and edX delivers the best even in its beginner courses.
My Experience With edX
Taking multiple courses in edX was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
The experience of learning new subjects in edX was exciting, and I was able to grasp complicated concepts in a simplified manner. I also had the bonus of taking beginner-friendly courses since some topics were foreign to me, and I had no prior knowledge about them.
edX made learning easy and accessible. There were no complications in navigating resources, and the user experience was splendid. Still, in some cases, edX was crashing, but it was not a long-term issue. I took courses like marketing management, becoming an entrepreneur, and business foundations, which were beneficial and well-formatted. The ease of use was good.
The self-paced learning and offline downloadable options were a life savior to me. That way, I was able to manage college and courses simultaneously. I would easily give 4 out of 5 stars.
edX is exceptionally programmed, and it was evident that the platform aims to produce high-quality content. I noticed that edX regularly updates its platforms with new course sets.
How is edX for Business Useful?
edX is probably one of the very few e-learning platforms that offer a business edition wherein employees in an organization can coordinate and develop skills under the same platform.
Regarding edX for business, most benefits available in the standard version are also applicable in edX for businesses with added corporate-focused content.
Unconventional job fields like writing, leadership and communications are also included. Over 1000+ courses are available in edX for business, and the administrator gets an insightful overview of their employees’ learning via a progress tracker.
edX for business is a great way to train employees in an organization without foreign programs since all the employees can be monitored under a single platform by their employer.
Who is suitable for edX?
edX is an open learning platform on the internet, and there are no eligibility criteria to enroll in. All you need is a desire to learn a robust skill via video lessons and apply it in the related field.
Being in the spectrum of providing courses, edX has made its way out of the league by offering 2800+ courses which means you have enough options to choose from, and there is no niche limit. Be it art, music, writing, technology, business, or marketing. You name it. They have it.
edX might be suitable for:
- Anyone who wants to learn a compelling skill guided by a real expert.
- Anyone who wishes to earn an accredited certificate to boost their resume.
- Anyone who prefers self-paced learning in a digital format with resources.
- Anyone who intends to acquire a new skill unrelated to their profession.
Frankly speaking, I would not say edX is restricted to only the people mentioned above. edX is diversified and can be opted for by anyone because there is no limitation in edX.
edX: Pros & Cons
Although edX offered excellent benefits, there were some downsides it. I’ll jot it down:
edX Pros
- Self-paced learning is available.
- You can download courses for offline use.
- Accredited certificates on completion are provided.
- An excellent 14-day refund policy is available in edX.
- All the courses are led by real experts from prestigious universities.
edX Cons
- No consistent format in specific courses.
- Casual courses like baking are not available.
Pricing plans: Is edX Affordable?
I have done a detailed breakdown of edX pricing here.
edX has a different approach toward its pricing plans.
To be precise, there are no plans in edX.
You only get two options referred to as Audit Track and Verified track in edX wherein,
- Audit Track – You can choose to audit a course for free as a self-paced course, but you cannot get any study materials, resources, or accredited certificates in return.
- Verified Track – You can choose to buy courses from the verified track, which can cost anywhere from $50 to $300, providing certificates and essential materials.
Still, edX is quite expensive, but it is fair since you are getting college-level content in an accessible platform with added benefits. I feel it would be great if you consider it an investment because you are getting certificates and valuable learning to upscale your career.
NOTE: The pricing of each course in edX varies accordingly, so there is no fixed pricing.
edX free trial
Unfortunately, there is no free trial in edX, but you can still audit a course that is available for free. Till now, there have been no updates from the edX team on bringing free trials or discount coupons.
In case you are a bright student who desperately wants to take specific courses, then the option of financial aid in edX might be helpful since you get financial assistance from edX itself.
To know more about financial aid in edX, read the best features of the edX section mentioned above.
edX Alternatives:
edX is an amazing e-learning platform that offers some amazing courses for students to try, but not everyone is going to like this platform. Some of them might be looking for its alternatives. Here are some edX alternatives that are equally good as edX.
1. Coursera: Coursera is a similar platform to edX. It also courses from universities that you can use to get college credit. It offers over 3900 courses, degrees, specializations, and free courses. We have also compared edX with Coursera here.
2. Udemy: Udemy is another great alternative to edX, which offers a variety of courses for students to try. However, they do not offer university-accredited courses like edX, but they do offer the cheapest courses in the industry. You can check our Udemy vs edX comparison here.
3. Skillshare: If you want to develop a new skill at an affordable price, then Skillshare is the perfect alternative to edX for you.
Final Verdict – “Is edX Worth the Hype In?”
edX checked all the boxes of the best quality, complete ease of use, adequate study materials, availability of offline modes, mobile-friendly applications, and beginner-friendly courses.
That justifies the fact that edX is worth the hype because it is rare to spot e-learning platforms that deliver the best user experience and accurate explanation of concepts in various courses.
Additional benefits like the provision of accredited certificates and financial aid took edX to the next level since competitors generally fail to produce certificates. Still, certain downsides like expensive pricing and unavailability of casual courses were present in edX.
In conclusion, if you look at the bright side of using edX, you are getting benefits that cannot be found elsewhere and so choose edX and start learning adequate in-demand skills right away!
FAQs On edX Review
Is the edX certificate worth paying for?
Yes, it is definitely worth paying for an edX certificate. You can also try a few courses on edX for free, but you need to buy a paid course to get a certificate. These certificates are a good way to show educational institutes & employers that you are serious about your education or career.
Is edX a legit online learning platform?
edX was launched by the scientists of MIT and Harvard, and it has connections with a lot of educational institutes from all over the world. So it is definitely a legit platform, although you might find some negative reviews of some of its edX courses online. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and every online learning platform has its fair share of good and bad reviews.
Are the courses of edX certified?
If you are looking to get academic credit through an edX course, then you can enroll in the verified courses of edX. Although not every course will get you academic credit, so you need to check the course before enrolling in it.
Does edX offer financial aid?
Yes, edX offers financial aid to those learners who can’t pay for the courses. You can get up to a 90% discount on edX courses. To get the discount, you need to fill up a financial aid form and wait for it to get approved; after that, you can purchase the course at a discount. You can get financial aid up to 5 times in a year.
How much does an edX certificate cost?
The pricing of edX certificates varies from course to course. The pricing range of these certificates is $50 to $300.
Can I use an edX certificate to get a job?
An edX certificate is a good way to get recognized, and they add value to your resume. But you can not get a job based on an edX certificate alone.