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EDX

edX

University courses from MIT, Harvard, and 200+ institutions, with free audit access

edX offers some of the most rigorous, university-grade course content available online, with genuinely free audit access to almost everything.

Overall score
8.9
out of 10
Price
Free to audit · certificates from $50
Free plan
Yes
Courses
4,000+ courses and programs
Languages
Subtitles in multiple languages, mostly English instruction
Certificates
Yes
Offline access
No
Course Catalog88%

edX's catalog leans academic and rigorous, sourced from 200+ universities including MIT and Harvard, particularly strong in programming, data science, and business.

Teaching Quality90%

Teaching quality is excellent given the university-level instructors, closely mirroring on-campus course rigor.

Platform UX82%

The platform is functional but less polished than newer competitors, and some courses run on fixed academic schedules rather than self-paced.

Pros
Courses from MIT, Harvard, and other top universities
Full course content free to audit, no paywall for learning itself
MicroMasters and professional certificate programs
High academic rigor
Cons
No offline mobile downloads
Interface feels dated compared to newer platforms
Some courses have rigid start/end dates
What’s included
University-grade course content
Free audit mode
MicroMasters programs
Verified certificates
Credit-eligible courses
Executive education programs
Pricing

Nearly all course content can be audited completely free — you only pay if you want a verified certificate, typically $50-300.

Certificates

Verified certificates and MicroMasters credentials are respected, and some course credit can even transfer toward a full degree.

Mobile App

A mobile app exists for browsing and video playback, but it lacks full offline download support.

Popular courses on edX
4.968,000 ratings
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Harvard's famous introductory computer science course.

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Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python (MIT)

MIT's foundational programming course using Python.

4.715,000 ratings
MicroMasters in Data Science

Graduate-level data science program from UC San Diego.

4.69,800 ratings
Marketing Analytics

Data-driven marketing decision-making, from the University of Illinois.

Frequently asked questions
Yes, almost all course content can be audited for free; only certificates require payment.