Does edX Cost Money?

As we all know, the internet is incredible for online learning platforms, packed with just about anything you could need.

From checking in with your friends to finding the route somewhere, or learning all about even the most niche area of interest, the internet has all the answers you need – and more.

One of the best advantages of the internet is that it offers enormous learning potential to anybody, no matter where they live. This is where edX comes in.

edX is a massive open online course provider or a MOOC for short.

The edX platform has partnered up with some of the leading universities in the world, as well as its leading organizations too, and has created thousands of high-quality online courses to teach you just about any important subject.

No longer does somebody need to travel to these institutions to learn, they can now do it from the comfort of their home.

However, with so many brilliant educational resources available from edX and such leading institutions, you’d assume that edX costs money. So how much does edX cost?

The short answer is that there is no fixed fee for edX. If you’re taking free online courses where you’ll earn professional certificates, complete assignments, and receive grading, then the fees for this verified certificate typically range between $50 and $300 USD.

However, if you’re enrolled in edX’s free audit track, you can complete courses that don’t offer certificates or graded assignments, but at least have no cost. The majority of exX’s courses are free!

There is so much more to learn about the edX platform and its various costs, and we’ve got all the answers in our handy guide below that does edX cost money or not. Read on!

What Is edX?

Before we get more in-depth about the costs associated with different edX courses, it’s worth explaining in more detail what edX actually is – and what it offers you. 

edX is a MOOC provider, which stands for “massive open online course”, meaning that they offer an online learning platform absolutely packed with educational courses for users and learners all over the world to take. 

In order to offer adult learners the very best informational and educational content possible, edX has partnered with the world’s leading industry organizations and universities in order to ensure that the teaching is first-rate. 

For example, when it comes to universities they have self-paced courses from America’s prestigious Harvard University, the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of California, Berkeley, Boston University, and many more.

And in terms of industry-leading organizations? They have courses from none other than Google, Amazon (Amazon Web Services), IBM, and more. 

All in all, there are courses from more than 140 leading universities and organizations, and edX offers more than 3500 courses in over 30 different subject areas.

Whatever skill you want to learn, perhaps to help you enter a new job, there’s likely to be a course on it – and an edX course taught by some of the best and most experienced educators out there.

How Much Does edX Cost?

Naturally, with so much high-quality educational content available, you would expect there to be a fee.

After all, the universities that provide courses to edX require tuition fees themselves, if you were to enroll in them, so surely these individual courses cost something?

The answer is yes and no.

Strictly speaking, the majority of courses on edX’s platform are entirely free to access.

However, where payment enters the picture is typical if you want a verified certificate track, graded assignments, and the chance to work towards a certificate showing off your knowledge.

Using edX For Free

In order to use edX for free, you need to enroll in the “free audit track”. Under this, you won’t receive certificates or get graded assignments, but you will be able to take the courses and improve your knowledge. 

On the audit track, you can access course readings, as well as video lectures from the course. This access is temporary, though.

On top of that, you’re able to take part in the course discussion forums, talking to other learners and allowing you to share your knowledge with them in order to reach a greater understanding of the course content. 

Additionally, if the course has ungraded, practice assignments, then you’ll be able to complete those. If there are these assignments, you’ll also be able to view your progress on them. 

Each of these free courses will expire after the estimated length of the course has passed. After this, all your progress will be lost.

You’re able to upgrade to a paid version of the course once you’ve started it for free, but only if the deadline for upgrading hasn’t passed.

Paying To Use edX Courses

On the other hand, you can pay to take popular edX courses, which will give you a variety of benefits not offered by the free audit track.

These paid courses are largely classified as Boot Camps, Professional Education, and Executive Education courses. They are known as “verified track courses”.

When you pay for a course on edX, you’ll be able to earn a certificate in it.

This is really useful, because if you’re taking the course in order to learn new professional skills that will help you in the working world, then a certificate to prove your experience is going to be essential when showing employers. edX certificates are great for resumés.

On top of that, paid courses will also allow you to complete graded assignments.

These are different from the ungraded, practice assignments that some free versions of courses offer because you’ll be getting more feedback here and better educational content.

It;’s always useful to have graded feedback on your assignments, because it allows you to see where you need to improve, so you can then turn your attention to those gaps in knowledge. 

A paid course gives you full access to all the course content and its materials, even when the course has ended.

With free course enrollment, your access is both limited and temporary, and you’ll lose all your access (and your progress too) when the course access expires. 

The fees for these verified track courses vary depending on the course, but the cost is typically between $50 and $300 US dollars.

Is edX Entirely Online?

One of the best things about edX is that all of its educational content is entirely online. Each course and professional certificate programs and degree programs are 100% online, which allows learners to take these professional education courses like computer science and data science from wherever they are in the world.

You’ll never need to travel to one of the leading universities and academic institutions, saving you plenty of money and time, and instead allowing you to put more of that time into the all-important learning itself.

Is edX Flexible?

Given that edX is 1000% online, you might be wondering whether it’s flexible. In other words, are you able to complete the courses at your own rate?

The answer depends on the type of verified track course you take! If you’re taking the free versions, then there is an expiry date on your access and you’ll need to complete it in that time or lose your progress.

On the other hand, paid courses have no expiry dates, and you’ll be able to fit all your learning at your own pace.

Final Thoughts

The majority of edX’s courses can be accessed for free, but they have limitations. Upgrading to paid courses gives you more material and greater access, as well as a certificate.