If you are looking forward to taking an online course from edX, then you might ask, “Is edX legit?” With too many online learning portals available today, it is important to know if you are investing your time and money in the right platform.
edX is a well-known platform for online learning that offers courses, professional certificates, MicroBachelor programs, MicroMaster programs, executive education, and degree programs from trusted institutions and universities.
The programs at edX can help lifelong learners at any level of education grow personally and professionally in their careers.
However, some learners might still be asking, “Is edX legit and safe?” because the courses that edX offers sound too good to be true.
In this blog post, we will learn whether edX is legit or not. And if it is legit, what are the precautions?
What is edX?
edX is an online learning platform that was started by professors at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. edX has helped around 99 million learners around the world with upskilling and learning something new.
They have more than 5,000 courses, 250+ trusted partners, and learners from 190+ countries, making them a top online learning portal. Learners can study online at their own pace through video lectures, quizzes, assignments, and more.
To get started, students can enroll in a free audit course to learn about the course material and syllabus and then decide whether or not to enroll in the course.
After completing the course, students will get an edX certification by completing assignments and some exams.
edX also offers degree courses, MicroBachelors, and MicroMasters programs that focus on career development.
These programs are widely used by students and working professionals who want to upgrade their existing knowledge or are planning to switch careers for better pay and a new job.
Is edX Harvard legit?
Yes, edX is legit. But it is important to understand what that really means. Harvard University is one of the founding partners of edX and offers online courses through edX.
The majority of the courses available on edX are curated and designed by faculty members at Harvard and its academic departments.
These courses are 100% real and offer a university-like learning experience in an online format. However, although the course content is from Harvard, an edX certificate won’t add the same value as a degree from Harvard University.
Still, learners can consider taking online courses from edX to upgrade their existing skills and knowledge.
Here are some additional points that make edX legit to use
1. Website URL is not suspicious
One of the first things that confirms edX is legit is the URL of their website. The official website of edX uses edx.org, which is a clean and professional domain name with the .org extension, indicating that the site is for a good purpose.
Scam or spam websites often create a lookalike website by using extra words, hyphens, or different endings in the domain name to trick users and scam them. However, this is not the case with edX.
If you come across something like edx-course-free.net or similar variations, then it is a fake website.
Before using the official website of edX, double-check its domain name and take time to navigate the website. A proper domain name is a clear indication that the website is legit and safe to use.
Here’s what the official domain name of edX looks like and should look like:
2. HTTPS is enabled
The domain name of edX has HTTPS enabled on their website, which makes them safe and legit to use (https://www.edx.org/).
Having an HTTPS-secured website will always win the trust of users when they browse the site for the first time. A site that has HTTPS means your data, login credentials, and payments are encrypted. You can see a padlock icon in the browser’s address bar, which confirms your site is secure.
Scam or fake sites won’t have HTTPS enabled on their website, which would directly indicate they are not safe to use.
Here’s how a scam site looks without HTTPS.
This is not the case with the edX site.
Since edX is a professional online learning platform run and managed by Harvard and other universities, they have implemented strong security measures to support their credibility.
The presence of HTTPS on their website is a sign that edX operates as a professional and safe platform for online learning and development.
3. Contact information mentioned
Another point that makes edX 100% legit is the contact information on their website. edX has provided a contact us form, chat option, help center, and detailed documentation on their website to help learners clear their doubts related to the course.
In fact, they have also mentioned all the important pages on their website, which include the about us page, idea hub, help center, security, privacy, cookie policy, and more, which makes them 100% safe and legit to use.
The platform also lists partnerships with universities and institutions, which adds to its authenticity.
Scam sites often provide vague or fake contact details, making it hard to reach anyone if issues arise. edX’s structured support system and accessible help resources show it functions as a real, established educational service.
4. Website design is good
Another point that makes edX legit and safe to use is its website design and the overall look and feel of the site. The moment you land on their home page, you will see a clean and simple design layout with courses listed under relevant categories.
For example, they have categories like AI and digital transformation, sustainability, leadership and interpersonal skills, business management and strategy, data science and analysis, education, finance, and investment.
A user can find all the relevant courses under these categories and decide which one to opt for.
Apart from the course categories, you can also find different programs like individual courses, online degrees, certification programs, and executive education.
Now you might be wondering how a website design can determine if edX is legit or not. It’s simple. Any legit business would have a nicely designed website, which helps them gain the trust of customers, especially in the digital age.
A legit business cannot survive without having a neatly designed website.
5. Enough company details available
The next important thing that will help users determine if edX is legit or not is the amount of transparency, honesty, and truthful information mentioned on the website.
Currently, edX has listed all the important pages in the footer of its website. These pages include about us, contact us, help center, security, privacy policy, terms of service, your privacy choices, news, and more.
Having all these pages mentioned on the site gives an indication that the company is running a legitimate business and not a scam website.
If edX were running a scam business, it would not have mentioned all the information about its business with complete transparency.
6. Reviews are good
Another way by which you can know if edX is legit or not by checking online reviews about the platform. You can check reviews on Reddit and other review sites like Truspilot where users share their personal experience about edX.
Although these reviews are not always 100% true, they will surely give you an overview of is edX legit or not.
The edX user reviews on Trustpilot are not that great, with only 1.3 rating out of 5. The majority of the users have expressed their dissatisfaction towards the courses offered by edX, where users have complained about the outdated course syllabus, no certificates offered and a lot more complaints.
However, this does not mean that edX is a scam. They just need to update their course content and work on providing better services.
7. Domain age is good
Yes, the domain age of edX is very good. Their website has been up and running since its foundation in 2012. This level of longevity is a clear indication that edX is a legit business model.
Being active online for many years means they have accumulated significant age in the eyes of search engines like Google and Bing. These search engines consider a website legit if it has a good domain age over time.
Besides, their domain name has the .org extension, which means they are a non-profit organization that is truly working to help people and not just to make money online.
If you compare edX with some of its competitors like Udemy, Skillshare, or Coursera, then you will come to know that competitors of Udemy are for-profit business organizations. Whereas edX is offering courses genuinely to help people learn and grow in their careers.
8. Clear policies
edX has mentioned everything about their business, policies, and terms and conditions on their website, which makes it easy for users to make a purchasing decision.
You can visit their privacy policy page and get to know more about how your personal data, like your email address, phone number, and other information, will be used by the edX team for marketing and advertising purposes. You can also make changes to your cookie preferences as per your needs.
Give cookie consent only to those things that you feel are relevant.
8. LinkedIn profile
If the question “Is edX legit?” is still bothering you, then you must visit the LinkedIn profile page of edX. In fact, you should visit and check all their social media handles and read users’ reviews and comments.
Check the following list and see if they have genuine followers or paid followers with fake profiles.
Check their content publishing pattern and see how much and to what extent they are active on their social media platforms. Generally, a good and active social media profile with decent engagement suggests that the business is legit.
What makes edX legit and safe?
Now that you might have understood whether edX is legit or not, let us now understand: is edX safe to use or not? We will do this by understanding some basic points.
1. Partnership with the university
edX has partnerships with a lot of reputable universities across the globe, like Harvard, Cambridge, Berkeley, MIT, and many more. They have partnered with these universities and others to collaborate with professors and mentors from top universities who can help edX curate the best course material and syllabus for learners.
For example, their course on Artificial Intelligence from MIT Sloan School of Management is a top-selling course on AI and related topics.
After completing this course, learners will get a legit edX certificate from MIT Sloan School of Management. Learners can leverage this certificate either to get their dream job or enhance their existing CV.
Conclusion: edX is safe to use
2. Transparent course information
Another way by which learners can know if edX is safe to use is by checking their course information and details. Any legitimate and safe online course-selling platform would mention all the details of courses explicitly and in a neat and clear format.
For example:
When you open any course on edX, you will get to know about the duration of the course, the syllabus of the course, who the mentor and course instructor are, whether it will be live interactive learning or a self-paced course module, the outcome of the course, and many FAQs will be answered.
Such a high level of transparency in course details makes edX safe to use.
Conclusion: edX is safe to use
3. Verified certificates
The certificates that edX offers after completing the course are 100% legit and verified. A verified certificate from edX is proof to an employer, school, or other institution that you have successfully completed the course along with all the assignments, lectures, readings, and practical tests.
Any learner can leverage a verified certificate to get a job, crack an interview at their dream company, and upgrade their resume.
Although a certificate itself won’t guarantee success, it will surely give you an edge over other candidates in job preference.
Conclusion: edX is safe to use
4. Secure payment gateway
Another way to determine whether edX is safe to use or not is by checking the payment safety standards followed by them. edX is generally safe for payments as it does not collect or store users’ financial data or other personal information.
Payments made via edX are 100% safe and secure as the platform follows standard, legal, and secure procedures to handle transactions for courses from universities.
The following are some other reasons that justify the question: is edX safe to use? edX directs users to a third-party payment processing system, which keeps all the financial data of users safe and secure.
The platform does not store any kind of personal or financial information of users. edX may perform pre-checking of the bank account to make sure enough funds are available in the account.
Conclusion: edX is safe to use
5. Clear refund and honor policies
If you are eligible for a refund, you can automatically get a refund if you unenroll from the course on your dashboard. Refunds will be available up to 14 days after the start of the course or your payment, whichever comes second. However, refunds are not available 6 months after the payment date.
Also, with respect to professional education courses on edX, refunds are available for a period of 2 days after your payment or 2 days after the course starts.
Refunds are not applicable to month-to-month or annual subscription offerings of edX.
Conclusion: edX is safe to use
6. Global learner base
edX has a global learner base with 100 million+ learners as of early this year, making it one of the largest online learning platforms. Learners are from 200+ countries and territories, including high engagement from countries like Kenya, Turkey, and India.
Learners have access to more than 5,000+ online programs, free courses, boot camps, executive education, and fully accredited degrees.
With partnerships with leading universities and institutions such as Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, and companies like Microsoft and IBM, edX is surely a safe and legit platform for online learning and skill development.
Conclusion: edX is safe to use
7. Self-paced learning
edX is a safe online learning platform largely because of its self-paced learning model. Self-paced courses allow learners to study according to their own schedule, reducing pressure, stress, and risks associated with rigid deadlines.
This flexibility helps working professionals and students learn responsibly without sharing unnecessary personal information or engaging in unsafe shortcuts.
Learners can pause, revisit, or repeat lessons, ensuring better understanding and ethical completion of assignments. edX also provides clear course timelines, progress tracking, and verified assessments, allowing users to learn securely at their own pace while maintaining academic integrity and data privacy throughout the learning journey.
Conclusion: edX is safe to use
FAQs on is edX safe and legit to use
Yes, edX is a legitimate and trusted online learning platform founded by top universities and used by millions of learners worldwide.
Yes, edX is safe to use. It follows strong data privacy standards and offers secure payment and learning environments.