3.4/5
SmartCustomer rating
8 reviews
Report
Should I Use edX (Harvard CS50)?
Take Harvard's CS50 online through edX and learn computer science and programming fundamentals. Complete graded projects and earn a verified HarvardX certificate.
Depends
DependsTake CS50 — the full course is free to audit and widely respected as the best intro to computer science.
Audit CS50 free — elite intro CS. Skip the paid certificate unless you truly need the credential.
Confidence: Medium
$0
Audit price
Certificate costs extra
Yes
Free tier
Full CS50 content free to audit
2U
Owner since 2021
Founded by MIT and Harvard
Value for money
4
Course free to audit; certificate fees criticized
Ease of use
4
Users cite user-friendly design
Feature depth
4
Graded projects, certificates, business tiers
Security posture
3
Platform CVEs exist; disclosure policy present
Pros
Cons
Gotchas
- highCertificate is the only paid part; Reddit users call its pricing 'scummy' versus free content³
- mediumedX sold to for-profit 2U in 2021; nonprofit-era promises may shift over time⁵
- mediumCustomer-service complaints are aggregated on complaint sites
- lowOpen edX platform has published CVEs — relevant to self-hosters, not casual learners⁷
Best for
- Career-switchers learning CS fundamentals
- Budget learners happy to audit free
- Self-paced students wanting Harvard rigor
- Teams needing structured upskilling
Not for
- Anyone paying only for the certificate — the content is free anyway
- Learners expecting tutoring, mentorship, or job placement help
- Casual learners wanting short weekend courses
- Buyers who need accredited degree credit
Companies that use it
- Dartmouth
- UPV (Universitat Politècnica de València)
- Twilio
- University of Cauca
Pricing
Audit
$0
- All CS50 lectures and problem sets
- No verified certificate
Verified certificate
Paid one-time fee, set per course
- Graded projects
- HarvardX verified certificate
Security
Open edX platform shows published CVEs; edX maintains a responsible-disclosure policy; no major edX.org breach found in sources.
- Open edX platform CVEsCVE trackers list multiple published vulnerabilities in the Open edX platform, including older releases like Ironwood.⁷
- Partner platform data leakEdraak, an Open edX-based learning organization, left a student data leak unaddressed for two months.⁶
- No security page on CS50 site.edu returned no dedicated security page in the scan.
What users say
Users broadly respect the free course quality but frequently criticize paid certificate pricing and mixed support.
“Anyone else think that it's really scummy how edX asks so much money for a certificate, that's available for free very easily?”
“Are edX courses really useful? Is it worth paying so much?”
“Is edX a legit platform?”
Alternatives
Compare edX (Harvard CS50) with each alternative.
CS50 direct from Harvard
Same course, no edX account needed; skip the upsell.
edX (Harvard CS50) vs CS50 direct from HarvardCoursera
Comparable MOOCs and certificates; shop both on price.
edX (Harvard CS50) vs CourseraUdemy
Cheap lifetime-access courses; less rigor, frequent sales.
edX (Harvard CS50) vs UdemyGuess: freeCodeCamp
Entirely free, project-based path to job-ready coding.
Full analysis
Based on 20+ public sources; review snippets were partially truncated, so numeric ratings are sparse.
Sources
- edX Reviews | Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
- edX Reviews - 8 Customers Rate 3.4/5 | SmartCustomersmartcustomer.comreview
- r/cs50: edX certificate pricing backlashreddit.comreview
review
- MIT and Harvard agree to transfer edX to 2Unews.mit.edunews
- Edraak ignored a student data leak for two monthstechcrunch.comsecurity
- Open edX CVEs and vulnerabilitiescvedetails.comsecurity
official
- What does it cost to take a course? - edX Helphelp.edx.orgofficial
- edX reviews | G2g2.comreview
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