edX

edX brings Ivy League rigor to your screen, founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012, with courses from 160+ institutions including Berkeley and the Sorbonne. Its MicroMasters programs let you complete half a master’s degree online—a 50% time savings versus on-campus study—before transferring credits. After the 2021 acquisition by 2U for $800 million, free audits remain available but are harder to find; paid certificates average $50-300. For computer science and business, edX consistently ranks higher than #5 Udemy in academic credibility, though it lacks Udemy’s permanent ownership model.