edX vs. MasterClass - Complete Comparison

Written by
Janosch Herrmann

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Overview

Description	edX edX is an online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012. They focus on university-level courses, developed in collaboration with their countless university partners (like Harvard and Berkeley University), and other education providers worldwide. From regular online courses to full online degrees, edX has a broad variety of offerings in 30+ categories, taught by academics from the world's best universities.	MasterClass Masterclass is an online learning concept with a unique concept: They work together with celebrities from various fields, letting the celebrities teach an online course about their knowledge. These celebrities include people of the likes of Stephen Curry, George W. Bush, Martin Scorsese and many more incredible well-known people. In total, there are more than 150 classes taught on topics such as arts, business, cooking, sports, and more.
Types of courses	edX MASTERS DEGREE Masters Degree Complete a full Master's degree from one of edX's partner universities $10000 - $100000 USD Full-time study BACHELORS DEGREE Bachelors Degree Complete a full Bachelor's degree from one of edX's university partners $10000 - $50000 USD Full-time study INDIVIDUAL LEARNING Professional certificates Earn a certificate for a career-relevant skill with a course from edX's institutional partners $300 - $1000 USD Self-paced INDIVIDUAL LEARNING XSeries certificates Get in-depth knowledge of a topic with a course created by one of edX's university partners $100 - $1200 USD Self-paced COHORT BASED Executive Education Courses targeted towards educating leaders & executives. $500 - $3000 USD 3–6 weeks PARTIAL BACHELORS MicroBachelors Partial undergraduate programs for specific learning $2000 - $10000 USD Part-time study PARTIAL MASTERS MicroMasters Partial graduate-level programs for specific learning $500 - $5000 USD Part-time study INDIVIDUAL LEARNING edX courses The classic courses that edX offers. They're typically free and come with optional paid certificates. Free 3-5 hours per week	MasterClass No course types available
Subscription plans	edX No subscription plans available	MasterClass PERSONAL Masterclass membership Get access to the full Masterclass course catalog of more than 180 classes. $12 - 25 USD per month
Pros & cons	edX Pros Courses from top universities Wide range of subjects Free courses available Cons Limited interaction with instructors Different offerings can be a bit confusing Paid courses are rather pricey No subscription offering available	MasterClass Pros Learn from world-renowned experts High production value Wide range of topics Cons Lack of deep, in-depth courses No interaction with the instructors

General information

Type	Course Marketplace	Education Company
Number of courses	4000+	180+
Popularity	Popular	Popular
Available categories	Architectural DesignArts & CraftsBusiness Analytics & IntelligenceCareer DevelopmentComplianceContent MarketingCreativityCryptocurrency & BlockchainDatabase Design & DevelopmentDesign Tools	Arts & CraftsBusiness StrategyCreativityEntrepreneurshipSports
Available languages	EnglishMandarin ChineseHindiSpanishArabicFrenchRussianPortugueseGermanJapanese	English

Evaluation

Full score	8.6 10	8.0 10

Individual scores

Course quality

LowHigh

Course catalog

Less satisfiedVery satisfied

Affordability

More expensiveHigher value

Career value

Low valueHigh value

Customer support

BadGood

Usability

BadGood

Features

Support options	Email Phone Chat Community Knowledge base Learning support Career support	Email Phone Chat Community Knowledge base Learning support Career support
Available apps	Ios Android	Ios Android Roku

Company

Company name	edX Inc.	MasterClass Inc.
Company size	Large	Medium
Founded in	2012	2015
Headquarters	United States 🇺🇸	United States 🇺🇸
Founders	Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology	David Rogier, Aaron Rasmussen
External reviews	App Store 4.77300 reviews Play Store 4.6105000 reviews Trustpilot 2.31304 reviews	App Store 4.9122100 reviews Play Store 4.2209000 reviews Trustpilot 2.0892 reviews

Our opinion

Summary

edX

edX offers a great variety of high-quality courses, which can help you advance your career in almost every industry. We particularly like that a lot of their regular courses are offered for free, and you only have to pay for the certificate (which is optional). The rest of their offering on the other hand is usually a bit pricier, but the quality of the learning materials is still really high. In our eyes, edX is a great learning platform, especially well suited for students looking to take on full online degrees, as well as students looking for digital certifications from well-trusted organizations and institutions, if price isn't their biggest concern. If you're on a budget, you can still take advantage of their large catalog of free courses.

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MasterClass

MasterClass has amongst the highest production quality of all online learning platforms. We like their concept of creating courses with world-renowned experts in their respective fields and combining this with awesome production value. With this high quality bar, it's clear why MasterClass doesn't have the most extensive course catalog. They focus on quality over quantity and offer courses on all kinds of topics, both career-related and recreational. Overall, we recommend MasterClass for students that enjoy watching courses from their favorite athletes, musicians and chefs and that appreciate the amount of effort MasterClass puts into producing these classes. Students looking for courses to advance their career might find a better offering elsewhere.

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