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What is the best way to price Your Online Course (with Calculator) --

Aug 11, 2022

You've done all the hard work of developing your online course. But now you're ready to price the online courses that you've developed.

Picking the right price can be difficult. It'll depend on numerous factors, such as the extent to which you offer your products on a marketplace or through your website and whether you're selling at your own pace or a live course with a duration of several weeks and many more variables.

There is however an accepted method of how to price your online course, which we'll discuss in this post.

In addition, we'll provide a free calculator to help you determine the best cost for the product you need.

Find links quickly to things we'll cover:

Price factors for an Online Course

1. Location where it's being hosted

There are many sites where you can run your online courses and each platforms has different rates you need to consider including as part of your costs.

It is possible to host your course in a marketplace, such as Udemy or an online course creator that lets you host an online course on your own site.

When you are hosting on a marketplace, you may receive a 50% commission on all your revenue. Additionally, you are subject to their Conditions of Service, promotional occasions, and much more. You won't have full control over pricing your course and you won't own your data regarding marketing. The reason is that most online course creators prefer self-hosting their course on their own site.

You could create an online course and host it on your site. There is the Free Forever plan that only charges a 5% transaction fee per sale. The customer's information will remain yours, set your own price for your course and your website will be an asset that you control. By using as your site host, you have the flexibility to offer any price you like for an online course. You also do not have to compete in price battles with other instructors in the same market.

Furthermore, the company offers other products and services, including options for:

  • Bundle online course bundles with electronic downloads (e.g. ebooks, printables, etc)
  • You can upload your lessons in various formats, including videos, quizzes, texts assignment, surveys embedded files, downloads or quizzes
  • Sell your online courses with 's variety of Marketing tools including affiliate programs Coupon codes, coupons and more
  • Create drip content that will release specific sections of the online course an established rate
  • Offer your students a variety of payment options , including one-time fees, payment plans, subscriptions and much more.
  • Offer customizable certificates of accomplishment

2. Live vs. Anytime

Pricing your online course also depends on whether or not it is live-streamed or whether you can do the course any time in your preferred speed.

A live course requires an instructor to be present and is often done during weekly classes. It's a great way to engage with students since students interact with them live in real time. This can also mean that you need spend more time and money to teaching, and you must take this into consideration when pricing your courses. These types of courses are priced more expensively in the $1,000+ range.

You can also make drip lessons available the option of controlling the speed of your lessons. Drop lessons permit you to guide your students in a planned method, and allow you to let courses go out at a predetermined time. Your students will remain motivated and interested as they be able to have a reason for coming back to your course.

A course online that is able to start and be completed at any time generally will be less expensive but it is likely to be able to accommodate a higher volume of students. It isn't a problem to scale since your online course is able to be bought by an unlimitable number of students. Classes that be completed at your own speed might be priced anywhere between $10 and $500 dependent on the subject matter of the course.

3. Popularity of Topic

4. Benefits of Your Course

What qualifies you as an expert in teaching online courses? If you've been working in your industry for a decade, the price of your courses will reflect this. If you co-create courses in conjunction with professionals, the possibility of you working on a project could also boost the value of your course.

In addition, if you're able to help grade assignments, provide questions, and so on, the course will also provide more value. Consider how much effort goes into the course beyond creating it but once enrollment starts as well, so that you can determine the cost based on the amount of time and energy.

5. Competition

Find out about your competitors in your niche. It is not recommended to set prices solely on what your competitors are offering. Instead, you should focus on value-based pricing.

That said, it's important for you to understand the scarcity of knowledge in your field. If you're in the market for a shortage of professionals in your area then you'll likely be able to price the online course more.

If you're competing in a highly competitive marketplace, remember that you can still tailor your courses to specific niches, for instance, certain regions of the globe, certain languages, specific demographic and so on.

What Is the Average Cost of An Online Course?

The price of an online course ranges between $100-$5,000.

100 dollars is common in online marketplaces for courses like Udemy, Skillshare, and others. The higher end of the scale is usually the course price for topics that help people start their careers.

You might find an online course for $5,000 that will teach your web development, marketing, or other topic in which you can earn cash. In addition, a typical five-figure course includes assignments, certifications along with an instructor who is live. Therefore, the value that is perceived by the $5,000 cost is a lot higher than what you'd find on the marketplaces for course.

How do You Price An Online Course

As we already learned the cost of your online course is based on a variety of factors. If you're targeting a new market or are hoping to gain more customers, the sales you generate from your course will vary. If you're looking for some guidance on how to price your course to your target audience, test the no-cost online calculator of course prices that we've put together below to help you know a clear example of what you can charge for your course as well as the amount of sales you could generate using that amount.

Online Course Pricing Calculator

Course Income Scope             $    
Estimated Cost of Course Creation             $    
Your Audience Size
Estimated Conversion Rate (%)
Suggested Course Pricing

$ 0.00

High-end vs. Affordable

If it's time to market your class, the price point matter. Are you more inclined to sell at a premium price at the risk of fewer students, or a lower cost with greater number of students? Which one is more in the long run? Is there an option that will benefit the bottom line?

Those looking to sell at higher prices may include additional materials, including electronic books, downloads or access to a private Facebook group, to demonstrate that the course is worth the extra priced course.

If you're charging an affordable cost, you'll require many students to ensure your class succeeds. This means you'll need find a way to attract people and students naturally to your class. If you're aware of a way to promote your course at no cost, this price point might be the right one for you.

Consider your goals for revenue prior to setting the price for the online courses. Take into consideration the value you provide to the table, how much you would like to earn in total sales and the price of the course you produce, as well as the price you are comfortable with charging. Creators who know how to promote themselves are in a position to market their product efficiently and offer premium pricing.

4 Tips for Pricing Strategy

1. One-time Fee

The one-time payment is a common pricing strategy for your first online class. If students are willing to pay one-time you'll likely have a lower total cost because it's affordable. Therefore, your tuition could be just a couple hundred dollars or so.

A premium price doesn't make sense for a one-time fee as it can be a lot to charge your credit card. You should therefore consider the highest cost for a single-time charge of around $1000. Typically, for this price bracket, you'll be able to earn income passively, meaning it won't be an instruction live course. Therefore, it's possible to get a number of students taking your online course regularly.

2. Payment Plans

A payment plan is an excellent alternative to price your course if it's at the top of the spectrum ($1,000or more). Credit cards usually have limits therefore if a cost for a course is higher than the limits of a credit card, a payment plan can assist in breaking it down into smaller chunks.

Often, those who charge payments for their online course are able to charge a fee for dividing the cost into multiple installments in order to inconvenience instructors, because the majority of people would prefer to pay a one-time fee.

If you are charging for your online course, consider a payment plan if you charge a higher price to accommodate more people.

3. Subscriptions

The subscription model is typically employed in online course marketplaces. For instance, say you've developed a number of online courses , but you'd prefer charging a monthly payment in order to allow others to gain access to all your courses instead of charging per individual course. In this case, you could choose a subscription-based approach in this instance.

If the cost of your program is built on subscription models, students are likely to pay monthly plan. However, you can also offer a year-long payment if you prefer to pay a lump sum for a period of time.

The typical subscription model will have a lower cost However, if you package it over a period of time, you could charge a higher cost with a small discount. People will be delighted because they'll have access to every piece of content you have which means you don't need to think about marketing individual courses. Your price will include the entire online education available on your website, so you'll be able to increase course sales in general.

4. Free

The possibility of creating your own free course, if you're trying to sell something different and then make use of it to increase visitors to your site. The potential buyers will be thrilled by it because they won't need to pay for it so you'll get more students. Additionally, the value of your course is higher because there's nothing to pay for it, so there's less risk for the user.

Although course development can take long however, using it as marketing strategies is commonplace, so it could help with your conversion rate.

Fortunately, allows you to price your online course using any of the above methods. So whether you're selling an inexpensive course to get more potential customers or using the subscription model for several courses, you could earn a substantial sum of money by using one method above. And remember, even courses that are free can attract new students. Thus, make sure to rate your course according to the needs of your audience.

Tips to Increase value of your course

1. Create an Community

Creating a private Facebook group to your students is an excellent way to stay connected with your students and enhance the effectiveness of online classes. Building a community allows the creation of genuine relationships between students so that they are able to help one another grow.

2. Provide Coaching Opportunities in a 1:1 format

Online courses that allow you to take your own pace may not work for everyone. There are times when students have questions that are much easier to be addressed during a live video call. If this is the case, you might consider giving coaching sessions on a 1:1 basis to your students.

3. Bundle of Downloadables and Bundle

4. Offer Certification of Successful Completion

A Certificate of Completion is a great option to present the students with a strong feeling of achievement. A certificate of completion can be a great way to encourage students to dedicate the necessary hours and work required to complete the entire course.

 FAQ

How do you price the cost of an online course?

This calculator is completely free that you could use for pricing your online courses, as there are many aspects to consider when formulating the perfect price.

How much does it cost to promote the online courses?

There is a need to incorporate marketing costs into your cost of the course. If you already have an audience, you can make use of your own image and followers to market your course without cost. If this is your first course it is possible to spend thousands of dollars in promoting through social media, advertisements facebook groups, and more.

What platform is best for online course sales?