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

Aug 11, 2022

It's been a long, laborious work in designing your own online course. Now it's time to start pricing online courses you've created.

The right price for your business can be a challenging task. The exact price will depend on a variety of factors including the type of product you're selling on marketplace or through your website or if it's go-at-your-own-speed or a live-course that runs several weeks, and many other variables.

But, there's the standard procedure for how to price your online courses, and this is something we'll discuss in this post.

In addition, we'll provide a free calculator to assist you in determining the most suitable product price for your needs.

Quick find links of the things we'll be covering:

Price factors for an Online Course

1. Where it's hosted

There are many locations where you could run your online courses and each platforms has different rates you need to consider including to your cost.

It is possible to host your course online on a marketplace like Udemy or you can use an online course builder such as a course builder to create an online course on your personal website.

When you are hosting on a marketplace, you may receive a 50% per cent of the revenue. Additionally, you are subject to the platforms' Terms of Service, promotional events, and more. It isn't your sole control over how your course is priced and won't be able to control your marketing data. The reason is that most instructors who create online courses prefer hosting their courses on their own websites.

You can use to create an online course and host it on your personal website. The site offers the Free Forever plan that only charges the transaction fee of 5% per transaction. Your customer's data will be yours to keep you can set your own prices for your course and your website will be an asset that you control. By using as your site host, you can offer any price you prefer for your online course, and you do not have to compete in price wars with instructors on the same platform.

In addition, offers other services as well including features to:

  • Bundle online courses with electronic downloads (e.g. ebooks, printables, etc)
  • You can upload your lessons in various formats like video, quizzes, text, assignments, surveys, downloadables, or embeds
  • Market your online courses using  its variety of marketing tools such as an affiliate program Coupon codes, coupons and much more.
  • Create drip content that will release portions of the online course at a set pace
  • Give your students various payment options from one-time-fee or payment plans, subscriptions and much more.
  • Provide customizable certificates of completion

2. Live vs Anytime

The cost of your online course depends upon whether the course is live or when you're able to complete the course any time and at your own pace.

A live class requires instructors to be present and is often done as regular classes. This is an amazing method of engaging your students because you get to interact with them in real-time. However, this is also a requirement to dedicate way more resources in teaching. You should be aware of this when pricing your courses. The courses of these types could be more expensive in the $1,000+ range.

You can also use drip lessons if you'd like to control the pace of lessons. Drop lessons permit you to instruct your students in a curated way, where you can release courses at a set time. Your students will remain motivated and enthusiastic as they find a solid reason to keep going back to the class.

Online courses that are able to start and be completed at any time is usually priced less but it is likely to be able to accommodate a higher volume of students. There is no issue with scaling as your online course can be bought by an unlimitable amount of students. Classes that go at your own pace might be priced anywhere between $10 and $500 dependent on the subject matter of the class.

3. The popularity of a topic

4. Value of Your Course

What is it that makes you an expert in teaching online courses? If you've been working in your profession for the past decade, your course pricing will reflect this. If you're co-creating courses with experts, the two of you working together on a course could enhance the worth of the course.

Additionally, if you're available to mark assignments, respond questions, etc it will prove to be more valuable. Think about the amount of effort goes into the course, beyond just creating it but once enrollment starts as well and you'll be able to price it based on the time you put in and efforts.

5. Concurrence

Study your competition in the field you are in. We don't recommend setting the price solely on what your competitors are pricing. Instead, you should be focusing on cost-based pricing.

That said, it's important that you understand the dearth of information in your field. If there's a dearth of professionals in your area then you'll likely have the ability to sell your online course higher.

If you're in a highly competitive marketplace keep in mind that you may still tailor your courses specifically to niches. For examples, regions in the world, specific language, specific demographics or demographics, etc.

What is the average cost of an Online Course?

The average cost of an online class ranges from $100-$5,000.

A $100 course price is common in online marketplaces for courses like Udemy, Skillshare, and others. But, the top end of the scale is usually the cost of a course for subjects that can help individuals begin their career.

There is a chance to find a $5,000 course that teaches the basics of marketing, web development, or other topic in which you can earn money. In addition, a typical five-figure course includes the opportunity to earn certificates, assignments along with instructors who live. Therefore, the value that is perceived by this price of $5,000 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 for an online course depends on various variables. If you're attracting a new crowd or hoping to attract many more clients, the amount of profits you earn for your course can vary. If you're in need of an example of how to price your course to your target audience, use the online course pricing calculator, we've created below to help you know an exact example of how is the appropriate price for your course and how much in sales you will generate from that cost.

Online Course Pricing Calculator

Course Income Scope             $    
The estimated cost of course creation             $    
The size of your audience
The Expected Conversion Ratio (%)
Suggested Course Pricing

$ 0.00

The Premium Price vs the Affordable Price

If it's time to market your class, the price point matter. Do you prefer selling at a premium price at the risk of having less students or an affordable price with greater number of students? What price range is of a greater value overall? And is there an alternative that is better for the bottom line?

Those looking to sell at premium prices might include bonus content, such as ebooks, digital downloads, access to a private Facebook group, to demonstrate how valuable the higher priced course.

If you're offering a reasonable cost, you'll require many students to ensure that your course succeeds. Therefore, you'll have to locate a method of attracting people and students naturally to your class. If you're aware of a way to promote your course at no cost the price may be an ideal fit to you.

Make sure you think about your sales goals before pricing the online courses. Take into consideration the value you provide, how much you want to achieve in terms of sales as well as the expense of what you produce, as well as your own personal preferences to charge. People who understand how to sell themselves will be in a position to market their product effectively and will be able to charge high prices.

4 Tips for Pricing Strategy

1. A one-time fee

The one-time payment is a common price strategy when you're starting your initial online course. If people are willing to pay one-time you'll likely be able to offer a cheaper total cost because of the affordability. So maybe your course is just a couple hundred dollars or so.

The price of a premium does not make sense as one-time fees since it can be a lot to charge the credit card. You should therefore consider the highest price for a one-time fee being around $1,000. For this cost bracket, you'll be able earn passive income which means it's not a live instruction course. This means that it's possible to get several students attending the online course on a regular basis.

2. Payment Plans

A payment plan is the best option when it comes to price your course if it's at the top of the range ($1,000+). Credit cards typically have limitations which means that if the tuition cost is more than the credit limit for a card the payment plan may help them break it down into chunks.

Most often, instructors who offer payments for their online courses are in a position to charge a fee for dividing the cost into multiple installments to avoid the discomfort of instructors, because many people prefer paying in one lump sum.

When you're charging for online courses think about a payment option when you have a more expensive cost to allow for more students.

3. Subscriptions

Subscription models are typically used to create online courses marketplaces. In the example above, if you've developed a number of online courses but would prefer charging a monthly payment to help others get access to your entire curriculum instead of charging for each course. You could opt for an underlying subscription model in this case.

If the cost of your program is built on an arrangement for subscriptions, customers would pay for it on a monthly subscription. But, you may also set up a monthly charge if you'd like to pay a lump sum for a period of time.

The typical subscription model will come with a reasonable cost, but if you bundle the subscription into a calendar year, you can charge a high price with a slight discount. People will be delighted because they'll get access to every piece of content you have as well as not having to worry about promoting the courses separately. Your price will include all online education through your site, meaning you'll have more courses sales overall.

4. Free

It is possible to develop a free course if you're trying to promote something different and then use it to bring more customers to your website. The potential buyers will be thrilled by the idea because they will not have to buy it. This means that it will attract more people. Plus, the course value is higher because there's nothing to pay for the course, meaning there's less risk for the user.

Although course development can take long however, using it as an effective marketing method is a common practice, which can help increase the conversion rate.

It is a good thing that it allows you to set the price of your online course by using any of the above methods. This means that whether you're selling a low priced course to draw more prospective customers or using the subscription model for many courses, you'll be able to gain a considerable amount of money using any of the methods above. And remember, even courses for free will help to attract new clients. So, set the price accordingly.

Strategies to Enhance the The Value of Your Course

1. Develop A Community

Creating a private Facebook group for your students is a great option to remain connected to them , and to increase the value of your online course. A community-based approach allows you to build genuine interactions with your students, where they can help each other improve their skills.

2. Provide Coaching Opportunities in a 1:1 format

The do-at-your-own-pace online courses might not be suitable for all. Sometimes students have additional questions that are much easier to be addressed during a live video call. In these cases, consider giving coaching sessions on a 1:1 basis to your students.

3. Bundle that includes Downloadables

4. Offer Certification of Completion

An official certificate of completion is a great way to provide the students with a solid feeling of achievement. The awarding of a certificate of completion could give students a boost of motivation to invest the time and effort to complete all of the course.

 FAQ

How can you determine the price of an online program?

We've created a free calculator that you can try out to estimate the cost of your online course, as there are many elements involved in making the best cost.

How much will it cost to market an online class?

It is important to include marketing costs into your course price. If you have a pre-existing crowd, you could use your personal image and followers to market your course without cost. But, if it's your first time offering a course it is possible to spend thousands of dollars in promoting via social media, advertising facebook groups, and many more.

What platform is best for selling online courses?