How to Price Your Online Course (with Calculator) How to Price Your Online Course (with Calculator)

Aug 11, 2022

You've done all the laborious work in creating your very own online course, but now is the time to begin pricing online courses that you've developed.

Picking the right price can be a challenging task. There are many variables to consider, such as the extent to which you offer your products on a marketplace or through your own website, whether it's a go-at-your-own-pace or a live course with a duration of several weeks as well as many other factors.

There is however a common practice for the pricing of your online course, which we'll discuss in this post.

In addition, we'll provide an online calculator that can help you determine the best product price for your needs.

Quick find links of things we'll cover:

Factors for Pricing An Online Course

1. Where it's hosted

There are a few places you can create your online course, and each of those platforms has different rates you need to consider including in your expenses.

It's possible to offer your course online through a marketplace such as Udemy or use an online tool for course creation such as a course builder to create an online course on your own site.

When you are hosting on marketplaces, you might be charged around 50% per cent of the revenue. You're also subjected to the platforms' Conditions of Service, promotional events, and more. There is no control over the price of your course 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. There is the Free Forever plan that only costs an amount of 5% per transaction. The customer's information will remain yours you can set your own prices for your class, and your site will become your own asset. With the help of a hosting service, you'll are able to offer any price you want for your online class, and you do not have to compete in price battles with other instructors within the same marketplace.

Furthermore, the company offers other offerings, such as features that include:

  • Bundle online course bundles with electronic downloads (e.g. ebooks, printables, etc)
  • Upload lessons in multiple formats, including video, quizzes, text, assignments, surveys, embeds, or downloads
  • Sell your online courses with  its variety of marketing tools including affiliate programs Coupon codes, coupons and much more.
  • Use drip content to release portions of the online course at an established rate
  • Give your students various payment options , including one-time fees or payment plans, subscriptions, and many more.
  • Create customizable certificates of completion

2. Live vs Anytime

The cost of your online course varies depending upon whether the course is live , or when you're able to complete the course at any time, in your preferred time.

Live courses require the instructor's presence and is often done in sessions that are scheduled for weekly. It's a great way to engage with students since it allows you to communicate directly with them. This is also a requirement spend more time and money to teaching, and you must consider this in the pricing of your courses. Courses like these could be more expensive within the range of $1,000+.

You can also make drip lessons available you want to manage the pace of lessons. Drip lessons allow you to teach your students in an organized manner, and you are able to release courses at a set time. This keeps your students motivated and enthusiastic as they be able to have a reason for coming back to your course.

Online courses that are able to start and be completed at any time is usually priced less however you'll likely be able to handle an increased number of students. You won't struggle with scalability as your online course can be purchased by an unlimited amount of students. The courses that take place at your own rate might be priced anywhere from $1 to $500 dependent on the subject matter of the class.

3. The popularity of a topic

4. Benefits of Your Course

What makes you an expert to teach online courses? If you've been in the field for more than a 10 years, your pricing will reflect this. If you co-create courses together with other experts, the two of you working on a project could also boost the value of your course.

If you're also available to mark assignments, respond questions, etc The course can prove to be more valuable. Consider how much time and effort is required to create the course beyond creating it but once it's in place, so that you can price it based on the time you put in and efforts.

5. Competition

Study your competition in the field you are in. We do not recommend setting the price solely on what your competitors are offering. Instead, focus on value-based pricing.

It's crucial to be aware of the lack of expertise in your field. If you're in the market for a shortage of specialists in your field then you'll likely have the ability to sell the online course more.

If you're competing in a highly competitive market keep in mind that you may adapt your course to specific niches, for example, specific regions of the world, particular language, specific demographics or demographics, etc.

What Is the Average Cost of an Online Course?

The cost for an online course ranges from $100-$5,000.

A $100 course price is standard on course marketplaces online like Udemy, Skillshare, and so on. But, the top end of the scale is usually the cost of a course for subjects that can help individuals begin their careers.

You might find the $5,000 course which teaches your the basics of web development, marketing or other topic in which you can earn income. In addition, a typical $5,000 course will have assignments, certifications as well as a live instructor. This means that the perceived value of that $5,000 price is more than the price you'd see on the marketplaces for course.

How do You Price An Online Course

We've already discussed the price for your online course is based on a variety of aspects. If you're targeting a new market or are hoping to gain new customers, the number of sales you generate for your course can vary. If you're in need of an example of how you can price your course to your target audience, use the online course pricing calculator which we've provided below, to provide you with a clear example of what to charge for your course and what sales will generate from that cost.

Online Course Pricing Calculator

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

$ 0.00

The Premium Price vs the Affordable Price

When it's time to sell your class, the price point are important. Are you more inclined to sell at a high price, but with the risk of having less students, or at a more affordable cost with many students? Which one is a greater value overall? Do you have an alternative that is better for your financial goals?

People who wish to market at higher prices may include additional material, like eBooks and digital downloads, access to a private Facebook group that can help demonstrate the value of the higher priced course.

If you're selling your course at a low price, you'll need many students to ensure your class is profitable. This means you'll need find a way to attract clients and a large number of online students naturally to your class. If you are aware of where you can market your course for free, this price point may be an ideal fit for your course.

Consider your goals for revenue prior to pricing your online course. Think about the value that you can bring and the amount you wish to earn in total sales, the cost of what you produce, as well as the prices you feel good to charge. Creators who know how to promote themselves are successful in marketing their work well and charge premium prices.

Four Tips to Pricing Strategy

1. One-time Fee

The one-time payment is a common pricing strategy for your first online course. If students are willing to only pay once, you'll be able to offer a cheaper total cost due to affordability. So maybe your course is only a few hundred dollars at most.

An extra cost isn't a good idea for a one-time fee as it could be quite a large amount to charge the credit card. Therefore, you should think about the maximum cost for a single-time charge of around $1000. For this cost category, you'll have the ability earn passive income which means it's not an instructor-led course. This means that you'll be able to have a number of students taking your online class regularly.

2. Payment Plans

A payment plan is an excellent alternative pricing your course, especially if it's at the top of the range ($1,000or more). Credit cards typically have limitations and so if a course price goes beyond the limit of someone's credit card, a payment plan can assist in breaking it down into pieces.

In most cases, the companies that charge payment plans for their online courses are in a position to charge a fee for dividing the price into multiple payments for the inconvenience of the creator of the course, as the majority of people would prefer to pay in one lump sum.

If you are charging for your online course you should consider using a payment plan when you have a more expensive cost to allow for more students.

3. Subscriptions

Subscription models are typically utilized for online course marketplaces. In the example above, if you've made a plethora of online courses , but you'd prefer charging a monthly payment for people to gain access to all your courses instead of charging per individual course. You could opt for the subscription model in this case.

If the price of your course is based on a subscription model, people would pay for it on a monthly basis. However, you can also offer a year-long payment if you prefer a lump-sum for several months.

A subscription model will typically be a low price however, if you combine it into a year you could charge a higher cost, but with a discount. Your customers will be happy since they'll get access to all of your content which means you don't need to worry about promoting courses individually. Your price will include everything online on your website, so you can generate more course sales overall.

4. Free

The possibility of creating your own free course, if you're trying to sell something different and then use it to bring more customers to your website. Customers who are interested in it will appreciate it because they won't need to purchase it, so you'll get more students. Plus, the course value will increase since there's nothing to pay for it, so there's less risk for the user.

The process of creating courses can consume a lot of time but using it for a marketing strategy is commonplace, which can help increase your conversion rate.

It is a good thing that it allows you to charge your online course according to any of the above methods. If you're offering an inexpensive course to get more potential students , or charging the subscription model for multiple courses, you can earn a substantial amount of money using any of these methods. Don't forget that even courses that are free can attract new students. Thus, make sure to set the price accordingly.

Tips for Increasing the The Value of Your Course

1. Build A Community

Setting up a private Facebook group for students is a great method to keep in touch with them and increase the value of online classes. The creation of a community can allow students to have genuine conversations between your students where they can help each other develop.

2. Coaches can be coached in one-on-one sessions.

Online courses that allow you to take your own pace may not be appropriate for everyone. Sometimes students have additional issues that can be much more easily to answer during a live video call. In these cases, consider providing coaching sessions in one-on-one with your students.

3. Bundle of Downloadables and Bundle

4. Offer Certification of Successful Completion

A Certificate of Completion is a great method to reward your students with a solid feeling of achievement. The awarding of a certificate of completion could provide extra encouragement for students to dedicate the necessary hours and work required to complete all of the course.

 FAQ

How do you price the cost of an online course?

We've created a free calculator that you could use for pricing your online courses because there are a lot of elements involved in formulating the perfect price.

How much will it cost to promote the online courses?

It is important to include the cost of marketing into your pricing. If you already have an public, you may make use of your own brand and audience to promote your course at no cost. However, if this is your first time offering a course, you may spend a few thousand dollars promoting through social media, advertisements facebook groups, and many more.

What platform is best for selling online courses?