Deciding to create an e-learning course is a brilliant idea, but how much does it cost to create an online course? Before embarking on this adventure, it is important to be realistic about the costs involved.
Although some tools such as e-learning platforms facilitate the work, speed up the creation process and minimise costs, there are a series of expenses that you must take into account to make your course profitable. From choosing the platform where you will host your course to the costs of content creation and marketing, you will need to consider everything in order to stay within your budget. And then you’ll find out how much it costs to develop an online course.
Read on to learn about the factors that affect cost, common mistakes, hidden costs, the average cost of an online course and top tips for creating and pricing an online course.
What is involved in creating online courses
Creating an online course involves different phases and stages, each one of them with its associated costs and essential to create a complete and quality training.
- Content planning: one of the first steps in creating an online course is content planning. What topics are you going to cover? What is the level of depth? It is important to know your target audience to find out what their needs are, you can do this with surveys or a focus group.
- Creation and production of the material: once you are clear about the contents you are going to include in the course, it is time to create the material. This may include guides, documents, presentations or videos, so it is likely that you will need to hire writing or video editing services. You will also need to acquire the material and equipment necessary to produce it.
- Course design: the course should be accessible, easy to navigate and attractive. If you use a learning management system, make sure that the materials you upload to the platform have a user-centred design so that learners have a smooth learning experience.
- Choice of platform: choose the tool where you will upload all the material and which learners will use to access the content. You can base your choice on factors such as price or the functionalities offered by these platforms to create virtual courses.
- Marketing and promotion: when your course is ready to be launched, you will have to make it known. You can promote your course with affiliate marketing, advertising on social media, blogs or email marketing among others.
Factors influencing the creation of e-learning courses
Creating a successful e-learning course depends on many variables. From choosing the right e-learning tool to hiring experts. Let’s take a closer look:
The choice of the e-learning platform where the course will be hosted will affect both the user experience and the recurring costs and scalability. The most recommended platforms for creating online courses are those that offer a smooth user experience, with an intuitive interface. In addition, some enterprise e-learning platforms can be customised to fit your organisation’s corporate image. Ideally, they should have SCORM compatibility so that you can add your standardised content, and the possibility of integrating external tools such as human resources software.
Apart from this, other valuable features that, in some cases, may have an additional cost, are assessment tools such as tests and remote supervision of exams. In addition to participation tools such as forums and chats and the possibility of issuing certificates.
Another factor that influences the creation of a course is the production of the content. Usually, different modules are created that include materials in various formats such as video, audio or text. To generate this multimedia content you can rely on the help of professionals such as copywriters, graphic designers or video editors. Or, if you prefer, you can choose to create the content yourself to reduce costs by using artificial intelligence tools to create videos and write texts.
Depending on your choice, the cost will be one or the other. And if you’re still wondering how much it costs to create an online course, we’ll tell you. For example, if you decide to hire professionals, their fees will be around €100 for the creation of an article, up to €500 for editing a video. If you decide to opt for tools such as Tomé for making presentations or Gradscope for creating questionnaires, the prices will be lower, ranging from free versions to €20 per month.
Some aspects that are sometimes not taken into account, at least at the beginning, are the creation of promotional campaigns, which sometimes require the hiring of digital marketing experts, and the costs of having a customer service team to provide support to students and solve problems and doubts.
How to price my online course
One of the decisions you have to make when creating an online course is what to price it at. But, how to price your online course? The price you set will affect the perceived value of the course as well as your profits and the number of enrolments you receive.
Setting these prices can seem confusing and you may not be clear on what the right price for your course should be. To help you make this decision, we recommend that you consider these issues:
- Competitors: research and analyse how much your competitors' courses cost. Having their prices as a reference will help you to understand the market and to price your course competitively.
- The value of the content: the price you set should be in line with what you offer. If your course includes additional resources to those offered by the competition or is on a subject with a high demand, it is justifiable to opt for a higher price.
- Your target audience: take into account what your target audience is and what kind of people your course is aimed at; a course aimed at university students is not the same as a course aimed at professionals looking to acquire new skills.
- The time and cost of production: keep in mind how much it costs to create an online course and the time invested in the creation of the course should also influence the final price. A well-crafted, quality course tends to have a higher price tag, reflecting all the work and effort that goes into it.
Apart from all this, the price of the course may also vary according to the type of course. In this case, how to price your online course? It is very common to find different prices for courses on the same subject, but at different levels.
- Introductory level: these virtual courses are focused on beginners, with basic and general content on the subject, so their price is usually lower.
- Advanced level: intermediate or advanced courses require the student to have some previous knowledge of the subject. They teach more specific skills with more specialised content, so their price is a bit higher.
- Specialised level: they cover very specific niches and are focused on a very specific audience. They offer very specialised and sometimes exclusive content, so these prices are higher.
Prices also tend to vary depending on the demand and exclusivity of the content. If the subject matter of your course is booming and in high demand, such as courses related to artificial intelligence, you can raise prices. If you offer exclusive content or extra services such as access to a mentor, it is also common to set a higher price, justified by this added value.
You’ve probably wondered how much does it cost to build an online course? If you want more information, keep reading!
Hidden costs of doing online courses
We have already mentioned some of the main costs of creating an online course, but what are the other associated costs? The costs of updates and maintenance are often overlooked and often not taken into account, leaving you with an unpleasant surprise when you start to do the maths.
Long-term upgrade costs include updating course content to keep it relevant and up to date, especially in terms of technology and law. This may involve creating new videos, tutorials or exercises.
Maintenance costs are recurring costs, such as the course hosting platform and, in some cases, periodic upgrades to include security or interface improvements. Also, depending on the case, there are transaction fees and commissions that the platform keeps when a new learner subscribes to the course and makes a payment.
Common pitfalls to avoid when pricing online courses
- Underestimating costs: not making good ROI calculations and forecasts can affect the long-term success of the course.
- Focusing only on upfront costs: it is a mistake to focus only on upfront costs without taking into account ongoing and recurring costs, such as maintenance and marketing.
- Forgetting the target audience: don't forget who your course is aimed at when setting prices, not all profiles have the same purchasing power.
- Competing on price alone: if you set a lower price because you want to have more enrolments than the competition, your course may be perceived as low quality training.
- Not evaluating performance: it is important to evaluate the benefits, enrolments and feedback in order to adjust prices and make the course more profitable.
- Setting prices without flexibility: setting a very tight price will not allow you to play with the profit margin when it comes to promotional campaigns and discounts.
Practical examples of how much it costs to create an online course
When estimating and calculating how much it costs to create an online course, you should keep in mind that not all virtual courses and topics are equally complex and do not require the same investment, which directly influences their selling price.
For example, a course on learning how to use artificial intelligence to automate business tasks would be a course aimed at entrepreneurs and professionals who want to incorporate AI tools in their business to optimise processes and improve productivity.
To create such a course, it would first require research and the help of AI experts to advise on the content. Then the content creation could be composed of recorded videos and tutorials on how to use tools such as marketing automation platforms or data analytics systems, which will require video recording and editing services. In addition, if learners are offered licences to use these tools, they will also incur an extra cost.
The creation of courses related to artificial intelligence is booming, it is a complex subject with a high demand, so to create a quality course that provides value, a higher initial investment of between €5,000 and €10,000 will be required.
On the other hand, a course on how to manage conflict and emotions in the workplace may be easier and cheaper to run. You can use tools to create your own content or have the help of an expert, although the materials will probably not require extensive video editing and licensing as it is less practical training. The price range for creating such shorter courses is between €500 and €4,000.
It should be borne in mind that, apart from these initial costs, the courses must be added to the hosting, maintenance and marketing costs, which will also vary depending on the platform chosen and the target audience, ranging from €1,000 to €2,000 per year.
How to get the price of an online course right
To get the price of an online course right, there must be a balance between all the factors we have mentioned, from content production costs to maintenance costs.
Some strategies you can use to determine the right price are:
- Market testing and analysis: conduct price tests through surveys or A/B tests to measure whether your target audience would be willing to pay that price and how the quality of the course is perceived.
- The relationship between perceived value and production cost: take into account the effort, time and money invested in the creation of the course without forgetting the value that you provide and the students perceive. A low price is not always the best strategy if the course is of high quality and you have invested a lot of resources, as it could affect the perception of its value.
- Segment your offer: try offering different types of training, some more basic and some more advanced, with different prices to suit different learner profiles.
- Take feedback into account: be aware of feedback and suggestions about the price: did they think it was too much, would they pay more? This will help you to get an insight into what students think.
Cost-effectiveness and ROI considerations
When we talk about profitability and ROI, we refer to the benefits obtained after covering all expenses. As you will have seen throughout the article, creating an online course involves a series of expenses that you will need to keep track of in order to calculate the return on investment.
To calculate ROI, or return on investment, you can use a simple mathematical formula, or even online course pricing calculator one that considers how much it costs to create an online course and the total revenue:
ROI (%) = [(Total revenues – Total costs) / Total costs] × 100
For example, if you had a total cost of €5,000 to create a course, including initial and recurring costs, and you managed to earn €20,000 from enrolments, your ROI would be as follows:
ROI (%) = [(20.000 – 5.000) / 5.000] × 100
ROI (%) = 300%
The return would be 300% of your investment.
One of the biggest advantages of an online course is its potential to generate recurring revenue once launched. For example, you can create a subscription-based course model, where students pay a monthly fee for access to up-to-date content. You can also offer add-on or complementary courses to your main course at a lower price.
Automating marketing is also a way to keep the wheels turning. Create email marketing campaigns and retargeting strategies to attract new students or reengage former students who have completed a course in the past. As well as offering special discounts on key dates, such as Black Friday or the start of the year to attract more enrolments.