Course Pricing Calculator
Online courses have high upfront creation but 85%+ margins after. Enter course type, creation hours, equipment one-time cost, software per month, marketing per month, editor/outsource one-time cost, yearly students, selling price, platform fee percent and fixed, average coupon discount, and refund rate. Get effective price after coupons and refunds, revenue per sale, yearly revenue, yearly costs, profit, margin, months to recover creation, and 3-year projection.
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Make the next pricing or planning decision with context
Set a price for your business offer that covers the costs in this model and supports the target contribution you need. It covers Price online courses for profit — creation time, equipment, platform fees, discounts, and refunds to see yearly profit and payback period.
Instant calculations · Editable fee assumptions · Export-ready results
Inputs
Values update results instantly. Adjust fee assumptions to match your seller dashboard.
Your figures are saved in this browser on this device.
Product
Type of course product
Creation
Hours to plan, record, edit, and upload
Outsource editing, one-time per course
Setup
Microphone, lighting, camera — one-time
Ongoing
Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi
Ads, email, affiliates per month
Volume
Students per year
Pricing
Listed price per student
Fees
Course platform fee or payment processing
Fixed transaction fee
Marketing
Average discount given via coupons
Retention
Percent of sales refunded
Results
Live estimates based on your inputs and editable fee assumptions.
Listed selling price
$197.00
Public price
Effective price after coupons & refunds
$152.87
Avg collected per sale
Revenue per sale after fees
$144.93
After platform fees
Yearly revenue
$17,391.41
Revenue per sale × students
Yearly running costs
$2,280.00
Software + marketing annually
Yearly profit
$15,111.41
Revenue minus ongoing costs
Profit margin
Excellent86.9%
Yearly profit / revenue
Months to recover creation cost
0.46
Payback period
3-year profit projection
$44,754.22
Yearly profit ×3 minus creation
What this means
List $197 × 80% coupon × 97% after refunds = $152.87 effective. After 5.0%+$0.30 fees = $144.93/sale. ×120 students = $17391/yr rev minus $2280 ongoing = $15111/yr profit 87% margin. Creation $580 recovered in 0.5mo. 3-yr $44754 profit.
Course revenue and costs
Interactive breakdown of fees, costs, and remaining profit.
Distribution
- Creation one-time$580.003.1%
- Software yearly$480.002.5%
- Marketing yearly$1,800.009.5%
- Platform fees yearly$953.235.0%
- Yearly profit$15,111.4179.9%
Total $18,924.64 · 5 segments · interactive
Line-item breakdown
Dollar amounts, share of revenue, and visual proportion.
- Creation hours
- 40
- Equipment cost
- $200.00
- Editor cost
- $300.00
- Software for 2mo creation
- $80.00
- Total creation cost
- $580.00
- Software yearly
- $480.00
- Marketing yearly
- $1,800.00
- Yearly running costs
- $2,280.00
- Selling price list
- $197.00
- Effective after coupons
- $157.60
- Effective after refunds
- $152.87
- Revenue per sale after fees
- $144.93
- Yearly revenue
- $17,391.41
- Yearly profit
- $15,111.41
- Profit margin
- 86.9%
- Months to recover creation
- 0.46
- 3-year profit
- $44,754.22
Assumptions used
- • Creation $580 = equip $200+editor $300+soft 2mo $80
- • Effective $152.87 = $197×80%×97%
- • Rev/sale $144.93 = $152.87×95%−$0.30
Your next best moves
Use your Course Pricing result to make the next decision. These General Business tools follow the same cost and pricing thread.
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Explore General BusinessCourse Pricing Calculator
Generated 9/16/2026, 7:53:06 AM · Currency USD
Inputs
- Course type: full_course
- Course creation hours: 40
- Equipment cost (one-time): 200
- Platform / software cost per month: 40
- Marketing spend per month: 150
- Editor / assistant cost (one-time per course): 300
- Students per year: 120
- Selling price: 197
- Platform fee %: 5
- Platform fixed fee per sale: 0.3
- Average coupon / launch discount %: 20
- Refund rate %: 3
Results
- Creation hours: 40
- Equipment cost: $200.00
- Editor cost: $300.00
- Software for 2mo creation: $80.00
- Total creation cost: $580.00
- Software yearly: $480.00
- Marketing yearly: $1,800.00
- Yearly running costs: $2,280.00
- Selling price list: $197.00
- Effective after coupons: $157.60
- Effective after refunds: $152.87
- Revenue per sale after fees: $144.93
- Yearly revenue: $17,391.41
- Yearly profit: $15,111.41
- Profit margin: 86.9%
- Months to recover creation: 0.46
- 3-year profit: $44,754.22
Interpretation
List $197 × 80% coupon × 97% after refunds = $152.87 effective. After 5.0%+$0.30 fees = $144.93/sale. ×120 students = $17391/yr rev minus $2280 ongoing = $15111/yr profit 87% margin. Creation $580 recovered in 0.5mo. 3-yr $44754 profit.
How it works
Methodology & formulas
This calculator is transparent by design. Review the steps and formulas so you can trust the estimate and adjust assumptions when your dashboard differs.
Calculation steps
- 1Calculate creation cost with equipment plus outsourced editor plus 2 months software during build.
- 2Calculate ongoing yearly costs for platform and marketing.
- 3Apply average coupon discount and refund rate to get effective collected price.
- 4Subtract platform percentage and fixed fees for net per sale.
- 5Multiply by yearly students for yearly revenue and subtract ongoing for yearly profit.
- 6Divide creation cost by monthly profit for payback months.
- 7Project 3-year profit as 3× yearly profit minus one-time creation.
Formulas
- creation = equip + editor + software×2
- ongoingYearly = software×12 + marketing×12
- effective = list×(1-coupon%)×(1-refund%)
- revPerSale = effective×(1-fee%)−feeFixed
- yearlyRev = revPerSale × students
- yearlyProfit = yearlyRev − ongoingYearly
- monthsRecover = creation / (yearlyProfit/12)
- 3yr = yearlyProfit×3 − creation
Important assumptions
- totalCreationCost = equipmentCost + assistantEditorCost + (softwareCostPerMonth × 2 months creation period).
- annualOngoing = softwareCostPerMonth×12 + marketingSpendPerMonth×12.
- effectivePrice = sellingPrice × (1−couponDiscount%) × (1−refundRate%).
- revenuePerSale after fees = effectivePrice×(1−feePct)−feeFixed.
- yearlyRevenue = revenuePerSale × yearlyStudents.
- yearlyProfit = yearlyRevenue − annualOngoing.
- months to recover = totalCreationCost / (yearlyProfit/12).
- 3-year profit = yearlyProfit×3 − totalCreationCost (creation amortized once).
Sources & review
Know what this estimate is built on
This calculator is intentionally platform-agnostic, so it does not attach a platform fee URL.
Official references
No single official fee page is attached here. The model keeps these inputs editable so you can use the terms that apply to your situation.
Use the current terms
This model uses editable planning assumptions. Confirm tax, payment, financing, or operating terms with the relevant provider, official authority, or adviser for your situation.
Defaults are editable estimates. Match them to your current account, provider statement, official authority, lender, or adviser before making a pricing or investment decision.
Calculator model reviewed: August 9, 2026. This date covers the page and calculator guidance, not a guarantee that every live platform rate or term was re-audited on that date.
Worked example
Full course $197 at 120 students per year
Full course $197. Creation: $200 equip + $300 editor + 2×$40 software = $580. Ongoing: $480 software + $1800 marketing = $2280/yr. 120 students/yr. Effective price: $197×(1−0.2)×(1−0.03) = $152.87. After 5%+$0.30: $144.93. Yearly revenue: $17,391. Yearly profit: $15,111. Recover creation in 0.5 months. 3-year: ~$45K. 87% margin after first year.
FAQ
Common questions
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