How much should you charge for an online course?

Buyers don't pay for hours of video; they pay for a result they can't get from free content — a structured path, your specific method, and the confidence that it works. A focused course that solves one painful problem can be priced well above a sprawling one that 'covers everything', because clarity of outcome is what converts. Your authority matters too: an audience that already trusts you will pay more for the same material than a cold one, which is why course pricing and your content/reputation move together.

Courses usually sell through a platform (Kajabi, Teachable, or similar), and the platform's monthly fee or revenue share changes your real margin — sometimes more than the price itself. On top of that sit the same processing fees as every other payment. A higher sticker price absorbs these better than a low one, where fixed costs eat a painful share. Set your tool costs once in CheckMargin and run a sale through the take-home calculator so the price you pick reflects what actually lands after the platform and the processor take their slice. See the platform-cut guide for how those costs stack up.

Many coaches run a course at a launch price — a time-boxed window with a lower or bonus-loaded offer to drive urgency — then settle to a higher evergreen price for the always-on version. Decide which you're pricing: a launch number optimised for volume and momentum is deliberately different from an evergreen number optimised for steady margin. Tiering (core course vs course-plus-support) lets you serve both budget and premium buyers from the same material without discounting the whole thing.