When it comes to creating an online course, there are a lot of things to take into account – from the design and development process, to marketing and delivery. In this article, we’ll give you a breakdown of how much it typically costs to create an online course. Keep in mind that these prices can vary depending on the scope and complexity of your project. But overall, this will give you a good idea of what you can expect to pay.
Building an online course can be cheap or expensive. It’s really up to you. You can spend a few hundred dollars or even a few thousand. The goal is to create something that has decent quality product but delivers massive value.
The most important aspect of your course is the content that you’re delivering. If you shoot it on an iPhone but it contains super valuable information, that’s way better than shooting it on a DSLR and repeating the obvious.
You can look at your costs in two different ways:
Creating an online course takes way more time than people think. It doesn’t really require much money spent up front.
The first thing you’ll need to consider are the production costs. Chances are you’re probably bootstrapping and you want to do all the filming yourself.
There’s a bunch of things you’ll need:
You don’t want to deliver some dark and dingy video course where it’s difficult to hear what you’re even saying.
Now you don’t need to break the bank to achieve good quality production. A cheap tripod from amazon, an iPhone 12 Pro and high quality mic will get you there.
You can the tripod, mic and lightbox for under $500.
You can also pay for recording software such as loom if you plan on recording from a computer screen.
There are several online course platforms. The one you choose will likely depend on how you plan to monetize your course and how much control you want over the user experience.
Some of the most popular platforms are:
If you want an in-depth comparison of each of these, check out our article on best online course platforms.
These platforms can save you tons of time and money by hosting your videos, processing payments, and delivering your content to students.
The platforms themselves range in price from free to $500/month.
You don’t have to go crazy spending tons of money on these but make sure you take it serious and don’t cheap out. Some of these platforms are better than others.
For example, Udemy is great if you want to get your course in front of as many people as possible. However, they take a large cut of your revenue (50-75%).
On the other hand, platforms like Kajabi give you more control over the design and branding of your course but they’re more expensive ($149/month).
There’s tradeoffs and pros and cons to each platform. However, premium is usually the way to go if you’re selling high ticket courses (which you probably should).
It really all comes down to how you want to build it. You can go the super cheap route by shooting videos on your iPhone and recording screencasts with free software.
Or you can spend a few thousand dollars and get high quality production value.
The most important thing is that you focus on delivering massive value in your course. Some online course platforms can cost a lot of money but if your courses is consistently making you tons of money, then it’s well worth it.