How Much Does It Cost To Create An Online Course? Don’t Neglect The Hidden Costs

How much does it cost to create an online course?  You may have established a budget for the project already and then asked for quotes from a few elearning development companies.  In response, you’ll receive several prices that may vary drastically.  And some may be significantly over budget.  So, do you automatically select the company with the lowest price, or do you discover why the prices vary so much?

If you choose the former approach, you’re assuming all the prices are based on producing the same product, that they’ll all meet your expectations, and that the primary difference is the greed of some of the elearning companies.  But in reality, that’s not usually the case.

So why is the cost of elearning so different, and how much does it cost to create an online course?  There are many reasons for the differences that will contribute much more than the greed of some of the companies.  While experience and expertise will be factors, there are many more significant reasons for the differences based on understanding the requirements and the product each company will deliver.  While the request you sent out may seem simple to price to you, many factors affect the cost of elearning.  Knowing what these are will help you better understand the differences in each quote and why they are different.  Not only that, but it will help you prepare your requirements in your request so you reduce the variability and receive quotes that are more likely to deliver the desired product.

So How Much Does It Cost To Create An Online Course?  Factors Affecting The Cost Of Elearning Projects

Many factors affect the pricing of online training projects.  So, someone interested in how much does it cost to create an online course must understand these variables and the hidden cost of elearning.  Since there are many variables, it’s easy to get seduced by low-priced estimates.  However, these can lead to disappointing expectations, surprises, and additional costs later.  So, when comparing prices from companies for your organization’s next training project, it’s critical to understand what aspects affect the price to ensure you’re comparing apples to apples.

1. Expertise and Experience

The expertise and experience of the team members proposed to work on the project will be a factor that affects the quotes for the cost of elearning.  Do the people involved have 20+ years of experience, or do they have 2-3 years?  Hiring an organization with less experience for an elementary course may be fine.  But, as you’ll appreciate below, developing online courses involves a complex array of decisions and factors.  For anything but the most basic of online courses, you’ll find that paying a little more for experience will generate a much better product and most likely save you time and money by the end of the process.

While expertise and experience will be factors, the majority of pricing differences will be due to the factors identified below.

2. Type of Online Training Product

The type of training product is the first factor that impacts how much it costs to develop online training.  Examples include

• Microlearning – Short, targeted learning modules focusing on specific skills or knowledge. Usually 2–10 minutes long and designed for mobile access and just-in-time learning.  Developing microlearning because of the short duration of the training often results in the cost of elearning being in the $1000 – $5000 range.  However, judging by the price per minute of educational content, it’s relatively expensive.
• Webinars – Live sessions usually focused on sharing information or raising awareness. It may include interactive elements like polls or Q&A, and webinars often are available for later viewing.  The cost of developing a professional one-hour webinar is often in the $5000 – $15,000 range.
• Instructor-Led Training (ILT) – Virtual live, scheduled sessions led by a facilitator via video conferencing platforms. Offers real-time interaction, discussions, and feedback—ideal for group learning and collaboration.  The cost to develop a one-hour ILT ranges from $10,000 – $20,000.  This doesn’t include the ongoing instructor costs or the costs of scheduling and setting up the live virtual sessions.
• Self-Paced eLearning – Asynchronous courses that learners can complete anytime, at their own pace. Typically include multimedia, quizzes, and activities housed in a Learning Management System (LMS).  The costs of developing a one-hour course vary significantly from $10,000 to $250,000+ for highly advanced complex learning.

For the remainder of this article, we will focus on self-paced elearning to answer how much it costs to create an online course.  Why?  Because it’s the most common type of online course now used by organizations and has the most variability in pricing.

3. Type And Amount Of Content And Course Length

The length of online courses will affect the cost of elearning.  However, the price will also depend on the type of instructional content needed.  For example, a learner can read basic information much quicker than going through a realistic case study or scenario.  The latter, however, results in increased comprehension and learning and is more interactive and relevant to the learner.  But, it takes longer to complete the course and requires more work to develop.

For example, it takes less time to develop an introductory, one-hour, text-heavy compliance course than it does to produce the same course length for teaching significant changes in behaviour that require the development of realistic scenarios for practicing the new behaviour.  For instance, in a course for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, there would need to be several scenarios created to recognize microaggressions and then practice appropriate responses.

Or if you need training that mimics real-life situations to develop problem-solving or critical thinking skills, such as technical training courses, this requires more complex interactions, more time, and the use of advanced tools to create them.

4. Level Of Interactivity

The level of interactivity of a course also impacts the cost of elearning.  Cost increases as you increase the number of interactive components you include.  But these also increase the learner’s engagement, comprehension, and learning — levels of interactivity range from level 1 to 4.

The level of interactivity required will significantly affect the response to how much does it cost to develop an online course.

5. Authoring Tool Used

Companies create online training using a variety of ‘authoring tools,’ such as Captivate, Articulate Rise, Articulate Storyline and Genially, among many others.  As with most tools, some are more suitable for specific jobs than others.  For instance, if your course involves software simulations, Articulate Storyline is the best tool.  If you have a short course requiring low interactivity and little or no audio, Genially might be a great tool.  Or, if you want to create uncomplicated text-heavy courses, Articulate Rise is a great choice.  But as the price of a repair on a Porsche versus that on a Honda Civic varies, so the cost of elearning varies with the authoring tool used.

So, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples.  Suppose you can find an elearning agency that can use more basic tools for most of the course while creating a few complex interactions in a more advanced tool to include in your course.  In that case, such solutions can provide you with the interactivity you need at a modest cost.  This is one of the reasons why Spark + Co. is one of the top elearning companies in Canada.

6. Production Value

The production value required for your course also impacts the cost of elearning.  Using existing or stock images is an affordable approach.  Or using stock images that are slightly enhanced can create an elevated design and look for a modest cost.  A high production-level course using custom-developed graphics such as illustrations, animations, icons, characters, background, and other on-screen elements will require additional resources.  As will custom and high production-level videos, audio and motion graphics.  So, clearly understanding the production level in your quotes is also essential to compare apples to apples.

Above higher production value, custom developed images, verses user generated images below.

7. Augmented And Virtual Reality

Augmented reality (AR) uses overlays of digital content (text, images, animations) over real-world situations via mobile devices or AR glasses.  This is useful for on-the-job training, equipment use, or maintenance tasks.  In contrast, virtual reality (VR) immerses learners in an entirely virtual 3D environment using headsets.  VR is ideal for practicing physical tasks, simulations, or situational training in a safe, controlled setting within a self-paced elearning module.  Creating these complex training elements requires significant expertise and will elevate the budget needed for your project.

8. Curriculum (Content) Development Required

Is all your content developed and fully production-ready?  Or do you require a modest amount of content development, extensive research, or complete curriculum development?  If so, which companies follow evidence-based procedures like the CRAAP model?  This is a standard evidence-based model for elearning companies in Canada and the USA, and if required, may increase your answer to “How much does it cost to create an online course”?

9. Audience Research + Testing

You should ensure that you include a thorough needs assessment, audience profile, and validation of the demand for your course at the start of the project.  Often, this isn’t a significant cost of elearning, and many course developers automatically include this in their pricing.  However, not doing so can meaningfully impact the relevance of the instructional product developed for your learners.

10. Number Of Review Cycles

Elearning companies offer different numbers of review and feedback cycles.  The most common are three review cycles for developing your instructional product, such as a self-paced elearning course.  However, some companies may only include one or two reviews – while this will reduce the pricing, it is crucial to establish if this is adequate for your expectations and the product quality you desire.

11. Availability Of Your Team/Stakeholders

Each company providing a quote will give you a timeline and usually a Gannt chart for your project.  Often, timelines are tight as organizations have constraints on when they need training launched.  However, one of the most common delays in projects is that client organizations don’t meet their deadlines for providing information or feedback during the project.  If so, you could delay the project completion date or incur additional costs.

12. Human Or AI Narration

If your course includes narration or voice-over content, the choice of human voice actor(s) or artificial intelligence (AI) created will impact the cost of elearning.  The difference between using an AI-generated voice-over versus a human voice actor could result in an additional 10% cost on your overall project.

Initially, AI-generated voice-over was poor and inadequate for most applications.  However, nowadays, it has improved considerably, making it a viable, less costly alternative.  So when determining how much does it cost to develop an online course, ensure you clarify the type, source and quality of any narration.

13. Accessibility

Many elearning agencies create online courses that meet accessibility standards, but not all do.  So, it’s essential to check which potential elearning agencies can offer accessible solutions.  International accessibility standards include WCAG and Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services.  Accessibility is important and shouldn’t increase the cost of elearning by much, but companies not offering accessible solutions may be doing so because of a lack of expertise or knowledge.

14. LMS Integration/Hosting

The technical expertise you require to host and launch your training product can affect the pricing you will receive.  If you don’t have in-house expertise, use a specialized or niche LMS, and require assistance hosting your LMS, this will also increase the cost of elearning.

15. Translation

Do you need versions of your course in more than one language?  Translation costs are one area that can result in wildly different responses to the question, “How Much Does It Cost To Create An Online Course.”  Manual translation of the course content and subsequent re-insertion into the course and its interactions can add a significant cost, potentially 40% or more of the total cost.

Fortunately, AI is starting to help in this regard and is beginning to lower translation costs while still requiring a human review.  However, it still involves the insertion of the translated content into the course using the authoring tool.  This part is more resource-intensive and will add to the cost.  But, again, emerging AI versions of some authoring tools are being developed that will reduce this cost in the future and will make the translation only about 5-10% of the cost of elearning development.  If additional language versions of your course are required, ensure that all the proposals clearly state any requirements.

16. Do You Need E-commerce?

If you plan to sell your course, you must also factor in e-commerce functionality and the additional cost of elearning.  Costs vary depending on the solution you select but can include

• Platform fees (Woocommerce/Shopify)
• Transaction fees for payment processing
• Development costs for integration and any custom features
• Support and maintenance

It is another factor to consider when answering the question, “How much does it cost to create an online course”?

17. Marketing Your Course

Have you considered how people will find and sign up for your course?  You don’t need to consider the marketing aspect if you have a very defined target audience that is mandated to take the course (new employees, for example).  But, if you are trying to sell your course or reach a segment of the general public, you must consider marketing.  Most agencies don’t include marketing costs in their quotes, mainly because most elearning agencies don’t offer this expertise, so this won’t likely be a factor in pricing differences.

To find out more about marketing your course read this article.

18. Exchange Rate – Elearning Companies In Canada

If you’re outside Canada, elearning companies in Canada will likely be very cost-competitive due to the low exchange rate of the Canadian dollar.  Similarly, if you’re a Canadian-based organization, you’ll appreciate that working with a Canadian-based agency won’t entail high exchange rate transactions and that your pricing will be in Canadian dollars.  Either way, confirm the currency of the quote you received.  It could make a 30% difference to the cost of elearning.

19. Out Of Scope Work

The answer to the question “How Much Does It Cost To Create An Online Course?” might change from the start to the end of the project.  Clients’ expectations of what they have agreed to receive may differ from what the elearning company has agreed to produce.  Or you may not articulate all the expectations and requirements of the desired course.  So, requests may emerge for work that is out of scope.  In most cases, this will result in additional costs for the project.  But not necessarily so, depending on how the project costing is structured – see below.

20. Other Types Of Learning That Can Affect The Cost Of Elearning

• Gamified Learning – Using game mechanics—like points, badges, levels, or leaderboards—to make learning more engaging and motivating while reinforcing behaviour or skills will increase development costs
• Video-Based Training – This uses instructional videos, animations, or demonstrations as part of the instruction. Developing interactive video-based training enhances learning and retention.  So, how much does it cost to create an online course using video-based training?  Not surprisingly, you should expect a higher cost for interactive video, which may be a factor in any difference in quotes you receive.
• Social Learning Aspects – The cost of elearning will vary depending on whether you include collaboration with peers via discussion boards, social media, or community forums and the extent of the social learning aspects.
• Resources + Job Aids – Downloadable or online reference tools that support training or performance can form essential parts of the learning process within or outside a course. These usually only incur modest costs.

Pricing Models For Course Development

There are four pricing models for course development.  Three are commonly used by companies producing courses, while a fourth helps address the above issue with out-of-scope work.

Hourly Pricing

Essentially, you embark on a project with an estimated time required for completion and pay an hourly rate based on the actual time.  The advantage of this is that you can direct specific aspects of the work directly, and if changes occur, such as out-of-scope work, you pay based on the hourly rate.  At the same time, this is also the simplest way to structure pricing.  And it might result in a lower cost because the required work is less than anticipated.  However, many clients dislike the downside risk of the cost of elearning spiraling out of control.

Fixed Monthly Retainer

Another option is to establish a fixed monthly retainer.  This has the advantage of knowing the exact monthly cost incurred.  Each month, you establish a set of deliverables to complete.  However, as with hourly pricing, the downside risk for clients is that the project may take far longer and become more costly than anticipated.

Fixed Price To Fixed Scope

At the outset, you define what is and isn’t included in the course development project, which is scoped out clearly with the price.  The advantage of this approach is that the client knows the exact cost of the project.  The elearning developer produces the course based on the contractual agreement.  However, if there are unforeseen challenges or changes to the scope to improve the outcome, these may not be accommodated in the project.

Fixed Price To Mutually Agreed Adjustable Scope

In this structure, you fix the price to the scope, similar to the Fixed Price to Fixed Scope project described above.  So, it has the advantage of a fixed price for the client.  However, this approach acknowledges there are many variables, and the best way to achieve these isn’t usually determined until partway through a project.  So, you agree on a scope and work plan with deliverables at the start of the project.  However, unlike the Fixed Price To Fixed Scope, if it makes more sense to alter the specific items for an improved product, then changes can be mutually agreed upon between the client and the elearning project manager.  You stay within the fixed price by suggesting trade-offs as issues arise.  These trade-offs will result in completing high-priority items, even if added later, while the scope is adjusted to remove or reduce lower-priority items.  An example could be reducing what was intended to be a 60 minute course to 40 minutes while increasing the interactivity of the course.  Or the opposite – increasing the length but reducing the number of interactive elements to stay within the budget.

This approach combines the advantages of the Fixed Price to Fixed Scope pricing model and the hourly or fixed monthly retainer approaches while maintaining a fixed price for the client.  At Spark + Co., most of our projects are structured this way so the cost of elearning is fixed, while the outcome provides the maximum benefit to the learner and your organization.

Strategies to Keep Costs Manageable

As you are now well aware, answering the question “How Much Does It Cost To Develop An Online Course?” needs to take into account a large number of factors.  You may not fully know some of these at the start of the project, which could result in significant cost implications.

However, you can use several strategies to help keep costs manageable during the project, including

• Prioritizing essential features – Instead of having a long list of features, prioritize the essential features and then move the remainder to a nice-to-have list.  This clarifies what is important and ensures that these items are addressed and aren’t compromised.  Leaving out a few of the ‘nice to haves’ will allow you flexibility when unforeseen things come up
• Repurposing existing content – Use the content you have already created and modify it instead of creating custom content.
• Agile or phased rollout – Where possible, develop the course and roll it out in phases.  It allows experience developing the earlier stages to inform later phases.
• Partnering with experienced companies –  They can advise on cost trade-offs allows you to enter into a Fixed Price To Mutually Adjustable Scope project.  Using the experience of the elearning partner can allow you to have security on price and produce the best product that meets your needs and expectations
• Think strategically about value, not just cost –Focus less on cost and more on the impact on the learner and how it will achieve your objectives.  The lowest-priced product may not be the best for your organization.
• Discounts for multiple modules – Ask about discounts if you contract multiple modules to the same company.  There should be savings in branding and visual design, at least.
• Repurposing media assets – You can use assets created in the development of your course in other areas of your business, maybe in marketing, as job aids, or other instructional products.
• Stock images with some customization – You can have custom images and graphics developed for all your media, but that comes at a price.  Instead, consider using customized stock images – or have a core media element custom developed instead of having everything custom designed.  It’ll reduce the cost of elearning, but no one will notice.
• Consider AI voice narration – The quality of AI-generated narration has improved significantly and may surprise you.

Final Thoughts On How Much Does It Cost To Create An Online Course

So we’ve covered 20 factors that will affect the answer to “How Much Does It Cost To Create An Online Course.”  And we’ve provided you with info on various pricing structures to consider and several strategies to keep the cost of elearning manageable.  While there are many factors, now you know how to create a project brief to receive quotes much more likely to meet your expectations.

An Invitation to Collaborate

As one of the first elearning companies in Canada and North America at Spark + Co., we have decades of experience designing online instructional products for organizations that want to change behaviours and/or enhance an organization’s performance.  You can find more information on our website or book a complimentary consultation.  During this 30-minute conversation, one of our expert instructional designers will answer your questions and suggest how to tackle your current challenge or next project.  There’s no obligation, but it allows you an opportunity to check us out and get some free advice.

 

FAQs: How Much Does It Cost to Create an Online Course?

1. How Much Does It Cost to Create an Online Course?

• Microlearning ranges from $1000 – $5000 range
• Webinars range from $5000 to $15,000.
• Instructor-led training (ILT) ranges from $10,000 – $20,000.
• Self-paced elearning ranges from $10,000 to $250,000+ for highly advanced complex learning.

2. How Much Does It Cost To Develop An Online Course – Why do quotes vary so much?
Quotes can vary because they often include different scopes, tools, and production levels. One quote may consist of only basic design and minimal interactivity, while another might cover full curriculum development, complex interactions, or high-end media.  It’s rarely just about hourly rates—it’s about what’s actually delivered.

3. What’s the typical price range for a self-paced elearning course?
Prices can range from $10,000 to over $250,000 per hour of elearning, depending on complexity, interactivity, media, and amount of curriculum development.

4. What hidden costs of elearning should I watch out for?
Some commonly overlooked costs include:

• Content or curriculum development
• High-quality voice-over (especially human narration)
• # of review cycles
• LMS integration and support
• Translation and localization
• Delays due to slow stakeholder feedback
• Marketing and e-commerce setup

5. Does the authoring tool impact the cost of elearning?
Yes. Tools like Articulate Rise are more cost-effective for simple courses, while Storyline is better for complex interactions—but more expensive.  Some agencies (like Spark + Co.) mix tools strategically to control costs without sacrificing quality.

6. How does the interactivity level affect the cost of elearning?
The more interactive a course (e.g., simulations, branching scenarios, gamification), the more time and expertise it takes to build—leading to a higher cost of elearning. But it can also significantly improve learner engagement and results.

7. What’s the difference between human and AI voice-overs, and how do they impact cost?

Human narration is typically more engaging and natural but adds cost and time. AI voice-overs have improved significantly and are more affordable, often saving 40% or more on narration costs.

8. What pricing models are available for elearning development?

Common models include:

• Hourly pricing – Pay for time spent
• Monthly retainers – Ongoing support for evolving needs
• Fixed price to fixed scope – Clear deliverables and costs
• Fixed price to adjustable scope – Fixed budget with flexibility to adapt scope (a Spark + Co. specialty)

9. Can I reduce the cost of elearning by using existing content?
Absolutely. Repurposing existing materials (like PowerPoints, manuals, or videos) can significantly lower costs.

10. How can I keep my online course project on budget?
Use strategies like:

• Prioritizing must-have features
• Phased rollouts
• Using stock imagery with light customization
• Choosing AI narration
• Partnering with experienced vendors who offer flexible pricing structures

11. Will making my course accessible increase the cost?
It shouldn’t—if your development partner knows how to do it properly. Accessibility should be built from the start and aligned with standards like WCAG.

12. Why consider a Canadian elearning company like Spark + Co.?
You’ll benefit from a favourable exchange rate if you’re outside Canada. If you’re Canadian, you’ll appreciate the cost predictability and alignment with local standards.