Online Course

How Much Money Do Online Courses Make? (2024)

Pat Walls

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Updated: June 24th, 2024

TL;DR:

Based on our data, online courses can make between $350-$1,000,000 per month.
The average revenue for a successful online course is $83.3K per month.
The highest grossing online course in our records makes over $12,000,000 per year.
Online course owners salaries can vary wildly depending on industry, niche, and size of the business

So you're thinking about starting an online course?

And now you're wondering how much online course owners actually make...

Well, let’s dive in!

Here are example of real online courses and how much money they make - as reported by the founders themselves:

1. Animal Behavior College Inc. ($12M/year)

Steve Appelbaum, founder of Animal Behavior College, came up with the idea when he realized that there was a need for a school to train dog trainers. He combined a distance learning portion with hands-on training in pet stores, offering a unique hybrid model. The school has seen remarkable success, with double-digit growth every year from 2001-2014, and generates around $1 million in revenue per month.

How much money it makes: $12M/year

2. ClickMeeting ($10.8M/year)

ClickMeeting was born out of Simon Grabowski's desire to support small- and medium-sized businesses with modern communication and marketing software. In 1998, he founded GetResponse, a platform for email marketing, which eventually expanded to include a separate tool for webinars and online meetings. ClickMeeting quickly gained traction, particularly in the American market, and has since grown to host over 2.3 million events with 30 million attendees in 2020 alone.

How much money it makes: $10.8M/year

3. Stukent, Inc. ($6M/year)

Stuart Draper, founder and CEO of Stukent, came up with the idea for his digital courseware company after realizing that the current instructional resources for digital marketing were not adequately preparing students for the industry. By combining regularly updated text, guest lectures from industry experts, and a hands-on simulation, Stukent provides students with the real-world experience they need to succeed. Despite facing funding challenges and nearly running out of money, Draper's vision for the future allowed Stukent to thrive and become one of the fastest-growing companies in the US.

How much money it makes: $6M/year

4. Ship 30 for 30 ($2.5M/year)

Dickie started writing online in 2020.

He was writing a newsletter, but after 9 months, he only had around 300 subscribers.

He decided that if people weren’t going to find him, he needed to go to where the people were and double down on it.

The people were on Twitter, so he committed to writing 30 threads in 30 days to grow his account.

That personal writing challenge turned into the foundation of Ship 30 for 30, which started as a Slack accountability group to help people publish consistently.

How much money it makes: $2.5M/year

5. Proofread Anywhere ($2.4M/year)

the most influential resources for me have been "The Four Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferriss, "You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero, and "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. Podcasts like "The Smart Passive Income Online Business and Blogging Podcast" with Pat Flynn and "The Life Coach School" with Brooke Castillo have also provided valuable insights and inspiration.

How much money it makes: $2.4M/year

6. Product Focus ($1.8M/year)

Ian Lunn and his co-founder Andrew Dickenson started Product Focus after seeing a need for high-quality product management training. With their background in product management and marketing, they launched their first public course in 2006 and have since grown to become the European leaders in product management training. They have adapted their business model during the pandemic and continue to provide world-class training online. [Word count: 36 words]

How much money it makes: $1.8M/year

7. EMDR Consulting ($1.8M/year)

EMDR Consulting training, I included the consultation fees in the overall cost, making it a more comprehensive and valuable offering. Marketing: I utilized online platforms such as websites, social media, and email marketing to promote my training events. I also leveraged my reputation and network within the EMDR community to spread the word about my new training organization. Word-of-mouth: As attendees experienced the effectiveness and quality of my training, they shared their positive experiences with their colleagues, which generated further interest and traction for my events. Through these strategies, I was able to establish credibility, attract attendees, and build momentum for EMDR Consulting's training events.

How much money it makes: $1.8M/year

8. Pushtak ($1.8M/year)

Adam Tal, a high school dropout and ex-musician, started an online education business in Israel that offers courses on "money hacking" and "equity hacking" to teach people how to build online businesses and assets. Initially planning to teach marketing to SMBs, Tal realized that by breaking traditional small business marketing rules, he could create something bigger. With over 100,000 subscribers, 7,000 students, and generating over 21,000,000 ILS ($6 million) in revenue, Tal's business has become a movement, empowering individuals to have more freedom in their work.

How much money it makes: $1.8M/year

9. Millennial Money Man ($1.8M/year)

After paying off his own debt and becoming passionate about personal finance, Bobby Hoyt started his blog, Millennial Money Man, to teach millennials how to make more money, save more money, and pay off debt.

After realizing the success of his own Facebook ads for local businesses, Hoyt partnered with Mike Yanda to create the Facebook Side Hustle Course, which teaches others how to run ads for local businesses.

The course had a six-figure launch, leading Hoyt and Yanda to start Laptop Empires, where they help people start and grow online businesses.

How much money it makes: $1.8M/year

10. SI Certs ($1.5M/year)

Gabriel Kramer, a former construction inspector, came up with the idea for SI Certs while studying for certification exams himself. Frustrated with the limited and expensive options for test prep courses, he saw an opportunity to create affordable online courses that would be accessible to aspiring inspectors across the country. With hard work and patience, SI Certs has grown to generate over $60,000 per month in revenue.

How much money it makes: $1.5M/year