Creator

Online Course Revenue Calculator

Estimate your launch revenue, evergreen income, platform fees, and true hourly rate for your online course — across any platform.

Course Price ($) Your listed price per student

Students per Launch How many students enroll per launch event

Launches per Year Live launches, webinars, or open-cart windows

Monthly Evergreen Sales (students/mo) Ongoing organic / automated funnel sales

Platform Platform fee impacts net income significantly

Platform Monthly Plan Cost ($) e.g. Kajabi ~$149/mo, Teachable ~$39/mo

Email List Size Your total email subscribers

Launch Conversion Rate (%) % of email list that buys during a launch (typical: 1–5%)

Hours Spent Creating Course Total time filming, editing, writing materials

Revenue per Launch

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Annual Launch Revenue

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Evergreen Monthly Revenue

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Annual Platform Fees

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Net Annual Income

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Implied Hourly Rate (Year 1)

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How to Calculate Online Course Revenue

Course income comes from two streams: live launches (open cart windows where you drive urgency) and evergreen sales (automated funnels running year-round). Understanding both is key to projecting total income.

Revenue per Launch = Course Price × Students per Launch
Annual Launch Revenue = Revenue per Launch × Launches per Year
Evergreen Annual Revenue = Monthly Sales × Course Price × 12
Platform Fees = (Gross Revenue × Fee %) + (Per-Sale Fee × Total Students)
Net Annual = Total Gross − Platform Fees − (Plan Cost × 12)
Implied Hourly = Net Annual ÷ Hours to Create

Choosing the Right Platform

Teachable — 5% + $0.10/sale on basic plan. Good for beginners, upgrade to remove fees at $119/mo.
Kajabi — No transaction fees but $149–$399/mo plans. Best for creators doing $5K+/mo who want an all-in-one.
Gumroad — 10% flat. Simple setup, great for first-time creators testing the market.
Udemy — You keep 37% of the sale price when Udemy promotes it (97% if you drive the sale). Huge built-in audience but race-to-bottom pricing.
Self-Hosted (Podia, Thinkific free, WooCommerce) — 0% transaction fees. Best margin at scale.

What price should I charge for my online course?

Price based on the outcome you deliver, not hours of content. A $97 course is impulse-buy territory, $197–$497 is the sweet spot for most skill-based courses, and $997+ requires strong proof, community, or live coaching. Research shows $197 courses often outperform $97 courses in total revenue because you need fewer students and attract more serious buyers. Start at $197 and test upward.

How many students do I need to make $10,000 per launch?

At $197 after a 10% Gumroad fee (~$177 net), you need 57 students. At $497 (~$447 net), you need just 23 students. The real lever is your email list: a list of 2,000 engaged subscribers converting at 3% gives you 60 buyers. Focus on growing a targeted list over growing your price — then raise prices once you have social proof.