Pricing a course can feel like standing in front of three doors without knowing what’s behind any of them. One number feels too ambitious, another feels too small, and the middle one is safe but uncertain. You know the material is valuable, yet choosing a price invites questions that are uncomfortable to answer:
Am I charging too much?
Am I selling myself short?
Will people take it seriously at this price?
Many creators stay here longer than they expect. Not because the course is incomplete, but because the decision feels final. A price becomes a statement about value, confidence, and the type of student you want to attract. When that weight sits on your shoulders, it becomes easy to default to a low number and hope for the best.
Here you’ll find a way to price that feels grounded, repeatable, and fair.
Key takeaways:
- Why low prices often attract less committed students
- Three proven pricing models for online courses
- How to reverse-engineer your ideal price point
- The psychology behind anchor pricing and dynamic pricing
- Simple ways to boost course value without cutting your price
Tip: Before getting started, is your course description ready to attract the right students? Read our guide to writing course descriptions to learn more.
Why most course creators undercharge
Many course creators set their price lower than it should be. This doesn’t usually happen because the course lacks value, but because pricing feels uncertain and difficult to justify. When there’s doubt, people choose a number that feels safe rather than one that reflects the outcome their course delivers.
These are 3 of the main reasons courses end up undervalued:
The “imposter syndrome” tax
Self doubt plays a major role in pricing decisions. When you’re close to your material, it is easy to underestimate its value.
Creators often ask what they would personally pay, instead of what a motivated student could gain, which results in pricing that protects comfort instead of revenue.
A more helpful question is what result the student will achieve if they complete the program. Pricing should reflect transformation and usefulness, not internal hesitation.
The myth that low price = high volume
Lower prices don’t consistently lead to more sales or more engaged students. In fact, engagement is often lower in inexpensive and free learning environments. Research on large scale online courses shows median completion near 12%.
Other reviews place free or low priced programs in the 5-15% completion range.
When students pay, their likelihood of following through increases. One study found that paid participants showed 8-9% higher engagement, and a sunk cost effect raised this even further to 17-20% percent.
Price signals perceived value
Price influences how potential buyers interpret quality. A course priced very low can be perceived as light or introductory, even if it contains strong material. Higher prices suggest depth, structure, and outcome driven content.
Cohort-based study data shows that paying students complete assignments at a higher rate than participants who received free access.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean high prices guarantee engagement. It means pricing affects expectations and seriousness of intent, which plays a measurable role in completion and results.
Once you understand why underpricing happens, you can choose numbers with intention rather than fear. The next step is deciding how you want to charge for your course, because structure influences revenue just as much as the number itself.
3 common course pricing models
Before deciding how much to charge, you need to decide how you’ll charge. Your pricing model shapes how students perceive your course, how you collect revenue, and how predictable your income will be.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but most online courses fall into one of three pricing models: one-time payment, payment plans, or subscription.
One-time payment (the standard)
This is the most straightforward model: students pay once and get full access to the course. It’s a clean transaction and works well for courses priced under $500.
| Why it works | When to use it |
| Simple buying decision with no ongoing commitment | Your course is self paced or has a clear end point |
| Immediate cash flow on day one | You’re targeting buyers with smaller budgets or faster decisions |
| Minimal tech and support overhead | You don’t plan to update the course often |
If you’re pricing under $500, this model keeps things simple for both you and your students.
Payment plans (the accessibility option)
As your course price climbs above $500, hesitancy increases. That’s where payment plans can help move potential students closer to a purchase. They lower the barrier to entry without lowering your price.
| How to structure it | When to use it |
| Break the total into 5-6 monthly payments | Your course delivers long term value or a clear transformation |
| Price the plan about 15-20% higher than the one time payment | You’re selling to students who need more financial flexibility |
| Keep billing simple and automated to prevent manual follow up | You’re comfortable with delayed revenue if it increases conversions |
This slight markup accounts for the increased risk (failed payments, refunds) and encourages students to pay in full if they can.
Example: If your course costs $1,000 as a one-time payment, offer a 3-month plan at $390/month. That totals $1,170, giving you a buffer and a built-in incentive for upfront payment.
Just make sure your tech stack can handle recurring billing and failed payment follow-ups.
Subscription / membership (recurring)
This model works best when your content is ongoing or community-driven. Instead of paying once, students subscribe monthly or annually for access.
| Why it’s harder to sell upfront | When to use it |
| Buyers hesitate if there isn’t a clear end result or milestone | You offer live coaching, office hours, or active community access |
| Members expect ongoing value rather than a one time delivery | Your content updates regularly with new lessons, templates, or sessions |
| Retention matters as much as acquisition | You want long term relationships instead of single purchase interactions |
If you get it right, it builds stable, recurring revenue and increases customer lifetime value (LTV).
Example: A $49/month membership for freelance designers that includes monthly workshops, templates, and a private Slack group. If 200 people stay subscribed for 6 months, that’s nearly $60,000 in recurring revenue.
The key challenge here is churn. You’ll need to track retention metrics and keep delivering value each month to keep members engaged.
Choosing your pricing model shapes how your course fits into your business. One-time payments give you quick wins. Payment plans widen your reach. Subscriptions build long-term stability.
After you’ve picked your model, you’re ready to figure out how much to charge.
How to determine your price point step-by-step
Choosing a price is easier when you follow a clear framework instead of relying on instinct. A structured approach helps you understand what your course is worth, how it fits into the market, and what it needs to earn to support your business goals.
Reverse engineer your revenue goal
Start with your income target, not the price. This flips the usual thinking and helps you price based on what you need to earn, not what others are charging.
Let’s say your goal is to make $10,000 from your course launch. You can hit that in different ways:
- Sell 200 courses at $50
- Sell 100 courses at $100
- Sell 20 courses at $500
- Sell 10 courses at $1,000
Each path requires a different type of marketing effort. Lower-priced courses usually need more volume and broader reach. Higher-priced courses need stronger positioning, more trust, and often more support (like coaching or community access).
This math gives you a framework. If you have a small but engaged email list, a $500 course might make more sense than trying to sell hundreds at $50.
On the other hand, if you have a large audience and want to keep support minimal, a lower price point could work.
The key is to match your pricing strategy to your business model and audience size, not just your content.
Analyze your competition (but don’t copy them)
Researching competitors helps you find the pricing range for your topic, but it shouldn’t dictate your final number.
Start by identifying 3-5 courses similar in topic, format, and audience. Note their price points, but also look at what they include:
- Are they offering lifetime access or limited-time cohorts?
- Is there coaching, community, or templates included?
- How long is the course, and how deep does it go?
This gives you a baseline. From there, decide your position in the market:
- Budget option (like Walmart): You’re aiming for volume. Your course is shorter, more focused, or stripped down. It’s priced lower, but you’re not offering high-touch support.
- Premium option (like Apple): You’re selling transformation, not just information. You include coaching, feedback, or a community. The price is higher, but so is the perceived value.
For example, if most courses in your niche are $200-$300, and you’re offering personalized support and a results guarantee, pricing at $500-$600 may be justified.
Just don’t copy pricing without context. You don’t know their margins, conversion rates, or refund policies.
The 10x value rule
A good rule of thumb: your course should deliver at least 10 times the value of its price.
This doesn’t mean stuffing it with more content. It means the outcome of the course should be worth 10x what students pay.
If your course is $500, ask yourself: will the student save $5,000 worth of time, make $5,000 more income, or avoid $5,000 in mistakes or stress?
Here’s how that might look:
- A $200 course that helps freelancers raise their rates by $50 per project. If they land just 10 projects, they’ve made $500 more – 2.5x the course price.
- A $1,000 course that teaches consultants how to build a sales funnel. One new client could bring in $5,000–$10,000. That’s a 5-10x return.
If you can’t clearly explain how your course delivers that kind of outcome, it’s time to rethink the offer or adjust the price.
Pricing is a reflection of your strategy, your audience, and the results you promise. When you’ve mapped out your revenue goal, checked the market, and confirmed your course delivers 10x value, you’ll be in a strong position to price with confidence.
Tip: Want to create a thorough, organized course outline in just a few minutes? Try our free course outline generator to save time.
Pricing tiers: the power of “anchor pricing”
Offering a single option can feel like a take-it-or-leave-it deal. That limits your ability to influence how people perceive value.
A 3-tier pricing model changes that. It introduces context, gives your audience a sense of choice, and steers them toward the option you want them to pick.
This strategy works because of a psychological principle called anchoring. People tend to rely heavily on the first piece of information they get (the anchor) when making decisions.
By presenting a high-priced option first, you make the mid-tier offer feel like a better deal, even if it’s still a premium price.
Let’s look at how each tier plays a role in this setup.
Tier 1: The do-it-yourself (base price)
Course content only.
This is your entry-level offer. It gives buyers access to the core course without any extras – no templates, no group support, no coaching. It appeals to budget-conscious learners or those who prefer to go at their own pace.
This tier sets the floor. It’s not where you want most people to land, but it serves a purpose. It makes the higher tiers feel more valuable by comparison. It also removes the “I can’t afford this” objection, giving prospects a way in without discounting your brand.
Example: If your DIY course is $197, it creates a clear contrast when the next option is $497. That $300 difference starts to look like a bargain when you see what’s included.
Tier 2: The core package (target price)
Course + Templates + Group Calls.
This is your sweet spot. It’s the offer you want most people to choose, and you design it to feel like the best value.
It includes the full course, plus add-ons that increase perceived support and speed up implementation, such as templates, group coaching calls, or a private community. These extras don’t add much cost on your end, but do boost the perceived value.
The key is to price this tier so it feels like a deal compared to Tier 3, while offering far more than Tier 1. You’re guiding people to this middle ground by making it the most logical choice.
Example: If Tier 2 is $497 and includes weekly group calls and done-for-you templates, it feels like a steal next to a $997 VIP tier.
Tier 3: The VIP (anchor price)
Course + 1:1 Coaching.
This top-tier offer is intentionally expensive. It includes everything from the lower tiers, plus high-touch support like one-on-one coaching or personalized feedback. It’s not meant for the masses, it’s designed to make Tier 2 look like a no-brainer.
This is the anchor. Its job is to set a high reference point so that when people see the $497 Core Package, it feels affordable by comparison.
Even if only a small percentage of buyers choose this tier, it still serves a purpose. It attracts those who want fast results and personal attention and it makes the mid-tier conversion rate stronger.
Example: A $997 VIP tier with two private coaching sessions makes the $497 Core Package feel like a smart, budget-friendly investment.
When you present three tiers, you give buyers a clear reference point. The anchor price frames the others, and the middle tier becomes the most appealing fit for most students.
The “dynamic pricing” strategy (how to use Deadline Funnel)
Static pricing kills momentum. If your course always costs the same, there’s no reason to act now instead of next week – or never. Dynamic pricing flips that. A price that moves with clear timing gives buyers a real reason to choose now instead of later.
The goal here isn’t pressure or trickery, it’s giving people a reason to act while maintaining the value of your offer. Deadline Funnel handles the timing and automation for you so you don’t have to manage it by hand.
Here is how to put that into practice:
The early bird launch
Start your launch with a limited-time discount. For instance, open the cart at $197 for the first 72 hours, then raise it to $297 for the remainder of the launch.
This does two things:
- Rewards fast decision-makers who already trust you
- Signals price movement, which encourages fence-sitters to commit before the increase
With DeadlineFunnel, you can automate the price change so it happens exactly when you say it will. No need to manually update your sales page or email sequence, just set the deadline, and the tool handles the redirect to the higher price.
This strategy works well for live launches, especially when paired with a webinar or email sequence. You’re giving people a reason to act without discounting the course forever.
The evergreen price increase
Not every course runs on a live launch schedule. If your course is always available, you can still use dynamic pricing by giving each subscriber their own personalized launch window.
How it works:
- A new subscriber joins your list and gets a 3-day window to buy at $197
- After 72 hours, the price automatically increases to $297
- DeadlineFunnel tracks their unique deadline and redirects them based on their behavior
This setup makes your evergreen funnel feel like a live launch. It creates urgency without faking it. And because the deadline is tied to the individual, it doesn’t matter when they join. Each person gets a real, time-sensitive offer.
You can even sync DeadlineFunnel with your email platform to send reminders as the deadline approaches. That way, you’re not just relying on one sales page to do all the work.
Why “fake” urgency hurts your pricing power
If you say the price goes up on Friday and it doesn’t, people notice. And once they realize your deadlines are flexible, they stop taking them seriously.
Fake urgency trains your audience to wait. It also erodes trust, which makes it harder to justify premium pricing later. If your course is worth $297, don’t let people buy it for $197 a week after the deadline just because they emailed you.
With DeadlineFunnel, the deadline is real. Once it passes, the page redirects to the higher price. No exceptions. That consistency builds confidence in your pricing and reinforces the value of your course.
Deadline Funnel gives you a simple way to automate that experience for every student and every offer. Start a free trial and see how much easier selling feels when your price moves on time.
How to increase the value of your course (without lowering the price)
Perceived value matters just as much as the actual content. If your course feels like a better deal than others in the same price range, you’re more likely to convert browsers into buyers without touching your price tag.
One of the most effective ways to do that? Include perks that feel like no-brainer extras.
Add high-value bonuses: templates, swipe files, calculators
People don’t just want knowledge, they want shortcuts. They want tools that save time, reduce guesswork, and help them take action faster. That’s where high-value bonuses can really seal the deal.
Templates are a great starting point. If your course teaches a repeatable process, like writing sales emails, building a pitch deck, or planning a social media calendar, give your students a ready-to-use template.
For example:
- A copywriting course might include a Google Doc with plug-and-play email templates.
- A project management course could offer a Notion or Trello board template preloaded with task lists and timelines.
These aren’t just “nice to have.” They help students get results faster, which increases satisfaction and reduces refund requests.
Swipe files are another powerful bonus. These are curated collections of examples students can reference or adapt. They’re especially useful in marketing, design, and writing courses.
For instance:
- A course on landing page design could include a swipe file of 50 high-converting headlines.
- A branding course might offer a folder of real-world mood boards and brand voice examples.
The key is relevance. Don’t just throw in a random PDF, make sure each swipe file directly supports a lesson or outcome in your course.
Calculators bring a different kind of value: automation. If your course involves numbers like budgeting, pricing, forecasting, or ROI, build a simple calculator in Google Sheets or Excel.
Examples:
- A freelance pricing course could include a rate calculator that factors in expenses, hours, and profit goals.
- A digital ad course might offer a cost-per-click (CPC) calculator based on budget and conversion goals.
These tools save your students from building their own (or worse, guessing), which makes your course feel more complete and practical.
Here’s the real advantage: these bonuses don’t take long to create if you already teach the process. You’re just packaging the outcome in a more usable format.
Offer risk reversal
When buyers know they can request a refund within 30 days, they feel more secure taking the next step. This makes it easier for them to say yes.
Creators who use clear refund policies often see stronger conversions, even if a few students decide not to continue.
The key is to make your policy easy to understand and easy to claim. Avoid hoops like “watch 100% of the course first.” That breaks down trust.
Include community access
People often undervalue how much students want connection. A course community, whether it be on Slack, Facebook, or Circle, can add real perceived value, especially if you’re active in it.
This doesn’t mean you need to answer every question. Just showing up weekly or creating structured threads (like “Feedback Friday” or “Ask Me Anything” posts) can make the group feel alive and useful.
It also gives students a reason to stick around and engage with your course longer, which helps with completion rates and testimonials.
Tip: Check out our guide on how to build a course community to learn how to create a thriving group of students and alumni.
Students value anything that helps them move forward without guesswork. A useful bonus can make progress faster and the course feel more complete. Risk reversal and community access add support on top of that, which strengthens value and builds trust.
Final thoughts
Pricing your course works best when it’s intentional rather than reactive. You’ve now explored why undercharging happens, what pricing models you can use, how to set a number based on real goals, and how to increase perceived value without lowering your price.
With a clear structure, confident positioning, and a price that reflects the transformation you deliver, your course becomes easier to sell and easier for students to commit to.
Frequently asked questions
Should I price my course ending in 7 or 9?
Prices that end in 9 or 7 often convert slightly higher because they feel more approachable than round numbers. The difference is small, so use this if you want to encourage more people to buy, but not as a core pricing strategy. The content, positioning, and value of the course matter far more than the last digit.
When should I raise my prices?
A price increase makes sense when your course improves or demand grows. If you add new lessons, support elements, or bonuses, a higher price can reflect that added value. You can also raise prices when your audience is buying consistently at the current rate, which shows the offer may be undervalued.
Is it better to have a low price and high volume?
Low pricing can lead to more signups, but it often correlates with lower engagement and completion. Higher price points usually bring in more committed students, even if the number of buyers is smaller. Choose based on your business model. If you want depth, testimonials, and outcomes, a higher price often makes more sense.
How do I handle refunds on high ticket courses?
Keep your refund policy clear and easy to understand before someone buys. State how long the refund window is and what qualifies for a request. Many creators require a small amount of proof of participation, such as completed modules or worksheets, but avoid excessive hoops that damage trust. A fair policy protects revenue and keeps the relationship respectful on both sides.
