how much does it cost to hire someone to create a course

by Dr. Mitchel Gottlieb Sr. 8 min read

At an estimated 80 to 280 hours required to develop a 1-hour course, you can expect to pay roughly $5,850 USD to over $15,000 USD to get a fully polished course, in addition to the cost of your Instructional Designer (ID) and SME.

Full Answer

How much does it cost to hire a course creator?

If you need to hire outside course creators, expect to pay by the hour. According to Salary.com, the median hourly rate for an instructional designer is $36, although that will vary based on their experience level and their location.

Do you need to hire someone to create a course?

You’ll either need to create the content yourself, have your staff do it, or hire someone else to do so. This most likely means hiring an instructional designer to help develop and create the course, as well as a subject-matter expert to create the syllabus and content.

How much does it cost to create an online course?

Creating educational programs, career paths, online and offline courses he is making the educational world better as a co-founder of RG. How much does it cost to develop an online course? In 2010, the Chapman Alliance did in-depth research and found that it can cost around $10,000 to produce one hour of educational content.

How much does it cost to develop one hour of eLearning?

Previous Case Studies State … I’ve read other articles claiming it costs $10,000 and takes 90 to 240 hours on average to produce one hour of eLearning material. My online course development costs are much less than that.

How much does creating a course cost?

It can cost anywhere from $200 to $10,000 to create an online course. The main source of expenses is the labor involved, followed by the equipment and software. If you are creating the online course yourself and not paying someone else to do it, this means that other than your time there are very few expenses involved.

How many hours does it take to create a course?

Depending on the duration and detail of the program, it can take anywhere between 25 – 500 hours to formulate an online course. A mini-course with just 4 or 5 videos you could develop it in a couple of days. An in-depth flagship course with numerous modules and assignments could take eight weeks or more to accomplish.

How much does it cost to build eLearning?

The cost of an eLearning program typically costs between $200 and $900 for every minute of completed eLearning, but depends on several factors, including: Which eLearning level you choose (Level 1, 2, or 3) Whether your eLearning has professional voiceover.

How much can you make creating online courses?

Your online course could earn anywhere from a $0 – $50k+ per month. Many course creators will earn $1 – 5k/month and there are numerous examples of online course teachers earning $10k – $50k per month.. There are lots of factors that will determine how much you can earn by selling online courses.

How do you price an instructional design project?

According to Upwork, the hourly rate of an instructional designer starts at about $50. A simple scenario with the main character and a linear plot can be written in 20 hours, so the work will cost at least $1,000. The harder the task, the higher the price.

How long does it take to create a college course?

Think Months Versus Weeks In the study, 29% of respondents said it took them over 100 hours, while 87% take up to 16 weeks to develop their course. A good rule of thumb is to allow 2-3 months to account for research, designing the course, testing with students and finalizing.

How long does it take to create 1 hour of eLearning?

How long does it take to develop 1 hour of eLearning? A average 1-hour interactive elearning course will take 197 hours to develop. But development of a 1-hour elearning course can range between 49 hours for the low end of the range of a “basic” course to 716 hours for the high end of the range of an “advanced” course.

How much do freelance instructional designers charge?

Rates typically charged by instructional designers on Upwork are: Beginner: $30 per hour. Intermediate: $59 per hour. Advanced: $125 per hour.

What is the average cost of an online course?

Among 170 public ranked colleges, the average cost credit hour for online college is $316 for the 2019-20 academic year. Among 168 private ranked colleges, the average price per online credit hour is $488.

How do I make money making courses?

To get you started, here are 7 proven ways to make money selling courses online.Charge up front. ... Offer the course for free, then charge for certification. ... Charge a subscription. ... Use a tiered payment system. ... Pre-sell your course. ... Sell your online course for free—then funnel it into a product or service.More items...•

Is making online courses profitable?

Are Online Courses Profitable? Yes, they are. Online courses offer one of the best business models to digital entrepreneurs. The demand is rising and people are more than willing to pay for them, and they are one of the top ways to make money online.

How do I create a course to sell?

In this article, you'll find an overview of the 10 major stages of online course creation:Pick the perfect course topic.Ensure your course idea has high market demand.Create Magnetic and Compelling Learning Outcomes.Select and Gather your Course Content.Structure Your Modules and Course Plan.More items...•

How much will 1 hour of learning cost in 2021?

In 2021, 1 hour of learning content can cost about $8,542 - $36,320 ($22,431 on average).

What is online course development?

Online course development is a complex process, and the price of course creation can vary depending on learning platform, course content, eLearning industry, and other factors. If you want to get a detailed cost analysis research for your eLearning project, pleasefeel free to schedule a demo. Tweet#N# .

How long has Sergiy been in eLearning?

Sergiy has 18 years of experience in eLearning and management. Creating educational programs, career paths, online and offline courses he is making the educational world better as a co-founder of RG.

Is eLearning still relevant?

The eLearning market changes, new eLearning trends, and technologies rise and the course should remain relevant. As we all know, even the most popular distance learning courses might need to be adjusted over time, if new breakthroughs occur in the subject matter, new data should be added or some statistics should be updated.

Is online course development complex?

Note: Online course development is a multi-stage and complex process, and it is impossible to know the price in advance thoroughly. There are too many variables in the final price tag equation that affect pricing. To get a complete and accurate estimate, you should contact the experts in online course creation and book a demo to tell all the details about your upcoming project.

Is all training material ready for LMS?

So, all the training material is ready, and now is the time to add it to your chosen LMS. However, this is not just a process of "pouring" content into the system. It is necessary to fully transform it into a ready-made course using the LMS tools. In addition, it is vital to ensure the maximum quality of the finished course, so proofreading and error checking is critical.

Is it possible to re-create a course?

C reating a course is almost impossible without a team of specialists who will take on specific tasks.

What is the first decision you need to make to begin figuring out the costs of an online course?

The first decision you need to make to begin figuring out the costs is the type of content you’re creating. Will your online course consist of multimedia like video with audio, one or the other, or text-based?

How long does it take to produce one hour of eLearning?

I’ve read other articles claiming it costs $10,000 and takes 90 to 240 hours on average to produce one hour of eLearning material.

How Long to Create an Hour of Video?

Let’s start by going through an estimate of how long it takes to create that one hour of video.

How many people watch online courses every day?

A lot of online courses are set up like the image below: According to research, 78% of people watch online videos every week and 55% view online videos every day. Watching videos online is a popular way to consume course content.

What is the most popular format for online courses?

Video with audio is the most popular format for an online course. Most courses consist of videos with a menu to navigate the course. Sometimes there’s supplemental text or links to supplemental materials beneath the online video. A lot of online courses are set up like the image below:

How long does it take to make a video script?

No matter which type of video you’re creating, you’ll start with the outline and script creation first. I estimate it will take 3 to 10 hours to script out 1 hour of video depending on the level of detail you’re including and your expertise of the subject matter.

How long is an online course?

Most complete online courses are at least an hour long. If you’re planning for your course to be 3 hours then you can take the 1 hour time estimate and multiple it out by 3 to give you your approximate costs. So I’ll stick with one hour of video course content for this case study.

What Does the Cost to Create an Online Course Depend On?

As you can imagine, online course development costs depend on several factors, so estimating it isn’t a straightforward task. Here are some decisions that will influence it:

How to create a course?

Creating content for your course will be the first step in your course creation process. To estimate the cost at this step, let’s look at the different types of content you may need to create: 1 Written content for course videos, PDFs, presentation decks, website, etc. 2 Presentation slides for videos 3 Branding assets and graphics for your course material

What is the first step in course creation?

Creating content for your course will be the first step in your course creation process. To estimate the cost at this step, let’s look at the different types of content you may need to create:

The True Costs of Building an Online Course

When it comes to building an online course, there are a few essentials to consider:

Hardware Costs

I’ve created a separate guide that dives into the essential equipment you need to build an online course ( click here to open the Complete Guide to Online Course Equipment ).

Software Costs

Getting the right equipment is important, but it’s also important to remember you’re a course creator that runs much of your business online.

A Free Video Editor

A free video editor that was recommended to me by one of our creators (thank you Luxmi 😉) is Free Cam:

Do I really need video editing software?

Most course creators do need some sort of video editor, but because maybe you just want some software to record the videos, and decide to outsource completely the video editing, in that case you wouldn't need a video editor.

Web Hosting Costs

One of the biggest decisions you have to make as a course creator is how to host your courses.

How much does it cost to advertise for a course?

Agency or freelancer costs vary wildly on quality and budgets, but can start as low as $100 plus your advertising budget.

How much does it cost to register a domain name?

Domain Name. Costs on registering a domain name for your business range from $10 per year up to $100, a thousand or a million depending on the type of domain name you choose. An old domain name is fine like good old wine, but it’s usually expensive, and there is always the option of registering a new one.

What is a course that encourages learners to interact fully and give feedback?

It makes use of serious games, avatars, simulated job performance exercises, customized audio and video, stories, scenarios. It includes high-end interactive elements that are complex, more expensive and need more time to develop.

How much does a Zoom subscription cost?

For example, if you are using Skype or Zoom, paid subscription prices start at $2,95 and $14,99 respectively. If you are not sure yet, this review from SoftwareAdvice on alternative video conferencing software offers a great deal of information to help you decide.

When planning your course, what should you do?

When planning your course choose your materials wisely so that they respond well to your learners’ needs and abilities.

Is it easier to create puzzles than videos?

But since these are often easier to create compared to a video, there can be a slight reduction in the development time and costs.

Can you ask an instructional designer to review and edit your work?

For example, you can come up with good content and develop a course scenario while saving tons of money. Then, you can ask an instructional designer to review and edit your work. You can do the same with more complex online learning material – videos, quizzes, puzzles, and assignments:

How Much Does It Cost To Make An Online Course?

This is one of the more common questions that new content creators have when they're considering making and selling an online course.

Can you make a course with only text?

​You can create simple courses that only consist of text and images quite cheaply. High quality audio and video will make your course more engaging, but it also costs more to produce.

How much does EDpuzzle cost?

Video editing software — There are very simple options, like EDpuzzle ($9.95/month), which help you edit lectures into online videos, and more advanced options, like Adobe Premiere Pro (starts at $20.99/month), which will help you create professional-grade movies.

How much will the e-learning market be in 2025?

eLearning is going to play an ever-larger role in the future of higher education. In fact, by 2025, the e-learning market will reach $325 billion. That’s more than four times the traditional higher-education market. Even better, the benefits offered by online courses include increased student engagement, ...

Why is online learning better than traditional learning?

Even better, the benefits offered by online courses include increased student engagement, the opportunity for peer review and collaboration, and the promise of individualized attention , even in large classrooms. There are many reasons to embrace e-learning, ...

Is cloud learning more popular?

For all of these reasons, cloud-based options are becoming more and more popular. Cloud-based learning management systems usually operate on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, where users pay a monthly or yearly subscription.

Do you need to create a course material for an online course?

Just as you would need to create a curriculum and hire an instructor to teach an in-person course, you will need to create course materials and a lesson plan for an online one. You’ll either need to create the content yourself, have your staff do it, or hire someone else to do so.

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Decisions Related to Online Course Development

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The first decision you need to make to begin figuring out the costs is the type of content you’re creating. Will your online course consist of multimedia like video with audio, one or the other, or text-based? Video with audio is the most popular format for an online course. Most courses consist of videos with a menu to navig…
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One-Time Costs vs Time Related Costs

  • There are a few different types of costs involved in creating online courses. The first set of costs are your one-time costs for software or equipment. You can re-use equipment or sometimes rent equipment to save money. We’ll get into the one-time costs later. Costs that are more difficult to measure are time-related costs. Obviously, if you’re paying an instructional designer to create yo…
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How Long to Create An Hour of video?

  • Let’s start by going through an estimate of how long it takes to create that one hour of video. But before we can get to our video time estimate, we need to consider what kind of video we’re going to create. Will it be a live-action, screen recording, or animation-style video?
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Visual Video Decisions

  • There are decisions you need to make depending on what type of video you’re creating; live-action, screen recording, or animations. I’ve got a few pathways here depending on the type of video you’re creating. What you’re doing here is deciding on the visuals for your videos.
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Voice Over vs Live Action Audio

  • Depending on what type of video you’re doing, once your visuals are ready you need to record your audio …
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Estimate Considerations

  • As you can see, live-action takes less time to do. The time can vary based on the amount of practice you do and how many breaks you need between takes. Of course, if you’re recording yourself giving a slideshow presentation, you need to create that presentation and record it live. So that will take even longer! The thing is, these estimates are just for one hour. But if your cours…
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Supplemental Material

  • As explained above, I suggest creating an add-on to go along with the video. This takes extra time, but it will greatly enhance the value of your course. You can include a quiz (even 12 questions covering 1 hour of video will work). Quizzes or assessments make the most sense when you’re covering a difficult educational concept. For each module in my course, I created a short quiz. If …
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Time Estimates For 1 Hour of Video and Supplemental Material

  • Here’s the total time estimate for both the video training and the supplemental material production: Use this to help you figure out the time it will take you and estimate the costs involved.
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Costs For One-Time Physical Equipment

  • Now here’s where everyone will start incurring costs unless you already have all this equipment. First of all, you need a computer, but it doesn’t need to be anything super fancy. Hopefully, you already have access to a computer (a desktop or laptop will work). There’s so much variety in computer costs that it’s hard to estimate. Most people already have a computer (or access to on…
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One-Time Costs For Software

  • In addition to the physical equipment, you’ll need software. Once again, it’s different whether you’re doing presentation-style videos or live action videos which I’ll cover below.
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What Does The Cost to Create An Online Course Depend on?

Creating Course Content

Recording Course Videos

Setting Up Your Course

Summary – Cost to Create An Online Course

  • In this guide, we have discussed the cost of creating a course under different heads – creating course content, recording course videos, and setting up your course. When you add all of them, you’ll get the total costs involved. The total cost of creating your course will be $140 + $100-$149/monthif you create screencast or presentation-style videos...
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