Summary
This is one of our top questions asked in the eLearning industry. How do I price my course when it is done? That is a great question. As Jonathan breaks things down in this post about Course Pricing, you will see that there are many factors to consider. Some look at the number of students they will teach, some at the number of active users a site may serve. Some are priced on the results a course can promise. Read the post for the full details on this fascinating subject.
Are you looking to calculate the LMS pricing for your online course business?
LMS pricing for businesses can vary depending on the student count, the business size, the customization or features required, and the support and maintenance features needed. This is why knowing exactly how much your business will cost to run and manage an LMS system can be challenging, especially if this is your first time doing so.
In this article, we will cover the different types of LMS pricing plans in depth so you can better understand how each one works and the one that’s the most suitable for your business.
How does LMS pricing work?
LMS systems let you host a virtual university and offer a learning experience for your target audience online. You can create and publish online courses and give your students access to the learning material by setting up paywalls or subscription plans.
Since LMS systems have a lot of components that need to work in harmony to offer your students the best possible learning experience, businesses can expect to pay recurring and additional costs to keep such a system running.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the different types of costs that determine LMS pricing for businesses and organizations:
- One-time expenses. First, you must deal with the one-time fees, such as setting up and integrating your branding with LMS software. For instance, when launching an LMS site, you must pay for hosting, cloud storage, administration, and design or development fees.
- Recurring payments. It would help if you also considered the other significant costs of running a LMS system, such as the subscription and maintenance fees. Whether you choose a pay-per-user pricing structure or pay yearly, you can expect to pay the cost as long as you use the LMS provider.
- Extra costs. Extra costs associated with the pricing of your LMS system are often unpredictable and sometimes unavoidable. For instance, if you have to pay for training to make sure your team knows how to operate the LMS software or if you have to pay for support services to fix bugs or add functionality to your site.
Types of LMS pricing plans
Here, we will go over some of the different LMS pricing plans so you can choose the best one for your business.
Pay Per Student
Pay-per-student pricing consists of businesses paying a flat fixed fee for every student registered on the LMS program. You must pay a fixed price according to the number of students you expect to onboard. For example, if you wish 100 students to join your LMS program in the coming month, you will purchase at least 120 seats from your LMS provider to ensure active seats for all students. Similarly, you can buy a fixed account limit for your LMS and pay a monthly fee according to the number of learners you expect.
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With a pay-per-student LMS pricing plan, you can accurately calculate how much your business will spend on the LMS system. It also means you don’t have to worry about overspending, as all the fees are paid to the LMS providers in advance. In addition to this, pay-per-student pricing is also great for businesses that expect to onboard fewer students or learners. This is because, if you’re a huge organization, it can quickly get quite expensive to host many students using this pricing model due to an increased fee per student.
Pay-per-student LMS pricing works best for businesses looking to sell online courses to a limited number of students, especially startups or new companies.
Pay Per Active User
Pay per active user, just like the name suggests, is a pricing structure that lets businesses pay according to the number of active users each month. You don’t have to pay for inactive users compared to a pay-per-student structure. You only pay for students who will engage with your learning content, complete quizzes, and submit assignments on your LMS site. This way, your business will not have to spend extra on purchasing seats for students who will not stick through the entire course period or complete the online course.
Pay-per-active-user pricing structure charges fixed fees based on the active number of users on your LMS site within a specific time or period. For instance, if you have 100 active users out of 200 on your LMS site, you will only be charged for the 100 active students that use your LMS platform. This is a great way to prevent unnecessary costs and a flexible way for businesses to host online courses and pay for the amount of engagement they receive.
A pay-per-active user LMS pricing model is adequate for businesses that receive a lot of fluctuations in their student engagement levels during a course period. This way, you will only have to pay for the number of active users engaging with your content instead of paying for all registered users.
Pay-Per-Course
Pay per course is another way LMS providers offer pricing plans to businesses and organizations by charging them based on the number of online classes they create using the platform. For example, if your company has made 10 online courses within a month, you can expect to pay a small fee for each created using the LMS platform. Instead of paying based on active students or total registered users, your businesses will be charged based on how much you’ve utilized the LMS platform to create online courses.
Pay per course is charged by either the LMS provider offering multiple course topics and skills to choose from and then setting a flat fee for each course you select or offers a tiered pricing system that decreases the price of each course as you purchase multiple course topics and skills to create content for. The final cost of your LMS system will depend on the number of courses you take and the different issues you choose.
It’s best suited for businesses with specific course requirements, like creating online courses for one topic or setting up a training program for a particular group of learners. This is because it offers the option to only pay for the type of content you want to create instead of committing to a full-fledged LMS program.
Fixed fee or license subscription
A fixed fee or license subscription-based LMS pricing charges businesses a monthly, weekly, or yearly fee. For instance, gain access to all LMS features by paying $600 per year or $50 per month. A fixed fee or subscription LMS pricing structure typically gives you access to all LMS features for a set number of users and includes premium customer support services.
The only downside is that you have to work with a specific number of users, but it’s easier to predict how much your business will pay yearly to access a full-fledged LMS system. It’s also a great way to lock in a long-term contract with your LMS provider, ensuring your business will not be dealing with surprise costs associated with running and managing an LMS system.
It’s recommended for large organizations and businesses that have set budgeting or want to predict how much they’ll be spending yearly to go for the fixed fee or license subscription-based LMS pricing. This also means you don’t have to worry about increasing costs for your business as you receive new registrations since there is no per-user or per-learner fee associated with this LMS pricing.
Free to use
On top of the different types of LMS pricing plans, you also have some open-source or free LMS software to start creating a learning site and selling online courses with. These kinds of LMS systems are primarily made and managed by a community of volunteers and organizations. Since the code of the LMS system is free to use, you can modify it according to your specific requirements and make it your own.
While most open-source LMS software is free, you also have to factor in the costs associated with purchasing a hosting provider, maintenance, and customizations you make to the LMS system. Similarly, free-to-use LMS systems offer basic functionality or the program’s core functions for free. Still, you must pay for the premium version to get unlimited access.
Open-source LMS programs are great for brands with a lot of technical expertise to manage the LMS and make the required customization changes. It requires a certain level of tech-savviness but gives you complete control over how your LMS site is set up and functions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the different pricing models available for LMS systems?
A: LMS systems offer pricing models, such as subscription-based, pay-per-use, and one-time payment options.
Q: How can I determine the cost of an LMS for my organization?
A: To determine the cost of an LMS, consider factors like the number of users, desired features, implementation fees, and ongoing maintenance costs.
Q: What factors should I consider when choosing an LMS vendor?
A: When selecting an LMS vendor, factors include pricing, customer support, user-friendly interface, scalability, integration capabilities, and data security measures.
Q: What are the popular pricing models used by LMS vendors?
A: Popular pricing models LMS vendors use include per-user pricing, tiered pricing based on features, and custom pricing plans tailored to specific needs.
Q: How can I compare the pricing of different LMS vendors?
A: You can compare the pricing of different LMS vendors by requesting quotes, evaluating features offered at each pricing tier, and considering additional costs like implementation and support fees.
Q: What are some key considerations when choosing the right LMS pricing plan for my online course?
A: Key considerations when selecting an LMS pricing plan include the number of users, feature requirements, budget constraints, scalability options, and the level of customer support provided.
Q: How does the pricing tier of an LMS affect the cost of running online training courses?
A: The pricing tier of an LMS can impact the cost of running online training courses by influencing the number of features available, user limits, and additional services offered by the platform.
Conclusion
Choosing an LMS pricing plan comes down to your brand’s unique requirements, budgeting options, and the number of learners or active users you expect.
Evaluating your brand’s long-term goals and anchoring down on the LMS solution that aligns with future goals and missions is essential. Once you’ve determined the LMS pricing plan that suits you, you can compare multiple LMS solutions to ensure you get the best value out of your money and take advantage of discount or time-specific offers.
What features do you look for when considering an LMS solution? Let us know in the comments box below.
