Online course revenue calculator
See what you actually net from a course launch or evergreen funnel — after platform fees, payment processing, and refunds.
Online course revenue calculator
Per launch
Annual net revenue
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Annual platform cost breakdown
All platforms — annual net
Picking the right platform tier
Transaction-fee tiers (like Teachable Basic at $39/mo + 5%) are cheaper when annual revenue is low. Flat monthly tiers (Teachable Pro, Kajabi) become cheaper once transaction fees would exceed the monthly plan upgrade cost. The crossover for Teachable Basic vs Pro is roughly $2,400/month in gross course revenue — above that, upgrading saves money on every sale.
Gumroad's 10% flat fee with no monthly cost is ideal for very early-stage creators who want zero fixed overhead. Once you're consistently selling, a platform with a fixed monthly fee and lower (or zero) transaction rate will almost always net more.
About this tool
Choose between a launch model (cohort launches per year) or an evergreen model (continuous monthly sales). Enter your ticket price, platform, refund rate, and the calculator shows gross revenue, refunds, platform fees, payment processing costs, and net income — broken out clearly so you know exactly what you keep.
Frequently asked questions
Launch vs evergreen — which model earns more?
Neither is universally better. Launch models create urgency and typically convert at 1–3% of an engaged email list, allowing you to do one or two big revenue spikes per year. Evergreen models produce smoother, more predictable income but typically convert at 0.1–0.5% of cold traffic — so you need a larger top-of-funnel. Many creators start with launches to validate the course, then add an evergreen funnel once the content is proven and testimonials exist to drive cold-traffic conversion.
What refund rate should I use?
Most platforms require you to offer a minimum 30-day money-back guarantee, which is also good for conversion. Typical refund rates are 5–15% for courses with broad appeal and 2–7% for niche or highly targeted content. Live cohort courses refund less (1–5%) because students are enrolled in a social learning experience. If your refund rate is above 20%, the course content or expectation-setting likely needs attention before scaling ad spend.
How do platform transaction fees work?
Most platforms charge either a percentage of each sale (transaction fee) or a flat monthly subscription — or both. Teachable Basic charges a monthly fee plus 5% of each sale; Teachable Pro charges more per month but 0% per sale. At low revenue volumes, the transaction-fee tiers are cheaper. At higher volumes, the flat monthly fee tiers become cheaper. The calculator shows you the breakeven implicitly — if the platform fee line is high relative to net revenue, switching to a higher monthly plan may be worth it.
Should I include payment processing separately?
Yes. Most platforms pass Stripe or PayPal fees through to you on top of their own fee. The standard is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. At a $300 course price, that's about $9 per sale — not trivial at scale. Some platforms (Kajabi, Teachable Pro) allow using your own Stripe account directly, which makes this explicit. Others bundle it opaquely. The calculator includes 2.9% + $0.30 per enrolment by default.
What isn't included in this calculator?
The tool shows platform revenue net of fees and refunds. It does not include your course production costs (recording, editing, platform setup time), ongoing marketing costs (ads, email platform fees), or the opportunity cost of your time. For a full unit economics view, subtract your content creation cost and ongoing marketing spend from the net revenue figure. A course that nets $40,000/year but costs $30,000 to market is very different from one that nets $40,000 organically.