# Online Course Revenue Calculator

> Estimate what an online course really earns after discounts, refunds and platform fees, the profit after production costs and the sales needed to break even.

Category: Education · Applies to: Worldwide · Last updated: 2026-10-29
Interactive calculator: https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/online-course-revenue-calculator

List price × sales is only the start. Take off average discounts, refunds and the platform’s and payment processor’s share to see what you keep, and how many sales cover your production costs.

Also called: Course income calculator, Course profit calculator.

## Inputs
- List price (default 100)
- Enrolments sold (default 500)
- Average discount (unit %; default 20; optional)
- Refund rate (unit %; default 5; optional)
- Platform and payment fees (unit %; default 10; optional)
- Production and fixed costs (default 10000; optional)
- Currency

## Results
- Net revenue
- Gross sales after discounts
- Refunds
- Platform and payment fees
- Profit after fixed costs
- Net per enrolment
- Enrolments to break even

## Formula

```
Gross = Price × (1 − Discount) × Sales;  Net = Gross × (1 − Refund rate) × (1 − Fee rate);  Profit = Net − Fixed;  Break-even = ⌈Fixed ÷ Net per enrolment⌉
```

Where:
- Fee rate: platform share plus payment processing, as a % of money kept after refunds
- Fixed: production, equipment and marketing costs that do not depend on sales

## Worked example
1. Gross = 100 × 0.80 × 500 = 40,000.
2. After 5% refunds: 38,000; after 10% fees: 34,200 net.
3. Net per enrolment = 80 × 0.95 × 0.90 = 68.40, so 10,000 ÷ 68.40 → 147 sales to break even.

**Result:** 500 sales at 100 list bring in 34,200 net and 24,200 profit after 10,000 of production costs; break-even is 147 sales.

## What the result means

Net per enrolment is the number to watch when you change price or run discounts: a deep discount needs proportionally more sales to earn the same.

## Assumptions and limits
- Fees are charged on money kept after refunds.
- Discount and refund rates are averages across all sales.
- Taxes such as VAT or sales tax and affiliate commissions are not included; add them to the fee rate if they apply.

## Questions

### Why does the discount matter so much?

Fees and refunds are percentages, so they shrink with price, but your fixed costs do not.

### Where do I find the platform fee?

In your platform’s pricing or revenue-share terms. Many have different shares for organic and marketplace sales, so use a blended figure.

## Related calculators
- [Break-even Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/break-even-calculator)
- [Profit Margin Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/profit-margin-calculator)
- [Course Completion Rate Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/course-completion-rate-calculator)
- [Training Program Cost Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/training-program-cost-calculator)

Source: GM¹X CalcVerse — https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/online-course-revenue-calculator