Average Cost of Online College [2025]: Yearly Tuition + Fees

Report Highlights. The average American online college student pays about $1,000 per class^*.

For in-state students, U.S. public universities charge an average of $40,536 for an online bachelor’s degree.
An average public institution charges out-of-state students $59,011 for an online bachelor’s degree.
At the average private college or university, an online degree costs $63,185.
The average online graduate student pays $1,099 per class.

^*This is among undergraduates who exclusively take online courses (excluding hybrid students).

Cost of Online College, Academic Year 2024-25
Cost for one…	Public, in-state	Private
Credit Hour	$337	$516
Standard Semester (15 Cr.Hr.)	$5,055	$7,740
Bachelor’s Degree	$40,536	$63,185

Cost of Online Classes

Fee structures vary by institution, and most schools have program-specific fees. State-funded schools usually charge more for nonresidents, which may include those taking online courses.

Among 199 public colleges, the average cost per credit hour for online classes for in-state students is $337 for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The average cost per online credit hour at public colleges is equal to the cost for on-campus in-state students.
Among 142 private colleges, the average price per online credit hour is $516.
At 109 private colleges, the average cost per credit hour for on-campus students is $1,170.
16% of colleges charge more tuition for a degree earned online than in-person.

Grouped bar graph: Cost of College On Campus & Online by Institution Type according to U.S. News & World Report

Paying for Online College

Cost is of significantly greater concern among students taking online classes than it is for college students in general.

68% of students incurred debt while earning an online degree or certificate; the largest share of borrowers (30.9%) owes between $5,001 and $15,000.
Among students who borrowed to obtain an online degree, 8.82% have paid off their debt.
A majority of online undergraduate students (45%) work full-time (at least 40 hours per week) while attending classes.
77% of students at online universities considered affordability as one of their top reasons for choosing a school for an online program.
42.3% of all prospective college students consider affordability to be very important when selecting a school or program.
26% of students indicated they would be more attracted to a school offering scholarships.
45% of students do not use or have access to employer tuition reimbursement.

Snapshot: Online Tuition per Credit Hour, AY2024-25
School	Undergrad Tuition	Graduate Tuition
University of Central Florida	$105.07	$288.16
Clayton State University	$174.00	$395.00
Southern New Hampshire University	$330.00	$637.00
Ball State University	$346.00	$464.00
University of South Dakota	$354.75	$470.45
University of Northern Iowa	$357.00	$569.00
Liberty University	$390.00	$565.00
Grand Canyon University	$485.00	$600.00
Arizona State University	$574.00	$576.00
Purdue University Global	$1,484.00	$1,940.00

When Online College Costs Less

Schools that charge less for online learning than for on-campus courses mainly do so in order to stay competitive in the market.

77% of postsecondary schools that charge less for online courses than for on-campus courses are limited by market-based price constraints.
Over two (2) years, the share of schools that cite market constraints for reduced online prices increased 28.3% (up from 60%).
60% of institutions that charge less for online courses do so based on the lack of campus-related costs.

In order to reduce online instruction costs, some institutions utilize Open Educational Resources. OERs are free course materials available to students and to the public. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are usually free to audit.

When Online College Costs More

Institutions that charge more for online learning mainly do so to cover program administrative costs; most colleges don’t actually run their own online or distance learning programs, opting for a revenue-sharing approach with an online program manager (OPM)^**.

About 72% of institutions that charge more for online learning do so because of higher delivery and support costs.
Approximately 61% of schools charge more for online learning because of higher maintenance costs.
60% of schools charge more online because of higher program development costs.
48% of contracts with OPMS are based on a percentage of revenue made, while 20% are based on percentage per student or credit-hour.
At least 550 institutions have utilized OPMs to support 2,900online programs.

^**In addition to plug-and-play courses and modules plug-and-play courses and modules, an OPM offer other services to colleges and universities that include marketing and faculty training.

Bar graph: Fields of Study Among Online College Students according to Statista

Online Degree Statistics

Business is the most common field of study among distance learners.

A majority of online undergraduates (45%) are seeking a bachelor’s degree.
35% of online undergraduates are in pursuit of an associate’s degree.
19% of online undergraduates are in pursuit of a certificate; 2% take online courses for a licensure.
Among online graduate students, 57% seek a master’s degree.
10% of online graduate students are in a doctoral program.
26% of online graduate students are in pursuit of a certificate; 7% take courses for a licensure.
23% of online college students major in business.
The next-most popular online fields of study are healthcare (19% of students), technology (14%), and education (9%).

Online College vs. On-Campus

Some of the most popular colleges with online degree programs also tack on per-credit distance learning fees.

59% of students prefer to do course research online as (opposed to in person).
57% of students prefer to take exams online instead of in person.
Most distance learners (56.1%) also attend classes on campus.

Distance Learning Statistics

Most students who pursue an online degree are undergraduates, a majority of whom attend in-state four-year public institutions.

54.2% of postsecondary students take at least one distance learning course in a semester.
Undergraduates are slightly more likely to be distance learners than graduate students; 54.4% of undergrads take at least one online class in a semester.
Undergraduates represent 83.1% of online college students.
Among undergraduate distance learners, 79.9% attend public institutions (public college and university attendees represent 77.3% of all undergraduates).
43.9% of undergraduate distance learners exclusively attend courses online.
Among undergraduates who exclusively attend classes online, 69.7% are in-state; 1.08% reside outside the United States.
53.5% of graduate students are distance learners.
27.6% of graduate distance learners attend at least one class on campus.
Among graduate students who attend class exclusively online, 45.9% are in-state; 3.38% reside outside the U.S.