Where the Money Is in Online Education: Monetizing EdTech Products

Have you ever wondered why some educational platforms bring in millions while others barely cover the costs? Why do some projects grow rapidly and attract investors, while others remain at the level of small websites? It's all about how monetization is properly structured.

Monetization is not just about making money. It's about creating a sustainable business model that enables growth and scalability. Today, we will look at the most popular ways of monetization in online education. Are you ready to find out where the money is? Then let's go!

One-time purchase of courses (Paid Courses)

The easiest way to make money is to sell access to courses at one time. The user buys a course, gets access, and learns at their own pace. It's convenient and understandable.

Examples: Udemy, Teachable.

Advantages:

• It is easy to implement and run.

• Predictable income from each sale.

But there are disadvantages to this approach. What do you think it is? That's right – the lack of a steady income. Each course needs to be promoted anew to attract new customers. This means constant costs for marketing and creating new content.

This model is great for individual teachers or experts who want to monetize their knowledge quickly.

Subscription model

What if users pay not for one course, but for access to the entire library of content? The subscription model is just such an approach. Clients pay monthly or annually, and you update the materials regularly.

Examples: MasterClass, Skillshare, LinkedIn Learning.

Advantages:

• Stable and predictable income.

• The ability to retain customers for a long time.

However, a subscription requires constant content updates; otherwise, users will leave for competitors. Another difficulty is the fight against outflow, that is, when people stop paying.

The subscription is great for platforms with a large catalog of courses and an active community. Have you ever used a subscription to educational services? What did you like or dislike?

Marketplace commission

Now let's talk about a model that is often underestimated. Imagine a platform that connects students with teachers, tutors, and experts. She does not create her content, but simply helps to find the right person and charges a small commission on each transaction.

This is how services such as Preply, Italki, and Studybay work. By the way, many students often search the Internet for phrases like "where can I pay someone to do my homework" – these are the queries that lead them to these marketplaces where you can easily pay someone, be it a teacher or a professor, to get help with your studies.

Why is this model attractive? First, you minimize the risks because you don't create content yourself. Secondly, the platform can scale along with the growth of the number of users. However, maintaining a balance is crucial: if there are few teachers and many students, the service's quality suffers, and vice versa.

What advantages do you see in this model? Here are the main ones:

• No cost of creating your content.

• Business scalability and flexibility.

On the other hand, the competition in such niches is high, and to stand out, you need to offer unique features and reliable service.

Freemium + additional sales (upselling)

Another popular and effective strategy is to offer basic functionality for free, while selling additional features and premium features separately. For example, free access to courses with limited functionality, and paid certificates, personal consultations, additional materials, or extended access, for money.

Examples of such a model are Duolingo and Coursera. This approach allows you to quickly gain a large audience, because no one is afraid to try for free. At the same time, it is important to carefully consider the ways of monetization, otherwise most of the users will remain on the free tariff, without generating income.

To successfully monetize freemium, it is important:

• To offer valuable paid features that users will want to buy.

• Actively encourage the transition from a free tariff to a paid one through personal offers and promotions.

• Maintain a high level of quality of free content to retain users and build trust.

Have you ever used free educational services? What made you switch to a paid plan?

Payment for certificates and accreditation (certification & accreditation fees)

Many educational platforms offer to take the course for free, but you have to pay to get an official certificate. This model is particularly in demand in professional training, advanced training courses, and career-oriented programs.

Examples: Coursera, Google Career Certificates.

The advantage of this model is that the certificate has real value for the user, confirms his competence, and helps to successfully move up the career ladder. However, for such a model to work effectively, the platform must earn trust, have accreditations, and have strong partnerships with employers, professional associations, or educational institutions.

Sales to companies and institutions (B2B/B2E)

Did you know that large corporations, government agencies, and schools are among the largest and most stable buyers of educational products? Instead of selling individual courses to end users, many platforms offer licenses or corporate subscriptions to entire companies, organizations, and educational institutions.

Examples of such services are Udemy for Business, Graduated, and Kahoot for Schools. The main advantages of this approach are obvious: large, long-term contracts and stable repeat sales that provide a reliable revenue stream. However, the downside is long and difficult negotiations with corporate clients, as well as the need to provide high-quality technical support and integration with the internal systems of companies.

This monetization method is ideal for projects that offer tools to help businesses effectively train their employees or provide schools and universities with convenient solutions for distance and face-to-face learning. This approach opens up great opportunities for scaling and sustainable business growth.

Conclusion

So, what conclusions can we draw? There is no universal monetization model in the world of online education. Every niche and every product requires a different approach.

To choose the right model, ask yourself the following questions:

Who is my audience?

What problems am I solving?

How are my users willing to pay?

It is important to test different approaches from the very beginning and keep track of metrics such as LTV (lifetime customer value) and CAC (cost of customer acquisition).

Remember: monetization is not just a way to make money, but part of your growth strategy. By building the right model, you can make your educational product not only useful but also profitable.