Online Course Platform Fees: What to Count

Online course platform fees are the charges for running and selling courses through a platform. Softbook charges no commission on your course sales, while your connected payment provider still charges under its own terms. For a UK coach comparing options, separate the platform subscription from payment processing before calculating what each model would cost.

Key points: – List the platform subscription and sales commission separately. – Include payment processing even when platform commission is zero. – Compare the same sales assumptions, features, and billing period. – Keep calculations in one currency or document an actual conversion rate. – Check the purchase-to-access workflow alongside the cost calculation.

Which fees belong in a course platform comparison?

A useful comparison includes the platform subscription, any platform commission on sales, payment processing, and the extra services your course needs. Put each on its own line. A single headline price cannot show how a percentage-based charge changes with sales or whether your chosen tools are included.

Start with the course you intend to teach and list what running it will involve, from lessons and assignments to learner support and the sales process. The guide to creating an online course can help you define that scope before you compare software costs.

Then make a cost sheet with the following columns:

Do not fill an unknown cell with zero. Mark it for checking. If the pricing page uses a monthly equivalent for an annual payment, record the actual billing commitment beside it so you do not compare that figure with a cancellable month as though the arrangements were identical.

Does zero platform commission mean I keep all the money?

Zero platform commission means the platform does not take a sales commission, although processing and your other costs can still reduce the amount left from a sale. In Softbook, the school pays for the platform plan, and the connected payment provider applies its own processing terms.

That distinction answers a common question from UK coaches looking for platforms for online courses: Softbook does not take a percentage of course sales, but it would be inaccurate to describe every pound paid by a customer as money you keep after all costs.

Softbook is a platform for online schools: courses, sales, CRM, email and Telegram campaigns, and a website builder in one place. You can add unlimited students, and the platform takes no commission on your sales.

Check the online course platform against your teaching needs, then use the current pricing page for the available functions and conditions. Record the live details and the date you checked them in your working sheet, where you can see which conditions need another look at the next review.

For the processing line, use the terms that apply to the payments your school will handle, checking those conditions directly with your provider instead of borrowing a number from someone else’s launch. The calculations below use invented figures only to demonstrate the arithmetic.

How do you compare a percentage model with a fixed subscription?

Calculate both models with the same sales total and the same payment assumptions. For a simple comparison, monthly platform cost is the fixed charge plus the sales total multiplied by the platform commission rate. Add processing separately, along with any other relevant costs.

Platform cost = fixed charge + sales amount × platform commission rate.

Here is a fictional planning example, not Softbook pricing, a competitor’s quote, or a sales forecast. A UK coach is reviewing two invented charging models for the same month. Model A has a £60 fixed charge and a 5% platform commission. Model B has a £120 fixed charge and no platform commission.

For this example alone, each purchase is £100 and processing is assumed to be 2% of the amount paid plus £0.20 per purchase. All purchases are completed, with no refunds or other adjustments included. Those processing figures are invented too. Replace them before using the sheet for a real decision.

Read the middle row from left to right. Forty purchases at £100 produce £4,000 in sales, with processing of £80 plus forty charges of £0.20 adding another £8 to that line. Model A adds its £60 charge and £200 commission to that £88, while Model B adds its £120 charge to the same processing amount.

The table only compares the stated cost lines. It does not calculate profit, predict demand, or tell you which product has the right teaching features. Keep the actual course delivery costs in a separate part of your working budget, and compare both options on the same basis.

When do the two platform models cost the same?

In the fictional example, the two platform costs meet at £1,200 in sales for the month. The extra fixed charge in Model B is £60. Dividing £60 by the 5% commission in Model A gives £1,200. At that amount, each model has a £120 platform cost before processing.

Sales amount at equal platform cost = difference in fixed charges ÷ difference in commission rates.

Enter 5% as 0.05. With purchases of £100 each, the example reaches the same platform cost at twelve purchases, using the two fixed charges given in the table. That is an arithmetic result from invented inputs, not a target for your school or a promise that those sales will happen.

Processing cancels out of this particular comparison because the example assigns exactly the same processing terms to both models. If your actual options use different terms, include that difference. A fixed charge per payment also means the number of purchases matters, so two months with the same sales amount can have different processing totals.

Check lower and higher sales amounts, remembering that a fixed subscription continues to be due in a quiet month under its agreed billing terms. A commission component changes with its calculation base. Your sheet should show both conditions clearly, without assuming that the busiest month will repeat.

Which assumptions can make the comparison misleading?

Different billing periods, currencies, included features, and definitions of the sales amount can change the result. Keep those assumptions visible beside the numbers. If you are comparing offers that cover different services, a lower total does not yet establish an equivalent choice.

A UK coach might use GBP. If a service is billed in another currency, record the original amount and the rate or actual charge used for conversion. Keep pounds and dollars separate until you have converted the subscription using a documented rate, with the same date and method applied to both options.

Label the sales figure clearly: multiplying the list price by planned enrollments produces a scenario, while your completed payment records describe transactions that have happened. Discounts also change the amount paid. For the first pass, use clearly labelled scenarios, then replace them with recorded transactions when those become available.

Check each provider’s treatment of refunds and disputed payments, including what happens to the original fee when the customer receives money back, before adding those adjustments to the sheet. Keep tax treatment and other business obligations outside a simplified platform-fee table unless you have added them explicitly using the information applicable to your business.

Finally, compare the work the platform supports. The LMS selection guide helps you consider lessons, assignments, access, and administration. A cost comparison is more useful when each option can support the course you actually plan to deliver.

What should you check in Softbook before choosing a plan?

Check the required functions on the current pricing page, then test one course and its purchase-to-access workflow. Softbook’s no-commission model answers the sales-cut question. You still need to establish that your chosen setup covers the work of selling and teaching your course.

Prepare a small course with a lesson and assignment that represent your offer, then create its product and verify the assigned course, price, and currency. A connected payment provider is required to receive online payments. After successful payment, the configured product gives the customer access to the assigned course.

Test payment according to the procedure available for your connected provider. Check the order, the email information for entry, and the lesson the student can open. Check that payment was completed. The guide to selling online courses covers the broader preparation around that journey.

In the orders area, review the recorded orders and export them to CSV for your checks, keeping a note of the billing period beside the export. If the order record and your processing statement describe different time periods, their totals may not match the comparison you intended to make.

Include the services you will use between purchases. For example, if your course uses email campaigns, consider the planned activity when checking the current conditions. The email marketing guide for online schools can help you plan the messages before estimating the resources required. Avoid assuming that every feature or amount of usage is included in every configuration.

What should your final comparison sheet show?

Give the sheet to a colleague with the chosen period, currency and assumptions visible, so they can follow the fee calculation and identify the services it covers without asking where a rate came from.

Before making the decision, check that you have: – Recorded the current subscription conditions and the date checked. – Separated platform commission from payment processing. – Used the same currency and sales assumptions for both models. – Included the functions and extra services your actual workflow needs. – Labelled invented scenarios so they cannot be mistaken for recorded results. – Tested the route from purchase to the student’s first lesson.

Keep the sheet small. When a price or your sales mix changes, you should be able to replace the relevant input and recalculate the affected rows without rebuilding the comparison. Preserve the source alongside it so the next review starts with known figures.

Build a course and check its sales and access workflow before choosing your setup. Try Softbook free for 30 days, no card required.