The Rise of the Online Course Economy
In recent years, a particular trend has become increasingly difficult to ignore. Whether it's a fitness trainer, a copywriter, a former middle manager who left their job to travel, or someone who bakes sourdough, many individuals have started selling courses online. These are not traditional degrees or certificates from well-known institutions. Instead, they are self-created courses packaged into landing pages and priced between $97 and $997. The message is often the same: the creator has discovered something valuable, and now you can too.
This phenomenon is far from niche. The global e-learning market was valued at around $342 billion in 2024 and is expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2032. Platforms like Kajabi, which specialize in digital knowledge products, have enabled creators to earn over $9 billion since its launch in 2010. Udemy alone hosts more than 220,000 courses created by over 75,000 instructors. It's safe to say that someone, right now, is launching a course about how to launch a course.
The Economics Behind the Courses
The appeal of selling an online course is straightforward. Once created, a course can be sold repeatedly without the need for inventory, manufacturing, or shipping. Platforms such as Teachable, Thinkific, and Kajabi manage the infrastructure, making the process accessible for anyone with an idea. Kajabi reports that its creators earn an average of $37,000 per year from their digital products, with 70% of six-figure earners citing course sales as their main source of income.
What makes this moment unique compared to previous eras of information selling is the breakdown of traditional gatekeeping structures. In the past, publishing houses decided whether your knowledge was worth packaging, and universities determined if your expertise was worth teaching. These decisions were slow, costly, and often incorrect. Now, the monopoly on legitimacy has weakened, allowing a direct connection between those who know something and those who want to learn it.
This shift also reflects changes in the labor market. Gig work expanded significantly after the 2008 financial crisis, as jobs that once promised stability no longer did. A 2025 analysis found that approximately 70 million Americans now engage in some form of freelance work. Income diversification is no longer a choice but a necessity for many. Selling a course can appear entrepreneurial, but it also represents a response to the declining value of employer loyalty.
The Completion Rate That Goes Unspoken
One aspect of the course economy that often goes unnoticed is what happens after the purchase. Research on MOOC completion rates consistently shows that fewer than 5% of people who enroll in a free massive open online course actually finish it. A University of Pennsylvania study found the figure to be 4%, while MIT and Harvard's joint edX analysis reported similar numbers. These are free courses from elite institutions, which raises questions about what completion looks like when the course costs $297 and was created by someone with 40,000 Instagram followers.
There are two perspectives on this issue. The honest version is that most people buy online courses for access and optionality rather than transformation. They are purchasing the feeling that they could learn something if they wanted to, which holds real value. The dishonest version involves marketing that promises specific outcomes, with little transparency about actual results. While the FTC requires that earnings testimonials reflect typical results, enforcement in the creator economy is inconsistent, and the gap between the exceptional case study in a sales video and the average buyer’s experience is often significant.
What the Course Is Actually Selling
Courses continue to thrive because they package something the market has always valued: the perception of an accelerated path. The underlying premise of every course, whether stated or implied, is that the creator spent years learning something, and you can shortcut that timeline for a fee. Some courses deliver on this promise, while others offer related benefits such as motivation, community, a framework for thinking about a problem, or permission to take seriously something you previously felt embarrassed about wanting.
With 44% of workers’ core skills expected to change within five years due to automation and economic shifts, the role of online courses in reskilling is debated. However, the anxiety about falling behind professionally—whether due to technology or lack of credentials—is real and widespread. Courses effectively address this anxiety by offering a solution that feels immediate and accessible.
The Creator Economy and Its Impact
The person selling the sourdough course is rarely running a scam. They learned something, identified an audience interested in that knowledge, and built a small business around the transaction. The creator economy made this possible on a scale that previous generations never experienced. What has changed is not the existence of people who know things and want to share them. Instead, it is the infrastructure that turned sharing into selling and the economic pressures that turned a side project into a survival strategy.
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