What influence eLearning Development Cost?

What is the cost of developing an eLearning module? Clients frequently ask this question before making any further steps for necessary decisions. However, when you have enquired about the development cost, most eLearning developers would reply, "Well, the cost depends on what you are choosing", which leaves you wondering what it depends on.?

We share our insight on cost based on the latest market research, trends, experience, and data insights from hundreds of developments, to provide you with strategies while planning eLearning. For example, a recent study by Racoon (2021) asserted that an hour of content costs about $22,431 on average and consumes almost 100-160 hours to develop.?This assertive price is far different from 2010. Chapman Alliance research explained that good content takes $10,000 to produce an hour of content and the price may vary according to additional features added.?

Cost Dependability Factors

You scroll the page down to find the cost showing you have arrived at the correct destination to explore the 'dependability factors'.?Well, you may think we utter the word 'depends' too, but we will shed some brighter light for you to see the 'dependable factors'.?In general, the price of eLearning development depends on four main components;

1.???????State of current content & modules

What is the content you are having now, including a written manual, PDF, PowerPoint, or video recording from SME? Is it readily available, or do you need SME to write it for you? Knowing the content and the availability of design elements that will be included in eLearning courses is crucial in presenting the content in a relevant and concise manner.

2.???????Content Duration

The number of available sources can determine the course duration, which significantly determines the course duration. The longer the course, the more workforce hours impact the development cost. However, this does not cover the interactive elements.

3. Type of Learning Interactivities

The learning interactivities and development duration cover three main aspects of to plan. First, delivering training programs associated with the interactivity level reflects the hours required for the development. Thus, the rule of thumb is that the more interactivity, the more hours are needed for development. In the real-world scenario, interactivity and length are heavily influenced by stakeholders, available resources and "what is usually done". Chapman Alliance breakdown the course development as follows;

4.???????Experts Rate

Expert rates determine who will develop the projects. Generally, an eLearning project can be produced by you (in-house) or vendors (outsourced), ultimately deciding the overall cost. In-house development is often regarded as more expensive than outsourced due to the operating cost and the purchase of advanced tools to develop eLearning modules. On the other hand, outsourcing can leverage the economic scale and helps for cost efficiencies that save cost.?

Sum Up

Now you have realized that "it depends" doesn't seems like a vague answer, and you have complete control over all the factors to produce your desired outcomes within your planned budget.

However, before diving into these factors and deciding the development level you want, it is essential to set realistic expectations for the learner's learning time to absorb and adopt the content. Setting realistic expectations ensures the learning program would transfer into the learner's application, guaranteeing ROI for organizations. Setting realistic expectations can be achieved by conducting need analyses for course takers within their organization before planning the course in further detail. In reality, every training should return the investment to both business and plans. So, we prepare a?checklist?that?is helpful?for you to?think?about before?deciding on the cost.

Well, that was all about the cost of eLearning development, but what about the calculation? We designed a simple eLearning cost calculator that will help you to approximately calculate the cost of eLearning based on the data you assert. Please send?us your thoughts we will help you to strategize the best possible solutions!