Choosing an LMS is partly a feature decision and partly a pricing decision, and the second one is easy to get wrong. The per-student vs flat LMS pricing question comes down to one thing: how predictable are your enrolments?
This guide explains both models, walks through a simple way to compare them, and lists the questions that expose hidden costs. All numbers here are illustrative, not anyone’s actual rates.
The two models, explained
Flat pricing
You pay a fixed amount per month or year, regardless of how many students you enroll, usually within a tier (for example, “up to 500 active users”). Go over the tier and you move up to the next price band.
Per-student pricing
You pay for each enrolled student. Some platforms count per month, others per course. Batch-wise per-student pricing, the model we use, prices each batch you run on the number of students enrolled in it.
A simple way to compare
Every flat plan has a break-even point: the number of students at which it costs the same as per-student pricing. Imagine a flat plan that costs the same as 150 students on a per-student plan.
- If you usually teach fewer than 150 students, per-student is cheaper.
- If you consistently teach more, the flat plan may win, as long as you stay inside its tier.
The catch is the word consistently. Most academies don’t have steady enrolment. They have a big batch before exams, a small summer batch, and a new course that starts with twenty students and hopes to reach two hundred. Flat pricing charges you for your peak all year round.
When flat pricing makes sense
- Your enrolment is large and stable month to month.
- You have a fixed annual budget that can’t vary.
- You comfortably fill your tier without regularly spilling into the next.
Schools with a fixed student body often fit here. Academies selling courses to the public usually don’t.
When per-student pricing makes sense
- You’re starting out. A first batch of 30 shouldn’t carry a fee designed for 500.
- Your enrolment is seasonal. Exam-prep and coaching centers see big swings through the year.
- You launch new courses often. Each can start small without raising your fixed costs.
- You want cost to follow revenue. If students pay you per course or per batch, paying per student keeps your margins steady.
What batch-wise pricing adds
Academies already think in batches: the March intake, the summer revision group, the evening cohort. Batch-wise pricing matches that. Each batch is priced on its own enrolments, which makes three things easier:
- Quoting your own fees. You know your software cost per student before you set your course price.
- Comparing batches. You can see which batches are profitable and which aren’t.
- Planning growth. Doubling a batch roughly doubles the cost, with no surprise jump to a higher tier.
Hidden costs to check either way
Headline prices rarely tell the whole story. Before you sign, check:
- Tier jumps. What happens when you exceed a flat plan’s limit mid-year?
- Inactive students. On per-student plans, do students who finished last term still count?
- Platform add-ons. Are mobile or desktop apps included, or extra?
- Security features. Are device limits and access controls part of the plan or a premium upgrade?
- Transaction fees. Some platforms take a percentage of your course sales on top of the subscription.
- Branding. Does removing the vendor’s branding cost extra?
A worked example: one academy, three batches
Let’s make it concrete with made-up round numbers. Suppose an academy runs three batches a year: a spring exam batch of 300 students, a summer batch of 60, and an autumn batch of 140. That’s 500 student-enrolments across the year, but never more than 300 at once.
On a flat plan, the academy has to buy a tier that covers the spring peak of 300, and pays for that tier all year, including the summer when only 60 students are enrolled.
On batch-wise per-student pricing, each batch is priced on its own enrolments: 300 in spring, 60 in summer, 140 in autumn. The summer batch costs a fraction of the spring one, which is exactly when a small academy’s cash flow is tightest.
Whether that works out cheaper overall depends on the actual rates you’re quoted. But the shape of the cost is very different: one follows your peak, the other follows your students.
What about revenue share?
Some platforms, especially course marketplaces, take a percentage of each sale instead of, or on top of, a subscription. That can look cheap at first because there’s nothing to pay upfront. As your courses grow, though, a percentage of every fee often becomes the most expensive option of all, and you usually give up control over pricing and branding too. If a platform takes a revenue share, calculate it at your target enrolment, not your current one.
Login sharing changes the maths
Here’s a factor people often miss. On any pricing model, every student watching on a shared login is a student you’re teaching without being paid. On a per-student plan, that also means your software cost per paying student looks higher than it should. Strong access controls, such as per-student device limits, make sure the students you pay for are the students you teach. See how to stop students sharing online course logins.
Questions to ask before you sign
- How exactly is a “student” counted, and when?
- What happens to my bill when a batch ends?
- Which apps and security features are included in the price?
- Are there transaction fees or revenue share on top?
- Can you give me a written quote for my actual batch sizes?
How Floral Gray LMS prices
Floral Gray LMS is priced per enrolled student, batch-wise. We don’t publish a rate card. Instead, you tell us your expected batch sizes and the platforms you need, and we send a quote. Every deployment includes your custom-branded apps, an isolated backend, and the full set of security controls. Read how our pricing works, or ask for a quote alongside a free demo.