Compare options
Advanced mode compares two or three setups side by side over the period you choose. Use your own labels and figures. Nothing is preloaded, and a blank entry is never treated as zero.
Tax and leaving costs
Enter these only where you have confirmed them. This is not tax advice.
Course platform cost calculator
Compare two or three setups against the same requirements, sales assumptions and time period. The results separate cash paid from costs attributed to the comparison period. Blank values are not treated as zero.
Limits: This is a budgeting model, not accounting, tax or legal advice. It uses aligned monthly buckets rather than day-level invoice allocation. It does not model tiered, capped or minimum fees. Enter those as manual costs or keep the affected option incomplete. Reverse-charge fields only record adviser-confirmed amounts. They do not decide whether the reverse charge applies.
Comparison results
Enter the shared scenario and option costs, then calculate.
Option
One-off setup, staff time, tax and switching costs
Use this free course platform calculator to turn a few figures into a monthly and annual cost estimate. If you are weighing up two or three options, switch to advanced mode and compare them on cash, economic cost and internal effort.
Quick mode is an estimate. It starts with three inputs and cannot work out your fee rates for you, so payment processor and platform fees are left out until you open the fee assumptions and enter your own figures.
This page is the working tool. For the explanation behind each cost line and the UK context, read the course platform costs guide.
Read the course platform costs guide
Your entries stay in your browser. They are not sent to EdTechKit and are not stored in a database. This applies to the calculator only. The calculator does not capture your entries for analytics and does not call a remote service to work out results. If you copy a result or export a CSV, that content is created on your device and handled by you.
How the calculator works
The calculator is deterministic. The same entries always give the same result, and everything is worked out in your browser.
- Monthly plan and add-on amounts are multiplied by the number of months in the comparison period.
- Annual plan and add-on cash is the annual amount multiplied by the number of 12-month blocks started. A 14-month period counts as 2 blocks.
- Annual service allocation spreads the annual amount across the months of service: the annual amount multiplied by the months and divided by 12.
- Fees each month are monthly sales multiplied by the combined processor and platform percentage, plus the number of successful payments multiplied by the combined fixed fees. That monthly figure is multiplied by the number of months.
- Internal effort is staff hours multiplied by hourly value.
- Reverse-charge burden is the output amount less the permitted input recovery.
- Gross cash is plan cash, add-on cash, fees, setup cash, supplier tax paid and switching cost in the period.
- Net cash is gross cash less confirmed tax recovery, plus any reverse-charge burden.
- Economic cost is plan and add-on service allocation, fees, setup cash, internal effort, non-recoverable tax, reverse-charge burden and switching cost in the period.
- The future switching estimate is displayed on its own and is not added to economic cost.
Assumptions to check
The result is only as good as the figures you enter. Before you rely on a comparison, check each of these.
- Entries must be finite numbers of 0 or more. A blank entry is unresolved unless the group status is Not applicable or confirmed zero.
- Zero is treated as a real value, not as unknown. Use the status field to say whether a figure is verified, assumed, unknown or confirmed zero.
- Sales and successful payment counts are the same for every option, so differences come from the setups and not from volume.
- Tax recovery cannot exceed supplier tax paid, and reverse-charge recovery cannot exceed reverse-charge output.
- Reverse-charge values are entered by you after confirmation. The calculator does not decide whether a reverse charge applies.
How to read the result
Gross cash is the money that leaves your account. Net cash adjusts that for tax you have confirmed you can recover. Economic cost goes further and adds the value of your own time, so it is the better measure when you compare setups that need different amounts of work.
Use monthly equivalent for budgeting and the cash figures for planning when money moves. Look at the future exit stress figure separately. It helps you judge how hard a later move might be, but it does not change the cost over the period.
A named cheapest option means the lowest economic cost on your inputs, and only when every comparable option is complete and suitable. If the conclusion is gated, the page tells you what is missing. Resolve those items before drawing a conclusion.
How this page relates to the guide
This page is the tool. It takes your figures and returns an estimate or a comparison.
The course platform costs guide is the explanation. It sets out the cost lines, the UK context and why each one matters. Read it first if you are not sure which figures to look for, then return here to put numbers on them.
Limitations
Please keep these limits in mind.
- Quick mode is an estimate. It uses three inputs and cannot infer fee rates, so fees are excluded until you enter them.
- Costs are placed in aligned monthly buckets. There is no day-level allocation of invoices.
- Tiered, capped and minimum fees are not modelled.
- The calculator does not know current supplier prices. You supply every figure.
- It is a budgeting aid. It is not accounting, tax or legal advice, and it does not tell you how any tax rule applies to you. Ask a qualified adviser about your own position.
Related guides
These pages give more context for the figures you enter.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a free course platform calculator?
Yes. You can use both modes without paying, and the calculator has no account step.
Why does quick mode say fees are not included?
Quick mode has only monthly sales, successful payments and plan price. Those three inputs cannot tell it what percentage or fixed fee you pay, so it does not guess. Open Fee assumptions and enter your own rates to include them.
Where do I find my fee rates?
Check the supplier's current pricing page, your contract or order form, and recent payment statements. Rates change, so confirm them at the time you decide. The calculator does not supply rates.
What is the difference between Unknown and zero?
Unknown means you have not resolved the figure, so the option stays incomplete. Zero is a real value you have entered. Use Not applicable or confirmed zero when a cost does not apply or you have confirmed it is nothing.
What is the difference between gross cash, net cash and economic cost?
Gross cash is what you pay out. Net cash adjusts for confirmed tax recovery and any reverse-charge burden. Economic cost also includes internal effort and spreads annual amounts across the months of service.
Why is no cheapest option named?
A cheapest option is named only when every option that could be compared is complete and suitable. If any figure is unknown or invalid, or an option has not been checked against your requirements, the page lists what is missing instead.
Does the calculator handle tiered or capped fees?
No. It uses a percentage and a fixed fee per successful payment. If your terms include tiers, caps or minimums, treat the result as a rough guide and check the detail yourself.
Are my entries sent anywhere?
Your entries stay in your browser. They are not sent to EdTechKit and are not stored in a database. That statement covers the calculator only.
Is this tax or accounting advice?
No. It is a budgeting aid. Tax and reverse-charge figures are values you enter after confirming them, and the calculator does not decide how any rule applies to you. Ask a qualified adviser about your own situation.
How is this page different from the course platform costs guide?
This page calculates. The guide explains the cost lines and the UK context behind them. The two work best together.