How to Find a Cheap Accredited Online Bachelor’s Degree

What “cheap” means for an online bachelor’s degree

A bachelor’s degree is often about 120 credits. A credit is a unit of college work. One semester credit means at least about 3 hours of work a week during a semester.

The College Board says average published tuition and fees at a public four-year college are $12,290 a year in 2026–27 for in-state students. A full-time student often takes about 30 credits a year. That works out to about $410 per credit.

So a simple rule: an online price well below about $410 per credit, including fees, is cheaper than the average in-state public college. A price far above it needs a good reason.

Real prices at public and nonprofit schools

These are online undergraduate prices from each school’s own tuition page. They are examples, not a ranking. Prices change every year, so check the school’s page before you apply.

Purdue Global uses quarter credits. A quarter credit is worth about two-thirds of a semester credit, so one semester credit of work equals 1.5 quarter credits. That makes $371 per quarter credit about $557 per semester credit ($420 for Indiana residents). Purdue Global also charges most undergraduates a resource fee of $345 per term.

Wyoming’s 2026–27 online rate was proposed at $215 per credit. In 2024–25, Wyoming charged nonresidents more for online classes. Ask the school for the final rate for your state.

Seven ways to cut the cost

1. Check the out-of-state price. Some public schools charge all online students one rate. Others charge out-of-state students much more. WCU’s out-of-state online rate is more than four times its in-state rate.
2. Start at a community college. Average published tuition and fees at public two-year colleges are $4,210 a year in 2026–27. Finish your general classes there, then transfer. Ask your four-year school which community college classes it accepts.
3. Transfer every credit you can. Old college credits, military training and exams like CLEP can all count. Each credit that transfers is one you don’t pay for again.
4. Look at flat-rate programs. Some schools charge one price per term, no matter how many classes you finish. Western Governors University is a nonprofit. For business bachelor’s degrees, it lists $3,850 per six-month term plus a $200 e-books and resources fee (terms starting on or after January 1, 2026). The UW Flexible Option is run by Universities of Wisconsin campuses. It lists $2,250 per 12-week period for as many courses as you can finish, with no year shown.
5. File the FAFSA. The FAFSA is the free federal aid form. Online students can get a Pell Grant if the school and program are eligible. A Pell Grant is free money you don’t repay, worth $740 to $7,395 in 2026–27. See who qualifies for a Pell Grant.
6. Ask your employer. Employers with a qualifying written plan can pay up to $5,250 a year (2026) of your education costs tax-free. The IRS has set the 2027 limit at $5,400.
7. Count every fee. Ask about technology, proctoring (supervised online exams), resource and graduation fees. A low price per credit can hide high fees.

Cheap but legit: check these before you enroll

• Accreditation. Accreditation means an outside agency has checked the school’s quality. Federal aid only goes to schools accredited by an agency the U.S. Department of Education recognizes. Search the school in DAPIP. Learn more in What Is Accreditation.
• Your state. The school must be allowed to teach students where you live. All states except California take part in SARA, an agreement that lets member schools teach online students across state lines.
• Results. Look up the school’s graduation rate and graduate earnings on the College Scorecard.
• Red flags. Walk away from a degree based only on “life experience” or a degree in a few weeks.

For the full list, use our online college checklist.

Work out your real cost: an example

Say you live outside North Carolina and have 30 transfer credits. You need 90 more credits at WCU’s 2026–27 out-of-state online rate.

Three years at the average in-state public price of $12,290 would be $36,870 before aid. That is only a rough comparison. Use each school’s net price calculator for your real cost. See How Much Does an Online Degree Cost? for the full method.

How to pay what is left

Use free money first: grants, scholarships and employer help. Then use federal student loans, which have fixed rates and income-based repayment. The 2026–27 undergraduate federal loan rate is 6.52% fixed. Use private loans last, and only for a gap that is left.