Online care training costs in 2026: quick comparison

Published prices vary considerably depending on how training is purchased.

These figures are based on publicly displayed provider prices checked in August 2026. Always confirm whether VAT applies and exactly what the quoted package includes.

How is online care training priced?

There are six common ways UK care providers pay for online staff training.

1. Pay per course

This is the simplest model.

You buy a course each time a member of staff needs training.

For example:

20 employees × 10 courses × £5 = £1,000

Pay-per-course training can work extremely well where staff only require one or two courses. It becomes progressively less attractive as the number of required courses increases.

Caredemy currently lists standard individual CPD courses at £15 + VAT, with automatic volume discounts that reduce the price to £4.99 at 100+ course purchases, £3.99 at 250+, £2.49 at 500+, £1.99 at 1,000+ and £1.45 at 2,000+.

Caredemy pricing

eCert Training also offers individual training, with its app currently listing multiple individual courses at £5.

Learn2Excel publishes a £5 pay-as-you-go price for its online care courses.

When does pay per course make sense?

It is particularly suitable when:

• only occasional training is required;
• employees need very few courses;
• you do not want an annual commitment;
• different staff require very different training;
• training demand is unpredictable.

For care organisations delivering multiple mandatory, induction and refresher courses, however, compare the annual total against unlimited training before deciding.

2. Pay per learner

Instead of paying every time a course is assigned, some platforms charge according to the number of active learners.

This makes budgeting much easier.

If training costs £40 per learner annually:

50 employees × £40 = £2,000 per year

The crucial question is what that £40 includes.

Does each learner receive one course, a predefined bundle or unrestricted access to the whole library?

Also check what happens when somebody leaves.

If a care worker leaves after two months and their licence cannot be transferred to their replacement, staff turnover can significantly increase your effective training cost.

3. Training credits

Credits provide a middle ground between PAYG and unlimited subscriptions.

An organisation buys a bank of credits and uses them as courses are assigned.

For example:

500 credits × £2.50 = £1,250

If one course assignment consumes one credit, those credits could provide 500 course enrolments.

Credits are particularly useful where you know approximately how much training you need but do not necessarily want an unlimited licence for every employee.

Check:

• whether credits expire;
• whether prices reduce at higher volumes;
• whether unused credits carry forward;
• what constitutes one credit;
• whether all courses cost the same number of credits.

Caredemy states that its team credit packages start from £1 per course per learner and that credits do not expire. Its team platform also includes LMS and compliance reporting functionality.

4. Course bundles

Bundles package several related courses together at a lower overall price.

For example, a provider might combine safeguarding, infection control, health and safety, moving and handling and other essential subjects into one package.

Caredemy currently advertises a 12-course Essential Care Skills bundle for £25, while its mandatory care packages provide another way of purchasing multiple courses rather than paying for each separately.

Bundles can offer excellent value when every included course is genuinely needed.

The calculation changes if a 15-course bundle contains only six courses relevant to an employee’s role. Compare the cost per required course, rather than simply the number advertised.

5. Unlimited care training

Unlimited training gives a learner access to many or all courses for a defined period, normally 12 months.

This can radically change the economics.

Suppose individual courses cost £5.

An employee completing:

If unlimited access costs £40 annually, PAYG is cheaper at two or five courses but the unlimited option becomes increasingly attractive as training requirements rise.

Caredemy currently offers an individual 200+ course subscription for £60 + VAT per year. Its team subscriptions are separately priced and start from advertised lower rates according to team requirements.

The calculation therefore needs to be made at organisational level rather than automatically assuming PAYG or unlimited access will be cheaper.

6. Team training and LMS packages

For established care providers, the learning management system can be almost as important as the courses themselves.

A team package may combine:

• course access;
• learner accounts;
• course assignment;
• certificates;
• training matrices;
• expiry monitoring;
• automated renewals;
• reminders;
• management reporting;
• branch or team administration;
• compliance reporting.

Caredemy’s team system, for example, includes a learner management system, colour-coded reporting matrix, course-time reporting, bulk certificates, bulk course assignment and audit/compliance reporting. Its subscription package additionally lists free learner replacement, manager training, automated course renewal and access to the full course library.

The cost of the LMS therefore should not automatically be separated from the cost of training. A package that reduces manual spreadsheet administration can potentially deliver value outside the headline course price.

UK online care training provider pricing comparison 2026

The following comparison uses publicly available pricing checked in August 2026.

Sources: provider websites and current published pricing pages.

Careskills Academy currently advertises unlimited pricing from £6.67 per user/month for 5–10 staff, falling to £3 for 51–100 staff and £2.92 for 101–150 staff.

Online Care Courses advertises subscription packages starting from 99p per user per month, although the precise package and requirements affect pricing.

Important: “From” prices are not necessarily available to every organisation or team size. Where a provider requires a quotation, this guide does not attempt to estimate the missing price.

Worked examples: what could care training cost?

The following examples show why the number of courses required changes the result.

For consistency, assume each employee needs 12 online courses during the year.

This is an illustrative purchasing scenario, not a statement that every care employee requires exactly 12 mandatory courses. Training requirements should reflect the employee’s role, service, risks and the needs of people receiving care.

10 employees

12 courses × 10 staff = 120 course enrolments

Using Caredemy’s published bulk PAYG rate at 100+:

120 × £4.99 = £598.80 + VAT

Caredemy’s publicly advertised individual unlimited subscription would be:

10 × £60 = £600 + VAT

Careskills Academy’s published 5–10 learner rate would be approximately:

10 × £6.67 × 12 = £800.40 annually

Learn2Excel advertises subscriptions from £2 per employee/month, making the published starting point:

10 × £2 × 12 = £240 annually

However, its website states that this rate depends on requirements, so £240 should be treated as a starting-price illustration rather than a guaranteed quote.

At this size, the difference between PAYG and unlimited access can be relatively small. Flexibility, course selection, reporting and learner replacement policies may therefore influence the decision as much as headline price.

25 employees

12 × 25 = 300 course enrolments

At Caredemy’s published 250+ bulk rate:

300 × £3.99 = £1,197 + VAT

Caredemy individual unlimited subscriptions:

25 × £60 = £1,500 + VAT

Careskills Academy’s published 21–50 staff rate:

25 × £4.58 × 12 = £1,374 annually

At this level, bulk purchasing starts producing significant reductions compared with purchasing courses individually.

A bespoke team subscription should also be quoted because published retail subscription pricing may not represent the best organisational price.

50 employees

12 × 50 = 600 course enrolments

Caredemy’s published 500+ bulk course rate:

600 × £2.49 = £1,494 + VAT

Caredemy individual unlimited subscriptions:

50 × £60 = £3,000 + VAT

Careskills Academy:

50 × £4.58 × 12 = £2,748 annually

The difference illustrates an important procurement point: large organisations should compare bulk course pricing, credits and team subscriptions rather than simply multiplying an individual retail subscription by headcount.

100 employees

12 × 100 = 1,200 course enrolments

Caredemy 1,000+ bulk rate:

1,200 × £1.99 = £2,388 + VAT

Caredemy individual subscriptions:

100 × £60 = £6,000 + VAT

Careskills Academy 51–100 staff rate:

100 × £3 × 12 = £3,600 annually

At 100 employees, administration and staff turnover also become increasingly important. A difference of a few pounds in course pricing may be outweighed by licence replacement rules or the management time required to track hundreds of training completions.

250 employees

12 × 250 = 3,000 course enrolments

Caredemy 2,000+ bulk rate:

3,000 × £1.45 = £4,350 + VAT

Caredemy individual subscriptions:

250 × £60 = £15,000 + VAT

Careskills Academy does not publish a rate for 250 employees on the pricing information reviewed, so no figure has been estimated.

For an organisation of this size, requesting a team quotation is essential. Pricing is only one procurement consideration: reporting, branches, administrator permissions, learner turnover, renewals and compliance oversight can have significant operational value.

Why the cheapest course price isn’t always the cheapest option

A £5 course looks cheaper than a £15 course.

But that does not automatically mean Provider A will cost less than Provider B over 12 months.

Consider a care worker completing 12 courses.

At £5 per course:

12 × £5 = £60

An unlimited package costing £40 would be £20 cheaper before considering additional training.

Now add two specialist courses during the year:

14 × £5 = £70

The gap increases.

The biggest hidden cost areas are often the following.

Staff turnover

Adult social care providers frequently need to train replacement employees.

Ask:

Can an unused or partially used learner licence be transferred when somebody leaves?

Caredemy states that free learner replacement is included with its team subscription packages.

If another system requires a new paid licence, include this in your calculation.

Care Certificate costs

New-to-care employees may require induction aligned with the Care Certificate standards.

A low-cost mandatory training package may not include the Care Certificate.

Administration

Someone has to:

• enrol staff;
• assign courses;
• monitor completion;
• chase overdue learning;
• download certificates;
• identify expiring training;
• prepare evidence for management and inspections.

If this takes a manager five hours per month, that is 60 hours of management time annually.

Even a modest reduction in this workload can materially affect the true cost of the training system.

Certificates

Check whether downloadable certificates are included.

Caredemy includes instant certificates with its online courses. eCert’s terms state that course prices include e-certificates, while Learn2Excel provides online certificate access.

Additional training

Basic mandatory training is not necessarily the end of the requirement.

Staff may need role-specific training covering areas such as dementia, medicines, epilepsy, diabetes, catheter care, end-of-life care or other subjects relevant to the people they support.

Refresher training

Training requirements continue after induction.

Skills for Care’s December 2025 statutory and mandatory training guidance emphasises that refresher decisions should reflect factors such as new risks, changing care needs, changes to the care environment, legislation, guidance and staff competence.

A package that looks inexpensive during induction can therefore become considerably more expensive over several years.

How much does the Care Certificate cost?

Online learning supporting the Care Certificate can start at around £10–£15 per learner among the providers reviewed.

Caredemy currently publishes:

eCert advertises its Care Certificate training as starting at £10.

There is an important distinction for employers, however.

The Care Certificate was updated in March 2025 and now contains 16 standards, including the new learning disability and autism standard. Workers must be assessed on what they know and what they do.

Online learning alone does not automatically demonstrate achievement of every Care Certificate requirement.

Skills for Care’s assessor guidance explicitly states that attendance or eLearning without appropriate summative assessment is not sufficient evidence of achievement. Workplace assessment, observation and evidence of competence therefore remain important employer responsibilities.

When comparing Care Certificate prices, check whether you are purchasing:

online learning supporting the standards, assessment tools, workplace competency resources, or a complete supported assessment process.

They are not necessarily the same product.

How much does mandatory care training cost?

There is no single UK price because there is no universal fixed package of online courses that every care worker must complete regardless of role.

CQC Regulation 18 requires regulated providers to ensure staff receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary to perform their duties. Providers should identify individual learning and development needs and ensure appropriate training is completed and monitored.

Skills for Care similarly states that requirements depend on the setting, employees’ roles and responsibilities and the needs of people accessing care and support.

This is why a realistic training budget should be based on your training matrix, rather than buying a generic bundle solely because it is labelled “mandatory”.

For budgeting, managers can calculate:

Number of staff × average required courses × average course price

For example:

40 employees × 12 courses × £4 = £1,920

Then add Care Certificate, specialist training and other costs not included in that price.

What does a care training LMS cost?

Some training providers include the LMS in their course or subscription pricing, while others bundle training and software into an annual licence.

When comparing LMS costs, check whether the platform includes:

Caredemy includes LMS and reporting tools with team training, rather than advertising these core functions as a separate software purchase.

When comparing providers, therefore, ask for the total annual platform and training cost, not simply the cost of a course.

Unlimited training vs pay-per-course

Neither model is automatically better.

A simple break-even calculation is:

Unlimited annual price ÷ PAYG course price = break-even number of courses

Example:

£60 annual unlimited access ÷ £15 individual course = 4 courses

At full retail pricing, a learner expecting to complete more than four £15 courses would therefore reach the £60 subscription price.

But volume discounts change this calculation for organisations, which is why care providers should compare team pricing separately.

Hidden care training costs to check

Before choosing a provider, ask:

How to calculate your annual care training cost

A useful formula is:

Annual Training Cost = Core Training + New Starter Training + Specialist Training + LMS/Administration Costs + Replacement Licence Costs + Additional Fees

A more detailed version is:

(Employees × Courses per Employee × Effective Course Cost) + Care Certificate Costs + Specialist Training + Platform Fees + Turnover Costs

Then calculate:

Annual Cost per Learner = Total Annual Training Spend ÷ Average Number of Employees

For example:

• 50 employees
• 12 courses each
• £2.50 effective cost/course
• 10 new starters needing a £12 Care Certificate
• £300 additional specialist training

Calculation:

50 × 12 × £2.50 = £1,500

10 × £12 = £120

£1,500 + £120 + £300 = £1,920

Annual cost per learner:

£1,920 ÷ 50 = £38.40

That £38.40 is far more useful for procurement than saying your courses cost £2.50 each.

How can care providers reduce training costs?

The biggest savings often come from changing the purchasing model rather than simply finding a cheaper individual course.

Calculate annual demand first

Estimate how many course enrolments you actually used during the previous 12 months.

Then forecast the next 12 months based on:

headcount + expected new starters + refresher requirements + specialist learning.

Use bulk pricing where appropriate

If you are buying hundreds or thousands of course enrolments, paying the retail single-course price rarely makes sense.

Compare unlimited access

If employees complete several courses every year, calculate the PAYG break-even point.

Account for staff turnover

A transferable learner licence can reduce wasted expenditure when employees leave.

Avoid unused course bundles

A £20 bundle is not good value if most employees only need £8 worth of the included learning.

Consolidate providers

Using several platforms can create duplicated subscriptions, fragmented reporting and additional administration.

Use training matrices

A clear training matrix reduces unnecessary course assignments while highlighting genuine compliance gaps.

Compare total cost, not headline price

Include administration, LMS functionality, certificates, Care Certificate learning, reporting and replacement licences.

Which training pricing model suits your organisation?

The more employees and courses involved, the more important the effective annual cost per learner becomes.

Where does Caredemy fit?

Caredemy offers several purchasing models rather than requiring every organisation to buy training in the same way.

Current options include:

• individual courses from £15 + VAT;
• automatic bulk discounts;
• Care Certificate bulk pricing;
• course bundles;
• credits;
• unlimited individual subscriptions;
• team subscriptions;
• 200+ course access;
• LMS and compliance reporting;
• bulk course assignment;
• bulk certificate downloads;
• automated course renewal on subscription packages;
• free training for the account manager on team subscriptions;
• free learner replacement on subscription packages.

For small requirements, buying individual courses online may be sufficient.

For organisations with 8+ employees requiring regular mandatory, induction and refresher training, Caredemy recommends comparing its team training option.

The correct comparison is therefore not simply:

“How much is one Caredemy course?”

It is:

“What is our annual cost per learner for all the training, reporting and compliance management we actually require?”

Compare Caredemy team training options

Online care training cost FAQs

How much does online care training cost in the UK?

Individual online care courses commonly cost around £5–£15 among providers with transparent pricing reviewed for this guide. Bulk purchases can reduce the effective price considerably, while unlimited packages may cost roughly £24–£80+ per learner annually depending on provider, workforce size and package.

How much does mandatory training cost per employee?

There is no single mandatory training price because requirements vary according to role, service and risk. If an employee completes 12 courses at £5 each, the course cost would be £60. An unlimited package may be cheaper where several courses are required.

What is the cheapest way to train care staff?

For one or two courses, PAYG is often economical. For employees completing numerous mandatory, refresher and specialist courses, bundles, credits or unlimited subscriptions can reduce the effective annual cost.

Is unlimited care training cheaper?

It depends on usage. Divide the annual subscription price by the PAYG course price to identify the approximate break-even point. If a learner completes more courses than that during the year, unlimited access may offer better value.

How much does the Care Certificate cost online?

Among providers reviewed, Caredemy currently charges £15 for 1–9 Care Certificate enrolments with volume pricing down to £9.50 at 100+, while eCert advertises Care Certificate training starting at £10.

Remember that eLearning alone does not automatically evidence full Care Certificate achievement. Employers need appropriate assessment of knowledge and workplace competence.

How many mandatory courses do care workers need?

There is no universal number that applies to every care worker. Skills for Care advises employers to determine training according to the setting, worker’s role and responsibilities and the needs of people receiving care and support.

Do care workers need refresher training every year?

Not every subject automatically has the same annual refresher period. Skills for Care’s current guidance says employers should determine appropriate refresher requirements based on factors including risks, changing needs, environment, legislation, guidance and competence.

Does CQC require staff training?

Yes. Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires regulated providers to ensure staff receive appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary for their roles.

Does an online course make somebody competent?

Not necessarily. Knowledge-based eLearning can form part of training, but employers must consider whether workplace observation, supervision or competency assessment is also required. This is particularly important for practical activities and the Care Certificate.

Should care homes pay per course or per learner?

Small teams with limited training needs may find PAYG economical. Providers with regular induction, mandatory, refresher and specialist learning requirements should compare annual per-learner subscriptions, bulk credits and team packages.

What should I ask an online care training provider before buying?

Ask for the total annual cost based on your headcount and expected training volume. Confirm course access, Care Certificate costs, certificates, learner replacements, reporting, LMS functionality, renewals, credits, support, setup charges and VAT.

The bottom line

Online care training can appear extremely cheap when providers advertise a single course for £5 or less.

But course price is not the same as training cost.

For care providers, the most useful measure is:

Total annual training expenditure ÷ average workforce = annual training cost per learner

Then consider what that price actually includes.

A care provider with frequent recruitment and multiple mandatory, refresher and specialist training requirements may achieve better value from an unlimited or team package. An organisation with stable staffing and relatively few course requirements may be better served by PAYG courses or credits.

The best-value option is therefore the package that provides the training your workforce genuinely needs, appropriate evidence and management tools, at the lowest sustainable total annual cost.