Best Accredited Online Colleges of 2026

Getting a degree doesn’t have to mean putting your life on hold. Online colleges give you the flexibility to keep working, caring for family, or pursuing your passions — while still earning a respected credential.

The challenge? With so many programs out there, it takes time and effort to cut through the noise. That’s where BestColleges comes in. We review and rank online schools based on real-world factors like affordability, graduation rates, and school reputations, so you can make confident choices and find the program that truly pays off.

How We Measured Student Satisfaction: We partnered with College Pulse to bring you data from students themselves on the schools on our list. The data and reviews aren’t part of our ranking methodology.

Here are some pros and cons of online learning that can help you determine whether an online education is right for you.

Here are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing an online college.

The cost of earning your degree online can vary greatly by institution type and the number of credits you need to graduate. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) College Navigator of 41 distance-learning-only institutions, the average net price of a fully online education at a four-year college in 2022-2023 was $17,410 a year. However, public colleges cost nearly $5,000 less than private institutions, on average.

According to NCES, among undergraduates enrolled in 59 fully online institutions in 2022-2023, the majority received some federal, state, local, or institutional grant aid.

Even fully online students can expect to see some price variation for in-state vs. out-of-state tuition. In-state tuition is the price you pay when you attend a public college within your state of residence. Out-of-state tuition is the price to attend a school outside your state of residence.

In-state tuition is typically much lower than out-of-state tuition. During the 2022-2023 academic year, the average in-state tuition at public universities was $10,490, compared to $24,000 for out-of-state students, according to Peterson’s Data.

Fully online schools may not have this distinction, however, so be sure to do your research.

Here are some of the best ways that online students can cut down college costs:

Accredited degree programs all require a certain number of credits to graduate:

You can pursue your degree as a full-time or part-time student. In some programs, you can even complete your studies at an accelerated pace. While part-time options offer great flexibility, they can also lengthen the time spent in school. Conversely, accelerated degree programs are fast-paced with shorter course lengths, but they often require more discipline and have heavier workloads.

There are different types of accreditation to look for when selecting a school or program.

Institutional accreditation is awarded to U.S. colleges and universities by independent agencies that periodically examine schools’ offerings. These agencies confirm that institutions are providing students with a quality education. Schools can receive regional and/or national accreditation, but generally, it is known as institutional accreditation.

Additionally, some professions like nursing, teaching, and law rely on programmatic accreditation. This means that a specific program of study at a school is accredited to meet certain standards in the field. If you wish to earn licensure in one of these professions, you will need to have attended an accredited program.

If you see that a program is accredited by an agency with an unfamiliar name, you can check the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s directory of programmatic accrediting agencies to make sure it’s legitimate.

The natural next step after earning your degree online is using it to get a job. Fortunately, online degrees are becoming more mainstream and more widely accepted by employers. In fact, a 2024 National Association of Colleges and Employers survey found more than 87% of employers hired new college graduates with online degrees.

“Every year, there are more online graduates, and many of those graduates move into hiring positions,” said Melissa Venable, Ph.D., a certified career coach, in an interview with BestColleges.

In 2024, 89% of online program graduates told BestColleges that their degree had a positive return on investment.

Venable explained that the shift to online education during the pandemic surfaced many advantages of online learning, which may have aided a wider acceptance of online degree programs.

Explore more about how employers view online degrees and read the rest of Venable’s interview below.

Did You Know? In a 2023 IBM and Morning Consult report, 88% of job seekers who earned a digital credential said these credentials were somewhat or very helpful in achieving career goals.