Most Affordable Online Colleges of 2025

A college degree doesn’t have to be a six-figure investment.

Many schools offer online degrees with a sticker price of less than $10,000. Those degrees are often tailored to working professionals, with asynchronous learning options to help you earn your degree without leaving your job.

We looked at 1,000 schools to compile a list of colleges offering at least five online degree options with an annual tuition of less than $10,000 for out-of-state students.

We chose to sort the list based on out-of-state tuition to ensure each college is accessible online to students from any state.

Affordability isn’t the only factor to consider when looking for an online college.

This ranking prioritizes affordability, meaning we only looked at tuition and narrowed it down to schools with a yearly price tag of under $10,000.

But there are other important metrics to consider in your college search.

Graduation rates, postgraduate employment, flexibility options, and class sizes are also important factors to consider when looking for the right school for you.

If you’re after a degree with both an affordable price tag and a demonstrated track record of strong graduate outcomes, we ranked some affordable online colleges based on student outcomes, reputation, and social mobility.

Here’s how the most affordable school on this list and the top college on our best affordable school list compare. The graduation rate at Appalachian State University is almost double the University of the People’s.

We also have rankings for degree and careers fields that factor those student outcomes into our list. Check them out if you’re interested in rankings that include those student-outcome factors:

Our list is based on school cost data, but you likely won’t pay that full price for a degree.

Financial aid, scholarships, and past college credit can all help you cut down on the cost of your education.

Our ranking is based on out-of-state tuition, but many schools offer even more affordable tuition to in-state online students.

Take Fayetteville State University. Its online out-of-state tuition is $3,125 per year, but that figure comes down to just $1,250 for in-state students.

That isn’t the case with every school: Some colleges, like the College of Coastal Georgia, charge the same online tuition regardless of where you live.

Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can help you further cut down on the cost of your degree.

The FAFSA doesn’t just include federal aid. It’s also used by state and local governments, colleges and universities, and private organizations to determine your eligibility for aid. That comes in the form of loans, which need to be repaid, and grants, which are typically merit-based and don’t need to be repaid.

The new FAFSA, for the 2026-27 school year, is scheduled to roll out Oct. 1. Recent FAFSA launches experienced delays.

If you’re a working professional who wants to earn while you learn or are a parent who needs flexibility while balancing family obligations, there might be scholarships tailored specifically for you.

A number of organizations offer scholarships aimed at nontraditional students. This includes the Adult Students in Scholastic Transition (ASIST) scholarship, which can help students facing physical, economic, or social challenges in pursuing their degree.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans with some college but no credential, going to an affordable online school might be an opportunity to put those past credits to use.

Many online degree programs feature flexible transfer options to help you apply past college credits toward your degree. Others also offer credit for real-word experience, including military experience.

Transferring previous credits toward your degree can cut down on both the time and cost of your education.

Cost might not be the only factor to consider when looking for a school.

This list provides a jumping-off point for some of the nation’s most affordable schools by tuition. However, other factors like your career goals, flexibility options, and student outcomes should also be part of any decision you make in terms of attending a college.

Not every school on our most affordable list will offer the exact specialization you’re after. Some schools, like Chadron State College, offer a general bachelor’s degree in areas like applied sciences in technical occupations, business, and education.

Others, like Western Governors University, have more selections based on your interest — although some programs, like nursing, might be more expensive.

Student outcomes are another factor to consider in your college search. Our most affordable list focuses solely on affordability and leaves out student outcomes like graduation and postgraduation employment rates.

We’ve got separate rankings that weigh student success against affordability to give you the best of both worlds.

Those rankings also focus on specific online degree types, like our list of best affordable bachelor’s in business administration programs or affordable psychology degrees.