Written by Abishek A, co-founder of Classory. Classory is our product. We have aimed to be fair to every platform mentioned, and we show where Udemy pays you better than we do.
Udemy does not pay one fixed percentage. What you earn on a sale depends on who brought the buyer, not on what you charged. Two instructors with identical courses at identical prices can take home very different amounts.
Here is exactly how the revenue share works, what it means in rupees, and what actually reaches an Indian instructor's bank account.
TL;DR
- Udemy pays 97% of Net Amount when a student buys through your own coupon code or referral link. You brought the buyer, so Udemy takes 3%.
- Udemy pays 37% of Net Amount when the sale happens without your coupon or link, for a student who found you through Udemy's search, category pages or recommendations. Udemy keeps 63% as the cost of that discovery.
- Net Amount is not the sticker price. It is what the student paid minus applicable taxes and fees, including the 30% Apple or Google cut on app-store purchases.
- An iOS or Android app purchase can cost you a third before the share is even applied. A coupon sale in the app nets about 67.9% of the payment; an organic sale in the app nets about 25.9%.
- Udemy Business and Subscription programmes pay from a revenue pool based on how much your content is consumed, not per sale, so that income does not track your course price.
- Your list price is not what most students pay, because Udemy's site-wide promotions set the realised price.
- 97% is a genuinely good deal if you drive your own traffic. The reasons to leave Udemy are price control, product range and owning the student, not the fee.
All percentages as of 24 September 2026, from Udemy's instructor revenue share article. Udemy can change them, so check before you calculate.
How much does Udemy pay instructors?
Udemy pays a percentage of the Net Amount of each sale, and the percentage is set by how the sale happened:
| How the sale happened | Instructor share of Net Amount | Udemy keeps |
|---|
| Student used your coupon code or referral link | 97% | 3% |
| Sale with no instructor coupon or referral link (Udemy organic) | 37% | 63% |
| Udemy Business / Subscription Plan | Share of a revenue pool, allocated by consumption | The rest of the pool |
Source: Udemy instructor revenue share, checked 24 September 2026. Also read the Instructor Terms.
That 60-point gap between the two standard rates is the single most important fact about earning on Udemy. Everything else is detail.
What "Net Amount" actually means
Net Amount is the amount the student paid, minus applicable taxes and fees. Udemy names one fee specifically: the roughly 30% that Apple and Google take on purchases made inside the iOS and Android apps.
So the share is applied after that deduction, not before. Two identical sales pay very differently depending on where the student tapped "buy":
| Where the student bought | Sale type | Effective share of what they paid |
|---|
| Web browser | Your coupon link | ~97% |
| Web browser | Udemy organic | ~37% |
| iOS / Android app | Your coupon link | ~67.9% (97% of 70%) |
| iOS / Android app | Udemy organic | ~25.9% (37% of 70%) |
Assumptions: app-store fee taken at 30%, as named in Udemy's revenue share article. Taxes vary by buyer location and are excluded here. Figures are arithmetic from the published rule, not rates quoted by Udemy.
Practical takeaway: when you share your coupon link, send people to the web checkout rather than the app.
What you take home: worked examples in rupees
Per ₹1,00,000 of Net Amount
| Sale type | Share | Your take-home |
|---|
| Your coupon or referral link | 97% | ₹97,000 |
| Udemy organic | 37% | ₹37,000 |
| Half coupon, half organic | Blended | ₹67,000 |
Per-sale examples
| Student pays (web, Net Amount) | Coupon sale (97%) | Organic sale (37%) |
|---|
| ₹499 | ₹484 | ₹185 |
| ₹1,299 | ₹1,260 | ₹481 |
| ₹2,999 | ₹2,909 | ₹1,110 |
Assumptions: Net Amount is treated as equal to the student payment, which slightly overstates take-home where taxes or app-store fees apply. Prices are illustrative; use the figures in your own Udemy revenue report.
The lesson is not the arithmetic. It is that the same course at the same price pays you nearly three times more when you bring the buyer. Your traffic mix matters more than your pricing.
Udemy Business: paid from a pool, not per sale
Udemy Business sells companies a subscription to a curated catalogue. There is no individual sale of your course, so there is no percentage of a price.
Instead, participating instructors share a pool of Udemy Business revenue, allocated by how much their content was consumed. Your earnings depend on your watch time relative to every other instructor in the pool, so this income is real but unpredictable month to month, and it does not rise when you raise your price. Udemy's instructor help centre describes the current allocation rules.
Why your list price is not what students pay
You set a list price, but Udemy's site-wide promotions and deal pricing decide what a large share of students actually pay, and the revenue share applies to that lower amount.
Two consequences. You cannot forecast income by multiplying list price by expected sales. And your course gets anchored cheap in buyers' minds, which makes selling a premium programme harder later. See How to Price an Online Course in India in 2026.
Payouts, currency and tax for Indian instructors
Udemy pays instructors on a regular schedule through a limited set of payout providers, once your balance crosses a minimum threshold. Check the current schedule, threshold and the providers available in India in Udemy's instructor help centre before you plan around the money.
Two things to plan for:
Currency. Earnings are reported in a foreign currency and converted when they reach you. Conversion and remittance charges come from the payout provider and your bank, not Udemy, and reduce what lands in your account.
Tax. Instructor income from a foreign marketplace raises questions about withholding, GST registration and whether your supply counts as an export of service. This is case-specific. This post is information, not advice, so speak to a chartered accountant. Overview: GST on Online Courses in India.
What this means if you're an Indian instructor
Push your own coupon links, always. A coupon sale pays 97%; the same sale through Udemy's search pays 37%. If you have a YouTube channel, WhatsApp community or email list, sending them through your own link is the single biggest lever on your Udemy income, worth roughly 2.6 times per sale.
Don't treat Udemy income as predictable. Your monthly total mixes two very different rates plus a consumption pool, and it moves even when your sales count doesn't.
Know what the 97% is telling you. If most of your earnings come from your own audience, you are already doing the hard part of running a course business. Udemy is charging you 3% for the checkout and hosting, which is cheap.
Where Udemy genuinely wins
At 97% on coupon sales, Udemy is cheaper than any subscription platform until you are selling several tens of lakhs a year. A ₹7,499/month plan is ₹89,988 a year whether you sell ₹2 lakh or ₹20 lakh; 3% of ₹5 lakh is ₹15,000. The maths only turns around at very high volume, worked out in Udemy vs Your Own Website.
Udemy also costs nothing to start, sells worldwide in local currencies, handles international tax collection, and produces organic sales you would otherwise have to buy. For an instructor with no audience, 37% of real sales beats 100% of none.
So when is charging directly better?
Not because of the percentage. Because of four things Udemy can't give you:
- Price control. Udemy's promotions set the realised price, and a marketplace built on low promotional prices is a hard place to sell a premium programme.
- Product range. Live batches, cohorts, test series, memberships and certificates don't fit the marketplace model.
- The student relationship. A Udemy buyer is Udemy's customer, not yours, so there is no second sale to the same person.
- Bundles and upgrades, which is where course businesses actually make money.
If those matter to you, an owned platform is the answer. As of September 2026, Classory Pro is ₹7,499/month at launch price (₹9,999 standard, plus 18% GST) with 0% commission when you connect your own Razorpay, or a flat 5% if Classory collects payments (classory.app/pricing).
Two limitations to weigh honestly: Classory supports payments in India only, and has no native iOS or Android apps yet (classory.app/trust). If a good share of your Udemy income comes from overseas students, that is a real loss. Other Indian options are worth pricing too: Graphy Launch is ₹24,999/year plus 10% per sale, and Learnyst's Essential plan is ₹3,499/month and advertises zero transaction fees.
Full comparison: Subscription vs Transaction Fees.
FAQ
How much does Udemy pay instructors?
Udemy pays 97% of Net Amount when a student buys using your coupon code or referral link, and 37% when the sale happens without one, as of September 2026. Udemy Business and Subscription programmes instead pay from a revenue pool allocated by how much your content was consumed.
What is Net Amount on Udemy?
Net Amount is what the student paid minus applicable taxes and fees, including the roughly 30% that Apple and Google charge on purchases made inside the mobile apps. Your revenue share is calculated on this amount, not on your list price, so an app-store purchase reduces your take-home before the percentage is applied.
Why did two of my Udemy sales pay different amounts?
Because they came through different routes. A sale through your coupon link pays 97% while a sale from Udemy's own search pays 37%, even at the same price. Discounting and app-store fees also change the Net Amount the percentage is applied to.
Does Udemy pay more if I raise my price?
Only partly. You earn a share of what the student actually paid, and Udemy's promotions often set that well below your list price. Udemy Business earnings are based on consumption rather than price, so raising your list price does not reliably raise your income.
How do I earn the 97% rate on Udemy?
Share your own coupon code or course referral link, and have students buy through it rather than finding the course through Udemy's search. Send them to the web checkout rather than the mobile app, since app-store fees are deducted from Net Amount before your share is calculated.
Do I pay GST on Udemy earnings in India?
It depends on your registration status, turnover and whether your supply qualifies as an export of service. This is genuinely case-specific, and this post is information rather than advice, so talk to a chartered accountant before deciding how to invoice or file.
If you already bring your own buyers
If most of your Udemy earnings come from your own links, you're paying for a checkout, not for an audience. That's when comparing a flat monthly fee makes sense. See Classory's plans, or read How to Sell Online Courses Without Udemy for the practical steps.
Continue reading
Sources
- Udemy, instructor revenue share (97% / 37%, Net Amount definition, app-store fee): https://support.udemy.com/hc/en-us/articles/229605008 (checked 24 September 2026)
- Udemy, Instructor Terms: https://www.udemy.com/terms/instructor/ (checked 24 September 2026)
- Classory, pricing, commission and plans: https://classory.app/pricing/ (checked 26 September 2026)
- Classory, current limitations: https://classory.app/trust/ (checked 26 September 2026)
- Graphy, pricing: https://graphyapp.in/pricing/ (checked 26 September 2026)
- Learnyst, pricing: https://www.learnyst.com/pricing (checked 26 September 2026)
- Razorpay, payment gateway pricing: https://razorpay.com/pricing/ (checked 26 September 2026)
Percentages, prices and terms change. Verify before making a decision. Tax treatment depends on your circumstances, so consult a chartered accountant.
