Online Learning Market Size 2025

Report Highlights

By 2026, the global online learning market should be worth $375 billion.
It is predicted that by 2024, the US eLearning market will have grown by $21.64 billion.
The US owns about 34% of the online learning market platforms.
In 2019, the North America LMS market size was valued at $3.97 billion.
The US held about 43% of the online academic market share, valued at over $20 billion.
The virtual classroom market size was $11.3 billion
During the 2020 to 2026, the industry and professional eLearning segment is likely to grow with a CAGR of 32.1%.

Online learning has exploded globally, with growth skyrocketing year after year.

In recent times, that momentum has only picked up, showing no signs of slowing down.

Understanding where it’s been, where it’s headed, and which areas are booming gives us a clear picture of this market’s rapid evolution.

Global Market Size Past and Predictions

It is important to understand how the global online learning market performed in the past. It is just as vital to appreciate the predictions made at the time. This provides you with an indication of the average level of performance based on past circumstances.

In 2019, the overall online learning market was worth just under $200 billion.
The online e-learning sector was the largest contributor with a value of $101 billion.
The mobile e-learning sector was worth $19.5 billion.
The learning management system was worth $18 billion.
In 2016, self-paced online learning decreased in value from $46.9 billion to $46.6 billion.
The worldwide compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for self-paced learning was at -6.4% and distinctively dropping.

Global Market Size Current State and Forecasts

The world has changed at a rapid pace and this is particularly notable in the global online learning market. From market shares to growth rates, the current global standing proves just how much the eLearning sector has evolved. The forecasts are useful for future comparisons.

The global online learning market is expected to grow over CAGR 8% between 2020 and 2025.
Thus, by 2026, the market should be valued at around $375 billion.
Europe has cornered 35% of the market share.
The global online platform learning platform market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11% from 2020 to 2025.
Despite the dire predictions, self-paced online learning was up by 2.17% for 2020.
It is estimated that the market growth will accelerate at a CAGR of almost 3% from 2020 to 2024.
Thus, in 2024 it is believed that the value of the market will have grown by $6.71 billion.
The synchronous learning segment is predicted to grow by 31% by 2023.

US Market Size Past and Predictions

The US has been at the forefront of online learning, garnering a considerable stake in the market share. Nevertheless, the past circumstances can prove how the market size has changed and which sectors have fared better or worse than imagined.

In 2014, mobile learning services and products reached $1.6 billion.
This was estimated to reach $2.1 billion by 2019.
In 2016, the US online learning market was valued at $27 billion.
At the time, the US made up 50% of the self-paced learning market.
It was estimated that the year over year growth rate for 2020 was 9.8%.
In 2019, the North America LMS market size was valued at $3.97 billion.

Some of the most popular eLearning platforms include Coursera, Skillshare and Udemy.

US Market Size Current State and Forecasts

The US market continues to dominate the online learning market size. It is interesting to determine the current state that the US has and what this looks like compared to other countries. The growth of the sector can pinpoint future investment opportunities.

The US occupies 34% of the online learning platform market.
North America will contribute to around 38% of the growth of the self-paced online learning market.
It is predicted that the US eLearning market will grow by $21.64 billion in 2024.
As a result, the market growth will accelerate by a CAGR of 12%.
The US will register the highest growth rate of 100% compared to other countries.

Academic Online Learning Market Size

The online learning market is largely associated with academia. This includes K–12 grades as well as higher education. While the K–12 segment is certainly catching up, secondary education institutions have been a part of the market share for quite a while.

Since 2013, the US has funded almost 58% of education technology deals.
In 2016, 6.3 million college students – over 33% – were enrolled in an online class.
The US held about 43% of the market share.
In 2018, the global online K–12 education market was valued at $6.73 billion.
It is estimated that K–12 make up 42% of the US EdTech market.
Higher education accounts for 54%.
In 2019, 3 million students pursued an online higher education.
This created a market share of over $20 billion.
5 million students enrolled in some online learning courses at 3,438 institutions.
By 2025, it is expected to grow to $44.9 billion.
The global online language learning market size was $8.1 billion and is expected to reach $26 billion by 2025.
Therefore, it will be experiencing a CAGR of 18.1% during this period.
North America made up about 16% of the market.
In 2019, the academic market was valued at $103 billion and expected to grow CAGR 11.23% by 2025.
The virtual classroom market size was $11.3 billion and was expected to grow to $33.5 billion by 2026.

Corporate Online Learning Market Size

Corporations are a close second with online learning. As such, they do take up a fair amount of the market share. This is a segment that has certainly seen a great deal of development over the last few years.

In 2017, 16.8% of corporate learning was based on business and management.
3% was dedicated to sciences, with 10.8% focused on social sciences.
At 4.09% and 6.73%, mathematics and arts and design were the least popular options respectively.
It is estimated that around 40% of Fortune 500 are using eLearning for professional reasons.
About 78% of organizations that provide online learning use a Learning Management System.
In 2019, 16.2% of the LMS market was cornered by banking, finance, and insurance companies.
By the end of 2020, the market was expected to be worth $31 billion.
As such, the market was expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.41%.
During the 2020 to 2026 period, the industry and professional segment is likely to grow with a CAGR of 32.1%.

Online Learning Market Trends

In addition to determining the market size, it is just as important to appreciate online learning market trends and how much they are expected to grow. These can predict current and future movements in the market.

In 2017, hardware for online learning had the largest market share with a revenue of $19.92 billion.
Nonetheless, software is expect to lead the market with a CAGR of 31.2%.
In 2019, the content providers segment was 60% and is expected to grow by a CAGR of 27.4%.
The services segment is expected to grow by a CAGR of 30.7% by 2023.
Blended learning is also increasing in popularity with a market size of $128 billion in 2019.
It is predicted that blended learning will grow CAGR of 11.14% by 2025.

While there is no denying that the online learning market has grown quite a bit, it is impressive to note the sheer size of this industry. It is just as interesting to appreciate how much more this market can grow in the span of several years.

This is a national and global movement, with US continuing to lead the way. This is particularly clear by the fact that the US has invested an incredible amount of money in ensuring that the online learning market continues to grow by leaps and bounds.