StraighterLine
StraighterLine is an online education platform offering self-paced, accredited college courses for transferable credit at $99/month plus $79 per course, serving 350,000+ students with credits accepted at 3,000+ schools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersBaltimore, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What StraighterLine does
StraighterLine is an online education platform founded in 2008 and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, that delivers self-paced, accredited college courses for transferable credit at a fraction of traditional tuition. The platform operates on a membership-plus-per-course pricing model — $99 per month for access, digital textbooks, unlimited transcripts, practice exams, 24/7 virtual tutoring, and academic advising, with an additional $79 fee per course. Courses span General Education, Healthcare, Business, Math, and Humanities categories, and are designed for completion in approximately 23 days without fixed deadlines. Credits earned on the platform are accepted at over 3,000 colleges and universities, including named partners such as DeVry University, Bellevue University, and others; StraighterLine handles transcript delivery to these institutions directly. The platform reports a 98% course pass rate across its catalog.
The company's technology stack centers on a cloud-based learning management system with self-paced course delivery, automated transcript processing, and integrated tutoring — described as a self-serve, product-led platform with a free trial / freemium entry point. Customer acquisition is driven primarily by organic SEO, content marketing, and a freemium model, with university partnerships functioning as a secondary channel. The business has expanded beyond individual course delivery through two acquisitions — ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI, 2022) and Preppy (March 2025) — and strategic university partnerships including the 2020 launch and 2026 expansion of the DeVry relationship and a 2026 Bellevue University initiative offering accelerated applied associate degrees and stackable certificates in Business and IT. Combined with 350,000+ cumulative students served and claimed $300 million in aggregate tuition savings, StraighterLine positions itself as a low-cost alternative to introductory college coursework, with growing presence in workforce certification markets (healthcare, early childhood education).
StraighterLine firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- StraighterLine
- Legal name
- StraighterLine, Inc.
- Website
- https://StraighterLine.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- StraighterLine is an online education platform offering self-paced, accredited college courses for transferable credit at $99/month plus $79 per course, serving 350,000+ students with credits accepted at 3,000+ schools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
StraighterLine industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Higher Education
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- College-Level Core Subject Tutoring (Gen Ed: Math, Writing, Sciences, Humanities) (EDANAAAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Integrated Tutoring + Learning Content Platforms (Curriculum + Tutors) (EDANAGAL)
Keywords
Where StraighterLine is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Baltimore
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
StraighterLine business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Monthly Membership Subscription: Core revenue stream from $99/month membership covering platform access, digital textbooks, tutoring, practice tests, and support. Students can cancel or pause anytime.
- Per-Course Fees: One-time fee of $79 per course in addition to the monthly membership, providing access to individual course content and completion credits.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly membership with per-course fees |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free trial and preview |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
StraighterLine product offering
Product offeringCore offering
StraighterLine operates an online education platform that delivers self-paced, fully online college courses accepted for transfer credit by 3,000+ accredited institutions. Students pay a $99/month membership plus $79 per course, with access to digital textbooks, unlimited transcripts, practice exams with retakes, one-on-one support, and 24/7 virtual tutoring. Course categories include General Education, Healthcare, Business, Math, Humanities, and other subjects, with bundled Career Pathways and the acquired Preppy platform extending into workforce certifications.
Product overview
StraighterLine is an online education platform offering affordable, self-paced college courses for credit with a membership model ($99/month plus $79/course). The core offering consists of individual courses across categories including General Education, Healthcare, Business, Math, and Humanities, along with bundled Career Pathways. The platform recently expanded through the acquisition of Preppy (career and certification training) and partnerships with universities like Bellevue University and DeVry for accelerated degree programs and credit transfer. Courses are designed to be completed in about 23 days and transfer to 3,000+ schools. Additional offerings include free trials and course previews.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- StraighterLine Online Courses Self-paced, fully online college courses accepted for transfer credit by 3,000+ accredited schools. Priced at $99/month membership plus $79 per course, with digital textbooks, unlimited transcripts, practice exams with retakes, one-on-one support, and 24/7 virtual tutoring included. Targeted at individual college students, working adults, and career changers seeking affordable general-education and prerequisite credits.
- General Education Courses (GenEds) General education and prerequisite courses designed to help students knock out GenEd requirements and progress to upper-level courses sooner.
- Healthcare Courses Self-paced online healthcare courses, including Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, and Physiology, that earn transferable credits toward nursing and healthcare degrees.
- Business Courses Business skills courses with transferable credits applicable toward business degrees.
- Math Courses Self-paced math courses covering Algebra, Calculus, Statistics, and more for college credit.
- Humanities Courses Humanities courses covering History, Philosophy, and Sociology that earn transferable credits.
- Career Pathways/Bundles Bundled course packages designed for specific career paths, helping learners develop skills for particular professions.
- Preppy
Quantifiable outcome
- Students save $1,000+ per course compared to traditional college costs
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use StraighterLine
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
StraighterLine technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
StraighterLine partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- DeVry UniversitycoreExpanded partnership (originally launched in 2020) offering transfer credit opportunities and tuition savings for eligible StraighterLine students enrolling at DeVry. Students may transfer credits toward DeVry undergraduate programs in accounting, project management, cybersecurity, and health information technology. This partnership helps reduce both time and cost to earn a credential.
- Bellevue UniversitycoreStrategic initiative to offer accelerated, fully online applied associate degrees and stackable certificates in Business and IT fields. Programs feature self-paced courses designed for working adults, many completable in as little as 28 days, with up to $3,500 in annual tuition assistance for eligible learners. Partnership addresses employer demand for skilled, credentialed talent.
- PreppycoreAcquisition of Preppy, an online platform providing career and certification training, as part of StraighterLine's expansion into industry certifications. The acquisition aims to address workforce shortages especially in healthcare and early childhood education, bringing over 200,000 additional learners to StraighterLine's brand portfolio.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
StraighterLine competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Coursera: Coursera is a broad MOOC platform with ACE-recommended courses, professional certificates, and degree pathways; it does not specialize in GenEd transfers but overlaps StraighterLine's college-level learning market and competes for the same adult and credit-seeking learners.
- Chegg: Chegg is a broader education-services and consumer-internet brand offering tutoring, textbook rentals, and study help — a horizontal incumbent that competes for the same cost-conscious college-student wallet although not a head-to-head GenEd credit provider.
- edX (2U): edX (now part of 2U) operates a global MOOC marketplace with credit-eligible courses and full degree programs from accredited universities, serving as a broader incumbent that overlaps StraighterLine's affordable-credit use case with a much larger catalog and university-backed brand.
Direct peers
- Study.com: Study.com is the closest direct competitor — a subscription-based online platform offering self-paced college-level courses whose credits are widely accepted by U.S. colleges, targeting the same GenEd-for-credit consumer use case as StraighterLine with a near-identical freemium-to-paid GTM.
- Sophia Learning: Sophia (formerly Sophia.org) offers low-cost, self-paced general education and elective courses whose credits transfer to a large network of partner colleges, mirroring StraighterLine's monthly-membership + per-course pricing and credit-transfer value proposition.
- Modern States Education Alliance: Modern States is a nonprofit offering free CLEP test prep and exam vouchers that yield transferable college credit — overlapping StraighterLine's GenEd-for-credit target market, especially cost-conscious adult learners and community college transfers.
- Outlier.org: Outlier.org offers low-cost, accredited general-education online courses designed for credit transfer, positioned in nearly identical marketplace messaging and pricing tier as StraighterLine (~$200-400 per course, credit-recommended).
- Saylor Academy: Saylor Academy provides free, self-paced college-level courses with credit-recommendation pathways to a network of accepting institutions, competing for the same affordable-credit-seeking student that drives StraighterLine's subscription funnel.
Emerging players
- Aleks (McGraw Hill): Aleks offers adaptive online math and science learning used in college placement, remediation, and credit-by-exam contexts at scale; it overlaps StraighterLine's math/science course categories and serves similar student segments but in a narrower subject range.
Regional players
- Western Governors University: WGU is a competency-based, accredited online university (shown as an accepting-transfer partner by StraighterLine) representing the institutional alternative in the same low-cost, self-paced online degree space.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
StraighterLine social profiles
Digital presenceStraighterLine financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
StraighterLine leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
StraighterLine subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
StraighterLine funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
StraighterLine M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about StraighterLine
What does StraighterLine do?
StraighterLine operates an online education platform that delivers self-paced, fully online college courses accepted for transfer credit by 3,000+ accredited institutions. Students pay a $99/month membership plus $79 per course, with access to digital textbooks, unlimited transcripts, practice exams with retakes, one-on-one support, and 24/7 virtual tutoring. Course categories include General Education, Healthcare, Business, Math, Humanities, and other subjects, with bundled Career Pathways and the acquired Preppy platform extending into workforce certifications.
Is StraighterLine a public or private company?
StraighterLine is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was StraighterLine founded?
StraighterLine was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is StraighterLine based?
StraighterLine is headquartered in Baltimore, United States, in the North America region.
How does StraighterLine make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Monthly Membership Subscription is the primary driver. The others are per-Course Fees.
Who are StraighterLine's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Coursera, Chegg and edX (2U). Direct peers are Study.com, Sophia Learning, Modern States Education Alliance, Outlier.org and Saylor Academy. Aleks (McGraw Hill) is listed as an emerging player. Western Governors University is listed as a regional player.
Does StraighterLine have an API?
No public API is recorded for StraighterLine.
What industry is StraighterLine in?
StraighterLine's product category is Online Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDANAAAJ, College-Level Core Subject Tutoring (Gen Ed: Math, Writing, Sciences, Humanities), with a secondary code of EDANAGAL, Integrated Tutoring + Learning Content Platforms (Curriculum + Tutors). Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.