WGU vs SNHU: cost, pace and outcomes (2026)

WGU charges a flat rate per six-month term ($3,850 for most business bachelor’s from October 1, 2026) and SNHU charges $354 per online credit for 2026-27, and in College Scorecard’s October 2026 data 55% of WGU students and 39% of SNHU students who started in 2017-18 earned a credential within eight years.

Which costs less depends on how many courses you pass in each WGU term, while SNHU’s tuition is the same at any pace. Both are private nonprofits, and nearly all of their undergraduates study fully online.

If you work full time and wonder how anyone fits a degree around a job, the two schools answer it differently. WGU lets you set the pace inside a six-month term. SNHU gives you one or two courses every eight weeks, with deadlines and grades.

Undergraduates study full time at WGU, mostly part time at SNHU

Most undergraduates at both schools are 25 or older, and College Navigator shows how they fit study in: WGU counts every undergraduate as full time, while two in three SNHU undergraduates study part time.

How students attend (College Navigator)	WGU	SNHU
Undergraduates studying fully online (fall 2024)	100%	98%
Undergraduates full time / part time (fall 2024)	100% / 0%	33% / 67%
Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023)	84%	75%

At WGU, full time means 12 or more competency units in a six-month term, worked through at your own pace inside the term. At SNHU, you take one or two eight-week courses a term, each with a set start and end date.

WGU bills by the term, SNHU bills by the credit

WGU’s 2026-27 tuition page lists one price per six-month term for each program. Most of its business bachelor’s programs are $3,850 a term, and the business tuition page adds a $200 e-books and resources fee, so $4,050 a term. Other bachelor’s rates on the same list run from $3,475 (health informatics) to $5,325 (nursing).

WGU says tuition and fees cover e-textbooks, course materials and assessments. You count as full time at 12 or more competency units (CUs) a term, and one CU equals one semester credit. Below 12 the rate is prorated, and above 12 you pay the same flat rate however many you finish.

SNHU’s online undergraduate rate for 2026-27 is $354 a credit, or $1,062 for a three-credit course. Thirty credits cost $10,620, and SNHU says most of its bachelor’s degrees take 120 credits. Course materials are extra and vary by course, and every graduate pays a $100 conferral fee.

WGU

Private nonprofit, accredited by NWCCU

Tuition

Flat rate per six-month term ($3,850 + $200 fee for business bachelor's)

Term

Six months; pass as many courses as you can

Start dates

Roughly the first of every month

Grades

Passed or Not Passed; no GPA

Transfer credit

Course by course; none added after you start

SNHU

Private nonprofit, accredited by NECHE

Tuition

$354 per credit ($1,062 per course)

Term

8 weeks, six terms a year; one or two courses

Start dates

Six undergraduate terms a year; register up to the day before

Grades

Letter grades A to F, with a GPA

Transfer credit

Up to 90 credits toward a bachelor's

Your pace decides which school costs less

Example: a 120-credit business bachelor’s with no transfer credit, at today’s rates and with no aid.

Plan	Math	Tuition and required fees
SNHU, 120 credits at any pace	120 × $354 + $100 conferral fee	$42,580
WGU, 6 terms	6 × $4,050	$24,300
WGU, 8 terms	8 × $4,050	$32,400
WGU, 10 terms (12 CUs a term, the full-time minimum)	10 × $4,050	$40,500
Break-even	$42,580 ÷ $4,050	about 10.5 terms
WGU, 11 full-rate terms	11 × $4,050	$44,550

SNHU’s own page gives $42,480 in tuition for its business administration bachelor’s, and that holds whether you take two courses a term or one; its course materials are extra. WGU’s $4,050 includes e-books, so its business rate costs more than SNHU’s 120 credits only if you need 11 or more full-rate terms.

Rates change. WGU set new rates for terms starting on or after October 1, 2026, and SNHU says its rates are reviewed annually, so a multi-year total is an estimate at today’s prices.

Aid changes both totals. Pell pays up to $7,395 for 2026-27 to eligible undergraduates, and both schools list the FAFSAFAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The free federal form for grants, federal student loans and work-study. Most states and schools use it for their own aid too. on their tuition pages. Each school’s financial aid office sets your actual award, so run the aid check to see what applies to you before you compare the two prices.

Scorecard’s net price describes few online adults

Scorecard puts WGU’s average net price at $12,748 and SNHU’s at $36,764 for 2024-25. Net price is the full cost of attendance, including living costs, minus grants. It counts only full-time, first-time undergraduates who got federal aid: 1,546 students at WGU and 2,465 at SNHU.

That group is small at SNHU. College Navigator says 9 percent of SNHU’s entering students in 2024 were full time and first time, and 67% of its undergraduates studied part time in fall 2024. If you are an adult with some college, SNHU’s $354-a-credit online rate tells you more than its net price.

Scorecard’s tuition figures for 2025-26 are $8,730 at WGU and $18,410 at SNHU, one figure per school. SNHU’s own pages list a separate campus rate in Manchester, New Hampshire ($593 a credit for 2026-27), so for an online plan use each school’s online rate.

WGU marks courses passed or not passed; SNHU gives letter grades

At WGU there are no letter grades and no GPA. You pass a course by passing its final assessment at the equivalent of a B or better, and you can re-enroll in a course you do not pass. WGU calls this competency-based education: you move on when you show you know the material.

SNHU courses run eight weeks, with letter grades from A to F that add up to a GPA. A D is passing for undergraduates. You can take one or two courses a term, six terms a year, with a week off every other term.

If a graduate school or employer asks for your GPA later, WGU’s academic transcript says it does not calculate one. Its Record of Achievement transcript states that the student completed each listed course with a GPA between 3.0 and 4.0 on a 4.0 scale.

SNHU takes up to 90 transfer credits; WGU reviews each course

SNHU accepts up to 90 transfer credits toward a bachelor’s and 12 toward a master’s. It requests your transcripts for free when you apply and gives you an official credit evaluation.

WGU reviews official transcripts course by course and names no fixed cap on its transfer page. An associate of arts or science may clear some or all lower-division requirements, depending on the program. Send everything early: WGU wants transcripts by the 5th of the month before your start and will not add transfer credit after you begin.

55% of WGU starters and 39% of SNHU starters finished within 8 years

These figures are from College Scorecard’s October 15, 2026 release. Each row gives the group and year it covers.

Measure	WGU	SNHU
Earned a credential within 8 years (all students who started in 2017-18)	55%	39%
Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time, fall 2019 cohort)	50%	42%
Median earnings 10 years after starting (entered 2011-12 and 2012-13)	$76,999	$56,870
Graduates’ median earnings 4 years after finishing (finished 2017-18 and 2018-19)	$87,445	$67,139
Graduates’ median federal loan debt (repayment years 2024 and 2025)	$12,500	$19,999
Undergraduates with a federal loan (2024-25)	48%	58%
Undergraduates with a Pell Grant (2024-25)	47%	55%
Business bachelor’s: degrees awarded (2023-24)	2,685	6,202
Business bachelor’s: graduates’ median earnings 4 years after (finished 2017-18 and 2018-19)	$83,654	$75,423
Business bachelor’s: graduates’ median federal debt (finished 2022-23 and 2023-24)	$17,299	$20,608

The 8-year rate covers all students who started in 2017-18, and College Navigator notes that this measure includes part-time and transfer-in students. The 6-year rate tracks only first-time, full-time starters. Earnings are medians for federally aided students, measured in 2022 and 2023 in 2024 dollars, and describe each school’s past students, not what either school will do for your pay.

The business rows are Scorecard’s field-of-study figures for business administration, management and operations, a federal program category rather than either school’s program title. It is SNHU’s largest field by bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2023-24.

Who each school fits, and the watch-outs

Neither school is better for everyone. The rules above decide which one suits your week.

WGU fits if

• You can pass more than 12 units a term. The flat rate drops your cost per course with every course past the minimum.
• You already know some of the material. You move on as soon as you pass the assessment, not when a calendar says so.
• You want to start soon. Terms begin roughly the first of every month.

SNHU fits if

• You want deadlines and grades. Eight-week courses with a set end date keep you moving, and you get a GPA.
• You will study one course at a time. The price per course stays $1,062 however slowly you go.
• You have a lot of credits to bring. SNHU takes up to 90 toward a bachelor’s and evaluates them free.

Watch-outs at both

• At WGU, a slow term costs the full rate. Past the 60% point there is no refund, and a 120-unit business degree that takes 11 full-rate terms ($44,550) costs more than SNHU’s 120 credits.
• At SNHU, speed does not cut tuition. Books and materials are extra, and graduates’ median federal debt is $19,999 against WGU’s $12,500.
• Completion is far from certain at either. Of students who started in 2017-18, 55% at WGU and 39% at SNHU had earned a credential from the school eight years later.

Check your aid before you choose either school

What you pay at either school falls with Pell, state grants and employer tuition help, and your own mix depends on your income and household. The aid check applies the federal rules for the year you plan to start (2026-27 or 2027-28) to your answers in about two minutes and shows the result before it asks for any contact details.

For the full figures on each school, see the WGU profile and the SNHU profile. If WGU’s self-paced model appeals, Capella University offers FlexPath, which charges one tuition fee per 12-week billing session. To compare more schools on completion, see online college completion rates.

Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional and comes after you see your aid result. The figures here come from federal data and each school’s own pages, and this comparison does not rank schools.