Why I Offer Parity Pricing for My Online Courses

Parity pricing is something I absolutely stand by.

It’s great for my business, bringing in 30% more revenue from customers I never would have had otherwise.

It’s great for many of my customers, who can now afford to take my courses and improve their skills when they otherwise couldn’t

Not everyone sees it that way, though. In fact, some people are quite vehemently opposed to it.

I’m often asked why I offer parity pricing and what I think about the various objections people raise. 

So, here it is.

What’s parity pricing?

It’s simple: the price of the product I’m selling automatically adjusts based on where you live.

Is that fair?

Sure it is. Or at least, it’s fairer than charging everyone around the world the same US$ amount.

A $500 course? In the US or UK, it’s an investment. That could represent a fifth or a tenth of someone’s monthly income.

But in countries like Brazil or Romania or India, where the average salary might be around $500 a month—that’s an entire month’s salary, or more.

So, I use parity pricing to help level the playing field.

It’s not a perfect system, I agree. But for me and my business, it’s a compromise that falls firmly on the side of a positive.

Why I offer parity pricing for my courses

Offering parity pricing wasn’t a decision I made lightly. But over time, it’s proven to be one of the best decisions for both my business and my students.

I’ve seen first hand how it’s opened doors for people who wouldn’t have had access otherwise, and it’s helped me grow in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

First—because parity pricing absolutely works for the reason I intended.

I’ve had people from all over the world tell me they never would’ve been able to afford my course without parity pricing.

Now? They’ve upskilled, landed better jobs, and grown their businesses. I regularly receive grateful examples of these.

Second—it’s proven great for my business.

Around 30% of my revenue last year came from parity-priced purchases.

And here’s the kicker: all these extra sales came from countries where I’d never made a single sale before—not in eight years of selling courses online to a global audience.

Before parity pricing, my audience was predominantly from the affluent West—US, UK, Australia, Canada.

Now? I’ve got students from Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia, and all over the place.

That’s a whole world of people I wouldn’t have reached otherwise.

How parity pricing works

So how does parity pricing actually work?

I sell my courses in US$. But not every country’s currency has the same purchasing power as the $.

As I mentioned, a $500 course could easily represent an entire month’s salary for someone in India, for example. That’s purchasing power disparity, right there.

And that’s what I’ve implemented parity pricing for. It’s an attempt to level the playing field for the price of my courses for people in countries where their currency is worth far less than the US$ I sell in.

I use a service called Parity Deals to handle this for me automatically.

Parity Deals places countries across the world into groups—20% off, 30% off, sometimes more—based on current real-world economic data of the relative value of different currencies versus the US$.

And these groupings aren’t set in stone; as economies shift, so do the groupings that countries are placed in.

Is it a perfect system?

No, of course it’s not.

Some customers in Mexico or Vietnam, for example, might earn salaries comparable to the average US citizen, or higher. At the same time, there are Australians earning far below their national average.

And there are a few other potential problems with the system too—more on that in a second.

But, I’d rather implement an imperfect system that helps most people than do nothing at all.

Addressing common concerns

Of course, not everyone sees parity pricing as a good thing.

And that’s fine—I’m not here to tell other business owners what to do. The decision to use parity pricing in my own business is my own.

But let’s address the usual objections, and why I decided, on balance, to waive them.

“People can get round this with a VPN”

Yes, some will try to game the system, using a VPN to pretend to be in a lower-income country.

Parity Deals is designed to detect and block VPNs, as well as other common location spoofing tricks, ensuring a fair system for everyone.

It’s not bulletproof, but it’s solid enough to keep things fair.

“Won’t people take advantage?”

Yep, sure they will.

I had a guy from New Zealand buy my course at Peru’s discounted rate while he was working there for a month on a project.

And another regular customer who lives in the US and has a successful business there bought a course for the much lower India price while visiting family there.

Obviously, this is not the spirit of what a parity pricing discount is for.

Do I love it? No.

Do I let it keep me up at night? Also no.

If a few people take advantage of the system, so what? I’m happy that most people are getting the benefit who really need it.

“It’s a global economy. There’s no reason people who live in India (for example) can’t charge US rates for web design projects.”

I hear this one often. People say, “They’re working in a global market, they can charge Western prices!”

But let’s be real—companies in affluent countries aren’t hiring web developers from India or the Philippines at US rates. They’re hiring abroad to save money. It’s called geographic arbitrage.

To believe that US companies will just as easily hire workers from these countries and pay US rates is either willfully ignoring reality, or plain deluded.

“Isn’t this unfair to those in richer countries?”

I don’t think so. Fairness isn’t charging everyone the same—it’s making sure the playing field is as level as it can be, so everyone can afford to pay for my training.

Expecting someone in Germany to pay the same as someone in Bangladesh without considering economic realities? That’s not fairness.

“Won’t lower prices mean having to provide support for more people for less money?”

It hasn’t worked out that way.

Some students ask tons of questions, some ask none, regardless of where they come from or how much they paid. 

In reality, it all balances out, and the extra revenue I never would have made otherwise easily covers it.

Why I’m keeping parity pricing

Parity pricing is about more than just business for me—it’s about fairness, accessibility, and giving people a real chance to learn and grow, no matter where they are in the world. 

(And yeah, I realise that all sounds a bit “We Are The World”.)

I’m not saying any of this to tell other creators or product owners how to price their products. I don’t really care how anyone else sets their pricing. I don’t know them, I don’t know their business. 

Maybe the situtation is different for someone like me selling courses and training than someone supporting a software product, for example. I don’t know.

Of course, it’s not a perfect system. I’m not pretending it is.

For me and my business, though, parity pricing makes total sense.

It helps people who need it. It expands my reach. And it brings me revenue I’d never have had otherwise.