Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
The training plan is approved, the team is keen, and then finance asks the question: “What is this going to cost?” You open a few language training websites and find almost no prices anywhere. Everywhere it says “request a quote”. Frustrating, because all you want is a figure you can put in your budget request.
In this article we set out all the pricing factors and use an example to show how to estimate the investment for your team realistically. So you can assess a quote without guessing.
Why are so few prices published online?
Not because providers have something to hide, but because “a language course” is not a fixed product. An individual intensive Legal English course for a lawyer costs something entirely different from a group course in Business Dutch for six warehouse employees. The price depends on a handful of variables, and those same variables determine whether a programme works.
The good news: the variables are manageable. Once you know them, you can make a realistic estimate yourself and assess a quote properly.
Which factors determine the price of language training?
1. Group or individual. This is the biggest lever. Individual training is charged per participant per hour, while a group course is shared across several participants. Per person, a group course is often half the price or less, provided the levels are a good match.
2. Starting level and goal. Moving from B1 to B2 is a different journey from A2 to C1. The wider the gap between starting point and goal, the more teaching hours are needed. Our article on language levels from A1 to C2 explains how to determine the level your team actually needs.
3. The training format. Classroom-based on location, online, or blended learning: a combination of live sessions with a trainer and self-study through an online learning platform. Blended programmes are often better value per learning outcome, because expensive trainer hours are used precisely where they add the most.
4. Specialisation. General Business English is more widely available than Legal English or technical German. Sector-specific training costs more, because the trainer brings domain knowledge alongside language expertise and the materials are built to order.
5. Intensity and duration. An intensive course of five weeks demands more planning and trainer input per week than a twenty-week programme. The total investment may be comparable, but the rhythm differs.
6. Location. In company at your office, at a training venue, or fully online. Travel time and room hire count towards the total.
7. Intake and customisation. A good programme starts with an intake or baseline assessment per participant. That costs something up front, but it prevents you from paying for lessons at the wrong level. Cutting corners here quickly becomes expensive.
What does business language training cost on average?
An honest answer: it depends on the levers above, which is why we deliberately avoid quoting standalone figures that will not match your situation anyway. What we can say about the proportions:
Group training is by far the best value per person. The price per group is shared across four to eight participants, which brings the cost per person down to a fraction of an individual programme.
Blended is better value per learning outcome. You pay the trainer for the sessions where a trainer genuinely makes the difference, and the self-study in between costs no trainer hours.
A complete programme runs eleven to fifteen weeks. Alongside the tuition, budget for a one-off intake and start-up costs per participant. A good quote names those items in advance, so the invoice is never higher than the proposal.
There is no VAT on top. Language Partners is registered with the CRKBO, the Dutch Central Register of Short Professional Education, which makes our language training exempt from VAT. The amount in the quote is the amount you pay.
Would you like a concrete figure for your team? Based on the number of participants, the levels and the goal, a quote is arranged within two working days, and it commits you to nothing.
Want to know what a programme costs for your team?
Request a quote without obligation. You will receive a tailored proposal within two working days, including advice on the smartest training format for your situation.
Example: a team of six moving to stronger Business English
Say six account managers speak reasonable English (B1+), but international client conversations visibly take effort. The goal is solid B2, focused on conversation technique and presenting.
A suitable programme then looks like this: an intake and baseline assessment per participant, eleven weeks of blended training with a weekly group session, online self-study in between, and a final assessment. Because the six participants share the group training, the investment per person comes out considerably lower than six separate individual programmes, and the team practises together in situations drawn from their own work.
Set that against what “not quite good enough” English costs you now: longer conversations, missed nuances in negotiations, colleagues who avoid meetings. Our article on the ROI of business language training works that through in detail.
How do you keep control of your training budget?
Four ways to get the most out of your budget:
Start by measuring. A baseline assessment prevents you from buying teaching hours at the wrong level. For English you can start free of charge with our Business English Team Scan: a view of where your team stands within a few minutes.
Compose groups intelligently. Participants with the same level and goal in one group brings the price per person down sharply, without the result suffering.
Choose blended where you can. Self-study for vocabulary and grammar, trainer hours for speaking and feedback. That way you pay the trainer for what only a trainer can do.
Secure the result. A programme without a final assessment is an expense; a programme with one is an investment you can account for. Our article on how to know whether language training really works explains how to approach it.
Frequently asked questions about the cost of language training
Is business language training subject to VAT?
No. Language Partners is registered with the CRKBO, the Dutch Central Register of Short Professional Education. As a result, our language training is exempt from VAT. You pay the amount stated in the quote, with no twenty-one per cent added. For organisations that can reclaim VAT, this makes little difference to the final sum. If your organisation cannot reclaim it, as is often the case in healthcare, education, government and the financial sector, it saves you twenty-one per cent of your training budget directly.
Can language training be paid from the training budget or a sector fund?
In most organisations, language training falls under the regular training budget. In addition, some sectors have a training and development fund that covers part of the cost. Check the collective agreement or the fund for your sector.
What happens if a participant drops out or misses a session?
This varies from provider to provider, so ask about it in advance when you request a quote. Pay attention to two things in particular: up to when a session can be rescheduled free of charge, and what happens if a participant withdraws partway through. At Language Partners these conditions are set out in our terms of delivery, so you know where you stand before you start.
Want to know where your team stands first?
Budgeting starts with measuring. Take the free Business English Team Scan and see within a few minutes what level your team is at and where the biggest gains are.
