{"id":41340,"date":"2025-12-23T15:57:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T11:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ispring.com\/blog\/?p=41340"},"modified":"2026-04-14T17:58:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:58:01","slug":"how-to-measure-elearning-roi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/how-to-measure-elearning-roi","title":{"rendered":"eLearning ROI and how to\u00a0measure it: Kirkpatrick\u2019s\u00a0model"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Investing in employee learning and development has become a good tone for companies; in 2024, in the US only, total training expenditures amounted to $98 billion<\/a>, slightly less than the historical high of 2023 ($101.8 billion). It\u2019s only fair that in return, company leaders want to know what value eLearning development initiatives bring in terms of numbers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, we\u2019ll introduce you to the eLearning ROI methodology, share one of the most efficient ROI calculation and measurement models, and provide a detailed plan on how to measure eLearning ROI with the help of learning management systems and show its training value to stakeholders. But first, take our short quiz to find out if your company is ready to get started with an ROI evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is eLearning ROI and why should we care?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Return on investment, or ROI, is the ultimate measure of business performance that shows the ratio of what you invest to what you get in return. The metric is familiar to that of any accountant or financial expert and has credibility among executives. This is why it is the perfect measure to appraise the success of an organization\u2019s strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For eLearning, the idea of calculating ROI is to convert both training costs and benefits into a single value, e.g., dollars. This is great because the measure provides a clear assessment of the effectiveness of training<\/a> based on the financial outcome of that training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The general formula for calculating eLearning ROI looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The general ROI formula<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A positive ROI means the training has paid off, and a negative ROI indicates losses. Let\u2019s look at the example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looks easy: the negative ROI is bad, and the positive ROI is good. But subject matter experts know there is a challenge. Imagine that your ROI keeps staying positive, but the numbers are always low: let\u2019s say a group of analysts told you that the ROI of your last course was 7%. At this point, many questions may arise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n