6 Surprising Online Learning Statistics and Trends (2026)
Online learning is no longer an emergency arrangement. For a lot of students it is part of a normal term.
We surveyed 3,842 adults who had started an online course in the previous 12 months.
We asked whether they finished, and whether they could still use what they learned. Let's explore the latest online learning statistics!
Key Online Learning Statistics and Trends
- 61% of online learners finish less than half the courses they start
- 53% never opened the second lesson of the last course they signed up for
- 54.8% of US college students took at least one online course in fall 2024
Also read: EdTech Statistics and Homeschooling Statistics.
61% of online learners finish less than half the courses they start (Boterview)
In that survey, we asked how much of the online courses they start they usually finish.
61% said less than half. 14% said they usually finish the whole course.
A registered learner is not a learner. Most of these courses are left in the middle.
53% never opened the second lesson of the last course they signed up for (Boterview)
We asked about the last online course they enrolled in.
53% said they never opened the second lesson.
Enrollment is the number platforms like to publish. The second lesson is the number that describes studying.
36% said the course taught them the material, and 14% said they could still use it a month later (Boterview)
We asked two questions about that last course.
36% said it had taught them the material by the end. 14% said they could still do the task a month later, without notes.
Finishing and keeping are different events, and most people do not get either one.
48% say a phone is where they do most of their online learning (Boterview)
We asked which device they use for most of their online learning.
48% said a phone. 39% said a laptop. The rest said a tablet or something else.
A course built as a long desktop lecture is fighting the screen people actually open.
54.8% of US college students took at least one online course in fall 2024 (IPEDS)
According to an analysis of federal IPEDS data published in January 2026 by Phil Hill & Associates, 26.5% of 19.65 million US college students studied exclusively online in fall 2024, and another 28.2% took some courses online.
Only 45.2% took no online course at all.
So the typical American college student already has an online class. Our survey is about how many of those classes get a second lesson.
34.8% of EU internet users learned online in 2025 (Eurostat)
According to a report published in March 2026 by Eurostat, 34.8% of internet users aged 16 to 74 in the EU took an online course or used online learning material in 2025, up from 21.4% in 2019.
Most of that is learning material (30.5%) rather than a full course (17.3%).
That matches our survey: people show up for a piece of material, and many never reach lesson two.
Methodology
Every Boterview figure in this article comes from one survey.
- Name: Boterview Online Learner Survey.
- Sample: 3,842 adults aged 18 to 64 who had started an online course in the previous 12 months.
- Recruitment: Boterview mailing list and an in-product prompt. One response each. Incomplete responses were removed.
- Finish less than half is their report of courses they start, not a server log. Never opened the second lesson refers to the last course they enrolled in. Could still use it a month later is what they said, not a scored test.
Limitations
People on a learning-app list start more courses than the average adult. The 61% is among people who do start them.
Finishing, devices, and what they still remember are self-reported.