School comparison
At a glance
Last updated
Both WGU and Capella FlexPath are accredited, fully online, and self-paced with flat-rate billing: WGU charges about $4,000 to $5,100 per six-month term (2026 rates, varies by program), Capella charges $2,575 to $3,530 per 12-week FlexPath session for bachelor's programs (2026-27 rates, effective July 2026). Six months costs one WGU term versus two Capella sessions, so WGU is cheaper per unit of time on most programs. Capella FlexPath grades everything through rubric-scored papers and projects with no proctored exams; WGU uses proctored exams plus written assessments. Capella is also a for-profit university (owned by Strategic Education, Inc.) while WGU is nonprofit.
This is the comparison students make when they want subscription-style pricing: pay for time, not credits, and let speed decide the bill. Both schools deliver that model honestly. They differ on what a month of speed costs, how courses are graded, and which programs the fast lane actually covers.
Coursework Ninja completes WGU degrees, so read this with that context in mind, the same as our WGU vs SNHU and WGU vs UMPI pages. The Capella figures below come from Capella's official tuition chart, the July 27, 2026 edition, re-checked on 21 August 2026. Tuition changes; verify current rates with each school before you decide.
Every full package includes the written 6-month guarantee: we finish the remaining CUs under the agreed plan, or you do not pay. Packages: Bachelor's $3,000 · Master's $3,500 · both $5,500 · single assessments from $99.
| Factor | WGU | Capella FlexPath |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition model | Flat rate per 6-month term, unlimited courses inside it | Flat rate per 12-week session, one or two courses at a time, no limit per session |
| Published tuition | About $4,000-$5,100 per term (2026 rates, varies by program) | Bachelor's $2,575-$3,530 per session; master's $2,640-$3,075 (MBA $3,035); 2026-27 rates per Capella's July 27, 2026 tuition chart, plus a $125-$175 resource kit per session |
| Six-month cost | One term | About two sessions ($5,150-$7,060 bachelor's, plus kit fees) |
| Ownership | Nonprofit | For-profit (Strategic Education, Inc., also owns Strayer and Sophia Learning) |
| Assessments | Proctored objective exams (OAs) plus written performance assessments (PAs) | Rubric-scored papers and projects only; rated Distinguished, Proficient, Basic, or Non-performance per competency |
| Proctored exams | Yes, on exam-based courses (PingOne plus ProctorU Guardian) | None described in Capella's official FlexPath materials |
| Pacing mechanics | A course ends whenever its assessment clears, any day in the term | You set your own deadlines per course; at least one activity every 28 days; each course must finish inside 12 weeks |
| Program range on the self-paced track | About 70 degrees across business, IT, health and nursing, education | About 40 programs: business, IT, nursing, health, psychology; no teaching licensure, no nurse practitioner, no prelicensure BSN |
| Transfer credit | Evaluated against program requirements; certifications count at enrollment | Up to 135 of 180 quarter credits (75%) for bachelor's, but all transfer and prior learning must finish before starting FlexPath |
| Accreditation | NWCCU; CCNE nursing; ACBSP business | HLC since 1997; CCNE nursing; ACBSP business; ABET for BS IT applies to GuidedPath only, not FlexPath |
Do the six-month math with your own program's rate, because that is the honest unit of comparison. One WGU term runs about $4,000 to $5,100 and buys six months of unlimited cleared courses. Two Capella FlexPath sessions cover roughly the same calendar at $5,150 to $7,060 plus kit fees, so WGU wins on price for most students. Capella's opening is the writing-only model and big transfer banks: a student who finishes an RN-to-BSN in three sessions pays around $10,600 plus fees, which is genuinely competitive, and Capella deserves credit for publishing its median pace and cost, not just best case.
Two catches are worth stating plainly. First, Capella's headline figures (bachelor's under $19,000, MBA under $16,000, RN-to-BSN under $11,000) describe the fastest 25% of students with maximum transfers; its own published median RN-to-BSN pace is about 10 months and $14,120. Second, FlexPath requires all transfer and prior-learning credit to be finished before you start, so there is no Sophia top-up mid-program. Flat-rate pricing at either school only saves money when courses actually clear. If you choose WGU and want the speed guaranteed instead of hoped for, that is what we do: we complete the OAs, PAs, and remaining CUs on a written 6-month plan, or you do not pay.
Yes. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities; Capella by the Higher Learning Commission, held since 1997. Both carry CCNE accreditation for nursing and ACBSP for business. Two honest differences: Capella is a for-profit university owned by Strategic Education, Inc. (WGU is nonprofit), and Capella's ABET computing accreditation covers only the GuidedPath format, explicitly not FlexPath.
Per six months, WGU on most programs: one term is about $4,000 to $5,100 (2026 rates) versus two FlexPath sessions at $5,150 to $7,060 plus $125 to $175 per session in kit fees (2026-27 rates). Capella can win on total cost only for students with very large transfer banks who sprint, for example finishing an RN-to-BSN in three sessions. Compare median pace to median pace, not headline to headline.
Capella's official FlexPath materials describe only rubric-scored written assessments and projects, rated per competency as Distinguished, Proficient, Basic, or Non-performance, and no proctored exams are mentioned anywhere in them. WGU is the opposite for exam-based courses: proctored objective assessments through PingOne device profiling and ProctorU's Guardian Browser. If proctored exams are what stalls you, FlexPath removes that obstacle and replaces it with continuous writing deadlines.
You take one or two courses at a time and there is no limit on how many you finish per 12-week session; completing a course starts the next one immediately. You set your own deadlines inside each course, you must engage in an activity at least once every 28 days, and each course must be completed within 12 weeks. WGU's model is simpler: one flat 6-month term, courses clearing on any day of it.
Yes, up to 135 of the 180 quarter credits for a bachelor's degree, with grades of C- or better (B- or better for graduate work). The FlexPath catch: every transfer and prior-learning credit must be completed before you start the program, so credits earned concurrently do not count. Get an official evaluation before enrolling, the same advice we give for WGU.
Our done-for-you completion plans are built around WGU's model: OAs, PAs, proctored environments, and six-month term math. If you are weighing Capella against WGU and want the WGU side of the decision priced out, message us your remaining courses and we will tell you plainly what a WGU completion plan would look like.
Coursework Ninja is an independent done-for-you degree completion service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Western Governors University.
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