2023 Most Affordable Online Nurse Practitioner Programs

It's possible to become a nurse practitioner (NP) through fully online programs, aside from the clinical experience requirements. We list 24 affordable online master's degrees here, most with fully online coursework, but they all require students to put knowledge into practice in a real-world facility. Nursing students are often drawn to the flexibility afforded by online education, including asynchronous coursework and multiple start dates throughout the year. Many schools also allow students to complete their clinical hours in a facility near them, even if it's in a different state from the school's home campus.

Prospective students may wonder if an online nurse practitioner degree will be as respected as one earned through an in-person program. The answer is increasingly yes: online degrees are becoming less stigmatized as more students take courses and complete entire programs at a distance. One 2019 survey of HR professionals found that 61% of respondents saw no difference between online and on-campus degrees. Accreditation is the most important factor — if a program is accredited, then the school has demonstrated that it upholds nationally recognized quality standards.

The first factor to consider is whether a master's degree with a nurse practitioner concentration is a good career move. Registered nurses have good job prospects, especially master's-prepared APRNs. Employment prospects for APRNs, classified as healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), are projected to grow by 10% through 2029. APRNs also average $9,000 more a year than RNs at the bachelor's degree level.

Another important factor in any school search is accreditation. Schools should be nationally and regionally accredited, and their nursing programs must be certified by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). It also may be useful to consider each online program's design and how it aligns with your learning style. Synchronous versus asynchronous learning, comprehensive student support, and clinical opportunities in your area are all important factors for student success in an online MSN program.

The entire process of becoming an NP takes about six or seven years, on average, including four years for a bachelor's degree and two to three for a master's degree. There are some ways to accelerate this.

The process: A prospective nurse practitioner must earn a master's degree in nursing, complete clinical requirements, and hold an APRN license before sitting for an NP certification exam.

How to accelerate the process:

• Enroll in an RN-to-MSN program: RNs without bachelor's degrees may be able to accelerate the process by enrolling in an RN-to-MSN program, which combines BSN and MSN courses into one intensive pathway. Some schools offer online RN-to-MSN programs, including Clarkson College, which is a school on our most affordable NP programs list. The length of these programs varies by school. For example, the University of Arizona claims its RN-to-MSN path can take 24 months at full time, whereas Clarkson College estimates about three-and-a-half years (10 semesters, with three semesters a year including a summer term).
• Take larger course loads in a traditional MSN program: Traditional online MSN programs require 40-45 credit hours of coursework, and students may be able to take an extra course each term if they want to accelerate the process. Students who are willing and able to forgo a year or two of work may be able to take more credits per term if their advisor approves. Given legal regulations about working hours for nurses, it may not be possible to accelerate the completion of clinical requirements by much.

An online MSN program from an accredited institution will average about $17,000 annually. Online courses often come with technology fees that their on-campus equivalents lack, but are still generally more affordable. The schools on this page have lower tuition rates than the average cost of an MSN program. In addition, four of the schools also earned spots on the rankings list of online nurse practitioner master's degrees with the best return on investment (ROI). ROI is a more comprehensive look at cost, factoring in future earnings versus debt.

Students may also wonder about the cost of a family nurse practitioner (FNP) program. This is the most common NP certification, so many schools on our list offer affordable online FNP programs. This includes the top-ranked University of Southern Indiana and 22 others. Among these 23 programs, the average annual tuition is $8,160 for an MSN with FNP concentration. Each institution also charges fees on top of tuition. For example, the University of Central Missouri's cost calculator adds $511.50 in general fees and $77.25 in technology fees to the cost of online tuition each semester.

Students and current nurses may be curious about the benefits that come from reaching the NP level, especially because the education and experience requirements are more stringent than for other types of nursing. One of those benefits is higher average wages than nurses at the associate or bachelor's levels. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists the median pay for NPs as $117,670 compared to $75,330 for registered nurses (RNs).

As with many occupations, the average salary for NPs varies by location. Forbes crunched data from the BLS and concluded that NPs tend to earn more in states with a higher cost of living (COL). It's not a one-to-one correlation. For example, NP salaries are highest in California and sixth highest in Hawaii, though Hawaii is the most expensive state and California is third. Similarly, NPs earn the lowest salaries in states with low COL, with Alabama offering the lowest wages.

Salaries also vary by work setting. The BLS breaks down NP salaries by industry, which gives some idea of wages in different work settings. The top-paying industry category is Community Food and Housing ($139,140 annual mean wage), which is part of the BLS's broader Health Care and Social Assistance sector. But there are only an estimated 200 of these jobs nationwide; the highest-paying industry with a significant workforce is outpatient care centers, whose 19,000 nurses earn a mean annual salary of $119,920.

Finally, NP salaries differ by specialization and level of education. Certified nurse anesthetists generally earn the most of any specialty, with a median annual wage of $174,790. They tend to earn more in hospitals than in other settings. Education also matters: DNP-prepared nurses earn about $8,000 more per year than MSN-prepared nurses on average, so students should consider the salary benefits of continuing their education after a master's degree.

Students may wonder whether becoming an FNP will be worth it, because the process is time intensive and requires a financial commitment. FNP is the most common NP specialty, accounting for two-thirds of all NP certifications. Because of this, the question of whether becoming an FNP will be worth it is not far off from the question of whether being an NP is worth it.

Because FNPs comprise such a large proportion of the NP population, general BLS data on NPs is a fairly good proxy for FNP-specific data. Therefore, it's safe to say that salary and job prospects are strong for FNPs, with median annual earnings of about $110,000 and a staggering 45% growth rate through 2029.

FNPs are primary-care providers to patients across the lifespan, so they have wider flexibility to practice than more narrow specializations such as psychiatric mental health or adult-gerontology. They can practice all over the country in a wide variety of settings from private clinics to large university hospitals. Because they are generalists, FNPs will qualify for more jobs than most other specialties, but the competition for each job will be greater because there are more of them.

So is an FNP career worth it? Nursing is a relatively high-paying profession with a steady supply of jobs, which is particularly true for FNPs. For those who want to mitigate two large and related stressors in their lives — financial worries and unemployment — an FNP certification may be a good goal. Each individual needs to consider the cost of the degree in money, stress, and time that could have been spent on other pursuits. If the estimated payoff seems worth these costs, then becoming an FNP is worth the effort.