Capella vs Walden: cost, pace and outcomes (2026)
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- Both schools bill self-paced study by the period and courses by the credit
- Program prices side by side, per period and per credit (2026)
- Example: the self-paced MBA at four, five and six billing periods
- FlexPath gives each course 12 weeks; Tempo checks in every 30 days
- 32% at Capella and 35% at Walden earned an award within eight years
- Walden’s graduates owe more in all four fields both schools list among their largest
- Who each school fits, and the watch-outs
- Frequently asked questions
- Check your aid before you choose either school
Capella bills one flat fee per 12-week FlexPath session and Walden one per three-month Tempo period ($3,035 and $3,100 for the self-paced MBA in 2026), and in College Scorecard’s October 2026 data 32% of Capella and 35% of Walden undergraduates who started in 2017-18 earned an award within eight years.
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Check your aid before you choose Capella or Walden
About two minutes, shown before any email. No bachelor's yet: Pell and state grants. Have one: your graduate loan limit. Each school's financial aid office sets your actual offer.
Check my aidIf you are paying with your own money this time, the worry is paying for periods you do not finish. At both schools a self-paced period costs the same however much you complete, so your pace sets the price.
The two are alike on paper. Both are private for-profit universities in Minneapolis, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with every student enrolled only in distance education in fall 2024. Both are mostly graduate schools: Capella had 29,395 graduate students and 18,364 undergraduates that fall, Walden 40,297 and 9,136.
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Both schools bill self-paced study by the period and courses by the credit
Each school runs two formats. Capella’s GuidedPath runs in quarters starting in October, January, April and July and charges by the credit.
Its FlexPath format charges “one tuition fee per 12-week billing session”, with a resource kit of $125 to $200 on top. Capella’s tuition page dates its rates July 13, 2026, and charges them regardless of where you live.
Walden’s quarter-based programs charge per quarter credit hour, at rates from February 23, 2026, plus a $185 program fee each quarter. Its Tempo Learning format bills “a flat-rate for each 3-month subscription term”, at rates from March 2, 2026, plus a $185 program fee each period.
A 12-week session and a three-month period are not the same length, so compare the price per period with how much you expect to finish in each.
Program prices side by side, per period and per credit (2026)
These are programs both schools list. Self-paced rows show one billing period’s tuition plus the resource kit (Capella) or program fee (Walden), and per-credit rows show the quarter’s kit or fee.
Walden’s self-paced MSN, Master of Science in Nursing. A graduate nursing degree, the usual route to advanced roles such as nurse practitioner. and two MS rates are for students who start on or after March 2, 2026.
| Program | Format | Capella | Walden |
|---|---|---|---|
| BS in Business (Walden: Business Administration) | Self-paced, per period | $2,575 + $125 kit | $2,900 + $185 fee |
| BS in Business (Walden: most bachelor's courses) | Per credit | $415 upper-division, $375 lower-division; $150 kit a quarter | $360; $185 fee a quarter |
| RN to BSN | Self-paced, per period | $3,530 + $125 kit | $3,750 + $185 fee |
| BSN completion | Per credit | $400 upper-division, $375 lower-division; $125 kit a quarter | $365; $185 fee a quarter |
| MBA | Self-paced, per period | $3,035 + $175 kit | $3,100 + $185 fee |
| MBA | Per credit | $855; $175 kit a quarter | $630; $185 fee a quarter |
| MS in Human Resource Management | Self-paced, per period | $2,755 + $175 kit | $4,000 + $185 fee |
| MS in Human Resource Management | Per credit | $770; $175 kit a quarter | $645; $185 fee a quarter |
| MS in Psychology | Self-paced, per period | $3,075 + $160 kit | $4,000 + $185 fee |
| MS in Psychology | Per credit | $540; $160 kit a quarter | $610; $185 fee a quarter |
| MSN | Self-paced, per period | $2,985 + $125 kit | $3,750 + $185 fee |
| MSN (Walden: non-practitioner tracks) | Per credit | $465; $125 kit a quarter | $505; $185 fee a quarter |
| MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling | Per credit | $525; $175 kit a quarter | $550; $185 fee a quarter |
| Master of Social Work | Per credit | $540; $150 kit a quarter | $570; $185 fee a quarter |
| Doctor of Business Administration | Per credit | $800, a quarter capped at $4,850 for 7 or more credits; $175 kit | $715; $185 fee a quarter |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice | Per credit | $850; $175 kit a quarter | $960, plus $80 a credit on nurse practitioner practicum courses; $185 fee a quarter |
Walden’s per-credit rates are per quarter credit hour. Capella’s chart prices per credit and counts its quarterly caps in quarter credits. Program lengths differ, so ask each school for the total credits in your program.
Capella’s chart also lists program tuition caps, on both its per-credit and FlexPath rows: $45,000 for the DBA and $32,000 for the DNP, for eligible new students who start in an eligible month. It says exclusions may apply.
Example: the self-paced MBA at four, five and six billing periods
This is a hypothetical, at 2026 rates, with no aid or transfer credit. One period is $3,035 + $175 = $3,210 at Capella and $3,100 + $185 = $3,285 at Walden. Neither school’s pages give a period count for the MBA, so the counts below are examples, not estimates of your time.
| Billing periods | Capella FlexPath ($3,210 each) | Walden Tempo ($3,285 each, fifth tuition-free) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 × $3,210 = $12,840 | 4 × $3,285 = $13,140 |
| 5 | 5 × $3,210 = $16,050 | $13,140 + $185 fee = $13,325 |
| 6 | 6 × $3,210 = $19,260 | $13,325 + $3,285 = $16,610 |
By our math, the MBA totals cross at the fifth period, if every Walden period counts as completed. Run the same sum for your program: in the MSN, MS in Psychology and MS in HRM, Capella’s total stays below Walden’s at five and six periods. The time differs too: six 12-week sessions are 72 weeks, and six three-month periods are 18 months.
Capella says a FlexPath master’s can take 15 months and under $18,000, “based on fastest 25 percent of students.”
Aid changes both totals. Pell pays up to $7,395 for 2026-27, but StudentAid.gov says it usually goes only to undergraduates who have not earned a bachelor’s degree.
For graduate students outside the interim exception, StudentAid.gov lists up to $20,500 a year in Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Direct PLUS Loans for graduate borrowers are no longer available. Our guide to how much you can borrow for a master’s covers the total and lifetime limits, and the grad loan gap check shows what federal loans leave uncovered for your program.
FlexPath gives each course 12 weeks; Tempo checks in every 30 days
The two formats set different rules on deadlines and activity. “Once you’re admitted,” Walden says, a Tempo period “begins on the next monthly start date.”
Capella FlexPath
Private for-profit, accredited by HLC
- Billing
- One fee per 12-week session, however many courses you finish
- At once
- One or two courses; each finished within 12 weeks
- Deadlines
- You set them within the first 12 days of each course
- Activity
- A course activity at least once every 28 days
- Grades
- Distinguished, proficient, basic or non-performance on each competency
Walden Tempo
Private for-profit, accredited by HLC
- Billing
- One fee per 3-month period, from the next monthly start date
- At once
- Up to three competencies
- Deadlines
- A learning plan, with credits agreed, within the first 2 weeks of each term
- Activity
- A measurable activity at least once in each 30-day period
- Grades
- Achieved (a B, 3.0) or Mastered (an A, 4.0)
Walden withdraws a Tempo student after 30 days with no measurable activity, and that student still owes the period’s tuition and fees under its refund schedule. It also asks Tempo students to plan on 15 to 20 hours a week.
Capella requires transfer credit and credit for prior learning to be done before you start FlexPath. If you use federal aid in FlexPath, it also requires a unique course in each session, a minimum number of program points and good academic standing; ask Walden’s aid office for Tempo’s rules.
32% at Capella and 35% at Walden earned an award within eight years
These figures are from College Scorecard’s October 15, 2026 release. Each row names the group and years it covers.
| Measure | Capella | Walden |
|---|---|---|
| Earned an award within 8 years (undergraduates who started in 2017-18) | 32% | 35% |
| Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time, fall 2019 cohort) | 18% | Shown as 100%; not meaningful (see below) |
| Median earnings 6 years after starting (entered 2015-16 and 2016-17) | $57,593 | $58,407 |
| Median earnings 10 years after starting (entered 2011-12 and 2012-13) | $51,254 | $54,715 |
| Graduates' median earnings 4 years after finishing (finished 2017-18 and 2018-19) | $84,333 | $83,334 |
| Graduates' median federal loan debt (repayment years 2024 and 2025) | $9,772 | $20,834 |
| Undergraduates with a Pell Grant (2024-25) | 43% | 64% |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan (2024-25) | 48% | 70% |
| Undergraduates studying part-time (fall 2024) | 68% | 74% |
| Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023) | 92% | 90% |
Earnings after starting are medians for students who got federal aid. All earnings are measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars, and describe each school’s past students, not what either school will do for your pay.
Read the eight-year rate, not the six-year one. Scorecard’s six-year rate counts only full-time, first-time starters. College Navigator says 1 percent of Capella’s entering students fit that group in 2024, and that Walden “did not admit full-time first-time undergraduate-level students in the cohort year.”
Neither Scorecard nor College Navigator reports a completion rate for either school’s graduate students.
Walden’s graduates owe more in all four fields both schools list among their largest
Scorecard also reports graduates by field. These four field and credential rows appear in both schools’ eight largest by awards in 2023-24. Earnings cover graduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19; debt covers those who finished in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
| Field, credential and school | Awards, 2023-24 | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing, master's: Capella | 950 | $117,823 | $17,349 |
| Nursing, master's: Walden | 3,695 | $122,823 | $60,965 |
| Nursing, bachelor's: Capella | 7,779 | $97,211 | $6,509 |
| Nursing, bachelor's: Walden | 437 | $106,892 | $13,373 |
| Mental and social health services, master's: Capella | 1,261 | $59,050 | $58,108 |
| Mental and social health services, master's: Walden | 888 | $60,034 | $75,167 |
| Business administration, master's: Capella | 641 | $96,768 | $26,459 |
| Business administration, master's: Walden | 320 | $82,853 | $41,000 |
These medians describe past graduates; the gaps between the schools are not evidence that either school caused them. “Nursing” is Scorecard’s Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing category, and business is Business Administration, Management and Operations.
If you are weighing counseling, online counseling programs compared sets both schools’ programs against others.
Who each school fits, and the watch-outs
Neither school is better for everyone. Your program, your format and your pace decide the figures.
Capella fits if
- You plan a self-paced MSN, MS in Psychology or MS in HRM. By our math, at five periods the MSN totals $15,550 at Capella and $15,925 at Walden, and Capella’s total stays below Walden’s at four to six periods in all three.
- You want a course-based master’s in nursing, counseling, social work or psychology. Per credit: Capella $465, $525, $540 and $540; Walden $505, $550, $570 and $610.
- You want a doctorate with a program tuition cap. Capella’s chart lists $45,000 for the DBA and $32,000 for the DNP, for eligible new students.
Walden fits if
- You expect five or six self-paced periods in the MBA, BS in Business or RN, Registered nurse. A nurse licensed by a state board after passing the NCLEX-RN exam. to BSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing. A bachelor’s degree in nursing. Registered nurses can earn it in an RN-to-BSN program.. With Walden’s tuition-free fifth period, by our math, five periods total $16,050, $13,500 and $18,275 at Capella, and $13,325, $12,525 and $15,925 at Walden.
- You want a course-based MBA. Per credit: Capella $855, Walden $630. In the DBA, Capella’s $800 a credit compares with Walden’s $715, but at 7 or more credits a quarter Capella’s cap of $4,850 compares with 7 × $715 = $5,005 at Walden, by our math.
- You want a course-based business bachelor’s or BSN completion. Per quarter credit, before each school’s quarterly kit or fee: Capella $375 to $415 and $375 to $400; Walden $360 and $365.
Watch-outs at both
- Most 2017-18 undergraduate starters had no award from the school after eight years. By our math that was 68% at Capella and 65% at Walden.
- Some master’s degrees carry heavy debt. Mental and social health master’s graduates owed a median $58,108 at Capella and $75,167 at Walden.
- A quiet self-paced period still costs the full fee. Capella wants activity every 28 days and Walden every 30.
- Walden’s DBA has a court record. Walden agreed to a $28.5 million settlement in a class action brought by DBA students, and the court granted final approval on October 17, 2024; the Walden profile explains it.
Both are accredited by the same agency, the Higher Learning Commission; regional vs national accreditation explains what that label means now.
Frequently asked questions
Is Capella or Walden better?
Neither is better for every reader. At the 2026 rates above, Capella’s self-paced fee per period is the smaller one in all six programs we matched.
Walden’s tuition-free fifth Tempo period changes the totals for longer plans in the MBA, BS in Business and RN to BSN, and the per-credit MBA rate is $855 at Capella and $630 at Walden. On Scorecard’s October 2026 data, 32% of Capella’s and 35% of Walden’s 2017-18 undergraduate starters earned an award within eight years.
Is FlexPath or Tempo the better deal?
It depends on the program and how many periods you need. Multiply your program’s per-period price from the table by the periods you expect, and take out every fifth Walden period’s tuition, as in the MBA example.
Can graduate students get Pell at either school?
Pell pays up to $7,395 for 2026-27, and StudentAid.gov says it usually goes only to undergraduates who have not earned a bachelor’s degree. Graduate students at either school borrow federal loans instead.
Check your aid before you choose either school
Your cost at either school depends on your own aid: undergraduates without a bachelor’s may get Pell, and graduate students borrow federal loans instead.
The aid check applies the federal rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28) to your answers, takes about two minutes and shows the result before any email. With a bachelor’s already, it leaves Pell and state grants out and starts your stack with your federal graduate loan limit.
For each school’s full figures, see the Capella profile and the Walden profile.
Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional, comes after your aid result, and is not an application or admission to Capella, Walden or any school. The figures here come from federal data and each school’s own pages, and this comparison does not rank schools.
See your aid before you apply to either school
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Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these pages. How we check sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: Capella University (UNITID 413413)
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: Walden University (UNITID 125231)
- College Scorecard data files, October 15, 2026 release
- College Scorecard data dictionary: field definitions and cohort years
- NCES College Navigator: Capella University (enrollment and distance education fall 2024, graduate tuition 2024-25)
- NCES College Navigator: Walden University (enrollment and distance education fall 2024, graduate tuition 2024-25)
- Capella University, Tuition and Fees, July 2026 (tuition chart)
- Capella University, Tuition and Fees (effective July 13, 2026)
- Capella University, FlexPath learning format
- Walden University handbook: Tempo Learning tuition (rates from March 2, 2026)
- Walden University handbook: program fees
- Walden University, Tempo Learning
- Walden University, Believe and Achieve Scholarship details (Tempo Learning)
- Walden University handbook: instructional delivery models (Tempo Learning rules)
- Walden University handbook: grading in Tempo Learning
- Walden University handbook: undergraduate tuition (rates from February 23, 2026)
- Walden University handbook: master's tuition (rates from February 23, 2026)
- Walden University handbook: doctoral tuition and DBA median time and cost
- Carroll v. Walden University: court-ordered settlement notice and FAQ
- StudentAid.gov, Federal Pell Grants
- StudentAid.gov, One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Important Definitions (graduate loan limits)
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts
Related Resources
Capella University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Capella's graduate tuition averaged $15,092 for 2024-25; FlexPath bills a flat fee per 12-week session. 32% of 2017-18 undergrads earned an award in 8 years.
Walden University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Walden charges $360 a quarter credit for most bachelor's courses and $715 for the DBA (2026). 35% of undergrads finish in 8 years. DBA settlement, explained.
Best Online Counseling and MSW Programs 2026
Six CACREP and CSWE online counseling and MSW programs compared on Scorecard outcomes. Mental health counselors earned a $59,350 median in May 2025.