Best Affordable Online MBAs (No GMAT Required) of 2025

Business schools are tailoring their online master of business administration (MBA) programs to working adults. That often means emphasizing affordability alongside flexible, GMAT-free admissions.

Our list isn’t just an overview of the cheapest MBA programs in the country.

Our methodology uses federal data to weigh a school’s net price against student outcomes, like overall graduation rates across degree types and postgraduate earnings. This helps us gauge the overall quality of the institution offering an MBA.

That means we aren’t just ranking GMAT-optional business schools based on costs alone. We’re also prioritizing student outcomes.

A program’s sticker price isn’t the only thing to rely on when considering the cost of a degree.

Our ranking also factors in the percentage of enrolled students at a school who take federal loans. Federal aid like loans and grants can cut down on the price of school that has a seemingly high price.

Take Northwestern University, for example. Its average yearly tuition cost is upwards of $87,800 across degree types, but that figure is cut down to just $23,341 after aid.

Return on investment (ROI) is another key factor to look at when considering an MBA. Our ranking uses the average loan payment as a proportion of a graduate’s salary to look at the earnings and debt burden across degree types.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports the typical annual cost of an online master’s in business and management at $10,995 in 2020. That’s less than half the cost of an on-campus degree, which had a sticker price of $21,974 that same year.

Both of those costs are dropped significantly by financial aid. The net price was just $8,534 for an online degree and $15,428 for an in-person degree.

Take those figures with a grain of salt. The MBA has a highly variable price based largely on an institution’s prestige.

Schools with a well-known national business school brand tend to charge more, even for an online MBA. The University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, for instance, charges more than $125,000 for its full program.

An MBA has been shown to generally increase earnings.The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) previously reported that recent MBA graduates earned a median starting salary of roughly $95,810, while graduates with only a bachelor’s in business administration (BBA) made starting salaries around $63,540.

Exactly how much you earn will vary based on your specialty and experience. The median pay for MBA graduates is projected to be $125,000 in 2025, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) 2025 Corporate Recruiters Survey. That’s an increase from $120,000 in 2024.

That figure is well above the median pay for experienced direct-from-industry hires, who are projected to make $100,000 this year.

It’s also well above the pay for master’s in management and accounting graduates, who were projected to make $90,000 and $92,500, respectively.

The sticker price for an online MBA is usually more affordable than a traditional in-person degree, but you can further cut down on that cost.

Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is still important for an MBA. Filling it out can help you land federal loans, like Direct Unsubsidized Loans and PLUS Loans.

You can borrow an annual limit of up to $20,500 in Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and additional funds through the graduate PLUS loans program. You’ll need to be enrolled at least half time to qualify for federal loans.

The FAFSA isn’t just for loans: It’s also widely used to determine eligibility for state assistance programs, as well as scholarships from individual schools.

Start with the FAFSA, and don’t take any more loans than what you need. Make sure you favor unsubsidized loans over PLUS loans, since PLUS loans come with a higher interest rate. Many online MBA programs cost less than the $20,500 yearly unsubsidized limit in annual tuition.

Private loans don’t have the same income-driven repayment options, but with good credit or a co-signer, you might find cheaper options.

You should also take advantage of discounts when they’re available: Some providers offer a small interest rate discount if you set up autopay.

Make sure whatever school you attend is accredited by a recognized accrediting body. If you attend a nonaccredited institution in your state, you might find that the credits you earned don’t transfer to other schools.

There are also business-specific accreditors that weigh factors like student graduation rates and postgraduate employment, as well as faculty expertise.

Major business school accreditors include the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE), and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

Attending a business school with programmatic accreditation isn’t necessarily a cost-saving measure, but it is a way to improve your odds of a positive return on your investment.

A typical online MBA program requires about 30 credits, but you might be able to save money by bringing that number down. A number of business schools offer credit exemptions based on student experience.

Exactly what credit exemptions apply will vary by school. Some MBA programs, like Purdue University Global, look at prior learning and military training to give students credit toward a degree.

Employee sponsorship is another, albeit less common, way to pay for an MBA. A number of major companies help their employees pay for a graduate degree.