Best Value BJJ Instructionals: A Price-Per-Hour Analysis
A $79 instructional with 13 hours of content costs $6 per hour. A $197 instructional with 2 hours costs $99 per hour. We calculated this for the entire catalog.
When you buy a BJJ instructional, you're paying for instruction time. But two instructionals at the same price can deliver wildly different amounts of content. A $100 title might be 1 hour or 10 hours, and neither the price nor the marketing will make that obvious.
We ran a simple calculation across every instructional in the GrappleDB database that has both a price and a known runtime: price ÷ hours = cost per hour of instruction.
The Best Value Instructionals (High Rating, Low $/Hour)
These instructionals combine high community ratings with low cost per hour:
| # | Title | Price | Runtime | $/Hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $79 | 13h 6m | $6.03 | 9.3 | |
| 2 | $50 | 6h 0m | $8.25 | 9.3 | |
| 3 | $197 | 8h 17m | $23.78 | 9.5 | |
| 4 | $99 | 4h 8m | $23.83 | 9.5 | |
| 5 | $79 | 2h 52m | $27.56 | 9.5 |
The Standout: Lachlan Giles at $6.03/Hour
Lachlan Giles' Guard Passing Anthology: Half Guard is the best value in the database, and it's not close. At $79 for 13 hours of content, you're paying $6.03 per hour of instruction from one of the most respected coaches in the sport. For comparison, a single private lesson with a high-level black belt typically costs $100–$200 per hour.
This isn't just long for the sake of being long, either. The 9.3 community rating confirms this is genuinely high-quality content spread across 10 volumes and 110 chapters.
Bernardo Faria: The Budget King
Bernardo Faria appears twice in the top 5. His Foundations of BJJ at $50 for 6 hours ($8.25/hour) is arguably the best starting point for any beginner. And Battle Tested Half Guard at $79 delivers a focused, highly-rated study at a reasonable price per hour.
Faria's pricing is way more accessible than most of his peers. His average price across 32 titles is $192, compared to $346 for Gordon Ryan and $268 for John Danaher.
Average Cost Per Hour by Category
Not all categories are priced equally. Here's the average cost per hour by technique area:
| Category | Avg Price | Avg Runtime | ~$/Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals | $166 | 5h 37m | ~$30 |
| Guard | $119 | 3h 21m | ~$35 |
| Guard Passing | $115 | 3h 27m | ~$33 |
| Escapes | $148 | 4h 20m | ~$34 |
| Back Attacks | $139 | 4h 55m | ~$28 |
| Submissions | $105 | 2h 47m | ~$38 |
| Wrestling | $79 | 1h 40m | ~$47 |
| Striking | $90 | 1h 44m | ~$52 |
Fundamentals and back attack content offer the best average value at ~$28–$30 per hour. Wrestling and striking content is the most expensive per hour at $47–$52, though this partly reflects the shorter format of those instructionals.
The Instructor Premium
The instructor's name is the biggest factor in pricing. Here's what the top names charge on average:
| Instructor | Avg Price | Avg Runtime | ~$/Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Ryan | $346 | 4.3h | ~$80 |
| John Danaher | $268 | 8.6h | ~$31 |
| Craig Jones | $188 | 2.7h | ~$70 |
| Bernardo Faria | $192 | 3.8h | ~$51 |
| Lachlan Giles | $136 | 1.8h | ~$76 |
| Travis Stevens | $93 | 2.3h | ~$40 |
An interesting inversion: John Danaher has the second-highest average price ($268) but one of the lowest costs per hour (~$31) because his instructionals are so long. Gordon Ryan, at ~$80/hour, is the most expensive per hour among major instructors.
Note that Lachlan Giles's per-hour average looks high because most of his catalog consists of short, technique-specific releases. But his longer anthology sets (like the half guard set at $6.03/hour) are among the best values anywhere.
Price Per Hour Isn't Everything
This is a useful metric, but a $200 instructional that transforms your guard is better value than a $30 instructional you never watch. Some other things to keep in mind:
- Relevance to your game. The best value is content you'll actually use. A cheap instructional on a position you never play is still wasted money.
- Teaching style match. Some instructors click with you better than others. A more expensive instructor whose style you absorb easily can be better value than a cheap one you struggle to follow.
- Your current level. Beginners get more value from comprehensive fundamentals courses. Advanced competitors might need short, specific technique content.
- Rewatchability. Great instructionals get rewatched. You'll extract more value per dollar from content you return to over months and years.
Find Your Best Value
Use GrappleDB's search and filter tools to narrow down by category, price range, and instructor. Check community ratings for quality signals, and use the compare tool to evaluate options side by side before committing.
For more on pricing dynamics, see our analysis of BJJ Fanatics price history (including what those "80% off" sales actually mean).