The Physics Wallah business model earns money by offering free lectures to build a huge audience and then charging for paid courses, test series and mentoring, first online at low prices and increasingly through its own offline coaching centres. In FY26, PhysicsWallah reported revenue of about ₹3,900 crore, up 35%, and a narrowed net loss of ₹24.2 crore. Some figures differ between sources, which I’ve flagged.
Quick Facts
| Metric | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | ₹2,887 crore | About ₹3,900 crore, up 35% |
| Online revenue | About ₹1,406 crore | ₹1,954 crore, up 39% |
| Offline revenue | About ₹1,354 crore | ₹1,774 crore, up 31% |
| Net loss | ₹243.3 crore | ₹24.2 crore |
| Paid users | 4.46 million | 5.34 million, up 20% |
| Offline centres | 198 | 353 |
The Short Answer
Free content builds trust, and paid programmes monetise it.
- Students can access free lectures and other educational content, and revenue comes when they enrol in paid programmes across JEE, NEET, K-12, government exams, CA, CS, ACCA, CFA, skills and other courses, according to Inc42
- Founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari and headquartered in Noida, PW started as a low-cost online coaching platform
- It now runs a hybrid model, with online as the largest contributor at roughly half of FY26 revenue
- It listed on 18 November 2025 at ₹143.10, a 31.28% premium to its ₹109 issue price, according to Business Standard
Online: The Original Engine
Low prices created scale.
- Online revenue grew 39% to ₹1,954 crore in FY26, supported by 18% growth in unique transacting users, according to YourStory
- Online unique transacting users were 4.87 million
- Students generally pay fees upfront for the entire year, so management says “collections” are more relevant than revenue for online, according to the Q1 FY27 call
- PW’s affordable pricing helped it build a massive user base, according to Bharatfast
Offline: The Higher-Value Channel
Physical centres monetise students at a much higher price.
- Offline revenue rose 31% to ₹1,774 crore, and the company ended FY26 with 353 centres across India and the UAE, up from 198
- Centres include Vidyapeeth, Pathshala, other PW centres and subsidiary centres, and in Q2 FY26 the 314 centres comprised 117 Vidyapeeth, 75 Pathshala, 53 other and 69 subsidiary
- Vidyapeeth contributes around 70% of offline revenue, and mature Vidyapeeth centres can deliver 13–15% steady-state margins, according to management
- Offline enrolments were 0.47 million in FY26
What a Student Pays
The channels differ sharply in price.
- By my arithmetic, online revenue per transacting user was about ₹4,000 in FY26
- Offline revenue per enrolment was about ₹37,700, roughly nine times higher
- The comparison is rough, since revenue is recognised over time and users are counted differently, but it explains why offline expansion matters
- Offline centres cost more to run, so profitability depends on centres maturing
The Numbers
Growth is strong, and the loss has nearly closed.
- FY26 total income was ₹4,131 crore against ₹3,039 crore, according to Indian Startup News
- Net loss fell to ₹24.2 crore from ₹243.3 crore, and profit before tax turned positive at about ₹10 crore
- Pre-Ind AS EBITDA was about ₹300 crore, presented at the company’s AGM on 25 September 2026
- Quarterly results swing: Q2 FY26 profit was ₹72.33 crore, while Q4 FY26 posted a loss of ₹69.1 crore, or ₹74.9 crore in another report
Where the Sources Disagree
A few headlines don’t match.
- Outlook Business’s headline says revenue jumped 51%, which refers to the fourth quarter, while the full-year figure is 35%
- A page titled “Is PhysicsWallah profitable?” says PW is clearly in profit, citing Q3 profit of ₹102.3 crore, which conflicts with the reported full-year loss, so I’d treat it with caution
- Revenue from operations and total income differ because of other income, which was ₹108 crore in Q1 FY27 alone
Cash and Treasury
The IPO changed the balance sheet.
- Treasury stood at ₹5,027 crore at the end of March 2026, including IPO proceeds, according to YourStory
- The IPO raised ₹3,480 crore in November 2025
- Interest on that cash is part of the other income that lifts total income above revenue
The Latest Quarter
Q1 FY27 showed continued growth with a smaller loss.
- Revenue from operations rose 24.4% to ₹1,054 crore from ₹847 crore, according to Entrackr
- Online was ₹549 crore, up 33.3%, offline ₹490 crore, up 14.5%, and other sources ₹15 crore
- Net loss fell 30.7% to ₹88 crore from ₹127 crore
- A newer business line grew 88% to ₹105 crore, with enrolments up 41% to 7.8 lakh, according to Inc42, though the snippet doesn’t name the segment
Guidance
Management has set targets.
- More than 30% revenue growth for FY27, more than 100% improvement in EBITDA, and a goal of full-year PAT profitability, according to the FY26 earnings call
- These are targets, not results, and offline growth slowed to 14.5% in Q1 FY27
Risks
The model has pressure points.
- Offline centres carry fixed costs, so profits depend on enrolments and maturity
- Competition from other coaching and edtech players
- Reliance on exam-focused categories such as JEE and NEET
- A premium share valuation has to be justified by profitability
FAQs
Q1. How does Physics Wallah make money?
A. By charging for paid courses, test series and mentoring, online and at its offline centres, after attracting students with free content.
Q2. What was Physics Wallah’s FY26 revenue?
A. About ₹3,900 crore, up 35%, with online revenue at ₹1,954 crore and offline revenue at ₹1,774 crore.
Q3. Is Physics Wallah profitable?
A. Not yet on a net basis. It reported a loss of ₹24.2 crore in FY26 against ₹243.3 crore, with profit before tax of about ₹10 crore.
Q4. How many offline centres does PW have?
A. PW had 353 offline centres across India and the UAE at the end of FY26, up from 198 a year earlier.
