Best Online Tutoring Platforms to Work For: Fees and Pay

Bottom line

For most US tutors, the best online tutoring platforms to work for are the marketplaces where you set your own rate: Wyzant Wyzant for academic subjects, Preply Preply or italki italki for languages, and Outschool Outschool for classes for kids. On a $40 posted rate, those platforms leave you roughly $27 to $34 per lesson hour before tax, compared with a fixed $10.20 to $12 an hour on Cambly, so build the platform’s cut into your price from day one.

This guide compares tutoring platforms the way a business would: commission, payout costs, unpaid time, eligibility and tax. Fees and rules were checked against each platform’s published pages in October 2026. Where a company does not publish its pay, we say so rather than repeat figures from job aggregators.

Two business models: you set the price, or they do

Every online tutoring job uses one of two models, and which model you pick matters more than which brand.

Rate-setting marketplaces (Wyzant, Preply, italki, Outschool). You publish a price, students find your profile, and the platform takes a percentage. You are running a small business from a rented storefront. The ceiling is higher, but you do the selling: your profile, your reviews, your replies to inquiries.

Company-set pay (Cambly, Tutor.com, Varsity Tutors). The company sets the rate and sends you students or sessions. You do less marketing, but your earnings are capped and you can’t raise your price when demand is high.

If you have teaching credentials or a niche subject, the marketplace model usually pays better. If you want to log on and work without building a client base, fixed pay is simpler. It also pays less.

Side-by-side: fees, payouts and who can apply

We left out Superprof, Skooli, Verbling and similar sites because we could not confirm their tutor fees on official pages. We also left out Chegg Tutors. It stopped lessons on January 15, 2021 and shut down at the end of that month, though some lists still recommend it.

The numbers: what a $40 rate becomes on each platform

The basic formula:

Take-home per lesson hour = posted rate × (1 − platform commission)

Using a $40 posted rate:

That table shows the headline numbers. The figure that matters is your effective hourly rate: the money you keep divided by every hour you spend on the work, including unpaid trials, messaging and prep.

Effective hourly rate = (paid lesson hours × take-home per hour − payout fees) ÷ total hours worked

Preply’s unpaid trial lessons, worked through

Preply keeps 100% of the payment for every trial lesson with a new student. Trials count toward your commission tier, so they move you up the ladder, but they pay you nothing.

Here’s an example with our assumptions stated. You are new, you charge $25, and your first 20 hours are 6 trial lessons and 14 regular lessons. We count each trial as one hour to keep it simple.

• Paid: 14 × $25 × 0.67 = $234.50
• Effective hourly rate: $234.50 ÷ 20 hours = $11.73

Your posted rate is $25, but you earned under $12 an hour in your first 20 hours. That improves as trials turn into regular students and your commission drops. Set your early prices knowing this.

Wyzant’s student service fee

Wyzant charges students a separate 9% service fee on the total lesson cost, and it applies to cancellations too. A $40 posted rate costs the student $43.60. When you compare your price with other tutors’ prices, compare what the parent actually pays.

italki packages: offer a discount without losing money

italki’s commission drops on packages, so you can offer a small discount, keep about the same money and lock in 10 lessons:

• Single lesson at $40, 21% commission: you keep $31.60
• 10-lesson package at $38 per lesson, 17% commission: you keep $31.54 per lesson

A package is a block of lessons paid in advance, so it works like a deposit (money paid upfront before the work is delivered). It improves retention and cash flow without cutting your margin. Check italki’s current commission schedule before you set prices.

Platform by platform: who each one suits

Wyzant: best for US academic and test-prep tutors

Wyzant has charged a flat 25% fee since January 2019, when it dropped its old sliding scale of 40% to 20%. Any list that still describes a “sliding commission” is out of date. Profiles are free and no teaching certification is required. Wyzant says it does not sell premium listings or top placement, so your ranking comes from your profile and reviews.

The detail worth knowing: if you refer a new student who creates an account, you keep 100% of your rate for lessons with that student. That makes Wyzant a reasonable billing and scheduling tool for private students you already have. The student still pays the 9% fee.

Wyzant advertises that “top tutors have earned $50,000+ a year.” That is the company’s own claim, not a typical result.

Not for: anyone living outside the US or without an SSN.

Preply: best for language tutors willing to build volume

Preply has global demand but the toughest numbers for new tutors: 33% commission for your first 20 hours, plus unpaid trials. In Preply’s own example, on a $10 rate a new tutor gets $6.70 per regular lesson and a tutor past 400 hours gets $8.20. You can only register on a desktop computer, and applications are reviewed within 5 business days.

Not for: anyone who needs a full income from the first month.

italki: best for language teachers who sell packages

Trial and instant lessons carry 0% commission, single lessons 21%, and packages as little as 15%. Group classes are the exception at 30%. If you can turn students into 10- or 20-lesson packages, italki’s fee structure rewards you for it.

Not for: tutors who want to teach mostly group classes, where the 30% cut matches Outschool’s.

Outschool: best for teachers who like group classes for kids

You keep 70% of the class price, and parents pay a separate marketplace fee on top. Outschool’s real advantage is group classes: one hour can earn from several learners at once, which can push your effective hourly rate well above one-to-one tutoring. Class content must be “secular and objective,” and you need a free ID check and criminal background check. Payouts go by PayPal only, usually 7 to 8 days after a class starts, with weekly classes paid on Sundays.

Not for: tutors who won’t use PayPal, or anyone teaching faith-based material.

Cambly: easiest to get into, lowest ceiling

You don’t need a degree, certificate or experience. Pay is $0.17 per minute ($10.20 an hour) for adult sessions and $0.20 per minute ($12 an hour) for Cambly Kids. Cambly offers no minimum earnings guarantee, so time you spend logged in without a student costs you. Cambly currently says it is “temporarily limiting the number of new tutors,” so approval is not guaranteed.

Not for: anyone relying on tutoring as their main income.

Tutor.com: steady work if you meet strict eligibility

Tutor.com is owned by The Princeton Review. Pay is “a set hourly rate dictated by the subjects you tutor,” plus incentives, but the rates are not published before you apply. To qualify you need:

• US residence, an SSN and authorization to work in the US (H-1B, F-1 and OPT holders are not eligible)
• At least sophomore standing on a 4-year degree, or a completed 4-year degree
• At least 5 hours a week of availability
• A Windows 10 or 11 computer
• An internet connection of at least 15 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up

Applying takes 1 to 3 weeks and includes a subject exam.

Not for: Mac-only households, or anyone who wants to see the rate before spending weeks on an application.

Varsity Tutors: check your state first

Varsity Tutors works with tutors on contract, but not with tutors in Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia or Puerto Rico. Colorado is a recent addition that older lists miss. Varsity closed its schools division at the end of July 2026, and the consumer marketplace was not affected. We could not confirm pay rates on an official page, so ask for the rate in writing before you commit time.

What older “best tutoring companies” lists get wrong

• Chegg Tutors is gone (it closed in January 2021).
• Wyzant’s fee is a flat 25%, not a sliding scale.
• Wyzant’s pay schedule changed on July 1, 2025. Everyone is now paid on the 1st and 15th by direct deposit, and Express Direct Deposit ended.
• Varsity Tutors’ excluded states now include Colorado.
• Cambly is limiting new tutor signups.
• 1099 reporting thresholds have changed (see the tax section below).

How platform pay compares with the wider market

The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median tutor wage at $19.03 an hour in May 2023, with the 10th percentile at $13.32 and the 90th at $38.67. Those figures cover all tutors, not only online ones. They are also employee wages, so they don’t reflect the self-employment tax a contractor pays.

They are still a useful sanity check. Both of Cambly’s rates are below the 10th percentile. A Wyzant tutor keeping $30 a lesson hour before tax is above the median, as long as bookings and unpaid time cooperate.

Price with the fee built in rather than trying to be the cheapest profile in your subject. Cheap profiles attract price-shoppers, and on a percentage-fee platform the discount comes straight out of your margin.

Money you actually keep

Our assumptions for this example:

• 60 lesson hours a month at a $40 posted rate (on Outschool, $40 of class enrollments per hour)
• Preply in its 51 to 200 hour tier, with one PayPal withdrawal
• A 25% tax set-aside

The 25% is our illustrative assumption, not a rate to rely on. Your real figure depends on your total income, your state and your deductions.

Once you add unpaid prep and messaging time, every effective hourly rate drops further. If you spend 15 minutes unpaid for every lesson hour, the Wyzant figure becomes $22.50 ÷ 1.25 = $18 per hour worked.

On Preply, choose your withdrawal method on purpose. Wise costs about 0.6%, PayPal 2% capped at $20, and Payoneer a flat $1 or $3. Each withdrawal is capped at $3,000.

Tax rules that apply on every platform

This is general information, not tax advice. Confirm your own situation with an accountant or the IRS.

• You owe tax with or without a form. All self-employment income is taxable, whether or not a 1099 arrives.
• 1099-K: a platform only has to file one when your payments exceed $20,000 and more than 200 transactions.
• 1099-NEC/MISC: for tax years beginning after 2025, the reporting threshold rose from $600 to $2,000. Many part-time tutors may receive no form at all.
• Self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare). You file Schedule SE when your net self-employment earnings are $400 or more, and half of the SE tax is deductible.
• Estimated taxes are required if you expect to owe at least $1,000 (subject to safe-harbor tests). They are due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year.

Deductions that reduce the bill

• Home office: if you use part of your home regularly and only for tutoring, the simplified method lets you deduct $5 per square foot for up to 300 square feet. That’s a maximum of $1,500 a year, and you don’t have to track actual expenses. The regular method uses actual expenses and is claimed on Form 8829. Renters can claim it too.
• Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction: sole proprietors may be able to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income. Ask your accountant how the rules and limits apply to you.

Contract and payment protection on a platform

A platform handles your contract and collections, but only if you follow its rules.

1. Log lessons on time. Wyzant requires lessons to be entered within 14 days, and a lesson must be submitted 5 days before a pay date to be included. If you miss the cutoff, you wait until the next pay date.
2. Give Wyzant your SSN early. It is required before your total payments pass $50.
3. Check your bank details. If a Wyzant deposit is returned, it is reissued on the 10th or 25th, so a typo costs you about 10 days.
4. Sell prepaid packages where the platform supports them. Prepayment works as your deposit. It protects you against no-shows and smooths your income.
5. Set a clear cancellation policy in your platform’s settings, and tell students about it before the first lesson.
6. Read the terms before moving a student off the platform. On Wyzant, the referral route (100% of your rate) may give you most of the benefit while keeping the platform’s payment protection.

Copy-and-paste template

A package offer for a student after a good trial lesson:

Thanks for today’s lesson. Based on your goals, weekly sessions for the next 10 weeks would be the best fit. Single lessons are $40, or you can book a 10-lesson package at $38 per lesson, paid upfront through the platform. Cancellations follow the platform’s cancellation policy, so please give as much notice as you can. Reply with the option that suits you and the booking will follow.

An invitation for an existing private student you want to move onto Wyzant’s billing:

To make scheduling and payment simpler, our lessons are moving to Wyzant. Please create your account using the link below so your lessons are connected to the right profile. The hourly rate stays the same; Wyzant adds a 9% service fee at checkout.

Scams aimed at tutors

• Pay-to-apply schemes. Legitimate employers never ask you to pay to get a job. Wyzant profiles are free, and Outschool’s ID and background checks are free.
• Fake-check “parents.” A new client sends a check for more than the agreed amount and asks you to refund the difference. The check bounces and you owe the bank. Keep all bookings and payments inside the platform.
• Report suspected scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Which platform fits your situation

Checklist

• Pick a model: a set-your-own-rate marketplace or company-set pay
• Price with the commission built in, and work out your effective hourly rate including unpaid trials and prep
• Confirm you’re eligible given your state, visa status and computer before you apply
• Choose the cheapest payout method and log lessons before each cutoff
• Set aside tax from every payout and put the quarterly estimated tax dates in your calendar
• Confirm your tax treatment and deductions with an accountant