Tutoring is a great way to make some extra money, especially if you do it online as a way to work from home. But when you’re not going through a company that sets the tutoring rate per hour for you, you’ve probably asked yourself the obvious question: “How much should I charge for tutoring?”
While the answer can vary a bit depending on any qualifications and experience you have as well as what you’ll be teaching, there are some guidelines that can help you make sure you’re setting the right tutor rates.
I’ll even show you some of the best tutoring rate calculators out there to give you some idea of how much to charge for tutoring in your specific area!
How much should I charge for tutoring?
You should charge around $25 an hour for tutoring. However, your exact tutoring rate will vary based on the age and background of your students, your own experience and the complexity of the subject. Rates can start at around $15 per hour and go all the way up to $125 per hour for private classes for older students.
That’s still a fairly large range though, as there are some specific points you should keep in mind when determining exactly how much to charge for your own tutoring services.
It’s also worth noting that, in some cases, it won’t be up to you to decide how much you should charge for tutoring. Many of these online tutoring jobs, for example, are done through online tutoring companies that will set your rate based on their perception of your experience, qualifications and subject matter you’re teaching.
This can be good for helping you to avoid having to figure out your own private tutor rates per hour. At the same time, it’s good to have a solid idea of how much you should be charging to make sure the company that hires you isn’t underpaying you for your work.
How to price tutoring services
The price of tutoring services can range from $15 per hour to up to $125 per hour, with around $25 to $55 an hour being the average. The exact price will depend on your qualifications, the age of the students, the subject you’re teaching and whether these are private sessions or in a group.
That is, it’s unfortunately not as simple as being handed a tutoring rate per hour. Instead, there are some considerations to keep in mind when determining how much should a tutor charge per hour, namely:
- Your qualifications – You don’t need formal qualifications to be an online tutor. But if you have an English degree and you’re offering to teach English to high school or college students, you can charge higher tutoring prices accordingly
- The age of your students – As a general rule, the older your students are, the more you can charge. This is because older students are generally going to need to learn about more complex topics, which you should be paid more to teach
- The subject you’re teaching – Any subject that requires more specialized knowledge is going to command a higher rate. For example, teaching 12th grade Chemistry is probably going to get you a higher rate than 12th grade English – depending, of course, on exactly what you’re teaching
- When you’re tutoring – If you tutor during business hours or even just after school, your tutor rates per hour will usually be less than someone working as a tutor later at night or as a weekend job. Some flexibility is needed as a tutor to work around your students’ schedule, but it’s also expected that you’ll charge for this flexibility
- Private vs group sessions – Like most things, your private tutor rates per hour are clearly going to be higher than if you tutor in a group
- Timing – If you’re focusing on tutoring students in preparation for exams, you may find that you’re able to charge more in the weeks and months just before these exams. This is largely because there’ll probably be more demand for your services, allowing you to increase your rates accordingly
- Your location – Different cities have different average rates you should consider when wondering how much you should charge for tutoring. For example, if there’s a major university in your area, you may be able to charge more for tutoring college students – or the average rate could be less as a lot of these students may also be tutoring younger students, meaning there’s a higher supply of tutors.
- The amount of preparation required – Ask any teacher: lesson prep takes up a massive chunk of your time. This means that if you’re expected to do a lot of preparation before any tutoring session, you’re more than able to factor this into your rate as well.
Is there a tutoring rate calculator?
While there isn’t one tutoring rate calculator that will consider every factor needed to determine how much to charge for tutoring, you can use websites that show average salaries in your area as a tutoring pricing calculator. While these won’t consider every aspect, they’re a good starting point when considering how much you should charge for tutoring.
For example, when looking for how much to charge for tutoring on Reddit, all of the answers talk about how the answer is very much location dependent. Just check out some of the responses here, here and here for an idea on how much this matters.
How much to charge for online tutoring
For online tutoring, your rates will usually be between $18 and $30 per hour. However, the exact rates will generally be set by the online tutoring company you work with and will depend on factors like your experience, the age of the students, the complexity of the subject and how highly rated you are on their platform.
Much like the points you need to consider for determining how much should a tutor charge per hour for in-person lessons, the more specialized your knowledge and the content you’re teaching, the higher your rates will be able to be. In some cases, this can very easily make tutoring one of the highest paying online jobs out there.
It’s also very much going to depend on the individual company. When looking at the Tutor.com pay rate on Glassdoor, for example, their average tutor rate per hour is $12, which is pretty low.
On the other hand, most of the tutoring companies in this list of online tutoring jobs start well above this. Chegg Tutors, for example, starts at $20 per hour and MagicEars, where you teach English to students in China, is upfront that their hourly rates range between $18 and $26.
Similar rates are also on offer for teaching English online to Japanese students.
This means that while it may not be up to you to set your own rate within this range, at least you have an idea of what your fee will be when starting what can be a great work from home job.
Related: 29 Quick Tips on How to Make $300 Fast
Can you make a living as a tutor?
You can definitely make a living as a tutor, with many tutors generating a full time salary from their work in this field. This is particularly the case for private tutors of older students who can often charge higher hourly rates than the average.
This won’t be possible for everyone and will very much depend on your availability and the amount you’ve decided to charge for tutoring. After all, it’s pretty obvious that if you’re only free for a few hours per week, you’re going to earn less by working part time than someone who has the time to make themselves available whenever their students ask.
But that said, it’s certainly more than possible to live off a tutor’s salary. While you won’t be crazy rich, you can be comfortable, especially knowing that you’re able to make money in an hour doing this.
How can I make money tutoring?
To make money tutoring, there are a few things you can do to make sure you’re making as much money as possible:
- Tutor in line with your experience or qualifications – It may sound obvious, but if you have any formal training or qualifications in a certain subject, it’s a good idea to offer your tutoring services in that same field. This is because people will pay more if you’re qualified on the understanding that you’re bringing specialized knowledge to the table.
- Try to make yourself available when your students are – Most students, whether in school or college, are much more likely to want to schedule tutoring sessions in the afternoon or on weekends (although you can also tutor during vacation periods, which is actually a great way for teachers to make extra money in the summer given how good teacher tutoring rates can be). This means that only making yourself available during business hours could mean you’re limiting your money making opportunities
- Focus on private tutoring sessions – Your private tutor rate per hour is going to be higher during one-to-one sessions so if you’re short on time, focusing on these can ensure you’re maximizing your earnings.
- Do both online and in-person tutoring – There’s no reason to limit yourself to just one of these. While, as a very general rule, you can often charge more for in-person tutoring, your potential student base online is massive. This means that offering both can be a good way to make sure you have as many clients as possible to earn as much as you can.
Related: 41 Ways to Make $1,000 Fast (That Actually Work)
Subject-specific examples of how much money a tutor makes an hour
As mentioned, you’re going to be able to charge higher average tutoring rates for teaching certain subjects.
This isn’t going to be the only factor to consider when wondering how much you should charge for tutoring – especially when you consider how much it can vary depending on where you’re located.
For example, the age of your students will matter too, given that this will likely impact the complexity of what you’re teaching them. For example, the tutoring rates per hour for high school will almost certainly be more than tutoring rates for elementary students
But it can definitely help to see how much do tutors charge per hour already in your relevant subject, at least as a base point to see if you should align yourself with them too.
How much should I charge for tutoring Math?
The average Math tutor rates per hour vary between $40 per hour for high school students to $125 per hour for graduate-level students or those looking for help in preparing for standardized tests.
Specifically, when looking at the average private Math tutor rates per hour on Reddit, there are different options:
- This person charges $40 per hour to teach Math to school students
- This person charges $40 for juniors in high school and $50 for AP math
- This person, however, charges up to $125 per hour for grad-level or standardized test prep in math
Related: 43 Amazing Under the Table Jobs that Pay Cash
How much to charge for SAT tutoring?
SAT tutors can charge up to $125 per hour depending on your area and your qualifications. However, in some areas, in-demand SAT tutors charge up to $1,000 per hour for SAT prep, although this is less common.
As seen in the previous example, this is an advertised rate for tutors in specific subjects helping with test prep. At the same time, it’s going to be very location dependent.
But I’m not kidding about those crazy SAT tutoring rates per hour. Just take a look at this article from someone who charged up to $1,000 per hour for SAT prep.
How much do private tutors charge as Biology tutor rates?
Biology tutor rates can be anywhere from $40 to $100 per hour, with the higher rates being possible if you have a science-based degree. That’s because most science subjects need the tutor to have some sort of specialized knowledge to teach this well, especially to high school and college students.
This means that if you have or are studying for a science-based degree, you should definitely use this to your advantage to set your tutoring rates per hour higher.
Related: 41 Easy Ways to Make an Extra $500 a Month
How much are high school Chemistry tutor rates?
High school Chemistry tutors should charge between $30 and $70 per hour, depending on the complexity of the material they’re teaching. This reflects the fact that Chemistry tutors generally need experience in this field or specialized knowledge from their own studies that allows them to teach this well.
People, in turn, are generally willing to pay for this experience, allowing you to set your rates at the higher end of the scale.
How much should I charge for tutoring reading?
If tutoring students in reading, you should charge between $15 and $50 per hour. This, however, will very much depend on how old the student is. If they’re younger, like in elementary school, and their parents are looking for help in improving their reading skills, your rates may be lower.
That said, this isn’t always the case, especially if a child has special needs and the parents want a specialist to help them catch up. If you have training with special needs students, you can certainly increase your rate in those cases.
Similarly, as your students get older and the material presumably gets more complex, you can raise your tutor rate per hour accordingly.
Related: Make $200 a Day Online: 17 Ways That Are Proven To Work
What are the tutoring rates per hour for middle school students?
You should charge $15 to $25 an hour for tutoring middle school students on average. This may increase up to $35 an hour for advanced courses, depending on the area and your own experience in the subject.
While it’s probably not surprising that your average tutoring rates per hour for middle school students will be slightly less than for older students, don’t undercharge yourself.
In particular, good tutors in AP subjects are in high demand, which you can definitely use to your advantage when figuring our how much to charge for tutoring these students.
In terms of how much do tutors charge if you yourself are a middle school student looking to tutor other kids at your school, that’s definitely a great way for you to make some extra money. Just perhaps don’t expect to charge quite as much as an adult tutor would, as parents may not be willing to pay it – at least not until you prove yourself.
What are the tutoring rates per hour for elementary school students?
Tutoring rates per hour for elementary school students are in the range of $15 to $25. However, this can go up depending on your location, the subject matter and your level of expertise, especially if you’re tutoring in a specialized area.
The best way to figure out the right rate for how much tutors charge for elementary students near you is to scope out the local market. Ask local tutors, check online or even call up schools in your area to make sure you’re not under- (or over-) charging.
How much should I charge for tutoring as a high school student?
A high school student should charge between $15 and $30 per hour on average for tutoring services, with the exact amount to depend on where you are located, the complexity of the subject and your background in the relevant topic.
Tutoring is a great job for teenagers as their availability is often the same as their clients. They’ve also often just learned the same subjects that they’re teaching, meaning they’re extremely up to date in the current school curriculum on that topic.
Of course, a teenage tutor who’s still in school isn’t going to be able to charge as much for tutoring as a college student or someone who already has their degree.
But for, say, middle and elementary school students, hiring a teenager as their tutor can still produce excellent results – while allowing teens who want to make money the chance to earn a solid hourly rate.
You could even find yourself teaching other high school students, which may feel weird at first, but parents could be willing to pay for this, especially if you have been really successful in the subject yourself in the previous year.
How much to charge for group tutoring?
As a general rule, your per student rate for group tutoring should be around 75% of your rate for private students. This means that if your private tutoring rate is $40 an hour, you should charge $30 per student in a one-hour group tutoring session.
This can, of course, mean that you can actually earn more per hour by having several students in a group compared how much you would charge as a private tutor. At the same time, this is going to mean much more work for you, both during the tutoring session to make sure everyone is keeping up and when preparing for the lesson.
This means that it’s up to you whether you prefer to stick with one-to-one lessons or branch out into group sessions. Of course, you can always try both to see what you prefer.
Related: 41 Ways to Make $100 a Day That Actually Work
How much should I pay a teenage tutor?
You should pay a teenage tutor the applicable standard rate based on the subject matter and the age of their student. Just because they are teenagers doesn’t mean you should pay less, especially if they were recommended to you as a good tutor in that subject.
Clearly, you won’t be paying a teenager as much as, say, someone with a college degree in that field or who’s a qualified teacher. But you also shouldn’t set out to undercut them as plenty of teenagers are excellent tutors who are worth their hourly rate.
In fact, they can be an asset when you consider that they probably learned the relevant information not that long ago. This means that they remember what worked for them to learn this – and they can then share that same strategy with their students.
Final thoughts on how much you should charge for tutoring
The question of how much to charge for tutoring is going to depend on a bunch of factors. While having a tutoring pricing calculator may help, it’s easy to be concerned that you’re setting your rate too low – or too high and that no one will hire you.
However, the best way to figure this out is to just start. You’ll probably be able to have a ballpark figure once you’ve done some research into the points mentioned above. From there, it’s simply a question of throwing yourself out there and seeing the response.
If you’re booked out or aren’t quite getting the kinds of clients you had in mind, perhaps you’ve set your tutoring prices too low.
Alternatively, if you’re barely building your client list at all, your rate could be too high and may be worth dropping a bit.
Don’t be worried though if you’re not sure whether you have the qualifications or background to back up the fact that you’re charging more than you initially expected. There’s almost always going to be someone out there willing to pay for a quality service.
And the fact that, in this case, your service can have a direct impact on their or their child’s academic future means that you may be able to earn more than you first realized.
