You have a lot of skills and knowledge gained through years of experience. Luckily, monetizing your knowledge by teaching online has never been easier. Sitting at your home, you can effortlessly make money by helping students prepare for exams, assisting them in academic curriculum, preparing for a job, learning a language, and doing so much more.
Though it’s difficult to put a price tag for your knowledge, you will still have to charge for your time. But what are average tutoring rates? Let’s find out.
What rates to charge for tutoring?
As a tutor, especially if you are tutoring online, an average tutoring rate would be $25 to $75 per hour. While this is an average rate, you must base your prices based on the following factors.
- The complexity of the subject you teach.
- The uniqueness of the niche.
- The grade level of your students.
- Your academic qualifications.
- Expertise in the subject.
- Special recognition.
- Highest paying subjects for online tutors.
How many hours should you teach per hour?
Online tutors offer the flexibility of choosing your own hours, working as much you want or as little as you like. But then it is obvious that the average salary of a tutor is based on your weekly work hours.
The monthly income of teachers who work 0-10 hours every week is $110. Whereas tutors who work around 30-60 hours per week make an average of $1400. This is an average rate, and the true potential earnings of online tutors working full-time would be more. The examples given here depict that working full-time can be more profitable regardless of your tutoring hours.
What to consider when deciding your tutoring rates
Most online tutors undervalue themselves thinking not to turn people away. However, you must strike a balance when determining how much you should charge. While there is no real set formula, here are some of the factors to consider when deciding your tutoring rates.
Average tutoring rates in the market
Knowing your target market and the trends in pricing is one of the important factors to consider when determining your rates. Even if it’s online tutoring, some areas where the cost of living is higher will have higher tutoring rates than a smaller market.
For example, a tutor working in Los Angeles can charge even $50 per hour as the normal rate starts from $20 per hour.
Your education level and academic qualifications
In general, the more academic qualifications you have, the higher you can charge for your online classes. If you have a bachelor’s degree, you can charge over $20 and hike your rate even up to $70-$100 if you have higher degrees.
Not just your educational qualification, the area of study also matters to an extent. A tutor with a master’s degree in math will have more demand and charge a premium price than a tutor with a master’s in creative writing.
Your experience in the industry
Like in any other industry, the more experience you have, the higher you can charge. Some online tutors start with an hourly rate of $10. And increase the rate as you advance in your experience.
When setting the rates:
- Evaluate if you have personal experience.
- Consider the experience of the subjects you offer. For example, a tutor with an advanced degree and experience in Math has to charge more than someone who’s passionate about the subject but lacks the experience.
The subjects you teach
The subjects like English, Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, SAT prep, etc., are in higher demand, meaning you can charge a high rate for teaching those subjects. You can also make more money by teaching English or a foreign language. The subjects that students are most looking to have support can also change with the season, and you can change your rates in such scenarios. For example, you can raise your tutoring rates in March or April as that is when students will start to prepare for tests in May.
The time slot your client chooses to book your classes
It is true that not all times of the day are charged equally. Certain times, especially the time right after school, could be charged a premium price. Before the pandemic, the weekends were popular hours for online tutoring, which has shifted back to evening hours as schools return to their normal.
The regularity of your online classes and the total number
A consistent student is definitely an asset to your class as you will be able to rely on the income that is consistent. To ensure consistent signups from your regular clients, you can offer discounted rates for them. For example, if a student of yours has shown genuine interest in continuing signing up for your classes for a specific period of time, you can consider lowering your tutoring rates to lock in the schedule.
One best way to execute this is to sell subscription packages to your regular students. In this way, for a student who wants to book for 10 sessions, you can offer one class fee or one class at a discount of 10% or more.
If you are using an online tutoring software, you can simplify the task of scheduling online classes and creating subscription packages. Pinlearn is one such professional tutoring software you can leverage to build your tutoring platform to host both live classes and sell subscriptions to your students.
The number of students you are teaching and their demographic
The number of students you are tutoring at a time for a group session will affect your hourly rate. For example, for a group of 5 students, you can charge $20 for a student and $15 per student for a group class of 10 students. This helps you to save more time and make money than teaching students on a one-to-one basis.
Additionally, offering a competitive rate for your group sessions compared to your individual sessions will help you attract more students as well. You must also modify your tutoring rates based on the ages of your learners, considering their educational level and behavioral needs.
Results your students have achieved with your help
If you have already had a client base you have served for a while now, look at the progress of your students. If they have achieved their tutoring goals and beyond, you are worth the premium price you set.
Conclusion
Whether you are just starting with online tutoring and want to set your tutoring rates, or reassess your rates, make sure you set the rates based on your experience and the results. Independent tutors who run their own tutoring business must assess their tutoring rates yearly to ensure they stay competitive and enjoy continued success.
