An online tutor typically charges $35 to $60 an hour, the average Wyzant publishes for tutors on its platform. Its most popular subjects range from $30 to $150 an hour (algebra) and $35 to $100 (calculus), and Wyzant says a tutor "can cost anywhere from $10 to several hundreds of dollars per hour." Students pay a 9% service fee on top, and the tutor keeps 75% of the posted rate.
So the price a student sees and the money a tutor receives are different numbers. On Preply, a new tutor keeps 67% of each regular lesson and nothing from a new student's first trial lesson.
How much do online tutors charge per hour?
On Wyzant, tutors cost $35 to $60 an hour on average, in the platform's words: "Tutors on Wyzant Cost $35 - 60 per hour on average." Tutors set their own rates, so the range is wide, and Wyzant's own guide puts the full span at "$10 to several hundreds of dollars per hour."
| Subject on Wyzant | Tutors listed | Price per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Algebra | 7,500+ | $30 to $150 |
| Calculus | 2,500+ | $35 to $100 |
| Physics | 1,500+ | $40 to $100 |
| Chemistry | 2,250+ | $30 to $100 |
| Writing | 5,000+ | $4 to $120 |
From Wyzant's guide "How Much Does a Tutor Cost? The Ultimate Guide" (blog.wyzant.com, dated 23 December 2024), read on 16 October 2026. US dollars. Wyzant notes "there are variations in price within each of them."
Location moves the price too. Wyzant writes that "the higher end of the average rate is also in New York ($40-$75/hour) while Florida is on the less expensive side ($30-$50/hour)."
What does a student pay on top of the tutor's rate?
On Wyzant, students pay a 9% service fee on every lesson. Wyzant's help page says the fee "is 9% of the total lesson cost, which is determined by the hourly rate charged by your tutor and the length of time that the lesson lasts." A one-hour lesson with a $50 tutor therefore costs the student $54.50; that is our arithmetic.
The fee applies to cancellations as well: "lesson cancellations are subject to a tutor's cancellation policy plus the standard 9% service fee and any applicable taxes."
How much do tutoring platforms take from tutors?
Wyzant takes 25% of the tutor's rate, and Preply takes 18% to 33%, plus all of the first trial lesson with each new student. Wyzant's help page says tutors "retain 75% of their posted hourly rate for lessons with students, minus any applicable taxes, and Wyzant will retain a 25% Platform Fee."
Preply's commission falls as a tutor teaches more. Its help centre says "The commission for every trial lesson with a new student is 100%," and after that "the tutor is charged a percentage of the hourly rate (between 18% and 33%)." The rate "starts at 33% for new tutors, but after 20 hours of teaching that goes down to 28%."
| A $50 one-hour lesson | Student pays | Tutor keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Wyzant | $54.50 | $37.50 |
| Preply, new tutor (33%) | $50 | $33.50 |
| Preply, after 20 hours (28%) | $50 | $36 |
| Preply, 400+ hours (18%) | $50 | $41 |
| Preply, trial lesson with a new student | $50 | $0 |
Our arithmetic on a $50 rate from Wyzant's help pages (9% student fee, 25% platform fee) and Preply's help centre (100% trial, 33%, 28% and 18% commission), read on 16 October 2026. Preply's student-side charges and taxes are not included.
Preply's own example matches: a new tutor charging 10 USD "will receive 6.70 USD for all lessons except trial lessons," and a tutor with 400+ hours "will receive 8.20 USD for each non-trial lesson."
How much should a new online tutor charge?
Start inside the $35 to $60 average, then price up for harder subjects. A new tutor with no reviews competes on price at first, but the subject table shows the ceiling: the top algebra tutors on Wyzant charge $150 an hour, five times the bottom of the range.
Set the rate from what you want to keep, not from the posted price. To take home $40 an hour on Wyzant, the posted rate has to be about $53, because the platform keeps 25%. On Preply at the new-tutor rate, it has to be about $60. That is our arithmetic from the published commissions.
Setting a first price with no reviews is covered in how to price a service with no track record. For a comparison with other one-to-one expert work, see what a business coach costs.
Is it cheaper to tutor on your own than on a platform?
Yes on fees, no on finding students. A tutor who books students directly keeps the whole rate, minus card processing, instead of 67% to 82%. What the platform sells for its share is the students. Preply says "A large part of our commission is invested in bringing students to the platform," and Wyzant says its service fee pays for vetting tutors and support.
The middle path many tutors take is to start on a platform for reviews and early students, then move regular students to direct booking where the platform's terms allow it. Read the agreement first: Wyzant's tutors sign an "Independent Tutor Agreement" that sets its payment policies.
Tutoring also has a ceiling: the hours in a week. A tutor who has taught the same subject a hundred times already has a course in their head. Building a course from expert knowledge covers how to package it, and what Teachable, Kajabi and Thinkific cost shows the bill for hosting it.
The honest hard part
The averages hide a long tail. A tutor at the bottom of Wyzant's range and one at the top teach the same subject; what separates them is reviews, results and specialism, and none of that exists on day one.
The second hard part is the trial lesson. On Preply, the first lesson with every new student pays the tutor nothing, so a tutor with lots of trials and few repeat students can work a full week for little money. Preply's advice is to spend "no more than 10 minutes actually teaching" in the trial and use the rest to plan with the student.
The third is that platform terms change. Commission rates, fees and the rules about taking students off the platform are set by each company and can move. The figures here are what their help pages said on 16 October 2026.
