You have a lot of valuable knowledge in your head. And, luckily, it’s never been easier to cash in on it by becoming a tutor and teaching online.
Sitting in your bedroom, you can make money helping students complete their homework, prepare for important exams, learn a new language, and so much more.
The big question is: how much do online tutors make? Can you make as much as you’d earn in a full-time job? Or should you think of it more as a side-hustle?
Well, the answers to those questions will depend on you, your expenses, the cost of living where you live, etc. So, while we can’t exactly answer those questions for you, we can tell you:
The average salary of an online tutor (and how things like the subjects you tutor and the way you find clients can put you above or below that average)
The quickest and easiest way to start making money as an online tutor
When and how to increase your rate to make as much money as possible
And, as you may have guessed, those are exactly the topics we’ll be looking at in this blog post. So, let’s jump right in!
What’s an online tutor average salary?
The average hourly rate for an online tutor is $25 USD. However, when you look more closely, the average hourly rate for an online tutor could be as low as $10.00 or as high as $70 depending on the subject of study. The rates charged by tutors can, however, be significantly higher than the aforementioned average by subject area when it comes to teaching advanced topics such as business English, calculus or test preparation whereby we see some tutors charging $50 and upwards. At Popless, we’ve found that the average online tutor salary depends on:
How many hours you teach per week
The subject(s) you tutor
How you find new students
How many hours should you teach per week?
Tutoring online typically means you pick your own hours, working as much or as little as you like. Of course, then, it should be no surprise that your average salary depends on how many hours you work per week.
On Popless, the average monthly salary of tutors working 0-10 hours per week is $200. On the other hand, tutors working 40-50 hours per week make an average of $2,416. However, These averages do not reflect the true potential earnings of an online tutor, especially those working full time. Amongst those tutors that teach from 40 to 50 hours weekly on Popless, we observed that some monthly salaries far exceeded the average earnings of tutors with Chemistry and Physics teachers earning a very handsome $3,650 and $3,601 respectively.
Also featuring among the highest earners were those in German teacher jobs, as well as Python and Italian tutor jobs, who have average monthly salaries of $2,129, $2,106 and $2,069 respectively.
This demonstrates that, although a higher percentage of tutors teach a smaller number of hours, it is more than possible to work full time and can, in fact, be very profitable. In addition, there is potential to make much more than average while working the same number of hours or less. How? By tutoring subjects, like the ones listed below.
What is the best way to find students?
You have several options when it comes to finding students to tutor online. You can choose to:
Become an employee for a tutoring company
Start your own online tutoring business
Work independently on an online tutoring platform
And there are pros and cons to each option with regards to how much money you can make. Let’s take a look at those.
Pros and cons of different ways to find your clients
Other factors that can influence an online tutor’s salary
Several other factors can influence how much money you make as an online tutor. For example, your rate could also depend on:
Formal qualifications
Tutors with advanced qualifications, certifications, or in-depth training in their tutoring subject can typically charge more. For example, if you want to teach English online, being a native or advanced speaker qualifies you to tutor English to non-native speakers. But if you were to have a TEFL certificate, you could increase your hourly rate accordingly.
Offline tutoring or teaching experience
Just because you’re new to online tutoring, might not mean you’re new to tutoring or teaching.
If you have done some offline teaching before, then you can likely charge more than the average rate. How? By learning how to write a tutor profile that attracts students and showcasing your experience.
Advanced tutoring subject areas
Some subjects require advanced knowledge and more prep before the lesson than others. For those subjects, such as business English, calculus or standardized exam preparation (e.g. TOEFL), you can typically charge more per hour. As mentioned previously, tutors who possess these skills and qualifications typically charge average hourly rates upwards of $50.
Competition with other tutors
Students may have a lot of options for online tutors for certain subjects. For example, on Popless there are currently many more tutors specializing in French than there are tutors specializing in sales.
While some of those French tutors can charge higher than average rates, they’re also competing with tutors who charge less. French tutors will need to make sure their profile demonstrates to students why their lessons are worth the higher price. Since students have fewer options for tutors who teach Sales skills, those tutors can typically charge more.
What’s the quickest way to start making money as an online tutor?
The quickest way to start making money as an online tutor is also the most convenient: create an independent tutor profile on an online platform. By going this route, you can avoid the time-consuming hiring process of working for a company or the upfront costs required to start your own online business.
Join one of the best online tutoring platforms
When and how do you increase your hourly rate?
At some point, you’ll probably want to charge more money for your tutoring lessons. And rightly so! Over time, you’ll learn how to become an online tutor who helps students succeed. A good time to change your rate is:
if your demand is too high
if you’ve acquired a new certification
if you’ve received outstanding reviews when your profile didn’t have reviews before
While you may be able to raise your rates soon after getting started, it’s normal if it takes at least a few months to build the experience needed for a rate increase.
Typically, you don’t want to raise your rate by more than 20% unless you can really justify it. You also don’t want to scare off potential clients by raising your rate too frequently.
Lastly, it’s important to remember that if you’re an employee of a tutoring company, your rate is probably fixed and raising it higher might not be possible. You may not want to choose this option if you hope to increase your rate over time.
Key takeaways
Whether you’re looking to make some extra money or seeking a new way to monetize your teaching skills, tutoring online is one of the easiest ways to do it.
To make the most as an online tutor:
Dedicate more hours to tutoring per week
Tutor one or more of the subjects students are willing to pay more for (e.g. sales)
Choose a method to find new students that lets you set a higher rate
The easiest and quickest way to start making money is by setting up a tutor profile on an online tutoring platform. For example, on Popless, you can start and complete the registration today and begin tutoring in just a few days.
Ready to take the next step? Create a profile and tutor with Popless!
