Most tutors set their first rate by asking one other tutor what they charge, then going slightly under. Every problem with pricing for the next three years follows from that one afternoon.
A rate is decided, not guessed
A price set by copying someone else is a price you cannot defend, which means you will discount it under any pressure at all. A price you have reasoned your way to survives the conversation where a parent asks whether you can do a bit better.
The reasoning does not need to be elaborate. It needs to exist, and you need to be able to say it out loud.
What your rate is actually made of
The hour in the lesson is roughly half of the work. The rest is preparation, marking, messages between lessons, the schedule, and the unpaid gaps between two lessons that do not sit next to each other.
A tutor charging £30 an hour with forty minutes of surrounding work per lesson is earning about £18 an hour for their working time — before any month with a holiday, an illness or an empty February.
- The lesson itself.
- Preparation and marking — often 20 to 40 minutes per lesson.
- Admin: messages, scheduling, chasing payment.
- Unbillable gaps in the evening between lessons.
- Weeks you do not work: holidays, illness, exam season ending.
Three ways to calculate it
Use all three. Where they disagree is where your thinking is unclear.
| Method | How | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Target income | Annual target ÷ realistic billable hours | Making sure the maths works at all |
| Market rate | What comparable tutors near you charge | Not being wildly out of step |
| Value | What the outcome is worth to the family | Exam prep and specialist work |
- How
- Annual target ÷ realistic billable hours
- Good for
- Making sure the maths works at all
- How
- What comparable tutors near you charge
- Good for
- Not being wildly out of step
- How
- What the outcome is worth to the family
- Good for
- Exam prep and specialist work
Why pricing too low costs more than it looks
A low rate does not just reduce income per hour. It changes who books you: price-sensitive clients cancel more, commit less, and negotiate more, so the cheap roster is also the higher-maintenance one.
It also compounds. Every student you take on at the low rate is someone you will eventually have to raise, and raising is harder than starting correctly. The tutor who is under-priced at twenty students has twenty awkward conversations ahead, not one.
Signals that it is time to raise
You are looking for evidence, not a feeling — and there is usually plenty of it.
- You have a waiting list, or you are turning people away.
- Nobody has questioned your price in a year.
- You have taken on a qualification, a specialism, or exam-board experience since you set it.
- Your effective hourly rate — revenue divided by hours actually worked — has quietly fallen.
Raising it without losing anyone
Four things make this go smoothly, and the first two do most of the work. Give notice — four to six weeks, in writing. Apply it to everyone from the same date, because a rate that varies by who complained is a rate that invites complaints.
Then: keep it modest and regular. Ten percent once a year is barely noticed; thirty percent after four years is a negotiation. And say what changed — a new specialism, four years of results, the fact that you now do the exam board they need.
Some tutors grandfather long-standing students for a term. That is a reasonable kindness if you decide it in advance, and a trap if you decide it per person under pressure.
Price from your own numbers, not a feeling
Two figures decide almost everything: your average revenue per lesson, and how full your available hours are. If revenue per lesson is below your nominal rate, discounts have become your real price. If you are at capacity, you are under-priced regardless of what anyone else charges.
Both are things your own records can tell you, and neither is answerable from memory — which is most of the reason tutors postpone pricing decisions for years.
Discounts, packages and trials
A discount for buying a block is fine: you are being paid for certainty, and that is a real thing to be paid for. A discount because someone asked is a price cut you will never reverse.
Trials are the same question in miniature. Free fills faster and wastes more evenings; paid converts better. Either is defensible; varying it per enquiry is not.
- Block discount: fine — you get certainty in return.
- Ad-hoc discount: avoid — it becomes the price.
- Sibling discount: fine, if it is a rule rather than a negotiation.
Reviewing your rate in one evening
Calculate your effective hourly rate from last term. Compare against the three methods above. Pick a new number and a date. Write the message once, send it to everyone, and put a reminder in for a year’s time.
Two hours, once a year. It is the highest-paid two hours in the tutoring business.
A price that matches what you are worth
The goal is not to charge as much as possible. It is to charge an amount you can say without flinching, that keeps the students you want, and that leaves you able to do the job properly for another five years.
Frequently asked
What should a beginner tutor charge?
Slightly below the local market rate, not dramatically. Start too low and your first twenty students all need raising later; that is a much bigger problem than a slower first month.
How do I raise the rate for existing students without losing them?
Four to six weeks’ notice, in writing, the same date for everyone, a modest increase, and one sentence about what has changed. Done that way, almost nobody leaves.
Should I discount to attract my first students?
A time-limited introductory rate with an end date is fine. An open-ended low price is not a discount, it is your price.
How often can a tutor raise their rate?
Once a year is normal and expected. Regular small rises are far easier than infrequent large ones.
How much does online tutoring cost?
It varies enormously by subject, country and level, which is why the market-rate method should never be your only input. Compare locally, then check the maths works with the target-income method.
How do I find my real income per lesson?
Divide a term’s revenue by the lessons actually taught, then by hours actually worked including preparation. The second number is usually the surprising one.
Sources
- Tutoring Industry Statistics and Market Data — National Tutoring Authority
- Online Tutoring Market Size & Share (2024–2034) — Fact.MR