Source: Preply: Teach on Preply (2026)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- → $20.84 Median hourly wage of the 175,070 employed tutors in the US in May 2025; the bottom tenth earned under $14.15 and the top tenth $36.53 or more. (BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, median hourly wage, 2025)
- → 100% Preply's commission on a trial lesson with every new student; later lessons start at 33% and fall to 18% as a tutor's hours grow. (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026)
- → 75% Share of the posted hourly rate a Wyzant tutor keeps on standard lessons, a flat 25% platform fee that replaced a 40%-to-20% sliding scale in 2019. (Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant?, 2026)
- → $10.20 Cambly's fixed hourly pay for adult English conversation ($0.17 a minute), below the 10th-percentile wage of employed US tutors. (Cambly: Become a tutor, 2026)
- → $15-25 What English tutors on Preply charge per hour on average, according to Preply's own recruitment page. (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026)
Tutoring is one of the few side hustles where a skill people already have can pay professional rates. It is also one where the advertised rate and the money that arrives can be very far apart, because every platform takes a different cut in a different way. This page sets the official wage data for tutors next to the commissions the biggest platforms publish themselves, and converts them into the figure that matters: what a tutor keeps for an hour of teaching.
The comparison is sharper than most tutors expect. A new Preply tutor charging $20 an hour keeps nothing from each student's first lesson and $13.40 from later ones under Preply's published 100% trial and 33% starting commission, below the $20.84 median hourly wage of employed US tutors. (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026) That is on the platform that tells new tutors the average English tutor charges $15-25 an hour (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026), so the example is typical rather than extreme.
At the other end, tutors who can set their own prices on a platform with a flat fee, or who find students directly, earn well above the employed median. The difference between the two is not teaching quality. It is who sets the price and how much of it the platform keeps, and the sections below put a number on both.
1 How Much Do Tutors Earn Per Hour in the US?
The median employed tutor earned $20.84 an hour in May 2025, across 175,070 jobs. The bottom tenth earned under $14.15 and the top tenth $36.53 or more, so the best-paid tutors earn well over double the lowest-paid. (BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, median hourly wage, 2025)
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Employed tutors in the US | 175,070 | BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, employment |
| Median hourly wage | $20.84 | BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, median hourly wage |
| 10th percentile hourly wage | $14.15 | BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, 10th percentile hourly wage |
| 90th percentile hourly wage | $36.53 | BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, 90th percentile hourly wage |
These figures cover tutors on a payroll, mostly at tutoring centres, schools and colleges (BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, employment, 2025), and they leave out the self-employed tutors who make up most of the online market. They are the cleanest public benchmark for what an hour of tutoring is worth in the US labour market, and they are the figure behind the Reddit thread in which tutors argued over whether a quoted annual median was realistic. The annual number assumes full-time hours that most tutors never get; the hourly number does not, which is why it is the one to use.
The spread is wide for a reason. A tutor in the top tenth, often a specialist in test preparation or advanced subjects, earns more than two and a half times what a tutor in the bottom tenth earns (BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, 90th percentile hourly wage, 2025). That gap is the same one that separates the platforms below: the ones that let tutors price their own expertise sit near the upper end, and the fixed-rate ones sit near the bottom.
2 How Much Commission Do Preply, Wyzant and Cambly Take?
Preply takes 100% of every trial lesson and then 33% on later lessons, falling to 18% as hours grow. Wyzant takes a flat 25%, down from a 40% – 20% scale before 2019, plus a 9% service fee on all lessons. Cambly pays a fixed $0.17 a minute. (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026)
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Preply commission, trial lesson | 100% | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| Preply commission, later lessons (start) | 33% | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| Preply commission, later lessons (lowest) | 18% | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| Wyzant platform fee, standard lessons | 25% | Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant? |
| Wyzant platform fee before 2019 | 40% – 20% | Wyzant blog: Platform fee changes |
| Wyzant service fee on all lessons | 9% | Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant? |
| Cambly pay per minute, adult conversation | $0.17 | Cambly: Become a tutor |
The three models put risk in different places. Preply charges for finding students: it keeps the whole trial lesson (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026), which means a tutor with high trial volume and low conversion works a large share of hours for nothing. Its sliding commission rewards tutors who stay and build hours, and punishes the side-hustler who teaches a few lessons a week. Wyzant’s flat fee (Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant?, 2026) is simpler and the same for everyone, and its referral exception means tutors who bring their own students keep the full rate.
Cambly removes pricing altogether. It pays a fixed per-minute rate (Cambly: Become a tutor, 2026) and asks for no degree or certificate, which makes it the easiest entry and the lowest ceiling. Fixed rates on low-barrier platforms are a pattern across this site, from the microtask work in our Clickworker review to the conversation jobs in our live chat jobs review: when anyone can join, the platform sets the price.
3 What Does a Tutor Actually Keep Per Hour on Each Platform?
At a typical $20 rate, a Preply tutor keeps $13.40 per later lesson, rising to $16.40 at the lowest commission. A Wyzant tutor charging $50 keeps $37.50. Cambly pays $10.20 for adults and $12 on Cambly Kids. Preply says English tutors charge $15-25. (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026)
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Preply at $20/h, later lessons at 33% | $13.40 | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| Preply at $20/h, at the lowest 18% | $16.40 | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| Wyzant at $50/h posted | $37.50 | Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant? |
| Cambly adult conversation, per hour | $10.20 | Cambly: Become a tutor |
| Cambly Kids, per hour | $12 | Cambly: Become a tutor |
| Average Preply English tutor rate | $15-25 | Preply: Teach on Preply |
Put these next to the BLS benchmark and the platforms sort themselves. Cambly’s adult rate sits below the bottom tenth of employed tutors (Cambly: Become a tutor, 2026). A Preply tutor at an average price keeps less than the employed median even after their commission falls to its lowest level, and that is before counting the trial lessons that pay nothing. A Wyzant tutor who can command fifty dollars an hour keeps more than the employed 75th percentile (Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant?, 2026), but only if students in that subject will pay that price on a marketplace where they can compare hundreds of profiles.
None of these figures includes preparation, messaging or time spent waiting for bookings, which is why the tutoring subreddits are full of people whose effective rate is far below their posted one. The same advertised-rate versus paid-time gap is the theme of our survey and user testing pay data and our transcription pay statistics, where per-minute rates hide the same problem.
4 How Hard Is It to Get Started, and How Much Can You Make?
Entry ranges from no degree or certificate on Cambly to a degree, US residency and five hours per week on Tutor.com. Preply says its most popular tutors earn up to $550 a week; at a $20 rate and the lowest commission that takes 33.5 teaching hours, against a federal minimum of $7.25. (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026)
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Cambly entry requirements | no degree or certificate | Cambly: Become a tutor |
| Tutor.com minimum availability | five hours per week | Tutor.com: Online Tutor Applicant FAQs |
| Preply top tutors’ weekly earnings | $550 | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| Teaching hours for that at $20 and 18% | 33.5 | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| US federal minimum wage | $7.25 | U.S. Department of Labor |
The top-tutor figure is worth decoding because it is the number most recruitment pages lead with. Preply’s “up to” weekly amount (Preply: Teach on Preply, 2026) is a ceiling for its most popular tutors, and at an average price it implies a near full-time teaching load. That is not a side hustle. Tutor.com, which does not publish its rate at all, sets a minimum weekly commitment and a US-only, degree-level bar (Tutor.com: Online Tutor Applicant FAQs, 2026), which is closer to a part-time job than a gig.
The tutors in the Reddit threads behind this article who report strong earnings share two traits: they set their own price, and they find at least some students outside the platforms. That matches the commission data exactly. Platforms are useful for the first students and for steady volume, and expensive for everything after. For readers comparing this with other skilled side income, our guide to getting paid to train AI with no experience covers expert-rate work with similar entry bars, and our Mercor review looks at a platform that pays specialists by the hour.
5 Is Online Tutoring Worth It as a Side Hustle in 2026?
Yes for tutors who can price their own expertise; less so on fixed-rate or high-commission platforms. Employed tutors earned a median $20.84, the top tenth $36.53. Online, a typical Preply tutor keeps $13.40 and Cambly pays $10.20. Wyzant keeps 25% of every standard lesson. (Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant?, 2026)
| METRIC | VALUE | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Employed median hourly wage | $20.84 | BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, median hourly wage |
| Employed 90th percentile hourly wage | $36.53 | BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, 90th percentile hourly wage |
| Preply at $20/h, later lessons | $13.40 | Preply: Teach on Preply |
| Cambly adult conversation, per hour | $10.20 | Cambly: Become a tutor |
| Wyzant platform fee | 25% | Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant? |
Tutoring pays better than most of the gig work on this site for anyone with a subject people will pay to learn, and the best-paid tutors in the data earn well above the median (BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, 90th percentile hourly wage, 2025). The route there runs through pricing power: a flat-fee platform or direct students, a subject with real demand, and a rate set against the employed benchmark rather than against the cheapest profile on the page.
For a beginner, the numbers suggest a sequence. Start on a platform to get the first reviews and students, but track what you keep per hour including trial lessons and preparation. Raise your rate as soon as the calendar fills, because a full calendar is the clearest sign the price is too low. Keep a simple log of every hour spent on a student, including messages, lesson planning and cancelled sessions, and divide what actually arrived in your account by that total once a month. That one number tells you whether a platform is a launch pad or a ceiling, and it is the number the tutors in the forums wish they had tracked from the start. And compare the result with the other options in our guide to side hustles that pay daily, using the same test our review method applies to every platform: what is left after the costs nobody advertises.
Explore every figure in this article
Methodology
This analysis uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for Tutors (SOC 25-3041), May 2025, read from the BLS public data API, as the benchmark for employed tutors. Platform commissions and rates are those published on Preply’s teacher recruitment page, Wyzant’s support center and blog, Cambly’s tutor page and Tutor.com’s applicant FAQ on the research date. Take-home figures at example prices ($20 on Preply, $50 on Wyzant) are calculations from the published commissions, not averages, and exclude preparation time, unpaid trial lessons with students who do not continue and time waiting for bookings. Tutor.com and Varsity Tutors do not publish tutor pay rates. Reddit tutor reports are used as context, not as statistics.
- Sources consulted: 21
- Sources cited: 10
- Data freshness: current year: 5, last year: 0, older: 2
- Data range: 2019-01 to 2026-11-07
- Research date: 2026-11-07
- Update schedule: Annually, and whenever a platform changes its commission
- Limitations: BLS wage data covers employed tutors (SOC 25-3041) in May 2025, read from the BLS public data API, and does not cover self-employed or platform tutors. Platform commissions and rates are those published on each platform's own pages on the research date; take-home figures at example prices are calculations, not averages. Tutor.com and Varsity Tutors do not publish pay rates publicly. Earnings per hour exclude unpaid preparation, trial lessons with students who do not continue and time spent waiting for bookings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do online tutors make per hour?
It depends on the platform's cut. Employed US tutors earned a median of $20.84 an hour in May 2025, per the BLS. Online, Cambly pays a fixed $10.20 an hour, a Preply tutor charging $20 keeps $13.40 to $16.40 after commission, and a Wyzant tutor charging $50 keeps $37.50. (BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, median hourly wage, 2025)
How much commission does Preply take?
Preply takes 100% of every trial lesson with a new student. On later lessons its commission starts at 33% and falls toward 18% as a tutor teaches more hours on the platform, according to Preply's own recruitment page. (Preply, 2026)
What percentage does Wyzant take from tutors?
Wyzant charges a flat 25% platform fee, so tutors keep 75% of their posted rate on standard lessons and 100% on lessons with students they refer. It replaced a sliding 40% to 20% scale in January 2019. A separate 9% service fee applies to all lessons. (Wyzant Support, 2026)
How much does Cambly pay?
Cambly pays $0.17 a minute, or $10.20 an hour, for adult conversation and $0.20 a minute, or $12 an hour, on Cambly Kids, paid weekly. It needs no degree or teaching certificate, which is why the rate is below the lowest tenth of employed US tutor wages. (Cambly, 2026)
Is tutoring still a good side hustle in 2026?
For tutors who can set their own rates, yes: the top tenth of employed US tutors earned $36.53 an hour or more in May 2025. On fixed-rate or high-commission platforms the take-home is far lower, and Preply's own figure of up to $550 a week implies over 30 teaching hours at a $20 rate. (BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, median hourly wage, 2025)
Does Tutor.com publish its pay rate?
No. Tutor.com says tutors earn a set hourly rate dictated by their subjects and shares the figure only after the application and subject exam. It requires US residency, at least college sophomore status and availability of five hours a week. (Tutor.com, 2026)
Sources & References
- Preply: Teach on Preply. “Make a living by teaching the largest community of learners worldwide.” preply.com/en/teach. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, median hourly wage. “OEWS series OEUN000000000000025304108.” api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/OEUN000000000000025304108. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- Wyzant Support: What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant?. “What is the fee structure for tutors listed on Wyzant?.” support.wyzant.com/tutors/tutor-payments/what-is-the-fee-structure-for-tutors-li. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- Cambly: Become a tutor. “Become an online English tutor.” cambly.com/en/tutors. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, employment. “OEWS series OEUN000000000000025304101.” api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/OEUN000000000000025304101. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, 10th percentile hourly wage. “OEWS series OEUN000000000000025304106.” api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/OEUN000000000000025304106. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- BLS OEWS May 2025: Tutors, 90th percentile hourly wage. “OEWS series OEUN000000000000025304110.” api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2/timeseries/data/OEUN000000000000025304110. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- Wyzant blog: Platform fee changes. “Platform fee changes.” wyzant.com/blog/tutor/platform-fee-changes. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- Tutor.com: Online Tutor Applicant FAQs. “Online Tutor Applicant FAQs.” tutor.com/apply/faq. Accessed 2026-11-07.
- U.S. Department of Labor. “Minimum Wage.” dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage. Accessed 2026-11-07.
Last updated: