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In my favorite memory from childhood, I am coloring in the letters of the alphabet with a scented marker (blackberry black). Learning is fundamental to who we are as human beings, and teaching is just the other side of the same coin: anyone can do it, and learn to do it well.

Throughout my eight years of navigating flex work and the gig economy, my constant main gig has been tutoring. Five of those eight years have been spent teaching online. So, suffice it to say, I know a thing or two about online tutoring platforms — the good, the bad, and the downright unadvisable.

Before we dive into my top five personal picks for online tutoring platforms, here’s some background on the subject.

Source: https://pmarketresearch.com/worldwide-online-teaching-and-learning-platforms-market-research-2024-by-type-application-participants-and-countries-forecast-to-2030/

Online education started in 1989, and there are literally tens of thousands of online teaching websites as of 2025. In 2021, the World Economic Forum noted that COVID had been a watershed moment in spurring on the global demand for online courses. Online learning as a global industry is projected to be worth $239 billion by 2027, as demand will continue to skyrocket. By that time, there will be approximately 1 billion online students globally. In one analysis for the 2023 market, cloud-based education markets dwarfed on-premises education markets at a ratio of nearly 7:5. The online market for education is only expected to grow well into 2031. So, now is as good a time as ever to take the plunge into the world of online education!

I teach mostly language students (English, French, Korean, and Russian) as well as college prep test courses like SAT, AP, and IB, so that’s what I’ll be writing about for this particular article.

Caveat: I know there are a lot of other platforms out there, like Preply and Superprof, but frankly, they tend to force you to provide free trial lessons or take a huge cut of the tuition, and I’ve heard mixed reviews, so I’ll leave them out for now. I’ll do a follow-up on how to tell scams from legitimate remote job opportunities. P.S. avoid Tutoroo at all costs — they take 100% of your pay for the first two weeks, which is not exactly best practice material!

Without further ado: here are the five online tutoring platforms that I personally recommend.

1. italki : https://www.italki.com/

These are the classes that I’ve been offering. The dashboard and calendar function is super intuitive too. You can switch from teacher mode to student mode and back again at the click of a button. Sign up is super simple, you can teach as many classes as you can, and you can create as many customized classes as you want. If you want to take a closer look for yourself, or maybe even learn some Korean or French, check out my italki teacher profile here!

I’ve been teaching on italki for almost a month now, and it’s fast becoming one of my favorite platforms to teach on. I’ve already made over $160 USD, and from the looks of it, the funds will only grow from here. Some teachers make upwards of $2000 USD a month here — that’s almost a living wage and then some, depending on where in the world you are!

At first I onboarded just to practice speaking and maintaining my Russian and French, but I quickly realized it could be something much more. As of writing, there are over 520 Korean-language teachers, over 650 Russian-language teachers, over 1000 French-language teachers, and over 4200 English-language teachers on the platform, which offers classes for over 150 languages in over 150 languages. This means you can take Spanish grammar lessons with English explanations, for example. My most popular classes right now are basic Korean classes delivered in Russian.

My tutor introduction video on italki! I used the teleprompter app on my iphone and my basic iMovie editor to put this together. I look so nervous in this video, but it actually ended up being a lot of fun.

I’ve even taken Ukrainian and Ancient Greek classes on the site with polyglot experts from all over the world, and I’ve made some incredible friends along the way. Almost everyone there is super friendly and surprisingly nice, as evidenced by the almost universal 5-star ratings! I assume this triage of intellect and kindness comes from the italki slogan, “make money while helping people.”

You don’t even have to have teaching credentials, but it’s nice if you do. ‘Community teachers’ are friendly and speaking-practice oriented with more affordable price points, while ‘Professional teachers’ can provide more structured instruction.

So what are you waiting for? Drop me a message once you join!

2. Cambly : https://www.cambly.com/

Buoyed by the lovely community of learners and teachers that I’ve found on italki, I decided to give Cambly a whirl. I’ll be signing up on the platform within the week, and I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!

Here’s the dish on Cambly: Cambly is a conversation-based tutoring platform where native or near-native English speakers can connect with students from around the world who want to improve their spoken English. You don’t need a teaching certificate, a university degree, or prior experience—just be 18 or older, fluent in English, and have a computer with a webcam, good internet, and a quiet space. Lessons are informal: for adults you’ll mainly do conversational practice; there’s also a kids version (Cambly Kids) with slightly more structured lessons. Tutors are paid by the minute: about US$0.17 per minute (~US$10.20/hour) for general adult lessons, and about US$0.20 per minute (~US$12/hour) for Cambly Kids. You’re free to choose your hours—no minimum commitment—so it’s flexible and can work as a side gig. The platform pays weekly (once you hit the payout threshold) and uses third-party payment processors.

This is one of the most helpful application guide videos I’ve come across for Cambly so far, so I’ll leave it here. From the looks of it, not much has changed since then. I hope it helps you too!

3. Wyzant : https://www.wyzant.com/

Next on the list is Wyzant. Wyzant is a U.S.-based tutoring marketplace where you can list your services across 300+ subjects and set your own hourly rate. According to a review on Smarterlanguage.com, there are literally more than 65,000 tutors covering over 300 subjects and more than 12,000 topics on the site.

After creating a profile and getting approved (no formal teaching certificate required), they say that you can start connecting with students looking for help online or in-person. The idea is that you’re a free contractor building your own tutoring business through the platform where you market and sell your tutoring services.

In terms of earnings and policies, you keep 75% of the hourly rate you set, while Wyzant takes a 25% platform fee. This is higher than the 15% commission on italki, but compared to the 100-33% commission that more established sites like Preply or more scammy sites like Tutoroo take from your earnings, this is one of the better deals out there. The platform handles payment processing and you’ll be paid via direct deposit on a twice-monthly schedule (with an Express option for quicker payout). According to Online Teaching Review, Wyzant is appealing for its flexibility (you set your rate, schedule, materials, cancellation policy) but you’ll need to attract your own students and build a profile—so it may take time to build up steady income.

Unfortunately for us expats and international digital nomads out here, Wyzant is currently only available for tutors who are US residents currently residing in the US. You can still sign up to learn, but students will need to provide a US zip code.

4. TutorOcean : https://www.tutorocean.com/

TutorOcean is an online tutoring marketplace where you can set up a profile, choose your subjects and your own hourly rate (they’ve posted examples from around US $5 to US $200/hour). Just like the other sites, the TutorOcean platform has relatively low entry requirements: you need a computer, webcam/microphone, internet connection, and you’re free to list what you teach. Once you’re live, students from around the world (K-12, university level, test prep, programming, hobbies) can book one-on-one sessions with you via TutorOcean’s interactive online classroom (video, whiteboard, code editor, etc,) although I’ve seen a lot of reviews stating that they just end up defaulting to using Zoom instead for convenience’s sake.

On the earnings and policies side, you pick your rate, and TutorOcean takes a commission of up to ~20% for students booked via the marketplace. If you bring your own students (i.e., you refer them externally) you may pay a lower commission (~10%) or different terms. This sounds reasonable, considering the outrageous commission fees of other more established platforms.

Payment is handled via Stripe or PayPal (depending on location) and sessions are paid out after they’re completed and processed (within 48 hours in many cases). Compared to other platforms like Wyzant or Cambly, TutorOcean stands out for flexibility (you set your rate and schedule, broad subject range) and relatively favourable commission structure, but a downside is that some tutors report limited student volume and high competition for bookings . Overall, though, it sounds like a solid option if you’re looking for flexible online tutoring, especially if you’re comfortable marketing yourself and willing to build up your student roster.

Personally I think TutorOcean will soon be my go-to platform for test prep students, like juniors or seniors prepping for AP, SAT or IB subject tests, so if you think there’s a specific subject that you could teach really well, give it a go and let me know what you think!

5. Tutor Me : https://tutormeeducation.com/

Based in Texas, TutorMe is an online tutoring platform that connects subject-matter experts with students needing help across many different subjects — from math and science to writing and computer science. This platform has slightly more stringent requirements than the other sites: to become a tutor here, you typically need to apply through their platform, which may include providing your resume, subject expertise, and sometimes a background check. Once accepted, you set your availability and get notified when students need help in your area. One of the appealing features is weekly payments (via PayPal) for completed sessions.

In terms of pay and policies: one review puts the pay at a flat rate of about US$16 per hour for typical sessions on TutorMe. That’s lower than some premium tutoring services, but for many tutors it offers flexibility and consistent access to students. According to tutor reviews, the job is good for side income, though “sessions pop up” and competition can be strong — some reviews on indeed.com say it’s more suited for supplemental income than a full-time gig. So, the major pros: broad subject coverage, low barrier once you’re accepted, flexible schedule. The cons: pay is moderate, you may have to respond quickly to session requests, and building up a steady stream of bookings can take time.

ONLINE TEACHING: VERDICT

So, there are some definite pros and cons for each platform. Overall, though, that’s the nature of this gig: being a freelance tutor involves juggling the quirks of each platform, building your own connections, often providing your own teaching materials, and being strategic with your time and availability. While it can get isolating sometimes, I do really love learning and teaching at the end of the day, and tutoring is one of my favorite remote jobs out of many. I’m still amazed that I get paid to stare at a screen in my room and teach high schoolers how to interpret Hamlet, because I’d do it for free in a heartbeat — but we have to make sure we get paid what we’re worth. And may I remind you, fellow tutor — shaping minds and interacting with fellow human beings to teach and connect — you’re worth your weight in gold. And don’t you forget it!

Human-powered Guarantee : I don’t believe in outsourcing my own intelligence to Artificial Intelligence. Unless specifically otherwise noted, all my work is typed using my own ten fingers to compile what my eyes see on my physical screen.

© 2025, Yein K. Jung, a.k.a. the Human Cookie Dough Wrangler.

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