Tutoring Costs That Make Sense

Your child deserves support, but that won’t prevent you from having to consider your budget and what you can afford. This is often a primary concern for parents when looking at hiring a tutor. Tutoring costs can vary greatly, so there is no universal answer to the question how much should parents pay for tutoring?

Some things we can say are that tutor pricing, like any market, is contingent on a number of things. For example, if you live in a big city tutoring will likely be more expensive as the tutor charges more to offset the higher cost of living. Thus, suburban tutors are probably less expensive on average, and rural tutors the least expensive. That may not always be true, though. Tutor knowledge and experience plays a role in what a tutor may charge. For example a tutor with 10 years of experience, a state teaching certification, and hundreds of five star reviews will probably be able to charge much more than the majority of their counterparts.

Tutoring costs will also vary by the type of business. A peer tutor who is potentially in high school or college will charge less than an established adult who has their own tutoring business. Additionally, tutoring companies will often charge more because they offer guarantees, hire better quality tutors, and have developed operational efficiencies that make your experience superior. While these may tend to be the rule, there are always exceptions.

Lastly, in-person tutoring is often more costly than online tutoring. The major reason here is that in-person services often carry a certain amount of overhead expenses like office space, travel, and materials. It also is erroneously considered to be a superior experience because learners have been learning this way for thousands of years.

Regardless of how tutor pricing breaks down, there are a few things you should keep in mind: