How much should you charge for tutoring?

The usual way to set a rate is to look at what other tutors charge and pick a number slightly below it. That answers the wrong question. It tells you what the market tolerates, not what your week needs to earn.

The gap shows up in three places. Tax and costs take a quarter to a third of what you bill. Almost nobody teaches 52 weeks — holidays, exam leave, and quiet summers usually leave 35 to 42. And every paid hour drags unpaid ones behind it: planning, marking, messages, invoicing, travel. A rate that looks generous per lesson can work out at much less per hour actually worked.

Say you want to keep 25,000 a year, set aside 30% for tax and costs, and teach 12 paid hours a week for 40 weeks. You need to bill about 35,715 across 480 hours — a minimum of 75 an hour.

Add four unpaid hours a week for prep and admin and the same rate works out at about 39 an hour for every hour you put in. That is the number to keep in mind before you offer a discount.

That is useful information, not a dead end. You have three levers: more paid hours, fewer unpaid ones, or a reason to charge a premium. Specialist exam preparation, university-level subjects, and tutors with a track record they can show tend to sit at or above the top of published ranges.

Selling lessons in packages and charging for cancellations without notice also lifts what you actually earn without changing the hourly figure. See how to price private tutoring and packages vs hourly lessons.

Your local market, your reputation, and your tax position. Published ranges are broad averages, and rates in big cities typically run higher than elsewhere. Treat the result as a floor to defend, then use what parents in your area actually pay to decide how far above it to go.