Start with the kind of number you have
Plain Chalk does not have a verified sample of teachers’ monthly earnings from which to claim a typical salary. The platform directory records published terms and their sources. An advertised rate, a tutor’s asking price and a completed payment answer different questions.
- An advertised wage or lesson rate describes the offer for a particular role. Check its currency, lesson length, eligibility and any conditions attached to the upper rate.
- A teacher-set price is what a tutor asks students to pay. It does not show how many students book or how much the teacher receives after fees.
- A class price needs a seat count and a payment basis. A per-student price and the total revenue from a class are different amounts.
- An unpublished rate stays unknown until you obtain the terms. An old estimate cannot substitute for an offer.
For example, GoStudent’s UK payout FAQ lists GBP 13 per 50 minute English lesson. Conditional bonuses are separate. That figure cannot be treated as a monthly salary, a rate for every country or pay for every hour you spend working.
A small budget example
These are hypothetical inputs, chosen to show the calculation: USD 20 per paid teaching hour, 10 paid hours each week, four teaching weeks and a 20% platform fee. They are not a quoted platform offer or a prediction of bookings.
USD 20 × 10 paid hours × 4 weeks = USD 800 gross.
USD 800 × (1 − 20%) = USD 640 after the platform fee, before tax and other expenses.
If preparation and administration add two unpaid hours each week, the same period contains 48 working hours. USD 640 ÷ 48 is about USD 13.33 per working hour, still before tax and other expenses. Counting only the 40 paid hours would hide that difference.
Try your own inputs in the income calculator. Its average-month result assumes 52 teaching weeks divided by 12; multiply its weekly result by four to match this example’s four-week period.
Check the fee before calculating what remains
Preply deducts commission of 33% for new tutors, falling to 18% as completed teaching hours accumulate, on regular lessons. Its commission on each new student’s trial lesson is 100%. Those percentages are deductions, not the teacher’s share.
italki’s fee depends on the lesson type. AmazingTalker’s service fees vary with teacher level. Neither belongs in a calculation using one assumed universal fee. The after-fee guide explains the published structures and a worked example. If a fee is unknown, leave the result unknown until you have the terms. An unpublished fee is not 0%.
Use your records to improve the estimate
For each pay period, record paid lesson units, the amount charged or earned, deductions and the payment received. Record preparation, trials, messages and unpaid gaps separately. This lets you compare both money received and total time committed.
Before adding another platform, check whether its hours fit your existing schedule, whether you meet its requirements and whether its application route is open. A check of pay sources does not establish current hiring. Cambly’s recorded intake status, at the last check linked below, is limited.
For a quieter-period budget, reduce paid hours while keeping any preparation or administration you would still need to do. Base commitments on bookings you can support with evidence, then revise the estimate as your own records improve.
Keep comparing the right things
Use the pay research directory for source dates and pay bases, and current job listings for specific roles. Compare like currencies and paid units, keep conditional bonuses separate, and ask for missing terms before relying on an earnings figure.