Freelance RateSetting a rate as an online tutor and coach
How this work is usually priced, where the unpaid hours hide, and a worked example you can change to your own numbers.
How this work is priced
Tutors usually charge per session or per month per student. Teaching hours are only part of the job: planning lessons, marking and speaking to parents all happen outside the class, and a missed class is income lost unless the policy says otherwise.
The unpaid work
Hours that no client pays for here include lesson planning, marking, parent messages, rescheduling, free demo classes, exam seasons that run past the paid hours. They are the reason a billable share of 45% is used in the example, not 100%.
Costs to count
A tablet or second screen, a decent headset and internet connection, video-call and whiteboard tools, printed material. Each belongs in the yearly costs box.
A worked example
These figures are made up to show the working in Indian rupee. Use your own.
| Take-home wanted | ₹4,20,000 |
| Business costs | ₹30,000 |
| Profit needed before tax and savings (10% + 8%) | ₹5,12,195 |
| Income to bill in the year | ₹5,42,195 |
| Billable hours (44 weeks, 35 hours, 45% billed) | 693 |
| Hourly floor | ₹782 |
| Day rate floor | ₹4,564 |
What changes the answer
- If your billable share falls by 10 points to 35%, the hourly floor rises from ₹782 to ₹1,006.
- If you take 3 more weeks off, it rises to ₹840.
- If your costs are 25% higher than you planned, it rises to ₹793.
A tip for this work
Count planning and marking time inside every paid hour. If a one-hour class needs 30 minutes of unpaid work, your effective hourly income is two thirds of the fee, so price the class accordingly.
Try your own figures
Common questions
How should a tutor price a monthly package?
Work out the sessions in a typical month, multiply by the session rate and offer a small discount only if the student pays in advance. The tuition manager on this site tracks fees and what is due.
What about classes a student misses?
Decide a rule before the first class, for example a make-up class with notice and no refund without it, and tell the parents in writing.
Keep going
Example figures on this site are made up to show the working. They are not market rates or averages. Tax, social-insurance, sales-tax and holiday rules differ by country and change, so this site does not state them: ask the tax authority of your country or an accountant. Checked 14 November 2026.