Tutoring Platforms for Teachers: Preply, italki, Lingoda

For language teachers, tutoring platforms fall into two groups. Marketplaces such as Preply and italki let you set your own price, but you have to win students with your profile and the platform takes a commission. Online schools such as Lingoda assign you classes within a set curriculum and pay a rate the school sets, so you market yourself less but have less control over price and content. Which one fits depends on how much you want to run your own small business.

Fees and rules change often. Figures below are based on platform information and teacher reports as of October 2026 and are listed in our fact-check log.

The models at a glance

	Preply	italki	Lingoda
Type	Marketplace	Marketplace	Online language school
Who sets the price	You	You	Lingoda
Platform fee	Full fee of each new student’s trial lesson, then a commission that decreases with hours taught	Commission on lessons; long known as 15 %, current model reported to vary by lesson type	No commission; you receive the rate offered per class
Lesson content	Your own	Your own	Lingoda’s curriculum and materials
Students	You attract them with your profile	You attract them with your profile	Assigned through class booking
Formal certificate	Not always required	Required for “professional teacher” profiles, not for community tutors	Typically required, plus experience

Preply

Preply is a marketplace with a large learner base. You apply with a profile and introduction video, set your own hourly price and offer trial lessons. According to Preply’s published commission model, the platform keeps the full fee of the first lesson with each new student. After that it takes a commission that starts at around a third of the lesson price and falls step by step as your total hours on the platform increase, down to under a fifth for very experienced tutors.

That structure favours tutors who keep students for a long time. If many students leave after one lesson, a large share of your work goes unpaid. Details on how this compares with italki: Preply vs italki for teachers.

italki

italki is also a marketplace but distinguishes between professional teachers, who show a teaching qualification, and community tutors, who focus on conversation practice. You set prices for single lessons, packages and trial lessons. italki was long known for a flat commission of 15 %. Teacher community reports from 2025 and 2026 describe a model where the rate varies by lesson type, with higher rates for single lessons than for larger packages. Check the current teacher help pages at support.italki.com before you set your prices.

For languages with many teachers, especially English, italki has at times limited new applications. If your application is not accepted straight away, it may be a matter of timing.

Lingoda

Lingoda works like an online school. Teachers work as freelancers, teach small groups or private classes and follow Lingoda’s curriculum and materials. You do not set your price; Lingoda pays a rate per class. Job listings and teacher reports describe requirements such as near-native or native-level command of the language, a recognised teaching certificate and some years of teaching experience. Reported rates and cancellation rules vary, so check the current offer in the application process.

The advantage: you do not need to market yourself or plan lesson content from scratch. The trade-off: less control over price, content and your own brand.

Payouts and practical details

All three platforms pay out electronically, with different methods, schedules and fees per method. Before signing up, check:

• which payout methods are available in your country and what each costs,
• whether there is a minimum payout amount,
• currency: if you are paid in US dollars and live in the euro area, conversion fees reduce your income,
• cancellation and no-show rules for teachers and students.

Which platform fits you

You want …	Consider
to set your own price and build a personal brand	Preply or italki
to keep a larger share of each regular lesson from the start	Compare italki’s current model with Preply’s first-tier commission
to teach without marketing yourself	An online school such as Lingoda
a predictable teaching calendar	An online school, combined with a few direct clients
to move towards your own clients over time	A marketplace now, your own booking system later

Whatever you choose, calculate your real hourly income after fees, preparation and taxes; see setting your rates. Once you work with direct clients, you will need booking and invoicing tools, see tools for independent tutors. For first steps, start with how to become an online language tutor.

The provider cards below link to the platforms’ websites. Partner programmes of these platforms, where they exist, relate to new learners, not to teachers signing up.