Preply Review Summary

Preply is a teacher marketplace delivering c.100 subjects online to adult and child students 1v1 or in groups. No specific qualifications are required, and the average pay range is $10-38.90 an hour. However, trial lessons are unpaid, commission rates start at 33%, and it takes effort to acquire students.

Preply Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Short application process, with no interview or teaching demo
• Can withdraw earnings quickly whenever you want
• Teachers may cancel lessons with 4 hours’ notice
• A wide range of subjects can be taught (some earning more than others)
• Can teach through a mobile phone or tablet
• Teaching materials provided but flexible to use your own

Cons:

• Lots of competition for students
• Preply’s commission rate starts at 33% and does not go under 18%
• Teachers are not paid for each hour-long trial lesson, leading to a lot of unpaid time
• Pressure on teachers to sell Preply packages
• More adult students than children
• Russia-based tutors have been blocked from the platform

What Is Preply and Is Preply Legit?

Preply is a legitimate EdTech company and teacher marketplace that delivers over 300,000 lessons a month on 1,5000+ topics for around 100 subjects, including languages (e.g. ESL) and hobbies. Preply online teaching is served by more than 140,000 tutors from 203 countries, including 27,513 Preply English tutors, and the company has a Trustpilot score of 4.3 out of 5.

Where Is Preply Based?

Preply has company offices in Kyiv (Ukraine), Barcelona (Spain), and Brighton (Massachusetts, USA), while tutors with Preply are recruited globally.

When Did Preply Start?

Preply was founded in 2012 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, and Serge Lukyanov. 

Where Are Preply Students From?

There are over 1 million Preply students from around 185 countries, with another 100,000+ users joining each month.

How Much Can You Earn On Preply?

Preply tutor pay can amount to US$550 a week (or $2,200 a month) for the most popular teachers on the platform, depending on topic, hourly rate, number of classes and student retention. More commonly, tutors working 0-10 hours a week might expect $117 a month, while those teaching 40-50 hours a week earn approximately $1,416 a month on average.

How Much Does Preply Pay Per Hour?

Teachers choose their own Preply hourly rate, which generally ranges between $10-38.90 depending on the subject and can surge to $55 an hour during exam periods or for high-demand topics such as calculus. The average pay rate across all subjects is $18.30, while for a Preply English tutor it is US$19.37. New tutors will likely have to price themselves lower, at least in the beginning, to attract students.

Here is a table showing the Preply average hourly rate for the top 20 highest-paying subjects on the platform:

How Much Does Preply Take?

There is a Preply commission rate on all lessons taught with their students. These Preply fees start at 33% and decrease to 18% the more hours that you teach, though you will not make any money from trial lessons which carry a 100% commission.

Below is a table showing the percentage that Preply takes for each number of teaching hours:

Do You Get Paid for a Trial Lesson on Preply?

Tutors do not get paid for teaching a Preply trial lesson, as the company charges a 100% commission on these.

How Does Preply Pay?

Teachers can select their Preply payment method from either Paypal, Payoneer, Skrill or Wise. Withdrawals to the first 3 options are processed in US dollars, while Wise gives the option of receiving your Preply salary in a local currency. There is a $3 charge if you try to withdraw an amount less than $100 with Payoneer.

When Does Preply Pay?

Teachers can get paid whenever they like by clicking on their earnings and selecting ‘Withdraw money’. This should then be transferred within 1 hour. If using Payoneer, you may want to wait until you have accrued at least $100, as withdrawing a lesser amount via this service carries a $3 charge with it.

Preply Hours

As there are Preply students across the globe, hours are available 24/7.

There is no minimum hours commitment.

After taking a Preply free trial lesson, a student may book a package of 6, 12 or 20 classes should they wish to continue being taught by you. These can be booked ‘one-by-one’ or as regular Preply weekly lessons.

How Long Are Preply Lessons?

Preply trial lessons for individual students are 1 hour long. The length of subsequent one-on-one classes is flexible and is agreed upon between the tutor and the student (e.g. they could alternatively be for 30 or 90 minutes).

Preply group lessons (typically with 4-6 students) last 55 minutes.

How do you rank up on Preply?

More than 50% of all booking requests go to teachers appearing on the first three pages of student search results. Your ranking and the number of hours you receive are determined by the following criteria:

1. Availability – how active are you on the platform?
2. Conversion rate – how successful are you at converting trial lessons into paying students?
3. Contact rate – how often are you contacted by your students?
4. Student attendance rate – are your students attending 100% of sessions?
5. Student reviews – do you receive consistently high ratings?

Preply Cancellation Policy

Teachers are allowed to cancel a lesson at least 4 hours in advance. Shorter notice than this can result in a teacher’s rating being decreased and their Preply tutor profile being blocked. If you are unable to reply to student messages within 24 hours (such as during a holiday), then you should hide your Preply profile through the dashboard to avoid it being deactivated.

Preply students may similarly cancel their class for free at least 4 hours before the start time. If they give less notice than this or are a no show than the tutor may charge the student or reschedule the lesson (at their discretion).

Preply Requirements

There are very few Preply tutor requirements; you just need to:

• Enjoy sharing knowledge and making a difference in students’ lives
• Have outstanding communication skills
• Be willing to provide a personalized learning experience to international students
• Have access to a laptop or a desktop computer, a stable internet connection, webcam and microphone
• Download a compatible internet browser – either Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Safari
• Be 18 years or older to meet the Preply age requirement

Preply hires both Non-Native and Native Speakers, and no specific qualifications, such as a degree or teaching certificate, are required.

Please note that since that country’s invasion of Ukraine, teachers based in Russia, regardless of nationality, are not currently allowed to teach on Preply.

Is Preply Hiring?

You can check here to see if the Preply application process is open to become a tutor. There are usually Preply vacancies for most subjects.

There is also a list of specific Preply jobs posted by students that can be applied for directly (though you must sign up first).

How To Become a Tutor on Preply

The Preply hiring process can take as little as 5 days from submitting your Preply tutor application, to having your profile approved and being able to tutor with Preply.

You can apply to Preply here and sign up as a tutor with either your email address or your Google/Facebook account. Then submit your responses to these Preply Questions:

1. About
   • First name
   • Last name
   • Country of Origin
   • Languages spoken and Level
   • Subject taught
   • Hourly rate ($)
   • Describe your teaching experience
   • Describe your current situation
   • Phone number (optional)
   • Confirm you are over 18 years of age
2. Profile picture (Upload/drag and drop, JPG or PNG format, 5 MB maximum size)
3. Certification (if applicable)
   • Subject
   • Certificate
   • Description
   • Issued by
   • Years of study
   • Upload certificate to receive a ‘verified’ badge and increase profile credibility
4. Education (if applicable)
   • University
   • Degree
   • Degree type
   • Specialization
   • Years of study
   • Upload diploma to receive a ‘verified’ badge and increase profile credibility
5. Preply Tutor Description* (400 characters minimum)
   • Headline (in English)
   • Introduce yourself and share briefly about your interests
   • Describe your teaching experience, certification and methodology
   • Motivate students to book a trial lesson with you
6. Preply Video (instructions below**)
   • Test recording
   • Record your video or paste a link to your video on Youtube or Vimeo
7. Availability
   • Choose your timezone
   • Set your availability, Monday to Sunday

Here is a video walkthrough of the Preply teacher application process:

It takes 5 business days for the company to review your Preply job application and send you a status update via email. Follow the instructions, describe your strengths as a tutor, and avoid mentioning contact details and lesson prices in the description or video, and your profile should be approved ready to begin teaching.

*If you are looking for Preply Profile Description Examples, to help write your own, just look through those of existing teachers by selecting one and clicking on ‘View full schedule’. You will then be able to read their full ‘About’ section. Preply also provides a video with advise on ‘How to write the perfect profile description’:

**These are the instructions you have to follow when recording your Preply introduction video:

Technical

• Keep your video between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long
• Record in a horizontal mode
• Position the camera at eye level
• Use neutral lighting and background
• Ensure your face and eyes are fully visible (except for religious reasons)
• No logos, links or contact details
• No slideshows or presentations

Content

• Greet your students warmly
• Highlight any teaching certifications
• Present your tutoring experience
• Invite students to book a trial lesson

The company also provides this advice on ‘How to make the perfect video for your Preply profile’:

Teaching on Preply

Preply tutoring can be delivered for over 100 subjects, including languages, school and university courses, hobbies and art. Preply teaching can be delivered one-on-one or through Preply group classes of around 4-6 students. While both children and adults use the platform, the majority of students are older, so it will help your chance of bookings if you are comfortable teaching adults.

A Preply Curriculum is provided, including Preply lesson plans, audio and video exercises, homework, tests and answer keys. Its use is optional, however. A Preply placement test can also be used for assessing the level of language students studying English, German, French or Spanish.

What Platform Does Preply Use? Does Preply Use Skype? Can I Use Zoom on Preply?

Classes are primarily taught via the in-house Preply classroom, with students connecting via the Preply app, though third-party platforms such as Skype or Zoom can be used (with student agreement) and provide a useful back-up in case of technical problems. The Preply classroom is mobile-compatible, allowing tutors the flexibility to teach through their phone or tablet.

Are Preply Lessons Recorded?

As part of the terms of service, Preply teachers must agree that the company may record their lessons ‘from time to time… for the purpose of ensuring the quality of Preply Services’.

How To Get Students On Preply?

Preply provides the following suggestions on how to find students through the platform:

1. Explore Preply like a student
   • What’s the first thing you notice in a tutor profile? 
   • What would make you choose one tutor over another? 
   • Who seems like they’d be the best teacher for you, and why? 
   • What makes for a great video introduction? 
2. Check out support for tutors at the Preply Tutor Academy
3. Write your description in multiple languages 
4. Start with as much availability as possible  
5. Make your video student-centered
   • students are not asking “what is special about this tutor?” They are asking: “what can this tutor do for me?”
6. Link with your external profiles
7. Share your video introduction through YouTube
8. Make the most of social media
9. Join forums and Q&A platforms
10. Start a personal blog
11. Use Preply’s Ask a tutor section

Here is a webinar run by Preply on how to gain and retain students using their methodology:

Teaching with Preply Reviews

The Preply Indeed page gives the company an average score of 3.3 out of 5. Those Preply teacher reviews that mention a more positive experience with Preply, cite their flexibility in designing classes and setting one’s own schedule and pay rate, the ‘free’ advertising provided by the platform, and the opportunities it offers for meeting students from all over the world.

In contrast, the problems with Preply which are listed include: the unpaid trial lesson, high commission rate, difficulties acquiring students, glitchy platform, and poor support.

Here are a balanced sample of recent Preply tutor reviews:

The reviews of Preply on Glassdoor are less useful in this instance, as none of them seem to be written by tutors (which is surprising).

Conclusion – Is Preply Worth It?

Teacher marketplaces are never attractive due to the commissions they deduct from teachers’ earnings, and Preply’s are among the higher rates at the start. Hour-long trial lessons with each new student will also result in a lot of unpaid time, on top of the extra effort it takes to promote and market your teacher profile. Beyond this, there are no horror stories to rule Preply out completely, and the quick and easy application process and low barrier to entry means it might be worth having them as a fallback option, especially if you can offer a unique angle to one of the higher-paying, in-demand subjects.

You can sign up to Preply here.

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here.