Tutoroo Review Summary

Tutoroo is a teacher marketplace offering 1v1 instruction in most languages, both online and in 200+ global cities. No qualifications or experience are required, while hours and pay are set by the tutor (from $10/hr). However, you must teach the first 2 weeks for free, and there are many complaints of unpaid fees.

Tutoroo Pros and Cons

Pros:

• No qualifications or experience required
• No interview or mock lesson
• No ongoing commission (unlike most other teacher marketplaces)
• Direct matching with students
• Flexibility for tutors to use their own teaching methods and materials

Cons:

• Must teach 2 weeks free for every new student
• Many complaints about unfulfilled payments if students cancel
• Must collect own payments from students after 2 weeks
• No tutoring resources provided
• Upsells premium membership to boost listing visibility

What Is Tutoroo and Is It Legit?

Tutoroo is a teacher marketplace that was founded in 2015 in Singapore. The platform is used by thousands of private language teachers and students located in hundreds of cities worldwide, and its legitimacy is reinforced by being nominated for the 2020 Pitch Deck Asia Startup EdTech Award, and its Trustpilot score of 4 out of 5. However, trust is undermined by a notable number of complaints from both tutors and students who have struggled to extract refunds from the company.

Here is a short video from Founder Nicolas Vanhove in 2018, discussing some of Tutoroo’s growth:

How Does Tutoroo Work?

Tutors acquire students both by attracting them through their profile, listed on the Tutoroo website, and from direct job proposals sent out by the company, which pairs students with suitable tutors on the basis of language, level, location, rates, and schedule.

When a match is made, tutors have 24 hours to introduce themselves through a group chat, where they will decide whether to schedule their first class or decline the job offer. Offers are made to at least 2 tutors simultaneously, so you should respond quickly.

Tutors specify their preferred teaching location, either online, in a public venue or the student’s home if nearby, but this will have to be agreed upon by the student (or their parents/guardians if a minor).

It is expected that the first lesson should be used to get to know the student (and their family), find out what their learning goals are, and assess their current language ability.

Tutoroo does not provide any teaching resources. For children, tutors should follow the school syllabus and any homework materials, while exercises for adult learners will have to be searched for and devised. Tutors are encouraged to share knowledge of their home cultures as well as their language.

Tutoroo Salary Information

Tutors decide their own Tutoroo hourly pay rate, from $10 upwards (or an equivalent amount in their local currency). How high you are able to charge will depend on demand for the language and how many other tutors are offering a similar service, with online English teachers being the most saturated. You can search the database by language and location to research the competition before setting your rate.

Is There a Tutoroo Commission Fee?

Many teacher marketplaces deduct commission fees from tutors’ earnings on their platforms. Tutoroo does not take any ongoing fees but instead retains all earnings from a tutor’s first 2 weeks after introducing a new student. Tutors are required to teach that student for free during that period, regardless of whether they book 1 or multiple lessons per week. Once the 2 weeks have passed, tutors may collect fees directly from their students using whatever payment method they agree upon.

Of course, there is the risk of a student cancelling within their first two weeks. The FAQ page for Tutors states that: “Should the student choose to terminate or discontinue lessons after two weeks, all our tutors are protected under TUTOROO’s guarantee that they will receive 50% of the total amount of fees generated from the two weeks of lessons”. However, one of the big accusations leveled against the company is that they do not honor this pledge (below is a small sample from many examples that can be found):

Tutoroo Hours and Schedule

There are no limitations to what hours Tutoroo tutors may schedule for themselves, though sessions will usually be for 90 minutes.

Tutoroo Requirements

No prior experience, qualifications or certifications are required to teach at Tutoroo. You may apply with any and multiple languages, so long as you speak them with Native-level fluency.

Tutoroo tutors must have passion and confidence to teach their language and inspire students to learn it, whilst representing the company by upholding ‘basic professionalism, consistency and punctuality in their dealings’.

Tutoroo Application Process

To become a tutor, first fill out the Tutoroo sign up form with your basic information:

• Name
• Email address
• Password
• Mother tongue/native language
• In which city do you want to teach?
• Accept Tutoroo terms and conditions

You will then complete your profile by adding:

• Phone number
• Gender
• Country of Origin
• Location
• Biggest city near your location
• Teaching areas (where you can meet students)
• Which language do you want to teach?
• Minimum hourly rate
• Profile title
• Description (i.e. teaching experience, certifications, qualifications, information that will make your profile standout, etc.)
• How easy is it to learn English?
• How much time does it take to learn English?
• How many 1h30 lessons can you give every week? When?
• Your preferred time slots to teach, if any.
• Profile picture
• 30-second video (optional)
• Upload certificates (optional)
• Have you read the TUTOROO Introductory Guide and agreed upon terms? (type ‘YES’ into the messenger to activate your profile)

It can take up to 72 hours for your profile to be verified.

Be aware that Tutoroo will try and upsell you their ‘Premium Membership’ with the promise of being shown at the top of listings. This equates to $19 a month, with a 4-month discount for signing up for a whole year.

There is no Tutoroo interview or mock lesson.

Tutoroo Reviews – Is Tutoroo Reliable to Work For?

The Tutoroo Glassdoor page gives the company an overall rating of 4 out of 5, with 87% willing to recommend them (though this score comes from all employee reviews not just tutors). While tutors talk positively about the flexibility, autonomy, and easy sign-up process, there are complaints about how difficult it is to get students, as well as further instances regarding their unreliability over unpaid fees:

The aforementioned tutor had yet to receive payment by the following October, according to a Tutoroo Reddit thread where another concurred that a similar thing had happened to them:

The Tutoroo Indeed page provides an average score of 3.4 out of 5. While management and flexibility again garner praise, there is another complaint about unpaid refunds, this time from being double charged for premium membership:

While there is a positive review of Tutoroo on Youtube, it is not particularly in-depth, and the channel mainly discusses various ways of making money online and not teaching specifically:

Conclusion – Is Tutoroo Good for Tutors?

There are simply too many reports of tutors not being paid what is owed to them by Tutoroo when students cancel early. It is thus difficult to fully trust or recommend this company, and they are not a good option if you are looking for a guaranteed income without potentially wasting your time.

A list of alternative online teaching companies can be explored here.