The Online Desk — Teach English Online: Plan What You'll Earn
Teach English online: plan what you could earn
Half the readers who vote on our board say the same thing: they want to teach online. So here is the honest picture. Online English teaching pay runs from a fixed $10.20 an hour on Cambly to $25 an hour and beyond once you set your own rate. Pick a route, set your rate and hours, and see what it pays a week, a month and a year, after each platform's commission.
Pick your route
Online teaching pay, straight from the platforms
The big platforms pay in two ways: a fixed rate you can't change (Cambly), or a rate you set yourself with a commission taken off the top (Preply, italki). Teaching your own private students means no commission at all, but you find the students and handle payments yourself. All figures below were checked on 7 August 2026 against each platform's own pay or commission page.
| Route | How the pay works | What you take home | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambly | Fixed $0.17 a minute, so $10.20 an hour. No degree needed, weekly payout. | $10.20/hr, no commission | Cambly tutors → |
| Cambly Kids | Fixed $0.20 a minute, so $12.00 an hour teaching young learners. | $12.00/hr, no commission | Cambly tutors → |
| Preply | You set the rate. Most English tutors charge $15 to $25 an hour. Commission starts at 33% and falls to 18% as your taught hours build. Trial lessons are unpaid. | Rate minus 33% to 18% | Preply tutors → |
| italki | You set the rate. 21% commission on single lessons, down to 15% on packages, 0% on trials. | Rate minus 21% (15% on packages) | italki teachers → |
| Your own students | Privately arranged lessons, found by word of mouth or your own page. No commission, you keep everything, but you do your own marketing, scheduling and payments. | Full rate, 0% commission | — |
Questions teachers ask before they start
How much can you really earn teaching English online?
It depends on the route and your hours. On a fixed-rate platform like Cambly you earn about $10.20 an hour with no commission. On Preply or italki you set your own rate, commonly $15 to $25 an hour, and keep it after a commission of roughly 15% to 33%. Teaching your own private students, you keep 100% of your rate but handle everything yourself. Use the calculator above to see the weekly, monthly and yearly take-home for any combination.
Do you need a degree to teach English online?
Not always. Cambly and many private-tutoring routes do not require a degree. Some platforms and higher-paying roles prefer or require one. A recognised TEFL certificate helps on every route, because it makes you more employable and a genuinely better teacher.
How does platform commission work?
Fixed-rate platforms like Cambly take no commission, the rate is simply the rate. Marketplaces where you set your own price take a percentage of each lesson: Preply starts at 33% and drops to 18% as your taught hours grow, and italki takes 21% on single lessons, 15% on packages and 0% on trials. The calculator above applies these automatically.
Can you teach English online full time?
Yes. A 40-hour teaching week is possible, though most online teachers work fewer paid hours because unpaid admin, scheduling and no-shows eat into the day. Many teachers mix a platform for steady bookings with a few higher-paying private students, and grow the private share over time.
What is the fastest way to start earning?
Get TEFL-certified, set up a quiet space with a good webcam and stable connection, and apply to a platform that hires quickly, such as Cambly, to build reviews. Once you have testimonials you can raise your rate and move students to private lessons where you keep more.
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