Online Teaching Jobs Salary: How Much Can You Really Earn?

The average hourly rate for online English teachers varies depending on the company and individual factors. However, based on our research, a rough estimate of the average hourly rate for online English teachers falls within the range of $8 to $20. Some teachers with extensive qualifications and experience may command higher rates, which can go as high as $50 per hour.

It’s important to note that some companies (Preply, Superprof and few others) allow teachers to set their own rates, which can lead to a wider range of hourly rates in the market. 

The following factors may also influence a pay rate offered by teachers or online English teaching companies:

• the company you work for
• if you have a Bachelor’s degree
• the amount of teaching experience you have
• your TEFL certification 
• if you are a native speaker of English (a citizen from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand)
• the number of hours you teach

Teachers starting off their online career can expect to earn between $8 – $15 per hour. 

If you think that seems quite low, remember that your overhead costs are minimal. 

You don’t need to pay for transport or petrol to get to and from work because you can work in your living room. You can work and earn money in the time you would usually sit in traffic. You don’t need to spend loads on a work wardrobe  – as long as you’re business on the top! And there are very few start-up costs involved in teaching English online – a few props, a background, some flashcards and you’re good to go!

Having teaching experience is not the most important thing to start your online teaching career. Many companies allow teachers to teach online without teaching experience. As you teach you’ll gain experience and build up your teaching profile. This will allow you to increase your rate.

Teachers teaching online without experience can earn the minimum of $8 and go as high as $40 per hour.

There are many online companies that allow teachers to teach online without a degree. The rate depends on the company you choose to work for. The more hours you teach online, the more students you will get to build up your teaching profile. 

Similarly, teachers teaching online with no degree can earn the minimum of $8 and go as high as $40 per hour.

Let’s look at five companies that pay their teachers well (in no particular order) when it comes to online teaching:

1. Magic Ears

Magic Ears is an online teaching company where teachers teach students either one-on-one or in small groups. At Magic Ears students are children between the ages of 4 and 12. Magic Ears makes use of advanced technology in their classrooms that creates an interactive teaching environment. 

• Rates: Up to $26 an hour
• Minimum hours: You set your own schedule – there are no minimum hours required to teach on Magic Ears.
• Teacher requirements: A Bachelor’s degree is required. Some prior teaching experience. Native English speakers from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand are preferred. 
• Technical requirements: A laptop or computer with a webcam, a headset with a microphone, and a strong internet connection.

2. Preply

Preply is a platform where you can tutor students online. Tutors specialise in different subjects, including English. With Preply there is no set curriculum or lesson plan. You create your own lessons based on what your students need. 

Students find teachers through their profiles. The more engaging and fun your profile is, the more likely you are to get students. Popular tutors earn good salaries on Preply.

• Rates: $10 – $45 an hour. Preply takes commission on every class you teach. The more hours you teach, the less commission is charged. 
• Minimum hours: You have to teach a minimum of 8 hours a week.
• Teacher requirements: You don’t need a degree or prior teaching experience. Native English speakers are preferred but not required.
• Technical requirements: A laptop or computer with a webcam, a headset with a microphone, and a strong internet connection.

3. Lingoda

Lingoda is an online platform where teachers teach English, French, Spanish or German online. Classes are taught in small group format and students are mostly adult learners.

• Rates: $8 – $13 an hour
• Minimum hours: You set your own schedule – there are no minimum hours required to teach on Lingoda.
• Teacher requirements: You don’t need a degree or prior teaching experience. Native English speakers are preferred but not required. 
• Technical requirements: A laptop or computer with a webcam, a headset with a microphone, and a strong internet connection.

4. SayABC

SayABC is an online teaching company teaching English to Chinese children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. The classroom environment is fun with a lot of interactive games used as teaching tools. 

• Rates: $15 – $21 an hour
• Minimum hours: You set your own schedule – there are no minimum hours required to teach on SayABC.
• Teacher requirements: A Bachelor’s degree is required. One year teaching experience. Native English speakers from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand are preferred.
• Technical requirements: A laptop or computer with a webcam, a headset with a microphone, and a strong internet connection.

5. Palfish

Palfish is an app-based platform that is mainly used by Chinese students. As a teacher you will present classes to learners from all ages. Students contact teachers when they see that the teacher is online. During the call you can teach them with prepared lessons or just have a conversation. Classes can be one-on-one or to a small group of about six students.

• Rates: Teachers set their own price per hour, the average is between $10 – $18 per hour. Palfish charges 20% commission of the teacher’s listed lesson price.
• Minimum hours: You set your own schedule – there are no minimum hours required to teach on Palfish
• Teacher requirements: You don’t need a degree or prior teaching experience. TEFL certification is required. 
• Technical requirements: A laptop or computer with a webcam, a headset with a microphone, and a strong internet connection.

From our research, English Ninjas and Skyeng are two companies that pay below $10 an hour. A good idea is to join online teaching forums on Facebook and ask other teachers their advice on specific companies before you join the company. Make sure you read up on the commission a company takes from your hourly rate and if there is a fee for paying your salary over to you.

However, a low hourly or lesson rate is sometimes not what you think it is. Many companies pay a low base rate but they incentivise their teachers with various bonuses. For example, some companies offer punctuality or attendance bonuses. As you can imagine, it can be easy to hike up your hourly rate if you’re smart about it.

Yes, there is still a demand for online teachers. You do, however, have to be aware that it is a very competitive market. 

You might not find a job as easily as you did a few years ago and if you find a job you might not be earning a lot per hour to start off. But if you do your research properly and look in the right places there are still lots of possibilities for online teachers.

Many online English teachers teach with more than one online company. This allows them to supplement their teaching hours from, for example, Cambly, with teaching hours from, say SayABC. Or they work a few hours a week for Whales, and find private students for independent lessons for the rest of the week.

Teaching English online is a great way to get teaching experience, which can be a lot more valuable than a high salary. Even if you can only find a few students to start off with, this will enhance your CV for when you decide to find an in-classroom position.

Online teaching companies usually pay teachers between certain ranges per hour. You might wonder how you can get to the high end of the range. And what factors influence how much students are willing to pay per hour? Let’s look at how you can improve your earnings as an online teacher. 

1. Experience

One way that you can earn more as an online TEFL teacher is through teaching experience. Some online companies require teachers to have some teaching experience to be able to teach with them or to fall in a higher pay bracket. 

The nice thing about teaching English as a foreign language is that all experience counts. This can include tutoring, homeschooling, babysitting, coaching, training or working with kids in any way. As a new TEFL teacher you should build your teaching portfolio by volunteering for tutoring in your community, or offering to substitute teach at schools or daycares. Adding this to your resume will improve the amount you can get paid per hour by online teaching companies. 

2. Advanced TEFL qualifications

Because the online teaching market is really competitive, if you want to set yourself apart you’ll have to look at improving your basic TEFL qualification. Online teaching companies want to see that you have specific skills in working with students one-on-one, Young Learners, Business English or teaching in an online environment. 

The TEFL Academy offers three Top-Up courses which are exactly what you need to add a shine to your CV. You can choose from:

• Teaching Young Learners
• Teaching Business English, and
• Teaching Online and 1:1 

3. Carve out a niche for yourself

Choosing to focus on a specific area in teaching can boost your earning potential. This is not just a great way for freelance teachers to earn more, but it can help you find a job at a specific online teaching company. 

As an online teacher you can decide to become an expert in teaching students of a certain age. A particular skill is needed, for example, to teach Young Learners online. You could decide to focus your teaching on Business English or English for a specific profession like nursing or engineering. 

Another niche area you can look into is focusing on helping students prepare for English exams or tests like IELTS. You can choose to be very specialised and teach students from a specific country or geographic area. For example, hone your skills on teaching Chinese students or Spanish students. 

Having a niche area will help you streamline your teaching. You’ll only have to prepare lessons for a specific age group or profession. This is where The TEFL Academy’s Top-Up Courses come in!

4. Start your own TEFL company

If you want to be our own boss, and set your own rates and schedule you might be interested in starting your own TEFL company. This can be a great option for teaching online. It’s important that you keep the following in mind when considering this:

• Make sure you have the right technology. It’s important to have a laptop or computer with a webcam, a headset with a microphone, and a strong internet connection.
• Impress your potential students with the right qualifications. If you have a TEFL certification from the TEFL Academy you’ll already be on the right path.
• Have an interesting teaching niche that draws students to your company.
• Make sure you use user-friendly teaching platforms.  Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet are some of the most popular platforms to use for online teaching.
• Have an hourly rate that is affordable and draws students to your TEFL company. As you get more students you can increase your rate.
• Decide how you want students to pay you. Popular options are PayPal, Wise, or Payoneer.
• Start marketing your business. You can advertise your business through a website or on social media. This will have to be an activity that you put a lot of time and effort into as good advertising can make or break your new business.

5. Increase your rates

In a nutshell, there are a few ways you can upskill your teaching to increase your rates:

1. Gain more experience
2. Top up your qualifications
3. Choose a niche area for yourself
4. Have creative and fun teaching material
5. Invest in marketing

Now that you know how much you can earn as an online teacher, the first thing you have to do is make sure you get a TEFL certification. What are you waiting for?

We have a number of online TEFL courses, including the most popular Level 3 and Level 5:

1. Level 3 TEFL Course: If you choose our Level 3 TEFL course you’ll get a 120-hour TEFL certification. This is an online-only course and a great option if you want casual work teaching English, like volunteer teaching, teaching while travelling, and some online teaching. 

2. Level 5 TEFL Course: Choosing our Level 5 course will give you a 168-hour TEFL certification. This course is the best option if you are looking for contracted teaching jobs and government teaching programmes.

Once you have completed either the Level 3 or Level 5 course, you can look into one of our Top-Up courses – Teaching Young Learners, Teaching Business English and Teaching Online and 1:1. 

Don’t wait – start your dream of being your own boss and working from home to your own schedule now!