Preply Review: Teach or Learn a Language Online

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Virtual classrooms have become an increasingly convenient, effective, and popular tool for teachers and students alike. If you’re interested in immersing yourself in a new language from the comfort of home or if you’re looking to earn some extra cash by sharing your expert language skills, Preply may be the perfect platform for you. 

What follows is a comprehensive Preply review and guide. The below categories explore the pros and cons of joining Preply, whether you’re interested in signing up as a tutor or as a student.

What is Preply?

Preply is a one-on-one language learning platform that matches students with certified tutors from across the globe. With over 49,000 online tutors sharing expert knowledge in over 50 languages, Preply’s virtual classroom makes it easy for students to immerse themselves in their chosen language on their own time. Although the platform specializes in languages, students can find tutors offering classes in a wide variety of subject matter ranging from philosophy to app development. With Preply, tutors have the freedom to set their own schedule and availability. This makes it a great opportunity for anyone interested in a flexible remote job, including travelers looking to earn some money while on the road.

How Does Preply Work for Tutors?

1. What are the Requirements for Preply Tutors?

If you’re interested in signing up to be a Preply tutor, you’ll need to meet a fairly basic set of requirements. Although you do not need to be a native speaker in the language you wish to teach, you must be able to demonstrate a high level of fluency. You will also need access to a reliable high-speed internet connection and a device with a webcam and a microphone. Upon signing up, you will be asked to verify your identity by providing a valid form of government-issued ID. Since tutors are not required to possess any teaching experience or certifications, Preply is a great platform for beginners and advanced tutors alike. 

2. How to Sign Up as a Tutor

The minimal requirements and easy application process are some of the greatest benefits of tutoring through Preply. To sign up, tutors will need to create a profile on the website with some basic personal information and a bio that lists qualifications and experience. The length of your bio and list of qualifications is completely up to you and can range from a few sentences to several paragraphs. 

You’ll also need to upload a photo with your ID to verify your identity and a short introductory video that demonstrates your advertised language ability. Preply offers helpful tips and examples throughout the process, and a member of the Preply team will let you know within five business days if your profile is approved. Once approved, your profile will immediately become visible for students to start booking lessons. 

3. How Much Money Can I Earn as a Preply Tutor?

When you create your profile, you will also be prompted to set your hourly rate. The average hourly rate for a Preply tutor is about $18, but tutors can choose their own rates based on their experience level. Since you can increase or decrease your rates whenever you wish, Preply recommends that you start off with a lower rate and increase it once you acquire your first few clients. 

One downside to tutoring with Preply is their relatively high commission structure. The commission for the first lesson you have with every new student is 100%. After the first lesson, Preply will take a smaller commission of your earnings, starting at 33% and gradually decreasing to as low as 18% once you’ve completed over 400 hours of tutoring. 

After each session, students will be prompted to confirm and evaluate the lesson. Once confirmed, payment will be disbursed to the tutor’s internal account. Conveniently, tutors have the option to withdraw their earnings at any time. 

4. How to Acquire Students

Since tutors cannot reach out to prospective students, it is extremely important to craft a clear and compelling profile. Students can search for tutors by filtering through a variety of criteria, including subject matter, price range, and lesson time. 

After each lesson, students have the ability to rate and review their tutor, an important tool for tutors to book more sessions. Preply’s algorithm automatically places tutors with the best ratings and the most reviews at the top of students’ search results. According to Preply statistics, more than half of the platform’s bookings are with tutors on the first three pages of the search results. 

Your first tutoring session with a new client is known as a trial lesson. Trial lessons are automatically booked for one hour. After the first session, students have the option to book a package of either 6, 12, 0r 20 hours. 

5. Resources for Preply Tutors

Preply offers regular live training webinars and self-study courses for tutors free of charge; these resources provide tips and tricks on everything from creating a compelling profile to conducting a successful first lesson. They also offer a free pack of materials known as the Curriculum. The Curriculum is available for English language tutors and comes with lesson plans, audio and video files, homework, tests, and answer keys.

How Does Preply Work for Students?

1. How to Sign Up as a Student

Signing up for Preply as a student is quick, easy, and completely free. Students can sign up through their Facebook, Google account, or email address. To register, you’ll need to provide your name, email, password, and phone number, and your account will be created in a matter of seconds. Once your account is created, you can choose your time zone under settings. This will ensure that tutor availability automatically appears in your own time zone. 

2. How to Find a Tutor on Preply

You can search for tutors quickly and easily before you even set up an account. Find your perfect tutor by filtering your search according to the language or subject you’re interested in, the price you are willing to pay, the tutor’s country, and the times you are available. If you want to get more specific, you can choose to show search results for native speakers only and select any additional languages you would like your tutor to speak. There is even an option to search for tutors by specialty, name, or keyword. 

When you view a tutor’s profile, you will be able to see their headshot, native language, language proficiencies, rate, and schedule. You will also be able to determine how many active students they have and how many lessons they have completed. Check out their bio and introductory video to get a feel for their background and teaching style or take a look at their ratings and reviews to see if they would be a good fit for your tutoring needs. 

screenshot of preply website find tutor

3. How to Book Lessons With a Tutor

When you choose a tutor, you will first be prompted to create a Preply account if you haven’t done so already. Afterwards, you can simply choose a time slot from the tutor’s availability. The first lesson is known as a trial lesson and is automatically booked for one hour. Students can pay securely by credit card or through PayPal. 

After the first lesson with your tutor, you will no longer have the option to book single sessions. Preply will prompt you to purchase a package of 6, 12, or 20 hours with increasing discounts for larger packages. Although this booking system is helpful for tutors, it can also be a drawback for some students who may not want to commit to several hours of tutoring. 

4. How Much Does Preply Tutoring Cost?

Tutors are able to set their own hourly rates depending on their experience level, and students can search for tutors by price range. The average hourly rate for a Preply tutor is $18, but rates can start as low as $5 and go as high as $75 for lessons with best-in-class experts. In addition to offering discounts on larger packages, Preply offers up to 15% off for college students. 

If you’re interested in hiring a tutor with a long resume of teaching experience and a ton of great reviews, you should be ready to pay an above average rate. However, lower rates do not necessarily mean lower quality. Preply offers a vast selection of fantastic and qualified tutors with affordable hourly rates. Tutors who are new to the platform are encouraged to start off with lower rates, even if they offer impressive outside experience. 

Conveniently, Preply offers students a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are unsatisfied with a paid session, you are entitled to a maximum of one full refund and two free requests to switch tutors. Students also have the option to cancel an upcoming session for free, up to four hours before the scheduled time. If you cancel a session less than four hours in advance, you will be required to pay the full cost of the lesson. 

5. Additional Features

Preply’s virtual classroom is a secure and user-friendly space that makes communication between the tutor and the student a breeze. Upcoming lessons will appear in the My Lessons tab of Preply. Launch the lesson at your scheduled time, and you will automatically have access to your tutor’s lesson summary and a sidebar chat. All lessons are conducted over video chat, and tutors can share their screen and even assign homework after each session. 

Students will also have access to the Preply Questions page, where you can ask questions related to your subject for free. There are over 8,000 tutors active on the page, and Preply advertises that 80% of questions are answered in under 30 minutes. If you feel you have a common question, you can also explore the page’s frequently asked questions and top answers from expert tutors. 

That concludes our Preply review guide. Overall, Preply is a convenient and accessible tutoring platform for those looking to learn a new language or share existing skills.

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