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Tutoring English Online with Superprof

With tens of millions of users, Superprof has grown exponentially in its decade of existence. Is it the real deal for freelance tutors, or are there disadvantages to this France-based educational juggernaut?

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When it comes to finding online tutoring services, 26 million people can’t be wrong. Certainly, that’s what Superprof would argue; the France-based tutoring platform has seen enormous and rapid growth in the EdTech sector.

Why do so many people join Superprof? Since its founding in 2013, private tutors across a wide range of subjects have found the Superprof jobs easy to find, with many tutors finding all of their tutoring work there. For English tutors, the benefits are obvious; with so many students on the service, and such brand-name recognition, filling up a schedule with lessons ought not to be too difficult.

While we often talk about dedicated English language tutoring services on this website, Superprof is rather different. English is just a small part of the equation, with tutors offering lessons on everything from Table Football to Sculpture. 

Does being on such an all-encompassing tutoring marketplace benefit teachers? What can tutors earn, and are hourly rates set by the platform or by its users? How does the application process work, if there is one?

Let’s answer all these questions and more as we take on a true educational behemoth in the form of Superprof.

Superprof: An Overview

Variety is the watchword on Superprof. Founded in 2013 by Wilfried Granier and Yann Leguillon, it was already the biggest community of tutors across a range of topics in France by 2014. Ten years on, Superprof has tens of millions of tutors teaching over 1001 subjects. It’s been quite a decade.

When it comes to teaching English online, there’s certainly interest - and competition. As we’ll explore later, Superprof is a platform for tutors to advertise their services and set their prices. While having qualifications and experience does make a major difference in terms of attracting students, there’s not much stopping anyone from becoming a tutor on the platform. Whether people hire them is another question!

With tutors based in 44 countries around the world, Superprof is very much a space for freelancers with talent to work their “hustle”. How you fare as a tutor is very much dependent on your ability to market yourself, your availability, and how students find your teaching style.

What are the requirements to teach with Superprof?

Superprof perfectly encapsulates the fundamental differences between online teaching companies and online teaching platforms. While a company employs teachers and provides students with a TEFL teacher, platforms are simply the service where teachers advertise themselves.

Therefore, when we talk about teaching requirements, Superprof is a perfect example of how requirements can differ between platforms and companies. There are some basic guidelines in terms of who can use the service, though:

  • You must be 18 years old
  • You must have a valid ID
  • You must have the right to work in whatever country you’re based in
  • You must have all the technology for teaching online

It’s also useful to be registered as a freelance business with your nation’s tax authority, and any certification to work with at-risk groups, such as a certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales, will also help inspire confidence.

Also, you can teach English online with no experience on the Superprof platform, though clients may broadly prefer an experienced teacher.

Bachelor's degree 

You do not need a bachelor’s degree to teach online with Superprof. However, the more qualified you are, the more attractive you will be to students on the teaching platform. 

TEFL certification 

Technically speaking, you could teach English on Superprof without a TEFL certification, but it’s certainly not something we would recommend. The completion of TEFL courses is demonstrative proof of the ability to teach, a deep interest in education and the ability to meet deadlines and pass assessments.

The industry standard for TEFL certification is 120 hours. In many cases, advanced TEFL certificates can make a real difference, especially the completion of specific courses like teaching English online. 

As is the case with degrees, there’s a simple rule: the more you can demonstrate your expertise as a teacher, the more you’ll appeal to students.

Native/non-native

As long as you’re based in a country where Superprof operates, you don’t need to be a native speaker of English to teach it.

That’s great news if you’re a non-native speaker of English who’s looking to tutor on a major global platform. Don’t be put off or assume you’ll find fewer clients, either - the platform is what you make it, and sharing a nationality in common with potential students can make you an attractive asset.

Download our teaching English online guide

Superprof Job description

So what is a Superprof lesson like? For starters, when you meet with a student for the first time, it might be prudent to give a free demo lesson. This way, you can go over basic goals, come up with a lesson plan together, and find out what kind of learner (visual? written?) your student is before launching into future lessons.

From there, the “job” of being a tutor on Superprof is whatever you want it to be. Lesson plans, teaching materials, you name it - it’s up to you. Lessons typically last an hour and can be booked in clusters.

Online lessons are typically conducted through Superprof’s video call platform. That said, how lessons are conducted is between yourself and your student, and they might prefer a different video calling platform.

If it sounds incredibly straightforward, then it is; at least from an organisational point of view. You won’t need to learn about any particularly complicated software, nor will you need to get used to interactive video games like Novakid. The job is simple: tutor English in a way that works for your student.

How much can you earn teaching English with Superprof?

What kind of teaching English online salary can you make on Superprof? Well, much like setting your own schedule and developing your own lesson plans, you can set your own rates on Superprof. There aren’t hard limits as such, but tutors are known to charge anywhere between $1-$80/£1-£63 per class. The average is between $25-30/£20-£24, but prepare for tutors to undercut you.

You’re likely to earn more as a Premium Tutor, though it costs $9/£7 per month. If you sign up to be a Premium Tutor, you’ll feature higher up on search results for English tutors, and have a more noticeable profile than tutors without Premium.

Though it is an initial outlay, Premium Tutors tend to attract more clients and can charge slightly more, depending on their qualifications and teaching experience.

You can arrange external payment from students, which avoids Superprof taking a 10% processing fee (if you aren’t a premium member). Or, if you use in-house payment, you can withdraw your pay whenever you like. Payment is available 24 hours after a class finishes.

The application process for Superprof 

Have you ever placed an advert before? If you have: congratulations! You’ve already pretty much mastered what it’s like to “apply” for Superprof.

As a teaching marketplace, it’s more about advertising your services than it is about applying for an English teaching job. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about a long, expansive job application, a potentially nerve-wracking interview and a wait to find out if you’re able to get started.

Here’s how you get started on Superprof:

How do I apply?

Registration

First, you’ve got to set up your profile. All you need here is an email address, a password and your name.

From then on, it’s all about setting up your advert. The initial part of this process is choosing your tutoring subject - in this case, English - and writing a headline of at least 12 words.

For example, you might want to say: “Newly qualified TEFL teacher with a degree looking to tutor English to different ages”, or “Business English teacher seeks clients, personalised class plans available to students of all levels”.

Publish Your Teaching Ad

Then, you’ve got a space on your ad to get more specific; talk about your teaching methods, what makes you stand out as a tutor, the types of lessons you conduct, and other attractive features.

Next up: talk about yourself. Let your personality shine, explain your reasons for wanting to teach, what your career has been like up to now, and whatever else you feel a student would want to know about you.

Then, you want to tell students that you teach online (though some tutors do in-person classes), set your rate, leave your telephone number and, for a final flourish, set a profile picture.

Once your ad and profile are validated by Superprof, you can accept classes.

Connect with Students

Once your ad is published, students can contact you directly through the platform. Superprof provides a messaging system to facilitate communication. Offering the first lesson for free is recommended (though not mandatory) as it helps to build trust and attract more students.

Interview process 

Great news, you can become a Superprof tutor without doing an interview! However, instead of this nerve-wracking experience, which can often include demo classes, tutors offer free introductory lessons to new students when they start on Superprof.

This, in essence, is a bit like a demonstration you’d do in an interview, only with actual prospective students. Go over what you would teach them, discuss learning outcomes and build a rapport.

What to consider before you start

So before you do private lessons on Superprof, what should you be thinking about? With the platform being so popular, how are you going to set yourself apart and garner positive reviews from students? 

Here are three particular areas we think you ought to consider before becoming a Superprof tutor.

Technology and environment

If you’re always going to teach online, you need to make sure your equipment is up to scratch. You’re going to need a strong internet connection for private lessons, a headset with a microphone and headphones (or, instead, a separate microphone and distinct high-quality headphones) and a decent webcam.

Not only does good tech last longer, but it also provides students with the comfort of knowing you take your work seriously and invest in your tutoring environment.

Talking of the tutoring environment, your backdrop is important. Consider investing in a whiteboard, teaching somewhere with good lighting and acoustics, or maybe even using props. It’s also got to be a comfortable place for you to teach; ideally, you’ll be spending a lot of time there. If you want to garner positive Superprof tutor reviews, this is the way to go about it.

Superprof: Pros and cons 

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of this super-popular tutoring platform, especially when it comes to Superprof tutor jobs working in English? Do the pros outweigh the cons, or is there a balance? Let’s explore:

Pros

  • Easy to get started: Finding work is as simple as setting up an advert
  • Set your own rates: Are fixed salaries at companies no longer satisfactory? Set your own lesson fees!
  • Popularity: Superprof is a globally renowned platform for tutoring. You’re unlikely to struggle for work
  • No degree? No experience?: No issue. You just have to be great at marketing yourself!
  • Flexibility: Work as much or as little as you want to
  • Quick payments: You can get paid for lessons just 24 hours after they’re finished.

Cons

  • Competition: Fine, there won’t be 11 million tutors all tutoring English, but you’ll have plenty of competition for students
  • Commission: Although you’re freelance, Superprof will take a 10% processing fee unless you’re a Premium Tutor
  • Other tutors: You might find yourself competing against tutors who charge as little as $1 for a class. Don’t race to the bottom!

Superprof Reviews

Given the popularity of Superprof, and its sheer number of tutors, you might expect reviews to be somewhere in the middle; lots of people will like it, just as many will find a fault or two.

Except, that’s not the case. Superprof ranks very highly amongst tutoring platforms. On Glassdoor, for example, Superprof is rated 4 out of 5, with the job flexibility, the pay and the support on offer being heralded by former and current employees. The typical Superprof review is positive on Glassdoor

Indeed, meanwhile, has Superprof rated 4.4 out of 5 by current and former tutors, with many pleased by the level of independence afforded by the platform. However, you can see a negative superprof review or two: some tutors say it can be slow getting started, and that the tutor support from the platform can be lacking.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q. What is a Superprof tutor?

    A Superprof tutor is someone who teaches one of up to 1001 subjects on the Superprof platform.

  • Q. Does Superprof charge a monthly fee?

    If you opt to be a Premium Tutor on Superprof, there is a small monthly fee of $9/£7, or $69/£54 annually.

  • Q. How are you paid on Superprof?

    Superprof tutors can either sort payment directly with students or use the in-platform payment option.

  • Q. What percentage does Superprof take?

    Superprof takes a 10% processing fee for each lesson.