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Buyer's Guide
Every tutoring tool claims to be free. Most aren't. Some charge monthly fees after a trial. Others take 25% of your earnings. Here's an honest breakdown of what each option really costs.
Before you sign up for anything, ask these three questions:
1
“Free trial” means you'll pay monthly once it ends. “Free to join” usually means a percentage cut.
2
No monthly fee doesn't mean no cost. Check for per-session fees, percentage cuts, and payment processing markups.
3
Some tools are cheap with 5 students but expensive at 20. Look for a pricing model that scales with you.
The Real Costs
What each tool actually costs when you read the fine print.
Claims: Free
Actual Cost
Free for tutors. $1 parent service fee per invoice
Hidden Costs
None. Always $0 for tutors. Service fee is on parent invoices.
Best for: Independent tutors wanting autopay + zero monthly fees
Claims: Free
Actual Cost
1% of every invoice
Hidden Costs
No per-invoice or monthly cap. 1% adds up with no ceiling.
Best for: Tutoring centers wanting CRM + WhatsApp integration
Claims: Free
Actual Cost
$0
Hidden Costs
No invoicing, no reminders, no booking page, no payment tracking. You're the software.
Best for: 1-2 students, cash-only, no billing needs
Claims: "Free trial"
Actual Cost
$14.95/mo after trial
Hidden Costs
Trial ends, then you're locked in at $14.95/mo even during summer break.
Best for: Solo tutors wanting simple scheduling (if you're OK paying monthly)
Claims: "Free trial"
Actual Cost
$16.49/mo + $0.32/lesson
Hidden Costs
Per-lesson fee on top of monthly fee. Costs climb with every session.
Best for: Multi-tutor businesses (if you need lesson-level tracking)
Claims: "Free to join"
Actual Cost
25% of every session + 9% student fee
Hidden Costs
Students pay 9% on top of your rate. A $60 session costs them $65.40 and you keep $45.
Best for: New tutors who need to find students (marketplace)
At a Glance
What each tool costs a tutor doing 12 sessions per month at $60/hour ($720/month in revenue).
| Tool | Monthly Cost | % of Revenue | You Keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| TutorTab | $12.00 | 1.7% | $708.00 |
| Tutorbase | $7.20 | 1.0% | $712.80 |
| Google Calendar + Venmo | $0.00 | 0% | $720.00 |
| TutorBird | $14.95 | 2.1% | $705.05 |
| Teachworks | $20.33 | 2.8% | $699.67 |
| Wyzant | $180.00 | 25% | $540.00 |
All costs exclude Stripe's standard processing fee (2.9% + $0.30) which applies to any tool that accepts card payments. Google Calendar + Venmo has no software cost but no invoicing, reminders, or payment tracking either.
Calculator
Enter your sessions and rate to see what each tool actually costs.
Enter your numbers to compare real monthly costs. TutorTab is free for tutors — a small service fee is added to parent invoices instead.
Monthly revenue: $720
TutorTab
$0.00
free for tutors
Tutorbase
$7.20
/month
TutorBird
$14.95
/month
Teachworks
$20.33
/month
Wyzant
$180.00
/month
Not all free is created equal. Here's how to tell them apart.
No monthly fee, no setup cost. A fee applies only when the tool collects money for you. If you don't use payment collection, it costs $0. TutorTab and Tutorbase fall in this category. TutorTab adds a flat $1 to the parent's invoice; Tutorbase takes 1% with no cap.
Free for 14-30 days, then a monthly subscription kicks in. You pay whether you use the tool or not — even during summer break when you have zero sessions. TutorBird ($14.95/mo) and Teachworks ($16.49/mo + $0.32/lesson) use this model.
No upfront cost, but the platform takes a large cut of every session. Wyzant keeps 25% of your rate and charges students an additional 9% service fee. On a $60 session, you keep $45 and the student pays $65.40. The “free” part is the signup — not the usage.
No monthly fee. No deductions from your payout. A $1 service fee per invoice is charged to parents, not you. Other tools charge tutors even when they have no students.
TutorTab never takes a cut from your payout. The parent service fee is a flat $1 per invoice. Grow from 5 students to 50 and you still keep every dollar of your session rate.
Parents save a card once. After you confirm a session, payment is collected automatically. No invoice emails, no follow-up, no awkward conversations. Most “free” tools don't offer this at any price.
Create a Google Calendar event with a parent as a guest, and TutorTab detects it and asks if it's a session. Confirm, and it gets full invoicing and reminders — no extra steps.
Pricing
No subscriptions. No monthly minimums. A fee applies only when a payment goes through TutorTab, and the parent pays it.
$1
per paid invoice
2.9% + 30¢
processing, paid by the parent, card or bank
$0
cost to tutors
How it works
Scheduling, reminders, and invoicing are always free. When we process a payment, a $1 service fee and the card processing fee are added to the parent's invoice. You keep 100% of your rate.
Example
You bill $50? Parent pays ~$52.84 ($50 + $1 service fee + ~$1.84 processing). You receive $50.
You keep 100% of your session price. The service fee is added to the parent's invoice. Payments collected outside TutorTab (cash, Venmo, etc.) are never charged.
No monthly fees. No setup cost. Only pay when you get paid.
FAQ
Free scheduling. Free reminders. Autopay included. Always free for tutors — the service fee is on parent invoices.
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