About Tutsy: the tutoring marketplace that takes 0% commission
Tutsy is an online marketplace where students find tutors and tutors find students. It charges no commission on lessons: the hourly rate written on a listing is the rate the student pays and the rate the tutor keeps. This page explains what Tutsy is, what you can do on it today, and what it costs on both sides.
What is Tutsy?
Tutsy is a tutoring marketplace. Tutors publish a listing describing what they teach, how they teach it and what they charge per hour. Students search those listings by subject, compare the tutors they like, and message the one they want to learn from. Nothing sits between the two beyond that.
What makes Tutsy different from the tutoring platforms most people have used is where the money comes from. Tutsy takes no cut of any lesson. It does not skim a percentage of the tutor's rate, it does not add a service fee to the student's price, and it does not raise its share as a tutor teaches more hours. Tutors pay only if they want extra visibility in the marketplace — a flat monthly fee for a listing, unrelated to how many lessons they teach.
The practical result is a marketplace where the price you read is the price that changes hands. A tutor charging $30 an hour on Tutsy receives $30 an hour, and a student paying $30 an hour pays $30 an hour.
How Tutsy works for students
Finding a tutor on Tutsy takes three steps, and the first two need no account at all.
1. Search for a subject
Start from the Tutsy marketplace and search for what you want to learn — a language, a school subject, an exam, an instrument, a skill. You can also browse straight into a category instead of typing anything.
2. Compare the tutors you find
Narrow the results by category, hourly price and teaching format until the shortlist is short enough to read properly. Every tutor has their own listing page with their rate, the subjects they cover and a description written in their own words, so you can judge the fit before you speak to anyone.
3. Message the tutor
When a listing looks right, send the tutor a message from that page. The conversation runs in Tutsy's own chat, so you agree the details — schedule, format, what you want to work on — with the tutor directly, without handing out your email or phone number to start. Sending a message is the one step that needs a free Tutsy account.
Browsing, searching and reading listings are free for students, and Tutsy never adds a booking fee or a service fee on top of a tutor's rate.
How Tutsy works for tutors
If you teach, Tutsy is a place to be found. Publishing costs nothing and the marketplace takes nothing from your lessons.
1. Publish a listing — free
Create an account and write a listing: the subject you teach, who you teach it to, how you work, and your hourly rate. Every tutor gets one listing that is free permanently — not a trial, not a first month. It stays in the marketplace for as long as you keep it switched on.
2. Get found by students
Your listing appears in searches and category browsing alongside every other tutor. Students reach you through it directly.
3. Talk to students and agree your own terms
Enquiries arrive in your Tutsy inbox. You decide who you take on, when you teach and what you charge — the rate on your listing is yours to set and yours to keep in full.
4. Pay only if you want more visibility
A tutor who wants to run more than one listing, or wants a more prominent spot in the results, pays a flat monthly fee for that listing. It is a visibility charge and nothing else: it does not change what you earn per lesson, and it costs the same whether you teach one lesson that month or forty. See what Tutsy costs below.
What Tutsy costs
- Commission on lessons: 0%. On every lesson, for every tutor, always. Tutors keep 100% of what they earn.
- For students: free. Searching, browsing, comparing and messaging tutors cost nothing, and no fee is added to the tutor's rate.
- For tutors: one free listing. Posting is free and the first listing stays free for as long as it is live.
- Extra or more prominent listings: from $5 a month. Prices run from $5 up to $29 a month per listing depending on how prominent you want it, and paying for a year upfront costs 20% less than paying monthly.
The full breakdown is on the Tutsy pricing page.
Subjects you can learn on Tutsy
Tutsy is general-purpose rather than tied to one subject, so languages, academic subjects, music, exam preparation and professional skills share the same marketplace. These are the categories tutors publish under:
Each category page lists the tutors currently teaching in it, with their hourly rates.
Why zero commission matters
Most tutoring platforms are paid a percentage of every lesson taught through them. That percentage is charged again on the second lesson with the same student, and on the two-hundredth — a tutor who found a student once keeps paying for that student for as long as they teach them.
Two things follow from it, and both are worse for the people involved. Tutors raise their advertised rate to absorb the cut, so students pay more than the teaching is worth. And the pair are pushed to leave the platform the moment they trust each other, because leaving is what makes the fee stop.
Tutsy charges for the thing it actually provides — being found — and charges a flat amount for it. A tutor's tenth lesson with a student costs the platform nothing to arrange, so Tutsy does not bill for it. Nobody has a reason to take the arrangement elsewhere, and the rate on the listing can be the honest one.
Accounts, messaging and privacy
You can browse Tutsy without an account. Signing up is free, takes an email address, and is what lets you message a tutor or publish a listing of your own.
First contact happens in Tutsy's built-in chat rather than over your personal email or phone number, so you can work out whether a tutor suits you before sharing anything else. What Tutsy collects and why is set out in full in the terms and privacy policy.
Frequently asked questions about Tutsy
Is Tutsy free for students?
Yes. Browsing tutors, comparing rates and messaging a tutor are free. Tutsy never adds a fee on top of the rate a tutor advertises, so the hourly price you read on a listing is the price you and the tutor agree on.
How much does Tutsy take from a tutor's earnings?
Nothing. Tutsy charges no commission on lessons. Tutors keep 100% of what they earn, which is the whole reason the platform exists.
What does it cost to be a tutor on Tutsy?
Posting is free. Every tutor gets one free listing that stays visible for as long as they keep it on. Extra listings start at $5 a month, up to $29 a month for the most prominent placement, and a year paid upfront costs 20% less.
How do I find a tutor on Tutsy?
Search by subject or keyword from the Tutsy home page, then narrow the results by category, price and format until the shortlist is small enough to read properly. Every listing has its own page with the tutor's rate, subjects and description.
How do I contact a tutor?
Open the listing you like and send the tutor a message. The conversation happens in Tutsy's built-in chat, so you don't hand over your email or phone number to start talking. You need a free Tutsy account to send the first message.
What subjects can I learn on Tutsy?
Tutsy is general-purpose rather than single-subject: languages, school and university subjects, music, exam preparation, programming and professional skills all sit in the same marketplace. The categories on the home page are the full list.
Do tutors teach online or in person?
Both. Each tutor states how they teach and what they charge on their own listing, and the search filters let you keep only the format you want.
How does Tutsy make money if it takes no commission?
Tutors pay for visibility, not for lessons. A tutor who wants more than their one free listing, or a more prominent spot in the results, pays a flat monthly fee for that listing. It is the same amount whether they teach one lesson that month or forty.
Do I need an account to look around?
No. Anyone can browse listings and read tutor profiles without signing up. An account is only needed to message a tutor or to publish a listing of your own.
Where is Tutsy available?
Tutsy is online and open to tutors and students anywhere. Rates are shown in US dollars per hour across the marketplace.
Getting started
Browse tutors on Tutsy to see who is teaching what, or read the pricing page if you are thinking of teaching. There is also a short version of this page.