How much does a private tutor cost in the UK in 2026?

Ask what a tutor costs and you will get answers from under £20 an hour to over £70, sometimes for what sounds like the same thing. The spread is real, and most of it is explained by three factors. Once you know them, judging whether a rate is fair becomes much easier.

What drives the price

Who is teaching. The largest single factor. Tutoring is unregulated, so the word "tutor" covers a sixth-former helping with GCSE maths, a graduate between jobs, and a qualified teacher with fifteen years of exam classes. Rates track that range. A qualified, experienced teacher will typically charge more than a student — and will usually get a child further in fewer lessons, which changes the arithmetic.

The level. A-Level and 11 Plus tuition generally cost more than Key Stage 2 support: the content is harder, fewer people can teach it well, and the stakes concentrate demand into a short window.

The subject. Shortage subjects — maths, physics, chemistry, modern languages — command higher rates for the simple reason that there are fewer people qualified to teach them.

Two smaller factors: location (London and the South East run higher for face-to-face lessons, though online tuition has flattened this) and format (online is often a little cheaper, because nobody is travelling).

What to expect for a qualified teacher

On Teachers Delivered, every tutor is a qualified teacher with a verified enhanced DBS check, and tutors set their own rates above a floor of £40 a lesson. As of September 2026, rates on the platform run from £40 to £70 an hour, with most tutors around £60. Lessons are a full hour, not fifty minutes, and the price you see is the price you pay — there is no booking fee or agency charge on top.

For context, that is broadly in line with what experienced qualified teachers charge privately, and a little below what many agencies charge for comparable teachers, because our fee is taken from the tutor's side rather than added to yours.

Is a cheaper tutor a false economy?

Sometimes, and it depends entirely on why it is cheaper. A confident Year 9 pupil who needs regular practice may do perfectly well with a capable undergraduate. A Year 11 pupil three grades short of the sixth-form offer, with seven months to go, is a different job: it needs someone who knows the mark scheme, can diagnose why the marks are going, and can plan a term. Paying £25 an hour for twenty lessons that drift is dearer than £60 an hour for eight that land.

The honest test is not the rate but the rate multiplied by the number of lessons it takes. Ask any prospective tutor how they would approach your child's situation and how many lessons they think it needs. A good teacher will give you a straight answer, and it is often fewer than you expect.

How to keep the cost sensible

• Book a single lesson first. You should not have to commit to a block to find out whether a tutor suits your child.
• Be clear about the goal. "A grade 5 in maths by May" gives a tutor something to plan against; "help with maths" does not.
• Weekly beats occasional. A regular slot builds momentum and usually means fewer lessons overall.
• Check what is included. With us, payment is handled securely at booking, and a cancellation with more than 24 hours' notice is refunded in full.

If you are weighing up who to book, how to choose a tutor covers the seven things worth checking before you do. And you can see current rates by subject without creating an account.

To see what qualified teachers actually charge, browse GCSE Maths tutors or 11 Plus tutors — every profile shows a flat per-lesson price.