Honest, Unsponsored Review: iTalki vs. Preply

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hi teachers! Are you thinking about teaching independently or on a platform like iTalki or Preply? Download our Starter Kit for Online Language Teachers: Free Essentials Pack www.welearnahead.com/start-teaching-online-toolkit-free

[@johnsoares5247]

I’m Portuguese teacher on preply, I already did 32 lessons in one month. I’ve been liking it

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Glad to hear it, John!

[@anabrajovic6555]

I started with 16 dollar price- no contacts from students. Lowered to 10 dollars- I receive several requests per day... All about the price.

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

@@anabrajovic6555 so 1 lesson $0, 2 lessons $6.7, 3 lessons $13.4 not even $5/h but student paid $30 How can you survive with that money?

[@ezra3776]

Have you been paid well?

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

John, is Preply still worth it? Italki commission is only 15%

[@tessm453]

Hi Ryan, I am preparing to apply to iTalki and your videos have been a massive help. Great content!

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hey Tai, Happy to help. Good luck with your application! 😃

[@-MiamiHeatFan]

I am a german teacher on preply and I am pretty satisfied. The trial lesson thing sucks (actually I once mentioned a student that I don't get anything and later have to give 33% away and she was super shocked and asked me, whether we wanna do it on another plattform😄), but now I have around 10 - 15 students that regularly take lessons that are all paid with 75% and I think that's fine. If enough students continue after the trial lesson, everything is ok. I don't accept New students anymore, so I also don't have trial lessons anymore.

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hello - FINALLY some input from a Preply teacher. Thank you for your insight. I'm glad to know it's working out for you on that platform. It's important for online English teachers to have options! 👨🏻‍🏫

[@1dreamysky]

I’m a student but I really felt bad for Preply teachers. And specially 1 hour for trail lessons and no return of money for teachers! At least the trail should be 30 mins. I’m using Preply but I’m considering Italki for the sole reason of being fair to the teachers! I feel bad really

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hello! That's exactly my thought. iTalki is not perfect - far from it. That's why I learn on other platforms in addition to iTalki. However, I would never take an HOUR of someone's time for free so I steer clear of Preply at all costs. Thank you for sharing!

[@Elif-ph2jg]

that's not true trial lessons are with money they r not free

[@rquiachahidi4357]

@@Elif-ph2jg yes the student still have to pay but it's the platform that take the money.

[@nouran_light]

@@Elif-ph2jg the platform gets 100% commission on them, the teachers get nothing!!

[@maricarpaculanang6027]

thanks for your time creating this content :)

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hey Maricar, Awesome! You’re very welcome. 😃 Thanks for watching!

[@jenniferbatallanos3397]

I love Italki!!! 😀 thanks for this video ☺️☺️☺️

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Awesome - you're very welcome! 😁

[@jiff2323]

Looking to supplement my classes with some online classes and this is exactly the info I needed. Thank you for this.

[@jaymartinez908]

My experience on Preply is that you have to set a really low price around $4 dollars in order to get students which to me seems ridiculously low. I think that if we tutors did advertising and marketing for our classes on our own on Facebook or social media we could get to charge more and still get potential students. I don’t buy the “you’re your own boss” phrase from these intermediate companies because you have to abide by their rules, be subject to pay a commission, you can be blocked anytime if a student falsely reports you about something and you’re competing with many other tutors which leads to having to lower your price per lesson in order to remain competitive. Yeah it’s cool that Preply advertises your profile but that comes with a cost and that is needing to reduce your price to get students

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

And Preply can increase their commissions at anytime like Amazing talker did... All the teachers were screwed

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

Totally agree with you, 4$ then 100% +33% commissions is outrageous. I don't know how teachers can survive

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

Jay, are you independent from any platforms now?

[@fuat27]

@@frenchwannaloseweight any platform you suggest better than Preply in terms of commission?

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

@@fuat27 Italki is the best! Trial class 0% and other class 15%. But now there is less students. Competition between platforms is very fierce

[@nouran_light]

Glad to see this while still in my beginnings... I started with preply and got chocked with free trials

[@joannaremaneses]

Thank you for the information. This has helped me decide. 😀

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Woo-hoo! Glad I could help. Good luck!

[@shadow-ska3435]

Very helpful video! Thank you Ryan :)

[@squigglove]

As a student, I think iTalki prices are too high, likewise, Preply tutors can be ridiculously low. But in my own financial situation, I'm able to have 4 tutors on Preply, though two of them have increased their prices already. I can't blame them, but it may impact my subscription. Personally, I think you need more than the first 2 or 3 classes to feel out chemistry. I have 4 tutors, 2 of whom I'm pretty sure I'm keeping, and 2 I'm still not sure of.

[@Ash-vt5cp]

As a student, the thing i like the most about italki is they verfiy credentials. Preply don't offer this, which is why i have never, and will never use it for as long as it remains that way. There's nothing like getting private tuition from a former examiner for an exam you are taking 😉and on italki i can look for teachers who have a verified certificate confirming they are former examiners for a particular exam.

[@anabrajovic6555]

Thank you for your honest review. I've been an Italki French teacher for 4 -5 years and I agree with most of what you're saying. Actually, I started long ago on both platforms, then just left Preply for financial reasons. The lowest commission Preply takes (after having had 400 students!!!) is still higher than on Italki (18% - 15%)!! But the problem is that there's not enough work anymore on Italki and it's necessary to look for more elsewhere (in summer, for about two months, as an "old teacher" you don't get any new students at all because Italki chooses to promote almost only new teachers; plus they have a new algorithm thing which seems in favour of new teachers as well: these changes started 2-3 years ago and have been a real disappointment for me on Italki). Combining several sites just seems to become unavoidable. If you know any other good sites, apart from these two, where you can teach French as a non-native, please share it with me!!!

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hello Ana! Thank you for sharing. Yes, with so many new teachers, the competition is out of this world on both sites. I'll let you know if I come across any other good sites. 🙃

[@anabrajovic6555]

@SplayMnBoss thanks, I'll check it out. Most of the ones I saw accepted only native speakers, or American citizens, or had bad teaching conditions or a small number of students/high number of teachers. But It was this summer, and maybe I didn't look well. Just checked- it's not for French teachers.

[@simplecommebonjour8352]

@@anabrajovic6555 Who can define whether you are or not a native speaker? On Italki, there is a teacher called Patricia, from Poland, stating she's native in French, English and Polish. She teaches French and is very sucessful. However, her French is clearly non-native and she makes mistakes, even in her short video on the website I could hear some. I am a French native speaker but some French people don't believe me when I say this because I developped a slight foreign accent (it's called attrition) while practicing other languages. My French doesn't sound as natural as before :-( There is no way of proving you are or not a native speaker. You shouldn't worry too much about this, as long as you are good at what you're doing.

[@jclove8745]

Thank you for the video and information. One thing though I didn't hear you comment on was whether or not it's easier to come by and maintain students on PrePly compared to Italki...

[@Rationalific]

Excellent info! Thanks a lot!

[@marzenie2583]

Hi during trial lesson you are not paid but mind that you do not pay a penny for adver yourself. Preply gives you access to students.

[@toruhatanaka4691]

I don't understand. If preply takes 100% for trial why do different teachers charge so different rate? Some charges $3 and other charges $30.

[@anyelabatiz192]

My preply profile has been under review for 5 months...I can't contact anyone... Disappointed...😪

[@olgapershina312]

You can find a good teacher on Preply. The platform is not user friendly, there are many rules and restrictions. The support service gives low-quality and very long answers (you can wait 3 days and more).

[@CristinaPanaet]

Preply should pay tutors for trials also. I don't know why they don't do that already. And the platform should only allow students to try trials with a limited number of tutors.... Preply has launched in 2012 if I'm correct...and italki I believe the same, 2012...and they are both still on the market not in 2023 :)

[@BobbyReborn]

Great vid! I'm on Preply now. Although the free trials are annoying, I enjoy talking to a variety of people. The higher student rate # is an advantage of that site as of now. How about Chinese ESL learning websites?

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Awesome Bobby - variety is super important. Not only does it make life fun, but it can improve your teaching skills. I also love to teach a high number of students, luckily it hasn’t been an issue for me on iTalki. 😁 I’ve tried out VIPkid, Palfish and SayABC. The main thing is the target audience. Are you a fan of teaching young learners? Personally, it’s not my cup of tea. I’m not a big fan of TPR either. Money-wise, it could be more sustainable, however. These sites commonly have reliable hours for teaching, so you know you’ll teach X number of class for X amount of money. I prefer to freedom that platforms such as iTalki and Preply offer.

[@BobbyReborn]

Try Xueersi Online School - it's a newer one and isn't as known so there is a good chance of success on there!

[@DANGJOS]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@kasialeszczynska9843]

great video, thank you for help

[@blueeyedwolf2205]

How can you make much money on any of these sites when the platform takes a percentage and then you have to declare a 1099 which will take at least 40% out in taxes? That literally leaves you at about $6 an hour or less.

[@juneantson]

Sometimes it feels like teachers are the ones who do not value themselves and their knowledge the most.

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

That definitely does happen!

[@PlaydoughESL]

Is it common for students to hop off the platform and go directly to you with the lessons and money?

[@琦施]

Hi Ryan. Have you heard of Language Master? Preply, Cambly and Language Master is easier for a non-native English teacher?

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hello! I've never heard of this platform before but I'll be making a video shortly on platforms other than iTalki (ie. Preply, Cambly, etc.) which you could teach on. Preply seems to the the easiest, more accessible and more inclusive for teachers to get started on in general, so I would recommend them for NNSs. For instance, I taught on Preply as an NNS of French! This is all anecdotal but I'd go with Preply. Anyways, stay tuned for this upcoming videos.

[@PositiveVibes360]

i'm not from a native english speaking country. where should i try to teach online english language

[@琦施]

Sorry, I mean which one is easier for non-native to start?

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Preply 100% - I taught French on Preply. Super easy to get started.

[@volna880]

It is sad that the greed of the service is reflected in the attitude towards the student. After all, he pays for each trial lesson.

[@deschampsmarie1565]

Hi and thanks for this video. I'm a bilingual French/English teacher from France . I've been working on Cambly for 3 years and just signed up on Preply. Anyway, I wanted to know if you'd be willing to share your ressources for teaching beginners ? TIA

[@brianspivey8068]

Thank you for this video it was very helpful. You look like you will make a lot of money on these platforms. You know very little French(?) but you were able to teach? How did you do that?

[@marylandcbmd3212]

Would it be weird if I asked my teacher if I can pay him outside of Italki?

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hey Michael, Not really weird but it would be putting your teacher in a very difficult position. Accepting money off of iTalki is a bannable offense, so your teacher could be kicked off the platform for doing so.

[@freelancer_in_town]

my application got declined idk why :(

[@editway500]

Preply’s buy flow (booking, signing up, find tutors) is a pretty happy experience. But, move into their refund policy ….they purposely make it hard to get refund. Shouldn’t unused balance = refund amount, that is a simple model that most of us would like right? I’m going to save you from listening to my entire experience because I can go on and on. The take away for readers is that stay away, this company as a whole is not ethical. They try to squeeze tutors and customers so they can keep more recurring payments in their pocket. Sad policy makers….

[@leandraresende1404]

Hi, Ryan! Your videos are excellent! I am a new teacher on Italki, but it has been dificcult to get students. How can I have my profile highlighted in the platform? How can I get students without having reference? Do you believe that participating in the communite helps? By the way, I am a Portuguese teacher on Italk!

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hey Leandra! Great questions, and I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had troubles finding students. When I first started out on the platform, I basically lived on the community - answering questions and correcting tasks. None of the students I interacted with ever booked a lesson directly though it helped me to get to know the platform better. Also, I’m sure that this participation is rewarded on iTalki, and can improve your profile placement. So yes, I would recommend it. Aside from that, I’d suggest reaching out to my personally on Instagram @quicktipsitalki. I can check out your profile and let you know if I have any suggestions for improvements. How that helps!

[@leandraresende1404]

@@EnglishTeacherRyan Thanks a lot for answering me!!!! I am going to say hi for you on instagram. But I don't use it, ok? I have a picture of a rose there. But it is me, lol..... I will send y a message, ok? Thanks a lot, man!!

[@SuperSimpleasthat]

@@leandraresende1404 I am a student and the problem with new tutors is that they usually dont have any plan or structure. If you explain exacly how the lessons will be in your bio, more will book you.

[@leandraresende1404]

@@SuperSimpleasthat thank you for your message! As a student you are, please, help me understand better. What kind of information I have to describe in my bio? The method I use? The content to be taught? But the classes are planned according to the student needs...

[@mial.4328]

@@leandraresende1404 I'm a student too. I would probably give an example of a lesson plan. For example in this beginner class we will talk about..../ On what skill the class in focused (conversation, writing, reading, etc.) And what material you use to teach (textbook, pdf files, videos etc.). That's how I chose the right tutor for me. Yeah the classes can be customized to the students needs. But honestly most beginning students don't really know what they want to learn in their classes. Maybe you can write something like: I can offer customized lessons. in your description.

[@davidgallimore2112]

Hi Ryan, I am an experienced tutor on Preply. I have been interviewing a few of the top tutors on preply and posting the interviews on youtube. I would like to interview someone from another platform. Would you be interested in making a video together? I would like to compare and contrast the platforms, and I would really like to hear your views on where this space is going in the future, and if possible make that into a youtube video! Drop me a line :) thank you, David

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

Salut ! Oh ! Where did you post?

[@jelenavujanac7872]

Hello, does Preply provide lesson material?

[@47crazed]

my dmbass bee calling it "pre-ply" 😭

[@up_your_level]

What is your level in French?

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

It was C1 at the time of me teaching. Much lower now. 😂

[@mercifulserventurdu1753]

Does italki offers other subjects like urdu maths science??

[@EnglishTeacherRyan]

Hmm good question. iTalki definitely offers Urdu but for academic subjects such as Math or Science, I’d head over to Preply instead. 😃

[@mercifulserventurdu1753]

@@EnglishTeacherRyan one more question Ryan.. whats their payment methods? I mean through paypal or anyother ?

[@englishwithrey746]

I also dislike Preply.

[@Aishandme25]

You're partner will be the luckiest one. Such an innocence 😍 in you're eye's... Impressive 😁

[@frenchwannaloseweight]

C1 en français ?! Ouah bravo ! Sur Preply il y a bcp plus de profs de français que sur italki, je comprends pas pourquoi. Je pense aussi que c'est de l'esclavage avec 100% puis 33% de commission... À $2/heure puis les commissions, c'est décent ça ? Preply est une boîte Ukrainienne non ?