How to choose an online tutor

Choosing · 2 min read · updated 2026-08-22

Choosing a tutor is a hiring decision made from a card the size of a postcard. Most people overthink the profile and underthink the trial. Here is the order that works.

1. Decide what you are buying before you look at anyone

Write one sentence: *"I want to be able to ___ by ___."* "Handle a work meeting in English by November." "Get IELTS 7 in writing by 14 December." "Help my son stop dreading maths homework." A vague goal produces a vague lesson, whoever teaches it.

2. Filter for the goal, not the flag

Choose the specialisation before the nationality. A tutor who runs mock IELTS speaking tests every week will do more for your band than a native speaker who does not know the descriptors. Start from the page that matches your goal:

• IELTS · TOEFL · exam preparation
• Business English · job interviews
• Conversation · grammar
• Kids and teenagers
• Maths · programming ·

3. Watch thirty seconds of video, then stop reading

You are choosing a person to spend an hour a week with. Half a minute of them speaking tells you more than any description: whether they explain or perform, whether they leave space for you, whether you would be comfortable being wrong in front of them. If a tutor has a sample lesson recording, watch that instead — it shows them teaching rather than introducing themselves.

4. Read the level, not the adjectives

Anyone can write "experienced and passionate". A verified level is a fact: here, 25 of the 30 tutors have passed a recorded assessment — interview plus teaching demo, reviewed by a person, graded on pronunciation, grammar, fluency and teaching skill. The level also caps what the tutor may charge, so the price on a card is tied to something.

5. Check the boring things

• Availability in your timezone, at the hour you will actually be free every week.
• Whether they teach your level. A brilliant advanced teacher can be the wrong choice
• How they handle homework, if you want any.
• What happens if you must cancel, because eventually you will.

6. Spend the trial testing, not chatting

A trial is not a taster of the teacher's charm; it is a test of fit. Ask:

• "Here is my goal and my deadline. What would you do in the first four lessons?"
• "What do you think is holding my English back most right now?"
• "How will we know it is working in six weeks?"
• "What do you want me to do between lessons?"

A good teacher answers all four specifically. A vague answer to the first is the clearest warning sign there is.

7. Try two, then commit to one

Meeting two tutors before choosing costs almost nothing — the $5 Trial Pass covers 25-minute trials with up to four — and it is the only way to notice what you actually respond to. Then commit properly: book a recurring slot for at least six weeks. Switching every fortnight resets the relationship, and most of the value of a private tutor comes from someone knowing your specific weaknesses.

If you would rather not browse at all

You can describe the problem instead and let teachers come to you: post what you need — subject, level, budget, deadline — and it goes to a group of matching tutors who reply with a plan. It suits people whose need is specific (a document to proofread, a project to finish, an exam in three weeks) more than browsing does.