What is a reasonable hourly rate for a tutor in the UK?

A reasonable hourly rate for a private tutor in the UK generally falls between £25 and £70 per hour, depending on the subject, the level being taught, the tutor's qualifications and whether sessions are online or in-person.

As a rough guide across subjects:

• Primary and KS3: £25–£40/hr
• GCSE (most subjects): £28–£55/hr
• A-Level (most subjects): £35–£70/hr
• Specialist subjects (Further Maths, admissions tests, professional qualifications): £40–£90/hr

What counts as "reasonable" also depends on what you're comparing against. A rate that looks high in isolation can be good value if it includes no agency commission, since many tutoring agencies and platforms take 25–50% of what a family pays, meaning the tutor receives significantly less than the headline hourly rate suggests. A tutor working independently, or through a platform with no commission, can often charge a lower headline rate while still keeping more of it themselves.

Location matters too: tutors in London and the South East typically charge 15–25% more than the UK average, reflecting local living costs, while online tutoring removes this geographic premium almost entirely, since a specialist anywhere in the UK charges the same regardless of where the family is based.

On TutorLab, every tutor sets their own rate and displays it on their profile before you make contact, with no agency commission added on top of what you see.