How many students should be in an online tutoring group?

Three to six is the practical range. Below three, you lose the cost advantage for families. Above six, it becomes hard to see every student's work and to give individual feedback on a video call.

How much should I charge per student in a group?

A common range is 40 to 60 percent of your one-to-one hourly rate per student. With four students at half your normal rate, you earn twice your usual hourly income while each family pays half.

What do I do if students in the group are at different levels?

Recruit by level in the first place, using a short diagnostic question set. Within the group, use tiered tasks: everyone works on the same topic but with questions at different difficulty, and you rotate your attention.

Should I run groups instead of one-to-one lessons?

Usually alongside them. Groups suit exam practice, revision and shared-goal courses. One-to-one suits students with specific gaps, anxiety or complex needs. Many tutors keep a mix.

How to set up small-group tutoring online as a tutor

To set up small-group tutoring online, pick one narrow outcome (such as GCSE maths Higher paper practice), cap the group at three to six students of a similar level, charge each student 40 to 60 percent of your one-to-one rate, and run a fixed-term course with a clear weekly structure. Small groups let you earn more per hour while students pay less than they would for private lessons.

Most tutors begin with one-to-one lessons, and then hit a ceiling: there are only so many hours in an evening, and the rate a family will pay is limited. Small-group tutoring is the most common way to lift that ceiling. Done well, families pay less than they would for private lessons, you earn more per hour, and students often benefit from hearing each other’s questions.

Done badly, it is a stressful hour of managing a call. This guide covers how to design a group offering that works.

When a group makes sense

Groups work best when students share a clear, narrow goal:

GCSE or A level exam practice for one board and tier.
A language conversation class at one CEFR level.
A structured course such as “11+ verbal reasoning in six weeks”.
Coding, music theory or study skills with a shared syllabus.

They work poorly when students have very different gaps, when a student is anxious or has additional needs that need individual attention, or when the topic is so personal that nobody wants to ask questions in front of others. Keep one-to-one for those cases.

Step 1: choose one outcome, not a subject

“Maths tutoring group” is vague. “Year 11 GCSE maths Higher: the hardest 30 percent of Paper 2, six weeks, Thursdays at 6pm” tells a parent exactly what they are buying and when. A narrow promise is easier to market and easier to teach.

Write a one-sentence promise and a three-line outline:

Who: Year 11 students aiming for grades 6 to 8 in maths Higher.
What: Algebra proof, ratio and geometric reasoning, with timed exam questions.
When: Six Thursdays, 60 minutes each, starting on a fixed date.

Step 2: set a group size

A good starting point is four students. At that size you can still see everyone’s work, ask each student something every ten minutes, and earn meaningfully more than one-to-one.

Group size	Rough feel online
2	Almost one-to-one, price cut small
3 to 4	Best balance of attention and income
5 to 6	Needs strong routines; some quiet students will hide
7+	Lecture-style; feedback suffers

Set a minimum as well as a maximum. If fewer than three students enrol, decide in advance whether you cancel, run at a higher price or merge with another group. Say so in your listing.

Step 3: price it

A simple method: take your one-to-one rate, and charge each student 40 to 60 percent of it.

Example: your private rate is £40 an hour.

Four students at £20 each: you earn £80 an hour. Each family saves £20 against private lessons.
Six students at £16 each: you earn £96 an hour, but the load on you is higher.
Three students at £24 each: you earn £72 an hour with lighter admin.

Add the unpaid time: planning, marking and messages. A group lesson usually needs more preparation than a private one, particularly the first time you run the course. After the first term you can reuse materials and the hourly return improves. Review your overall pricing with how to set your tutoring rates.

Sell the course as a block, paid upfront. It reduces no-shows and admin, and how to price and structure tutoring packages and block bookings covers the structure in more detail. Set a clear rule: missed sessions are not refunded because the other students and the planning still happen, but you can offer a recording or a short catch-up pack.

Step 4: screen for level

Before a student joins, check they fit. A 10-minute diagnostic works well:

Send five to eight questions of rising difficulty, to be done unaided.
Mark them and place the student in a group, or tell the family honestly that a different group or one-to-one would suit better.

Turning someone away protects the group. One student who is far ahead or far behind slows everyone and may leave unhappy.

Step 5: a lesson structure that keeps everyone active

A 60-minute group with four students can follow this shape:

0 to 5 min: Warm-up question on the board. Students answer in chat or on a shared whiteboard.
5 to 20 min: Teach one idea with one worked example, asking different students for each step.
20 to 45 min: Practice in tiers. Everyone works on the same topic with questions marked A, B or C by difficulty. You rotate between students through breakout views, private chat or turn-taking.
45 to 55 min: Students present or explain one solution.
55 to 60 min: Set the homework, say what comes next.

Use the same structure each week so students know what to expect. Name students when asking questions; open questions to the room are met with silence.

Step 6: manage mixed ability

Even a filtered group has spread. Techniques that help:

Tiered tasks: one topic, three levels of question.
Peer explanation: ask a stronger student to explain a step, then ask a weaker student to repeat it in their own words.
Private chat feedback: send quiet individual hints without exposing anyone.
Extension and rescue cards: have a harder question ready for fast finishers, and a simpler scaffold for those stuck.

Watch for a student who goes silent. Message them privately after the lesson; many are embarrassed rather than disengaged.

Step 7: keep parents informed

Parents of group students get less visible attention than parents of private students, so build in a routine. After each session send a short note to each family: the topic, one strength and one thing to practise. At the end of the course, share a brief progress summary. How to communicate with parents as an online tutor has templates.

Step 8: fill the group

Your first groups will most likely come from your existing students. Offer the group to current private students with similar goals and ask them to bring a friend. Then:

Post the course outline on your profile with dates, size and price.
Run a short free taster or mini-session.
Ask for reviews after the first course, as covered in how to get reviews and referrals as a tutor.

A worked example

Priya is an A level chemistry tutor charging £45 an hour. She offers “Organic chemistry reaction mechanisms: 6 weeks, 4 students max, £22 each”.

Her income is £88 an hour for six weeks, and each family pays £132 for the course instead of £270 for six private hours. She prepares once, reuses it the following term and adds a second group on another evening. Within a term she runs two groups and eight private hours a week, and her weekly income rises without adding evenings.

Start with one group, run it for one term, collect feedback, and then decide whether to expand.