Fees and Refunds
Last updated: 16 October 2026
Effective: 18 October 2026
1. Summary
- Searching, profiles and messaging are free for students and tutors.
- Students pay the tutor’s lesson price plus a 5% TutorBoost service fee. The total is shown before payment.
- Tutors pay TutorBoost a commission on the lesson price: 32% at the start, falling to 17%.
- Tutors may choose the optional Pro plan ($49 a month) and may fund ads run by TutorBoost (media at cost plus a 25% management fee). Neither is required, and neither changes the commission.
- All prices are in US dollars. Lesson prices are between $10 and $200 per 60-minute lesson.
2. What a student pays
The price you pay for a lesson is the tutor’s lesson price plus a service fee of 5% of the lesson price, rounded to the nearest cent. The booking screen shows the lesson price, the service fee and the total before you pay, and the total is the amount charged to your card. There are no other TutorBoost charges for students.
Example: a $40.00 lesson + $2.00 service fee = $42.00.
3. What a tutor pays
TutorBoost keeps a commission from the lesson price of every lesson that is paid to the tutor. The rate depends on the tutor’s lifetime completed lesson hours on TutorBoost and the number of different students who have paid for those lessons. Both conditions must be met to move down a step:
| Step | Commission | Completed lesson hours | Different paying students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 32% | From the first lesson | None |
| Established | 27% | 20 or more | 3 or more |
| Experienced | 22% | 60 or more | 5 or more |
| Top | 17% | 150 or more | 10 or more |
A step, once reached, is never lost, including if a later lesson is refunded. The rate is applied when a lesson is settled (paid to the tutor) and is never higher than the rate shown when the lesson was booked. The service fee paid by the student is separate and is not taken from the tutor.
Worked example: for a $40.00 lesson the student pays $42.00. At 32% the commission is $12.80 and the tutor receives $27.20. At 17% the commission is $6.80 and the tutor receives $33.20.
TutorBoost pays card processing, payout and video costs out of what it keeps. TutorBoost charges no fee per payout ($0). Banks and Stripe may apply currency conversion when paying into an account in another currency. Full details are in the Tutor Agreement.
4. Cancellations and missed lessons
| What happens | Student | Tutor |
|---|---|---|
| Student cancels at least 24 hours before the start | Full refund, service fee included | Not paid |
| Student cancels less than 24 hours before the start | Charged in full (see section 6 for EU, EEA and UK consumers) | Paid, less commission |
| Tutor cancels, at any time before the start | Full refund, service fee included | Not paid; the cancellation is recorded on the tutor’s account |
| Tutor does not join (student waited in the room) | Full refund, service fee included | Not paid |
| Student does not join (tutor waited in the room) | Charged in full | Paid, less commission |
| Neither joined, only part of a lesson was recorded, or there is no record | Nothing moves automatically. A person reviews the room record and anything either side tells us, then decides: pay the tutor, refund in full, or refund in part. | |
How attendance is decided. The lesson room records when each person joins and leaves. If both were in the room together for at least 15 minutes, the lesson went ahead. If one waited in the room for at least 15 minutes after the start and the other never joined, that is a no-show by the person who did not join. The decision is made automatically 30 minutes after the scheduled end, and both sides are told the reason. Where the room is not available for a lesson, the tutor marks the lesson as taught, and a lesson that is not marked within 48 hours goes to a person.
Disagreeing with a decision. Either side can contest the outcome from the lessons page within 48 hours of the scheduled end. A contested lesson is held until a person reviews it, and a person can reverse an automatic decision in either direction. After that, write to support (see Complaints and Disputes).
5. How refunds are paid
Refunds go back to the card you paid with, never to a TutorBoost credit balance. We start the refund as soon as the decision is made; your bank usually shows it within 5 to 10 business days. If a refund fails, a person is alerted and completes it. If a refund is made after the tutor was paid, the tutor’s share is taken back from the tutor (see the Tutor Agreement).
6. Statutory rights
Nothing on this page takes away a right you have under the consumer law of the country where you live. In particular, if you are a consumer in the EU, EEA or UK you may cancel a lesson booking within 14 days of making it; if you do so before the lesson starts you are entitled to a refund even inside the 24-hour window, and if the lesson has started you pay only for the part provided. Once a lesson has been provided in full, that right ends. How to use it is explained in section 7 of the Student Terms. You also keep any right to dispute a card payment with your bank; we ask that you contact us first, but that is a request, not a condition.
7. Pro and advertising
Pro costs $49 a month and renews automatically until cancelled; see Pro Subscription Terms. Ads run by TutorBoost are charged as the ad budget you choose (at least $50) plus a 25% management fee on top: for a $50.00 budget you pay $62.50 ($12.50 fee); see Advertising Programme Terms.
8. Taxes
Prices are shown as charged. Where a law requires TutorBoost to collect a sales tax, VAT or similar tax on its own fees, we will show it before you pay. Tutors are responsible for any tax on their own lesson income. Questions: support@tutorboost.org.