How to Teach English Online: 12 Best Online English Teaching Platforms

1. Be fluent in English

You don’t need prior professional experience working as a teacher or side hustling as a tutor to teach English online; however, you must be fluent in the language.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a native English speaker. Some companies do require native fluency, but others don’t, so there are plenty of opportunities out there for you if you weren’t raised speaking the English language.

2. Get a bachelor’s degree

This isn’t a requirement, but it’s strongly recommended. Most online teaching platforms require their educators to hold a bachelor’s degree or an international equivalent to join the team.

If you don’t have a degree, you can still find work with a site that allows teaching English online without a degree. However, there are only a few platforms like this, and your pay will likely be lower.

3. Get a TEFL or TESOL certification

As with a degree, getting a special teaching certificate isn’t a hard-and-fast requirement, but it’s usually a very good idea. There are several certificates for teaching English online:

• Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL): The most common English teaching certification, TEFL is primarily used for teaching students who are based in non-English-speaking countries.
• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL): In contrast to TEFL, TESOL is often used for teaching non-English-speaking residents (like immigrants and refugees) in the US or other anglophone (English-speaking) countries.

Both of these are large umbrellas that encompass many different courses and qualifications. There’s no single organization that awards TEFL or TESOL certificates, although you should do your due diligence to make sure that the course you picked is legitimate. In general, both certifications are fairly easy and inexpensive to get online and open the door to tons of online English teaching opportunities.

One online English teacher we spoke to, Ivana Winslow, got her TESOL certificate for only around $20 (with a discount code) back in 2017, and although it was listed as an “120-hour certificate,” she says it took her only around 10–12 hours to complete. “The course provided useful information on pedagogical techniques as well as motivating students, classroom management, and more,” she added.

You might also have heard of the Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), which is offered by the University of Cambridge. This is one of the most respected English teaching certificates out there, but it involves more difficult coursework than TEFL and TESOL, and it’s arguably overkill for most online TEFL jobs. It’s also specific to teaching adult learners, which isn’t ideal, since many virtual teaching platforms target younger learners.

4. Pad your experience

Before jumping into your new side hustle as an online English teacher, consider gaining relevant experience (if you don’t already have it).

For example, you can pick up a few hours of work each week with a tutoring side hustle while you’re completing your TEFL certification. You can also look for a nonprofit, charity, or church in your area that offers free language lessons to recent immigrants and needs volunteers.

Teaching experience will help you land better remote English teaching jobs with higher rates. Some companies even require you to have it to work on their platforms.

5. Prepare your equipment

To teach English remotely, you’ll need to be outfitted with the right equipment. Here’s what Winslow recommends you should have as part of your online ESL teacher toolkit:

• Laptop or desktop computer
• External microphone (either on a headset or stand-alone)
• External webcam
• Reliable internet connection

You could also invest in a headset, office chair, and digital pen, but these items aren’t strictly necessary. The platform you pick might require you to have other equipment as well. Check their website to be sure.

Don’t overlook the importance of the strength, speed, and stability of your internet connection. Winslow says that a hardwired connection is preferable, and getting a mobile hotspot is a good idea if you’re traveling while teaching English as a second language online. In any case, you should test your upload speed, download speed, and ping before you get started.

Here are our picks for the 12 best online English teaching platforms. While some are more exclusive and only take experienced English teachers, others are great places to teach English online with no experience and no degree.

1. Cambly

Cambly is a big name among ESL teachers who want to teach online, boasting tons of students and job opportunities to match. Notably, Cambly has one of the best payment schedules we’ve seen—you get paid on a weekly basis rather than biweekly or monthly like most of the other platforms on this list.

Another major plus is that there aren’t a lot of requirements to become a tutor on Cambly. The platform is a safe bet if you want to teach English online without a degree or teaching certificate. The main drawback is that Cambly has fixed rates, so you won’t have control over how much you charge, and your earning potential is limited.

What you need to know about Cambly

• Current hiring status: Cambly is still accepting applications from new tutors, but it appears that they are placing many applicants on a wait list due to an overabundance of tutors.
• Nationality requirements: Open to native English speakers from any country worldwide that isn’t subject to US trade sanctions or embargoes.
• Required credentials: No degree or teaching certifications are required.
• Students: Cambly Kids is aimed at students aged 4–15 years old, whereas Cambly is for adult learners.
• Pay: Cambly pays by the minute, and they process payments once a week. Their rate is $0.17/min ($10.20/hour) on the primary platform and $0.20/min ($12.00/hour) on Cambly Kids.

What teachers say about Cambly

2. italki

Extending well beyond English teaching, italki is a language-learning platform that allows you to teach any language that’s your native tongue. Just check their list of languages to see what options are currently available.

On italki, you can become a professional teacher, which requires certification, or become a “community tutor,” which doesn’t.

What you need to know about italki

• Current hiring status: At the time of writing, italki was not hiring new English teachers. For updates, check the list of open language positions.
• Nationality requirements: Teachers must be native English speakers or have C2 level proficiency.
• Required credentials: To be approved as a professional teacher, you need to have an accredited language teaching certificate (CELTA, DELTA, TESOL, or TEFL), degree in English language teaching, teaching license, or proof of employment at a language teaching institution.
• Students: The platform is designed for students aged 5–17 years old.
• Pay: You get to set your own rates, with a minimum of $5 per lesson for community tutors and $10 per lesson for professional teachers. You can get paid by PayPal, Hyperwallet, Payoneer, or bank transfer via Payoneer.

What teachers say about italki

3. Engoo

As an online ESL platform dedicated to one-on-one English lessons, Engoo is more widely regarded as a platform for online English tutors than group-based English teachers. In any case, it’s a good place to get paid to teach English online with no experience.

All classes on Engoo are 25 minutes long. One way that this platform stands out is that they transparently offer three teacher tiers—one for native English speakers, one for nonnative speakers, and one for native English speakers who also know another language.

What you need to know about Engoo

• Current hiring status: Engoo is currently accepting tutor and teacher applications, but it appears that they’re suspending some accounts due to an oversupply of ESL teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You do not need to be a native English speaker to teach on Engoo. You can be from any country, although pay rates vary depending on where you’re from.
• Required credentials: You don’t need any teaching experience, degrees, or certifications to teach English on Engoo.
• Students: Engoo caters to students of all ages, including children and adults.
• Pay: The platform determines your rates based on your nationality, English fluency, and number of languages spoken. According to teacher reports, Engoo sends out payments once a month.

What teachers say about Engoo

4. Preply

Preply is another teaching platform that connects thousands of students with teachers of all subjects, including English. It provides teaching resources, including an interactive virtual classroom and a smart calendar.

A Preply account is free, but the platform will take a cut of what you charge for lessons. You’ll need to start out by giving a free demo lesson to a student, and Preply will take a 100% commission. After that, Preply will take 18%–33% commissions, depending on how many hours you’ve spent teaching on the platform.

What you need to know about Preply

• Current hiring status: Preply appears to be open to hiring new English teachers, although they may delay publishing your profiles for weeks or even months if they have too many applicants.
• Nationality requirements: Open to teachers from any country except Iran, Sudan, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, or Crimea.
• Required credentials: You don’t necessarily need a degree, teaching credentials, or experience, but you must demonstrate your English competency.
• Students: Used by students of all ages.
• Pay: You have the freedom to set your own rates, and you can choose to get paid via Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, or Skrill.

What teachers say about Preply

5. Open English

Open English (which is the parent company of English Ninjas) is an online English teaching company with a focus on teaching Spanish-speaking teens and adults.

This is a great option for people who aren’t keen on teaching young children. The platform also provides lesson plans, so new teachers are spared the time and effort of creating their own.

Having a conversational level of Spanish will give you a huge leg up when it comes to landing work on Open English.

What you need to know about Open English

• Current hiring status: Open English appears to be open to hiring new English teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You need to be a native English speaker to teach on Open English, but you can be based in any country worldwide.
• Required credentials: The site doesn’t specify what credentials are required, but you are expected to upload diploma or degree certificates during the application process. You can also upload a TEFL or TESOL certificate, but this is optional.
• Students: The platform caters to children and adults of all ages. Lessons are provided in group settings rather than one-on-one.
• Pay: You will get paid via ACH electronic deposit or PayPal. Open English doesn’t disclose pay rates for teachers on the platform, but self-reported salary data indicate that teachers make anywhere from $10 to $25 per hour.

What teachers say about Open English

6. Lingoda

Lingoda is a good option for more seasoned teachers who are ready to move their work online. It’s not a good option for new teachers, though, since the platform requires 2–3 years of previous teaching experience.

One of the big appeals of Lingoda is that it offers a structured curriculum with lesson plans, so you don’t need to spend unpaid hours creating your own.

Lingoda teachers all work on a freelance basis, with an average workload of 5–20 teaching hours per week, meaning the site offers more potential for side gigs than full-time online TEFL jobs. 1

What you need to know about Lingoda

• Current hiring status: Lingoda appears to be open to hiring new English teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You must be a native English speaker, but there are no restrictions in terms of nationality.
• Required credentials: You must have 2–3 years of previous teaching experience as well as C2 or higher English level and a certificate to teach English as a foreign language.
• Students: The Lingoda English learning platform is exclusively designed for adult students over the age of 18 years old.
• Pay: Lingoda pays English teachers on the fifth business day of every month, and you can get paid via a SEPA bank account (IBAN and BIC/Swift) or PayPal. They don’t state their pay rates, but online reports suggest that Lingoda pays English teachers around $11 per hour.

What teachers say about Lingoda

7. QKids

QKids is an English teaching platform specifically for helping North American natives teach English online to Chinese students. It has a more rigid structure than the others on this list, with set schedules, lesson plans, and rates.

While the site claims to offer flexible scheduling, that flexibility only goes so far since classes are only taught within designated time slots set by the company. You’re also locked into a 6-month contract, where you’re expected to give 2 weeks notice if you plan to take an extended break from teaching.

On the plus side, the established parameters make this a good option for novice English teachers because you don’t need to set your own rates, schedule, or curriculum.

What you need to know about QKids

• Current hiring status: QKids appears to be open to hiring new English teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You must be based in the US or Canada with valid work authorization.
• Required credentials: You’re required to have a college degree and some type of teaching credential, whether that be a teaching license or English teaching certificate (TESOL, TEFL, CELTA, or ESL).
• Students: The platform targets younger students aged 6–12 years old, and you’ll be teaching 1–4 students in each lesson.
• Pay: There are fixed pay rates of $6–$8 per lesson. You’ll be paid via bank transfer by the 15th of each month for the previous month of teaching.

What teachers say about QKids

8. Ringle

Ringle is a South Korean English learning platform that’s more of an English tutoring platform than an English teaching platform since all lessons are one-on-one. They’re one of the more exclusive sites you can apply for.

They boast a growing network of “high-achieving native English speakers and industry professionals.” The company only hires tutors who have a degree from an approved university, and they even dig into your exam scores and extracurriculars to assess whether you’re knowledgeable enough to tutor for them.

The main way that Ringle stands out from other English teaching sites is by targeting working professionals. You can expect to have more advanced and technical conversations on Ringle than you would on more generic ESL platforms. However, they also have a separate Ringle Teens platform you can sign up for instead if you’re rather teach a younger student base.

What you need to know about Ringle

• Current hiring status: Ringle appears to be open to hiring new English teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You must be a native-level English speaker. Although the company doesn’t specify location requirements, you need to show proof that you’ve attended college in an English-speaking country.
• Required credentials: You don’t need any teaching certifications or previous teaching experience, but you do need to show proof that you attended (or are currently enrolled at) a top university. Ringle will also assess your major test scores, professional and academic background, and extracurriculars.
• Students: The Ringle platform targets advanced learners (typically adults) who already have decent English language skills that they want to enhance in a professional setting, whereas Ringle Teens is designed for teenage learners. All lessons are 20 or 40 minutes long.
• Pay: Ringle offers fixed pay rates. The pay rates are $9–$11 for 20-minute lessons and $17–$21 for 40-minute lessons.

What teachers say about Ringle

9. SkimaTalk

SkimaTalk is a Japan-based English teaching platform that caters to students all around the world. The company has a marketplace structure, meaning they connect students with teachers, who are largely in control of their own profiles and classes.

This control means you set your own lessons, schedule, and teaching rates. But be warned that the platform will take a commission of 20% for each 25-minute lesson you teach.

What you need to know about SkimaTalk

• Current hiring status: SkimaTalk appears to be open to hiring new English teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You must be a native English speaker from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or Ireland.
• Required credentials: You do not need a degree or any teaching certifications or credentials. Prior teaching experience is preferred but not required.
• Students: The platform caters to students of all ages. All lessons are 25 minutes long.
• Pay: You’ll need to offer your first three sessions for free, and then you’ll have the freedom to set your own rates (default rate is $8 per session). SkimaTalk will pay you monthly (usually by the 10th of each month) via PayPal.

What teachers say about SkimaTalk

10. Verbling

Verbling is another online language marketplace that connects students with teachers for one-on-one English lessons. Since it has a marketplace model, Verbling allows teachers a lot of flexibility at the expense of a built-in structure. For example, you’ll set your own schedule and rates and won’t have any guaranteed hours.

While Verbling does require previous teaching experience, a teaching certificate isn’t required (although it is preferred), and nonnative English speakers are welcome. Note that Verbling will take a 15% commission from what you charge for each lesson. 2

What you need to know about Verbling

• Current hiring status: Verbling was not accepting new tutors at the time of writing, although they indicated that this may change in the future.
• Nationality requirements: You don’t need to be a native English speaker, but you need very good command (C2) of the English language. You can teach from any country in the world.
• Required credentials: You need to have previous English teaching experience. A teaching certificate is preferred but not required.
• Students: The platform caters to students aged 13 years or older.
• Pay: You set your own rates on Verbling. You can choose to get paid via PayPal, Payoneer, or Wise. Earnings become “unlocked” once a week, and you can cash out at any time. To get paid, you need to meet the minimum payment threshold of $10 (PayPal and Wise) or $20 (Payoneer).

What teachers say about Verbling

11. Superprof

Superprof is a global virtual learning platform that’s been on the online education scene since 2013. Although it’s not specifically an English teaching platform, you can use the site to teach ESL online, along with over 1,000 other subjects.

Unlike most other platforms for finding online ESL jobs, Superprof also allows you to schedule in-person classes. The best part is that it’s free to use for teachers. The worst part is that you need to offer a free lesson to new students.

What you need to know about Superprof

• Current hiring status: Superprof appears to be open to hiring new English teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You don’t need to be a native English speaker to teach English on Superprof, and you can teach as a citizen or resident of over 40 countries nationwide.
• Required credentials: You don’t need any teaching experience or credentials to sign up.
• Students: Superprof caters to students of all ages, from elementary school students to adult working professionals.
• Pay: You get to set your own rates, as long as they fall in the range of $20–$80 per hour. You can accept payments off the platform or get paid via PayPal through Superprof’s payment processor, with payments taking up to 3 days to reach your account.

What teachers say about Superprof

12. AmazingTalker

AmazingTalker is an online language learning platform based in Hong Kong where you can give English lessons or teach over 60 other languages. It’s not necessarily the most popular platform for online English teachers, but it does offer a few advantages that make it stand out.

For starters, there’s a lot of flexibility. Many ESL or EFL sites restrict your pay rates or make you abide by certain rules. AmazingTalker, by contrast, is more like a digital tool for English teachers who already have a student base.

The downside to this approach is that it may not be a great solution if you’re a beginner English teacher who’s looking for new students. The platform also charges pretty high commission fees that decrease the more you earn, so it’s best suited to popular English teachers who teach close to full-time and want a simple online tool to streamline their business processes.

What you need to know about AmazingTalker

• Current hiring status: AmazingTalker appears to be open to hiring new English teachers.
• Nationality requirements: You don’t need to be a native English speaker to teach English through AmazingTalker, and they accept teachers from a long list of different countries.
• Required credentials: You need to have some kind of teaching experience, preferably teaching English one-on-one. You also need to either be a native English speaker or have an English-related college degree.
• Students: You can teach English to students from all over the world of all ages, from kids as young as 3–5 years old to adults. Lessons are either 25 or 50 minutes long.
• Pay: You set your own rates on AmazingTalker, and there’s no upper limit to what you can charge. You’ll be paid monthly on the 2nd of every month, and you have the option of getting paid via PayPal, Wise, or Payoneer.

What teachers say about AmazingTalker

To find jobs teaching English online, including other opportunities like online tutoring jobs, check out the top companies currently hiring and set your sights on ones that meet your needs. Just make sure you have an idea of what you’re looking for first.

Winslow says that when choosing a company or platform to use to get online English teacher jobs, these are the factors you should consider:

• Types of students: Think about who your target students are. Do you want to teach kids or adults? Would you be more comfortable teaching beginners or intermediate/advanced students?
• Teacher performance requirements: Many apps and sites for ESL tutoring online have stipulations you’ll need to meet, such as making yourself available for a minimum number of hours each week or maintaining a certain teacher rating. It’s important to consider these factors since they can affect your earning potential.
• Cancellation policy: Some platforms are pretty flexible when it comes to teacher cancellations, whereas others will penalize teachers for cancelling lessons too close to their start time. Be sure to check each company’s cancellation policy to see how forgiving they’d be in cases where you need to cancel a session due to a power outage, sickness, or other unforeseeable circumstances.

At the end of the day, you want to make sure you’re using an online English teaching site that prioritizes teacher support and that provides access to plenty of students. Remember that these platforms aren’t mutually exclusive. You can test out multiple sites and apps and stick with the ones you like.

You can even consider building your own client base and moving off these platforms once you gain a little experience; this will mean more work, but it’s the logical next step if you decide you want to convert your online ESL teaching side hustle into a full-time career.

Before you dive into a new career as an online ESL teacher, there are a few hard truths about the job that you’ll need to come to terms with. Here’s a closer look at what it’s really like teaching English online and some of the risks you should be prepared for.

Safety concerns

Online English teaching is perfectly safe, although you should have a plan in mind for how to deal with potentially uncomfortable situations, such as a student or parent using foul or aggressive language or a student engaging in indecent or inappropriate conduct.

“I would recommend that teachers be familiar with their company’s policies regarding difficult situations, as sometimes they will have certain steps to take that will allow them to intercede on your behalf,” Winslow advises. “If not, I would have a personal plan for when you will take steps such as muting or turning off a student’s video or ending the class if needed.”

The oversaturation of online English teaching platforms

Many current online English teachers will tell you that the online ESL market is slowly drying up. Teaching English online is becoming an increasingly popular side hustle, and this is leading to causing an imbalance in tutor supply and demand.

Even with the rising number of English students, many learning platforms have way more tutors than necessary. This is why you’ll notice that some English job sites have a hiring freeze for new English teachers and tutors.

But don’t get discouraged. Even if your top choice for where you want to work as an online English teacher isn’t hiring right now, that won’t necessarily always be the case. As active teachers move off these platforms or shift to different careers and the number of learners increases, there will be more opportunities available for new teachers to get jobs teaching English online.

If you’re considering becoming a virtual English teacher, you’re probably wondering how much you’ll make, what your students will be like, and whether there’s anything else important that you need to know about this side hustle. Here’s an overview of the key factors you should consider.

Pros and cons of teaching English online

Before you dive in, consider the pros and cons of virtual teaching to assess how it will fit your lifestyle:

One important aspect of the job to consider is that most companies require online English teachers to be visible on camera at all times. Ask yourself whether this is something you’d be comfortable with before you commit.

How much do online English teachers usually make?

Online English teachers make an average of around $10–$15 per hour. Your rate will probably fall somewhere in that range if you teach through a major online platform, although some websites allow you to set your own rate. If you teach independently and build up a roster of clients on your own, you can charge whatever you can convince them to pay.

Just be aware that many online English teaching platforms advertise unrealistic earnings for teachers. “Most of these website’s publicly stated average pay is not consistently attainable for most teachers,” Winslow warned. These earnings are often based on the assumption that you’re working a minimum number of hours (that you may not actually get booked for) or earning “bonuses” that aren’t always transparent.

Additionally, work availability may fluctuate with the season, and it can take you a while to reach your full earning potential. “With the majority of online teaching companies, you are working as an independent contractor and are not guaranteed a certain number of students or hours,” Winslow told us. “You have to start off slow and be patient as you gain positive reviews, repeat clients (students), refine your niche, etc.”

What kinds of students will you have as an online English teacher?

When you teach English virtually, your students may be of various ages and backgrounds, but you’ll primarily be teaching people who are learning English as a second language.

If you’d rather not provide second-language instruction, it’s possible to teach or tutor English to native speakers as an academic subject, but it’ll be harder to find work. The market is smaller—after all, there are hundreds of millions of people worldwide who want to learn English as a foreign language but far fewer native speakers who need help with it in school.

With that said, Winslow pointed out that there is a strong demand for online English tutoring to native speakers on certain platforms, like Outschool. She’s taught on Outschool since 2020, and she says “you can make more based on being able to set your own rate and the average price per hour (for both 1:1 or group classes).”

Is online English teaching a good side hustle?

Teaching English online is one of the most popular side hustles for teachers and any English speaker who enjoys teaching because of the low entry barrier, flexibility, and option to work remotely from home. But while online teaching is a good choice if you want to start a side hustle, Winslow says it’s not ideal as a full-time job.

“For the majority of online teachers working on a teaching platform, there will be large ebbs and flows of supply and demand,” she said. Se also noted that sudden company policy changes can unexpectedly impact your income.

All this goes to show that becoming an online teacher will offer you plenty of freedom, but you won’t necessarily get the stability you might want from a full-time gig.