Cambly Kids Pay | How Much Can You Make On Cambly As An Online ESL Tutor?

I love reading blogging income reports…am I just nosey? My income report would be pretty uninspiring, I don’t earn a huge amount from blogging, it adds up over the year, but it’s not enough to live on. HOWEVER, I can give you an insight as to how much I earn as an online English Tutor on Cambly Kids. When you sign up to Cambly you only know the pay per MINUTE. But in reality, how much are you actually taking home?

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Some platforms say schedules take forever to fill, you don’t really get a lot of students, and you have to wonder if you’ll just be chasing something that’s not really going to make you anything. I can’t speak for everyone on the platform, I can only give you an insight into my experience of the Cambly Kids pay rates.

Cambly Kids Pay

$12 an hour ($6 per each 30 minute class)

How Much Can You Make On Cambly Kids

Quick answer:

I average around $1300 a month

My total after 3.5yrs is over $53,000

At the end of January 2021, I received my 6 month work anniversary email from Cambly, hooray! I was so so lucky that after quitting my job and leaving the US to return to the UK, I managed to find some sort of work when the economy is in such a bad shape.

There are several things that can potentially affect your income on Cambly Kids…and at the end of the day you have to work hard to get a decent return. Here are some things that I think have helped me.

have a consistent schedule

I work Monday to Friday and for the most part I do the same hours every single day. I may open up an additional slot or 2 but I work my set hours. Cambly works on a subscription basis, so when a student signs up, they choose how many lessons they want in a week.

I’ve found that the majority of my students like familiarity and they are very loyal to me as a teacher. Many book the same time slot, on the same day of the week, for a couple of months in advance. They like to know ‘oh class is at 5pm on Tuesday and Thursday’, type thing!

When they are regulars they are often then more reliable. They’ll turn up on time or if they forget class or run late they are often very apologetic. I find that sometimes when I receive new bookings, they don’t always turn up, which wastes my time and money. Regulars are key…and it makes your job easier, as you can then work on certain areas during lesson etc.

As mentioned in a previous post, I work hard to build a relationship with both the parent and the student. If you show you really care about them and they like you in return, then they are likely to keep rebooking.

Time zones

The great thing about Cambly is that it’s a global company, so whatever schedule you want to work, you’re likely to get some sort of bookings. It’s good to be aware of the time zones in various countries. I have a 4 clock widget on my iPhone with my 4 top time zones.

Not every country in the world does daylight savings. So unless I completely shift my schedule by 1 hour, it might then make it awkward for some students.

At the moment I start at 8am, but after the time change, my 8am regular has continued to book the same time in THEIR time zone which then appears as 9am on my schedule. 8am will then be 4pm in the Korean area time zone, so depending on school times, it may then be slower to fill.

Same way that some of my Middle Eastern students may drop off, as my 2pm slot would then be 4pm, so anything earlier may clash with school times. These are all things to keep in mind.

How We Get Paid On Cambly Kids

We get paid every Tuesday through PayPal, Wise or a bank transfer (for US tutors), as long as we have over $20 in our account. We are paid by the minute, so you are only paid for the minutes you teach. For example, each class is 30 minutes. 30 full minutes = $6.

No Shows

For students that ‘no show’, you only have to stay logged on for 10 minutes. After 11 minutes you are free to wander away from the computer and will receive a $2 no show fee (equivalent to 10 minutes of teaching).

If you were expecting to be teaching a full 30 minute class but then they don’t turn up, you’ve then lost 20 minutes of pay for that lesson. Yes you can go to the toilet or get a drink, but when you’ve scheduled a break then you end up with extra breaks you don’t really want, it can be a bit annoying

You then have the joy that is last minute cancellations. Your schedule may be completely full up, but if someone cancels last minute and it’s then too late to get someone else to fill the spot, you now earn $2 if it was within 12 hours of the class start time.

They are nice because you don’t waste time just sitting in front of the computer wondering if they will turn up, but again, the money would be better.

How Much I’ve Made in 3.5 Years on Cambly Kids

Since I started, I have earned roughly $53,000. So dividing that into 12 months, it’s like $1300 a month.

But during the first month, I only earned around $500 as my schedule wasn’t yet full. I also increased my hours gradually, so I could get used to doing back to back classes (building my stamina!).

When I first started I opened between 9am and 2pm. Once these times were ‘full’ I was getting around $200 a week. I then increased by 1 extra slot a day so my income went up to $230, then $250 and now I average around $330 a week.

In January (month 6), I received approximately $1250 for the whole month. I opened for 30 hours a week but I actually only taught for between 26-27hrs, what with no shows and cancellations. It’s a good idea to open up more slots that what you aim to earn.

My goal now is $330 a week, and I find I can reach this with 30 open hours and factoring in maybe 1-2 no shows/cancellations a day. That’s 12 lessons a day if everyone turns up.

3 Year Update

I’ve now been teaching full time on Cambly for 3 years and I am still consistently reaching $330 per week with my schedule open for 30 hours a week.

you Only get paid for the minutes you teach

We only get paid for what we work, so if we take days off from our ‘normal’ schedule then we earn less. If I was to go on holiday for 2 weeks, then I would receive nothing for those weeks. Although, working from a laptop I could potentially take my work with me…but it is important to have a break, even if it means no pay!

I average around $1200 a month, but there’s nothing stopping you putting in 40 or 50+ hours. Obviously if you work less, then that’s OK too! That’s the great thing about Cambly is that you have the flexibility to do whatever you want. There’s no minimum or maximum requirement.

Self Employment & Exchange Rates

As a Brit, we also have to factor in the exchange rate. For example one week $250 might get you £200, but the next week, the same amount might only get you £190.

Recently the exchange rate has been working in our favour. So my pay has been working out at £9.70 per hour, Which unfortunately is under the UK minimum wage and that figure is BEFORE TAX.

In 2022 they also introduced Wise as a payment option. This means my take home is slightly more as their fees/exchange rates are better than PayPal, so it’s worth switching.

We are considered self employed, so do need to do all of our own taxes. I do have to try to tell myself that I don’t have to spend any time or money commuting, I can choose my own schedule and I don’t have to ask anyone for a day off, so that kinda compensates for the low pay!

Despite having 7yrs school experience, I don’t have a degree, which does hold me back from some of the higher paying platforms. But to earn at least minimum wage would be nice! However, in comparison I am roughly earning what I was as a teaching assistant in a school in the USA.

Want to apply for Cambly Kids? Here’s my referral link!

Any questions? Let me know!

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Last Updated on February 2, 2024