Unbeatable Price
Mandarin schools typically charge a 200-250rmb "hourly" rate for a 45-50 minute 1-1 lesson, but teachers take home barely half of it! A significant amount of your money goes to pay their advertisements, sales staff, rent, utilities...
Why pay more to schools if you only need a tutor?
Now save up to 70% on tutoring rate with ShanghaiTutors! We have made it ridiculously easy for you to find great tutors at lower prices, and we'll connect you with them directly. Most of our tutors only charge between 130-160rmb/hour - yes, that's 60 full minutes!
How does this happen?1. With an effective online booking platform, we keep offline in-office work at the minimum level. We don't have heavy cost on school rent, utilities, and staff like any school does. We pass the savings on to you.
2. Our business is built on word of mouth. We've helped thousands of students find the support they need and they are more than happy to spread the word. We don't advertise on Google, Facebook, magazines...again we pass the savings on to you.
3. We are a marketplace for tutors. Tutors set the rate themselves. There's no mark-up price.
Below is the average rate range for your reference (on private 1-1 basis). Different tutoring rates reflect tutors' differences in experience, qualifications, and popularity.
| Tutor Type | A | AA | AAA |
| Hourly Rates | 90-120rmb | 130-160rmb | 170-200rmb |
Category A: amateur/novice teachers (minimal experience)
Category AA: certified/professional teachers (minimim 1, average 2-5 years experience)
Category AAA: star teachers (top trainers with experience in universities, international schools, corporate training, etc)
Comparison with Mandarin Schools
Tutors in AA category are totally comparable to their counterparts in Mandarin schools (and often better!). Tutors in AAA category, on the other hand, far exceed average teachers from any Mandarin school. They are truly top trainers with considerable experience and a proven track record.
Many tutors at ShanghaiTutors also work part-time or full-time in Mandarin schools, and they are here to get more students like you to supplement income. You might bump into the same tutor if you opt for a private course at Mandarin schools, but you will end up paying 60%-200% more for the same lesson.
Check the below chart to compare tutoring rates at ShanghaiTutors and Mandarin schools (1-1 basis). Note that while all schools charge an "hourly" rate for a 45-50 minute lesson, an hour is always a real hour with us.
| Service | Rate/lesson | Length | Rate/hour | You will waste | Really? |
| ShanghaiTutors | 130-160rmb* | 60 min | 130-160rmb* | / | price link |
| Mandarin House | 249rmb | 50 min | 299rmb | 139-169rmb/hour | price link |
| iMandarin | 200rmb | 45 min | 267rmb | 107-137rmb/hour | price link |
| MandarinRocks | 190rmb | 50 min | 228rmb | 68-98rmb/hour | price link | LTL Mandarin | 220rmb | 55 min | 240rmb | 80-110rmb/hour | price link |
| Miracle Mandarin | 180rmb | 45 min | 240rmb | 80-110rmb/hour | price link |
| That's Mandarin | 350rmb | 50 min | 420rmb | 260-290rmb/hour | price link |
| Easy Mandarin | 200rmb | 50 min | 240rmb | 80-110rmb/hour | price link |
| Go East Mandarin | 228rmb | 50 min | 274rmb | 114-144rmb/hour | price link |
| Mandarin Garden | 180rmb | 45 min | 240rmb | 80-110rmb/hour | price link |
| Mandarin Inn | 167rmb | 45 min | 223rmb | 63-93rmb/hour | price link |
| SN Mandarin | 200rmb | 45 min | 267rmb | 107-137rmb/hour | price link |
| School Average | 215rmb | 48min | 269rmb | 109-139rmb/hour | Really! |
Frequently Asked Questions
1- Any other benefits?
If you want to have lessons taught in your home or office, Mandarin schools often charge an additional transportation fee on top of tuition, ranging from 10-50rmb per time in downtown. However, quotes from our tutors usually include commuting costs already so there won’t be extra (unless the place is not easily accessible by public transportation or out of town).
2- Is it possible to have a tutor at even lower rates? Like 60rmb/hour?
Sorry, it's no longer the year 1999. Maybe you’ve forgotten the fact that even a house cleaner gets paid 50-60rmb/hour nowadays (who might be…illiterate), and you are now talking about the people who are sharing their lifelong knowledge that might lead you to a better career… So, take it more seriously.
With us, the lowest range is 90-120rmb/hour for the amateur/novice tutor category. For those tutors who teach professionally, 130-160rmb/hour is considered the norm. Star tutor is also a great choice for their efficiency: you pay a bit more but learn better.
That said, occasionally you might find cheaper “tutors” from free classified ads (among “massage”, “escort service” and other spam), but we really hope you don’t use them. The chances are that they are not qualified at all or have a different, even weird purpose (practice English; show off they have a foreign friend; sell you other products; find a foreign spouse to immigrate…). Word of advice: don’t chance it with your money, time and future.
Economic Studio in Saint Land
