After almost four years on Preply, my life situation has led me to step away from the platform (at least for now). This wasn’t a quick decision; it’s something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time. In fact, discovering Preply, and online teaching in general, has been a life-changing experience. I wanted to write this post to share my honest experience – what worked, what changed, and why this may only be a temporary hiatus.
How my Preply journey began
The idea of becoming a freelance online teacher was born in August/September 2021, when I received some (what felt like at the time) bad news from my employer. I was told that I wouldn’t be able to return to the academy due to financial problems. As it later turned out, this wasn’t true. It was simply a way to cover his bases and hire someone cheaper in my place – a very common situation in Spain. If you’d like to read more about that, you can check out my post New chapter: becoming a freelancer.
What felt like the end of the world at the time actually put me on the right path. It helped me grow as a person and prove to myself that I could earn a stable income teaching on my own terms and from my own home. Of course, finding my own students turned out to be a challenge. That’s when I discovered Preply. The platform helped me connect with new students and build a somewhat stable income, even though the beginnings were quite discouraging 🙈 If you want to see just how difficult it was at first, have a look at Preply – So… when does it get good?
When things were going really well
I started teaching on Preply on 24th February 2022. The beginning was definitely challenging, but quite quickly things started improving. I gained recognition, found regular students, increased my rates, and by 2024 I reached my peak income on the platform.
Interestingly, my income pattern on Preply is quite similar to the one reported by ELT Experiences in An honest review of Preply for new tutors. If you’re curious to see the progress (and the slow decline) you can check out my reports here:
When things took a turn
I didn’t write a report for 2025. By that point, I was already experiencing a steady decline in income and had started thinking about leaving the platform in search of something more stable.
To put things into perspective, in 2024 my total Preply income was $22,340.89. In 2025, it dropped to $13,648.90 – a decline of almost 39%. This was mainly connected to a drop in new students.
From my experience, Preply tends to promote tutors who can be available all day, every day, often at very low hourly rates. At the same time, reliable and experienced tutors who focus on long-term student progress don’t always seem to receive the same visibility.
Another thing worth mentioning is trial lessons. These are completely unpaid for tutors, while the full payment goes to Preply. Even if you successfully convert a trial student into a long-term learner, there is still the platform commission to consider. For example, although my income in 2025 was $13,648.90, $2,729.78 went directly to Preply in commissions.
I also noticed that some students weren’t happy about paying additional VAT on top of lesson prices. When I teach private students outside the platform, lessons can actually be more affordable for them and more profitable for me, since education in Spain is VAT-exempt.
Why I decided to leave (at least for now)
Alongside a major life change that helped me make this decision, the truth is that I had already been slowly stepping away from the platform.
Teaching many hours online can be exhausting. Reaching a kind of rate ceiling was also discouraging. I started to feel stuck – teaching the same number of hours every day for roughly the same income. All days, weeks, months…started feeling like a groundhog day.
I think it’s natural that after a while we want to feel that our work is evolving, and that we can work a little less while earning a little more.
Stepping back also allowed me to shift my focus toward something else: developing teaching resources.
It’s true that I neglected this space for a while, but for a very valid personal reason. Even while teaching online, I had already started collaborating with other companies, helping them develop online courses, self-learning materials for students, and ready-made lesson plans for teachers.
This type of work is less intense than teaching live classes all day and allows for a more regular schedule, or developing a schedule that is regular and allows you to have a life outside of the computer. Instead of working early in the morning, then again in the afternoon, and finishing the day with another lesson or two, I can structure my time much more naturally.
I’m not saying that I will never return to Preply, but right now this feels like the right move.
Final thoughts
Looking back, there are many things I’m grateful for. First of all, the students I met and still keep in touch with today. Secondly, the experience and confidence I gained as an online teacher.
Leaving the platform and saying goodbye to my students also made me realise something important: finding a reliable and valuable tutor isn’t always easy. There may be thousands of tutors on a platform, but only a small percentage truly stand out. And honestly, that thought gives me some comfort. If I ever decide to return, I believe things would work out again.
The biggest lesson from this experience is that we shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket. Diversifying income is incredibly important. I’m definitely not the only one who thinks this way — if you’re interested, take a look at ELT Experiences’s post (and the video included there): How to diversify your income after Preply.
Online teaching platforms can open many doors, but they shouldn’t be the only door.
Have you ever had a moment in your teaching career where you realised it was time for a change?
