Teaching English on your own vs on a marketplace
Teaching English on your own keeps the student yours, the brand yours, and zero commission. A marketplace brings traffic, but you become a listing and the student belongs to the platform.
Teaching English on your own means the student is yours, the brand is yours, and you pay no commission on what you charge. On a marketplace like Cambly, Preply, or iTalki you gain visibility and a flow of students, but you become a listing, split your revenue, and the student belongs to the platform, not to you.
The choice comes down to one question: do you want to start landing students fast, or build a business that is truly yours over the long run.
On your own: what you gain and what you take on
On your own you set the price, choose the hours, and keep 100% of what you charge. The student learns under your brand, not the middleman's, and the relationship is direct.
The trade-off is that finding students is on you. Nobody hands you a student: you rely on referrals, social media, and your own positioning.
- You set the price and the cancellation rules.
- Zero commission on the student's tuition.
- The student is your direct contact, not a platform lead.
- Acquisition and infrastructure are your responsibility.
Marketplace: what you gain and what you give up
A marketplace solves the hardest part at the start: bringing in students. The platform has traffic, search, and an established reputation, so a new teacher can land their first classes faster.
The cost shows up later. A commission applies to every class, the student rarely becomes a real contact of yours, and you compete side by side with dozens of other profiles in the same catalog.
If the platform changes the rules, adjusts the commission, or deactivates your profile, you lose access to the base you helped build.
Head-to-head comparison
| Criterion | On your own | Marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Commission per class | None | Charged per class |
| Who owns the student | You | The platform |
| Brand displayed | Yours | The marketplace's |
| Initial acquisition | On you | Made easier by the platform |
| Control over price and rules | Full | Limited |
The middle path: your own setup without building everything from scratch
The reason many teachers stay on a marketplace is not the commission: it is not having the structure to teach seriously on their own. A live class, organized students, and something to hand over after the class.
That is where Noladi comes in. You teach the live class right in the browser, with a collaborative whiteboard, and minutes later the student receives the lesson review: recording, transcription, new vocabulary, and speaking stats, all under your brand.
You step out of the marketplace catalog without losing the premium experience that kept the student there. The difference is that now the student is yours.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth leaving a marketplace to teach English on your own
It is worth it once you already have enough students to support the transition. A marketplace is good for getting started and validating, but the commission and the lack of a direct relationship with the student limit your growth. On your own you keep all the revenue and build a base that is yours.
How can I teach English on my own without using Zoom and a spreadsheet
You bring everything into a single setup instead of combining Google Meet and Zoom with a spreadsheet and WhatsApp. With Noladi the live class, the student records, and the post-class review all live in one place, under your brand, with nothing for you to install.
Does the marketplace student stay mine if I leave
No. On a marketplace the student belongs to the platform, and taking them elsewhere usually violates its rules. That is why building your own base, with your direct contact and your brand, is what delivers real independence over the long run.
If you want to teach English on your own with a serious class setup, take a look at Noladi at noladi.app/teacher.
