Daily Maverick

What will private tutoring cost you?

Choose a level, subject, city and type of tuition to see what tutors typically advertise. Figures come from Teneo Online School's analysis of 750 tutoring ads from all nine provinces.

Level
Subject

Curriculum
Where you live

Type of tuition
Tutor
Paying
How much tuition

A school year is roughly 40 weeks.

Estimated cost an hour

R0 an hour

R0
a year

R0
a month, spread over 12 months

Where your estimate sits among the 750 ads

The shaded band is the middle half of ads, R216 to R410 an hour.

How this estimate was worked out
Step Figure Adjustment

We start from the average for the level and subject, then scale it by how far each other choice sits above or below the overall average of R330 an hour. Rounded to the nearest R10.

About these numbers

The figures are averages from 750 tutoring ads collected between early 2025 and mid-2026 from marketplaces, tutor and company websites, Facebook, Gumtree and centre listings. Rates were converted to a cost per learner per hour. Across all ads the median is R305 an hour and the mean R330.

These are advertised rates. What families finally agree with a tutor may differ. The ads lean towards the big metros, where more tutoring is advertised formally.

Each average was measured on its own, so the calculator assumes level, subject, city, format and tutor experience stack up independently. In reality they overlap: specialist tutors may cluster in bigger cities, for example. Where the research gives a figure for a specific combination, such as matric maths in a particular city, we use it directly. Treat the result as a rough guide, not a quote.

For online tuition we do not apply a city adjustment, because online tutors are hired nationally. Package prices use the median discount of 10% found in the ads.

Teneo is an online school, and its analysis argues that online options can be cheaper. Read Teneo's full analysis .