Thanks to daily chats with fellow independent educators I’ve spotted some common mistakes we all make when going independent with our education business. Following are the top five mistakes independent educators make when pricing their classes and how to avoid them so you actually earn what you’re worth. If you’re leaving a larger company, a marketplace or platform to teach independently, or are just starting out, this guide is for you: practical, honest, and designed to protect your time and income.
Why pricing properly matters
Many teachers underestimate how different running your own business is versus being paid a salary or platform cut. If you were teaching through a company, you were likely paid only 10%–40% of what parents or students were paying. That gap matters: parents are used to paying the higher, parent-facing rate. When you move to independent teaching you need to price closer to that parent-facing number — which often means more than doubling your old take-home rate. Great news, isn’t i? If you don’t account for that, you risk burning out, working for less than you deserve, or underinvesting in the tools that make your business sustainable. Not to mention the personalized experience you are providing by teaching independently instead of following the unified company flow. Let’s get straight into it.
Top 5 mistakes independent educators make (and how to fix them)
1. Underpricing because you compare your paycheck, not the parent price
Mistake: Teachers who come from a company look at the amount they were paid per class and base their independent rate on that. That ignores the reality that platforms or schools often keep 60%–90% of the parent-facing fee!
Fix: Think in terms of the parent-facing price and the market the client knows. If parents were used to paying $40 per class on a platform, that’s the price expectation you’re competing with. Position your independent rate toward that parent-facing benchmark and higher – since now they are getting direct access to you exclusively and are set for a much more personalized learning journey that can hardly compete with learning within a massive company.
Pro tip: Use the Super Teacher’s Price Calculator to translate your last paycheck into what you should charge independently, after fees and expenses. 👌
2. Leaving out business costs from your class price
Mistake: Forgetting to include real overhead when setting rates. Your hourly teaching time is only one piece of the pie.
Costs to include:
- Curriculum and lesson prep time
- Booking system and transaction fees
- Virtual room subscriptions or classroom rent
- Marketing and client acquisition costs
- Accounting/bookkeeping, insurance, and taxes
- Materials, technology, and administrative time
Fix: Build a full cost model before setting rates. Convert non-teaching time (prep, admin) into an hourly cost and spread your fixed expenses across your billable hours – so you see the per-class price that actually leaves you with the income you want.
3. Competing only on price instead of niching and differentiating
Mistake: Many teachers set rates based on what competitors charge and end up in a race to the bottom.
Fix: Instead of matching generic rates, consider niching — specialize by age, learning goal, exam prep, language, genre, or teaching method. Niche offerings justify higher prices because they solve specific problems. Market your unique value (results, credentials, outcomes) so you’re not directly competing with commoditized hourly rates.
Example: A generic “music lesson” rate will look different from a “performance-ready teen audition coaching” niche — the latter commands higher fees and attracts clients willing to pay for results.
4. Publishing a single class price without planning for discounts and packages
Mistake: Sharing one static class price and forgetting you’ll need room for discounts, promotions, and packages later. That leaves you squeezed when parents ask for small reductions or when you run limited-time offers.
Fix: Set your published single-class price as your highest baseline — the price you’d aim to earn for a one-off session. Then design packages (10, 20, 50 classes), subscription discounts, and promotional prices from that baseline. This way you can offer limited discounts without cutting into the income you need.
Remember: This advice applies to all clients — parents of kids and adult learners. Plan your price ladder so you can negotiate and run promotions while protecting your margins.
5. Not negotiating or being inflexible with custom requests
Mistake: Refusing to negotiate or failing to create flexible offerings for different client needs. Saying no to negotiation often means saying no to potential clients.
Fix: Build flexible, tiered pricing into your offerings and be prepared to negotiate smartly. Negotiate not by simply discounting, but by adjusting scope or format: offer longer sessions at a higher rate, shorter classes at a prorated price, or group-class options at a different per-person rate.
Example: If your 25-minute kids’ class is $30 and a parent asks for 40 minutes, be ready to propose a price that reflects the extra time (e.g., $40–45) rather than flatly refusing to teach longer classes or discounting. If they want a lower price, offer a group class or a package with a small discount so you keep revenue predictable.
Negotiation is about meeting clients where they are while protecting your worth.
Pro tip : Use coupons for offering limited time deals – check out SuperTeacher as it lets you create class packages, memberships and coupons for successful self-marketing and managing your independent teaching business.
Bonus : How PriceMyClass helps
The Super Teacher’s Price Calculator mini app is designed to put all of this together so you can find your perfect price. It helps you:
- Translate a previous platform paycheck into a viable independent rate
- Include all fixed and variable business costs (software, transaction fees, marketing, curriculum, prep time etc.)
- Show the net income you’ll actually take home — not just the sticker price
Quick example: if you want $30 net per lesson after expenses, and your overhead adds $10 per lesson while payment fees take 3%, the calculator will tell you the sticker price you must publish so you end up with the $30 you planned.
Putting it into practice — a short checklist
- Start by deciding the net income you want per hour/class.
- List all your business costs and estimate non-billable hours.
- Use PriceMyClass to generate a single-class baseline and pricing.
- Create niche offerings to justify premium rates.
- Publish your highest single-class price, then design package discounts around it.
- Be flexible — build negotiation options into your rate card (longer sessions, group rates, custom bundles).
- Review and raise prices at logical intervals (new school year, after gaining results, annually).
Next Step
➡️ Run your numbers, set your single-class baseline as your highest price, build packages, and practice negotiating value-based adjustments. You’ll end up earning what you’re worth and running a healthier education business.
Happy teaching!
