Last updated: September 2026
Bottom line up front: Preply is worth it if you want live one-to-one lessons with a human tutor and you will actually turn up every week. It is a marketplace, not a course: you choose a tutor, the tutor sets the price, and you pay per lesson. What it does better than most competitors is choice — Preply lists more than 100,000 tutors across 120+ subjects — plus a free tutor swap if the first one is not right, and AI Lesson Insights that summarise each English lesson. What to watch: the 12-hour cancellation rule and the fact that price and quality vary tutor by tutor.
What Is Preply?
Preply is an online marketplace that connects learners with private tutors for one-to-one video lessons. Its own figures, from its homepage in September 2026: 100,000+ tutors, 120+ subjects, tutors from 180+ nationalities and 300,000+ five-star tutor reviews. Languages are the core — English is by far the largest category — but the platform also covers academic subjects, coding, business skills and exam preparation.
The model matters for how you judge it. Preply does not write a curriculum and hand it to a teacher; each tutor runs their own lessons, sets their own rate and builds their own reputation through reviews. That is why two learners can have completely different experiences on the same platform.
How Preply Works
- Find a tutor. Filter by subject, price, availability, native language and specialities, and watch the tutor’s introduction video. Preply also recommends tutors based on your goals.
- Book a trial lesson. The first lesson with a tutor is a trial. If you are not satisfied, Preply says you can try another tutor for free.
- Keep going weekly. Buy lessons with the tutor you like and schedule them in the Preply classroom, which includes video, a shared whiteboard and file sharing.
What Preply Does Better Than Most Competitors
- Choice. A very large tutor pool means you can filter for an accent, a time zone, an exam or an industry and still have options.
- Low-risk start. The free replacement when you are not satisfied with a trial lowers the cost of picking wrong.
- AI support between lessons. For English lessons, AI-generated Lesson Insights summarise vocabulary, grammar and speaking feedback after each lesson, and the Preply app adds short daily exercises. We cover these in detail in does Preply use AI?
- Beyond languages. Maths, science, coding and business tutors sit in the same marketplace, so one account covers more than one goal.
How Much Does Preply Cost?
There is no single Preply price. Each tutor sets an hourly rate, shown on their profile, and the rate depends on subject, experience, demand and where the tutor lives. Preply also charges its own service fees, which its Refund and Payment Policy describes as non-refundable except where the platform says otherwise. The practical way to budget: pick three tutors you would actually book, note their rates, and multiply by the number of lessons you plan per month.
Preply Cancellation and Refund Policy
This is the part most people search for after booking, so here is what Preply’s own help centre says:
- The 12-hour rule. Cancel a lesson more than 12 hours before it starts and it returns to your balance. Cancel less than 12 hours before and it does not — the tutor is paid.
- Trial lessons. Cancel a trial 12 hours or more before it starts and it returns to your balance; you can rebook with the same tutor or use it for a trial with someone else.
- Rescheduling inside 12 hours. You cannot reschedule yourself inside the window, but you can message your tutor; tutors can move a lesson if you both agree.
- Refunds. The Refund and Payment Policy sets out an issue-reporting process and mentions credit as an alternative to a cash refund. Read the current cancellation policy and refund policy before you buy a large package, because the terms are updated from time to time.
