If you have a bachelor’s degree and are looking to make a side income or work from home, there’s currently a high demand for English Second Language (ESL) teachers.
In fact, even if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree or ESL teaching certificate, you can find work in this field. (It just won’t pay as much.)
The great thing about these jobs is that most are entirely flexible and start with decent pay rates.
If this sounds like the gig for you, here are the best sites to teach English online.
What are the Typical Requirements to Teach English Online?
Before we get to the open positions, let’s cover the most common requirements to teach English online.
Bachelor’s Degree – The vast majority of ESL education companies require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. However, most do not care what the degree is in.
Teaching Certification – The next most common requirement is an ESL teaching certification, usually the TEFL or TESOL. However, most of these companies will accept equivalent certificates.
The costs and time it takes to obtain one of these certificates will vary based on which one you choose to pursue.
Previous Teaching Experience – The third most common requirement is previous teaching experience, usually at least one year. Equivalent experience is often accepted, though. (Tutoring, coaching, mentoring.)
Not every site requires all of these things. Here are the best sites to teach English online.
10 Best Sites to Teach English Online
1. VIPKID
2. QKids
3. SayABC
4. Cambly
5. Englishunt
6. Skooli
7. DaDa
8. iTutorGroup
9. NiceTalk
10. GOGOKid
1. VIPKID
VIPKID hires tutors to teach Chinese students the English language.
They currently have over 1 million students and 100,000 teachers. In addition, VIPKID has an interactive classroom and pre-made lesson plans for teachers.
To become a teacher, you will need at least a bachelor’s degree and one year of teaching experience. (Teaching experience can be tutoring, mentoring, or coaching.)
The good thing about VIPKID is that there are no minimum or maximum hours you have to work, and you can set your own schedule.
It’s essential to note that if you want to earn money with VIPKID, you need to be available during the busiest hours. Peak hours are 6-9 pm Beijing time.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree, Minimum 1 Year of Teaching Experience, Based Out of USA or Canada
- Pay: $14-$22 per hour plus the opportunity for bonuses
- Application Link: Apply to VIPKID
2. QKids
QKids hires tutors for international children ages 4-12 in English Second Language.
They have an interactive app that has preset lesson plans for teachers and learning games for students.
QKids pairs teachers with 1-4 kids per lesson. Lessons last 30 minutes, and the pay is $8.
To become a teacher for this company, you will need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree plus a teaching license or online teaching certificate. You’ll also need to be a resident of the US or Canada.
There are several time slots available, and as a teacher, you get to choose which slots you prefer.
QKids sets schedules every week. You’re able to view your schedule for the upcoming week each Sunday night.
The biggest downside to working with QKids is that you have to agree to a six-month contract when hired. Then, at the end of the six months, you can decide whether or not you’d like to renew.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree, Eligible Teaching License/Certificate, Eligible to Work in US or Canada
- Pay: $8-$16/hour plus the potential for bonuses
- Application Link: Apply to QKids
3. SayABC
SayABC specializes in helping Chinese children ages 5-12 learn English as their second language. This company has an interactive app that allows students to receive instruction from teachers, play games, learn songs, and read books.
SayABC provides lesson plans for teachers. They also offer National Geographic books for kids to enhance their English skills.
To become a teacher on the SayABC platform, you need a bachelor’s degree. However, unlike similar platforms, you can be located globally – not just in the US or Canada.
There are three different types of classes teachers can teach: Major, Trial, and Emergency.
Major is the regular set of classes that will contain a repeat set of students. Trial classes are for new students checking out the platform, and emergency classes are when substitute teachers are needed.
As a Say ABC teacher, you can set your own hours based on the available time slots.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree, 1 Year Teaching Experience, English Fluent, Eligible Teaching Certificate or License (no location requirements)
- Pay: $14-$17 per 40 minute class
- Application Link: Apply to SayABC
4. Cambly
Cambly works much differently than the traditional video chat/tutor ESL platforms. Instead, Cambly is an app where those learning English as their second language can jump on a video call to practice their conversation and fluency skills.
The people that use Cambly are very diverse and from countries all around the world.
It is one of the best sites to teach English online if you don’t have a degree.
To become a tutor with Cambly, you don’t need any type of teaching experience. You will need high-speed internet and a smartphone, though.
Cambly pays $10.20 per hour or $12.00 per hour on Cambly Kids. Payments are made weekly via Paypal, and you can work as little or as much as you like.
You don’t need to set your schedule in advance – simply make yourself available when you have time to work.
- Requirements: No education or experience requirements
- Pay: $10.20-$12.00 per hour (paid by the minute)
- Application Link: Apply to Cambly
5. Englishunt
Englishunt focuses on teaching young learners, college students, and adult teachers. They have a couple of different options for teachers, including live video call classes and live phone call classes.
If you want to teach live video classes at Englishunt, you must have a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate. For the live phone call classes, teachers must have at least a two-year degree from an accredited university but are not required to have a teaching license or previous experience.
All lesson plans are premade and provided to both types of teachers.
Teachers can work in 1-6 hour shifts based on availability. The peak teaching times are 4-11 am, 4-8 pm, and 11 pm – 4 am EST.
Pay varies based on a teacher’s qualifications and position.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree and Teaching Certificate for Live Video Classes, Two Year Degree from an Accredited College for Phone Classes
- Pay: Varies by Position
- Application Link: Apply to Englishunt
6. Skooli
Skooli is a tutoring platform that allows teachers to create profiles and then helps match students to them.
In a sense, Skooli kind of works like a freelancer platform where you, as a tutor, can showcase your experience, and then students can hire you for help.
To become a Skooli tutor, you need a bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate. If approved, students can begin scheduling sessions with you or asking for instant help if you’re online.
Skooli calculates hourly pay based on a tutor’s experience and qualifications.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree, Teaching Certificate
- Pay: Dependent on experience and qualifications
- Application Link: Become a Skooli Tutor
7. DaDa
One of the best sites to teach English is DaDa. DaDa is the leading online education platform in China for ESL. This platform focuses on teaching children ages 4-16.
Each class lasts 30 minutes and is one on one.
To become a teacher through DaDa, you need a bachelor’s degree, teaching certificate, and proof of prior teaching experience. There are no location requirements – as long as you meet the education and experience criteria, you can work from anywhere with a stable internet connection.
You’ll need to work at least ten hours per month but can set your own schedule based on the available teaching slots.
While DaDa doesn’t list teacher pay on their website, salary information compiled by Indeed shows that teachers earn an average of $19-$25 per hour.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree, Teaching Certificate, Prior Teaching Experience
- Pay: $19-$25 per hour
- Application Link: Apply to DaDa
8. iTutorGroup
iTutorGroup connects English-speaking teachers to students in China. These students can be in the “junior” age group of 6-18 years old or include professionals ages 19-65.
iTutorGroup supplies all teacher lesson plans.
To become a teacher, you’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree, teaching certificate, at least one year of teaching experience, and you’ll be required to commit to teaching at least 6 “peak” hours each week.
iTutorGroup does not list their starting pay. A quick search on salary sites shows it to be about $9 per hour. However, it may be more because their pay rate has three components: base pay + completion + contribution.
They also state that the more you teach, the higher your hourly rate will jump which makes it one of the best sites to teach English online.
As a teacher, you get to set your hours but must work six peak hours (the busiest times) per week.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree, Teaching Certificate, Prior Teaching Experience
- Pay: Unknown
- Application Link: Apply to iTutorGroup
9. NiceTalk
If you’re looking for an alternative to Cambly, where you can help with ESL tutoring without having a degree, NiceTalk is a solid option.
NiceTalk is an app that enables Chinese learners to practice their English conversation and fluency skills by video chatting with native English speakers.
However, even though you don’t have to meet education requirements, applicants with the following teaching certificates are preferred: TEFL/CELTA/TESOL. In addition, you’ll need high-speed internet and an Android or IOS phone.
The pay is per minute but comes out to $10 per hour. NiceTalk pays its tutors weekly via Paypal as long as their earnings balance exceeds $20.
- Requirements: Native English Speakers, Prefer Tutors with Certain Teaching Certificates
- Pay: $10 per Hour
- Application Link: Apply to NiceTalk
10. GOGOKid
GOGOKid is another learning platform that connects Chinese students to native English speakers.
The lessons at GOGOKid are one on one, and they provide all the teaching material needed.
To become a teacher for GoGo Kids, you must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, ESL teaching certificate, two years of teaching experience, and reside in the USA, Canada, or the Philippines.
One of the great things about this platform is that you have complete control over your schedule. All you need to do is choose which time slots you’d like to work at least 48 hours in advance.
There are no minimum or maximum hours you have to work; however, you must sign a six-month contract.
At the end of the six months, you can decide whether or not you’d like to keep teaching with GOGOKid.
- Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree, Two Years Teaching Experience, ESL Teaching Certificate, Resident of USA, Canada, or the Philippines
- Pay: Unknown
- Application Link: Apply to GOGOKid
Can You Make a Full-Time Living Teaching English Online?
If you’re wondering if you can make a full-time living teaching English online, the answer is yes, you most definitely can.
Most of these companies don’t require you to work with them exclusively. That means you can work as an independent contractor for multiple ESL companies and secure enough hours to earn a full-time income.
Most ESL companies start with decent pay of around $15-$17 per hour. However, if you factor in bonuses and pay raises, you can be earning $20+ per hour reasonably quickly.
The biggest thing you need to keep in mind is that since these companies hire you as an independent contractor, you’ll need to pay self-employment taxes and won’t receive benefits.
Looking for more ways to earn money?
Check out the video below to learn how I went from $0 to $3,000,000:
You can also check out these side hustles you can check out:
Conclusion
If you’re looking for sites to teach English online, many offer flexible hours and decent pay. So, if you have a bachelor’s degree, teaching certificate, and at least a year of teaching experience, you pretty much have your pick when it comes to finding an ESL job.
Even if you don’t have a degree or teaching license, you can earn extra money by chatting with international students looking to master their English fluency.
These jobs are great side hustles that you can turn into full-time work if that’s the direction you want to go. You can also check out these other side hustles for teachers for more ideas.
