Superprof vs Tutorperch

Superprof and Tutorperch both connect students with tutors in the UK. Superprof is a global marketplace operating in 47 countries, funded by a recurring monthly Student Pass subscription paid by the student, with tutors listing for free and keeping 100% of lesson fees when they collect payment independently. Tutorperch is a UK-only directory funded by a one-off £9.99 finder's fee per introduction and a one-off £3.00 tutor verification fee, with no recurring charge to either party.

We operate Tutorperch, so this page is written from one side of the comparison. It's written to be useful to a tutor or parent deciding between the two, not to argue Tutorperch is better at every dimension, it isn't. Last reviewed 27 May 2026. All figures are verified against the primary sources listed at the end of this page.

How much does Superprof cost?

Superprof and Tutorperch charge the student in structurally different ways, and the total cost depends on how the relationship develops.

Superprof charges the student a £39/month recurring subscription to access the tutor directory and contact tutors. This is separate from lesson fees. A student who forgets to cancel, or who is unclear that cancellation is their responsibility, will continue to be charged £39 monthly. Superprof's own payments blog acknowledges this has caused confusion, with the comments section containing reports from students who did not realise the subscription was recurring.

Tutorperch charges the student £9.99 once per tutor unlocked. Lesson fees go directly to the tutor, and Tutorperch has no further involvement and no recurring charge. For a student who finds a tutor quickly and cancels Superprof in the same month, the two platforms are broadly comparable at £39 versus £9.99. For a student who takes two or more months, or who forgets to cancel, the Superprof cost scales accordingly. For any long-term tutoring relationship, Tutorperch's platform cost is fixed.

Pay-to-rank and search visibility

Superprof's tutor-facing blog states that tutors will "not be charged any fees for advertising your tutoring business on Superprof (unless you choose premium placement for your advert)." A premium placement option therefore exists and can be purchased, though its cost and how it affects ranking relative to non-paying tutors is not documented on the public pages reviewed.

Tutorperch's ranking formula is published in full at /how-we-rank. Tutors are sorted by their review score, smoothed against a platform-wide baseline so a single 5-star review can't leapfrog a tutor with fifty 4.6-star ones. Older reviews count for less than recent ones, so a score reflects recent performance rather than all-time history. Safeguarding Verified tutors (Enhanced DBS, PVG, or AccessNI) get a small lift on their score. Scores are rounded to one decimal place to match the star rating shown on tutor cards.

When two or more tutors finish on the same final score, their order rotates each day, so every tutor in that tied group takes a turn near the top. Three page-1 slots are held open for tutors who joined in the last 30 days and who wouldn't otherwise have reached page 1, each clearly labelled as new. A recently joined tutor who has already earned a ranked spot keeps it with no label and no special treatment, and if no newcomer needs the lift, those slots fill from the ranked order like every other position. You can watch the rotation demonstrated live on our ranking page.

Tutor verification and safeguarding

Superprof allows any person to create a profile by providing ID and credentials such as degree certificates and verifying their email and phone number. Uploaded documents are reviewed by the admin team, but the review criteria and process are not publicly documented, and there is no DBS check requirement stated on public-facing pages. Superprof notes that its most reliably reviewed tutors are those with "Super Tutor" or "Ambassador" status, which is earned through accumulating positive student reviews rather than a pre-listing credential check.

Tutorperch requires an identity check before any profile goes live. The optional Safeguarding Verified badge requires a team member to hand-review the certificate against the identity-verified name and date of birth, with the certificate number recorded and an audit-log timestamp applied. Coverage runs across England and Wales (Enhanced DBS), Scotland (PVG), and Northern Ireland (AccessNI Enhanced Disclosure). The badge is valid for three years with re-verification before expiry, and uses the DBS Update Service.

The contrast here is not about which platform has more tutors. Superprof's global scale vastly exceeds Tutorperch's. It's about what each platform's verification process consists of, and how clearly it is documented.

What Superprof offers that Tutorperch doesn't

Scale. Superprof operates in 47 countries and claims over 30,000 tutors in the UK alone. The depth of the directory for niche or unusual subjects is far larger than ours.

First lesson free. Superprof encourages tutors to offer a first lesson at no cost. It isn't mandatory, but it's widespread and gives students a low-risk way to assess a tutor before committing. On Tutorperch that's at the tutor's discretion.

What Tutorperch offers that Superprof doesn't

A fixed, one-off student cost. Tutorperch's £9.99 is a single payment per tutor, with no subscription to track, manage, or accidentally leave running. Superprof's £39/month recurs until cancelled.

No separation between access fee and lesson fee. On Superprof, students pay £39 to access the platform and then pay lesson fees on top. Tutorperch has a single finder's fee and no further platform involvement in the financial relationship.

A published ranking formula. Tutorperch's full formula is public. Superprof's is not, and premium placement is available for purchase.

A documented safeguarding process. When Tutorperch's Safeguarding Verified badge appears, the process behind it is described in full. Superprof does not publicly document a DBS requirement or a verification process for safeguarding credentials.

A fixed tutor cost. Tutorperch charges tutors £3.00 once. Superprof charges nothing to list but encourages a free first lesson, takes 10% on lesson payments processed through the platform, and offers optional paid premium placement.

First Tutors review recovery. Tutorperch has helped tutors who were established on First Tutors bring their history across. Where a tutor's old profile sits in our public-web archive, they can claim it and their original reviews appear on their Tutorperch profile; for anything the archive didn't capture, we've published a step-by-step walkthrough and email template so tutors can file their own Data Subject Access Request with First Tutors. Imported reviews show on the profile and as a count on search cards, and parents can read them in full, but they don't feed search ranking. See what happened to First Tutors.

A note on the subscription confusion

The comment section on Superprof's own payments blog posts contains a large volume of reports from students who did not understand they were signing up for a recurring monthly charge. We record it here because it's a documented pattern on Superprof's own public pages, not something drawn from external sources.

Superprof's editorial staff acknowledge it, writing that the dislikes "all revolve around students not understanding the nature of Superprof's business model." Superprof's response is that the terms are disclosed at sign-up and that the subscription is cancellable at any time. Tutorperch has no subscription product and therefore no equivalent risk.