Tutorful vs Tutorperch

Both are UK tutor platforms, and the difference is fundamental. Tutorful is a fully managed marketplace with an in-platform classroom, a per-lesson service-fee model, a selective tutor-admissions process, and all lessons handled through the site. Tutorperch is a directory-only introduction service where a one-off £9.99 finder's fee is the only charge on the student side and no commission is taken on lessons at all.

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 Tutorful cost?

The two platforms use structurally different models, and the right comparison depends on how you intend to use them.

Tutorful charges no upfront fee and no introduction fee. The platform earns by taking a service fee from each lesson. Tutorful describes this as a service fee added on top of the tutor's rate in the price the parent sees, and does not publish the percentage on its public-facing Become a Tutor page. A figure of around 35% has been reported by third parties (not published by Tutorful): on that basis a tutor wanting £50 would display around £67.50. Because parents read the inflated number as "the tutor's fee," tutors often trim their headline rate to stay competitive. It functions as a commission, paid via suppressed rates.

Tutorperch charges the student £9.99 once per tutor they choose to unlock, and nothing after that. The tutor receives 100% of whatever hourly rate they set directly with the student, and Tutorperch is not in that transaction at all.

The practical difference depends on lesson volume. For a single taster lesson, the Tutorperch £9.99 finder's fee may exceed the implied service fee on one low-rate Tutorful lesson. For any ongoing relationship of more than a few lessons, the total platform cost on Tutorperch is fixed while the total Tutorful service fee scales with every lesson paid.

Classroom and platform scope

This is the most substantive structural difference between the two platforms.

Tutorful is a full-service platform. Lessons take place inside Tutorful's own online classroom, with a shared interactive whiteboard, document sharing, and lesson recordings. Scheduling, payment, and messaging all happen on-platform, and the platform states that students should book, pay for, and attend video lessons through it. This managed environment gives parents a structured safeguarding wrapper: communications are on record, lessons are recorded, and the platform can intervene.

Tutorperch is a directory only. There is no video classroom, no scheduling tool, and no payment handling. The £9.99 unlock shares contact details between tutor and student; from that point the relationship is entirely off-platform. Tutors and students agree their own lesson cadence, location, and payment method between themselves.

Neither model is inherently safer. Tutorful's on-platform approach gives more structural oversight; Tutorperch's model gives more flexibility but relies on the tutor and parent operating outside the platform's safeguarding infrastructure.

Search ranking

Tutorful states that tutors are ranked on a mix of the total number of booked lessons with students (the longer a tutor works with a pupil, the higher they rank), profile data, student ratings, response time, jobs-board performance, lessons taught, message sentiment, and the accuracy of time-slot availability. The formula weighting is not published, and its safeguarding policy reserves the right to change ranking.

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

Tutorful requires an Enhanced DBS as a condition of listing; it is not a badge tutors can opt into or out of. Its Safeguarding Policy requires all tutors to hold a background check dated within the last three years (Enhanced DBS, Disclosure Scotland, or Access Northern Ireland), and two written references from non-family referees before a profile goes live. All online lessons are recorded and can be reviewed for 28 days to 1 year, with no opt-out for tutor or parent.

On Tutorperch, identity verification is mandatory before any tutor profile goes live. The Safeguarding Verified badge is optional. When displayed, it means a team member has manually reviewed the certificate against the identity-verified name and date of birth, and recorded the certificate number with an audit-log timestamp. The badge is valid for three years. Tutorperch covers England and Wales (Enhanced DBS), Scotland (PVG), and Northern Ireland (AccessNI Enhanced Disclosure), and uses the DBS Update Service. Because lessons are off-platform, Tutorperch has no ability to record or monitor them; a parent who wants recordings can agree that with the tutor before unlocking.

What Tutorful offers that Tutorperch doesn't

A managed classroom. Having all lessons recorded, all messaging on-platform, and a dedicated safeguarding officer who can review a lesson if a concern is raised gives parents a structured safety net that Tutorperch cannot offer for off-platform interactions. For parents of younger children in particular, or for anyone who would rather not manage the logistics of direct payment and scheduling, Tutorful's managed approach is meaningfully different.

A first-lesson guarantee. Tutorful pays for a replacement lesson if the first doesn't work out. Tutorperch has no direct equivalent; our refund applies only to introductions where no lesson is ever agreed.

What Tutorperch offers that Tutorful doesn't

A fixed cost over an ongoing relationship. Tutorperch's £9.99 is fixed; Tutorful's service fee scales with every lesson. For a tutor charging £40/hour and a family running weekly lessons over a school year, the accumulated fee on Tutorful is a real cost that Tutorperch does not impose.

A published ranking formula. Tutorperch's is fully public; Tutorful's is not.

A minimal, fixed tutor cost, and open registration. Tutorperch charges tutors £3.00 once and is accepting new tutors. Tutorful charges tutors no listing fee but takes a service fee from lessons indefinitely, and its Become a Tutor page currently states it is no longer accepting new tutors.

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.