"How much does a math tutor cost per hour" has a short answer and a useful one. The short answer is $25 to $150. The useful one is that the price is set by four things (who the tutor is, where you live, what level the maths is, and whether the class is online), and once you know which of the four you are paying for, you can pay for the ones that matter. This article gives the published US ranges for September 2026 by tier, by grade and by city, the online-versus-in-person difference, what a month costs, and where we sit, because we publish our price and most tutors do not.
The four tiers, per hour
| Who is teaching | Published range (Sep 2026) | What you usually get |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace tutor (Wyzant, Preply, Care.com, Superprof): often a college student or a non-certified adult | $25 – $60 | 1-on-1 by video or at your table; no recording; the tutor can leave any time |
| Certified teacher moonlighting, or an experienced independent tutor | $40 – $100 | Knows the curriculum and the state test; scheduling around their school day |
| Specialist: AP Calculus, SAT/ACT math, college-level, learning differences | $75 – $200 | Course-specific practice, past papers, score targets |
| Tutoring center or franchise (Mathnasium, Kumon, Sylvan, Huntington) | $250 – $500 a month for 2 sessions a week, i.e. $30 – $60 per session in a small group | A program, a center, other children; usually a 6- or 12-month agreement |
| Science with Shobha (online, India-based, master's-qualified, 1-on-1) | US$10 – $13 | The recording of every class, notes, marked homework, the same tutor every week, billed monthly, no contract |
Marketplace averages published by the platforms themselves sit around $35 to $45 an hour for K-12 math; the platforms take 15 to 35 per cent of that, which is why the same tutor charges less on their own website.
By grade: what the maths costs
The level moves the price because fewer tutors can teach it well and the stakes rise.
| Grade and course | Typical per hour (independent tutor) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| K – 2: number sense, addition and subtraction | $25 – $45 | Many tutors can teach it; the skill is patience, not maths |
| 3 – 5: multiplication, fractions, the first state tests | $30 – $50 | Fractions are where most children fall behind; the state test (STAAR, MCAS, SBAC) adds a format to teach |
| 6 – 8: ratios, integers, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 in Grade 8 | $35 – $60 | The bridge to algebra; a tutor who teaches it badly costs the child high school |
| Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 | $40 – $90 | Proofs and functions; the tutor must know the course sequence and the school's textbook |
| Pre-Calculus, Statistics | $50 – $100 | Fewer tutors; SAT overlap |
| AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Statistics | $60 – $150 | Course-specific; the College Board rubric decides the score |
| SAT and ACT math | $50 – $200 | Test-prep pricing; the top of the range is a brand, not a better tutor |
At Science with Shobha the level moves the price by three dollars: US$10 an hour for primary and middle school, up to US$13 for AP and SAT, because a tutor with a master's in mathematics teaches all of it. The full price table is public.
By city: where you live sets the rate
| Where | In-person per hour | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC | $80 – $150, specialists to $250 | Cost of living, demand from competitive schools, travel time |
| Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver, San Diego, Austin | $50 – $100 | Large markets with more tutors |
| Suburbs and mid-size cities | $40 – $90 | |
| Rural | $25 – $60 | Fewer tutors, but also fewer specialists |
Online tutoring removes the city from the price. A certified teacher in Ohio charges the same to a family in Manhattan as to one in Dayton, and a master's-qualified tutor in India charges the same to everyone, which is the whole reason the India-to-USA arrangement exists; how it works is on our online tutoring from India to the USA page.
Online vs in person
Online is 20 to 40 per cent cheaper for the same tutor, because there is no travel and the tutor can fill more hours. It is also better for maths in two ways an in-person tutor cannot match: the shared whiteboard is cleaner than a kitchen table, and the class can be recorded so the child re-watches the step they missed. It is worse for one child: under about seven, a parent should sit in for the first month, because the screen does not hold a six-year-old the way a person does.
| Online, independent tutor | In person, independent tutor | Online, Science with Shobha | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per hour | $30 – $70 | $40 – $100 | US$10 – $13 |
| Recording | Sometimes | Never | Every class |
| Same tutor all year | Depends | Depends | Yes |
| Notes and marked homework | Rarely | Rarely | Every class |
| Time slots | Flexible | Evenings, weekends | Before school, after school, weekends, US time |
What a month costs
Two classes a week is the arrangement that closes a gap; one a week keeps a child where they are.
| One class a week (4 a month) | Two classes a week (8 a month) | |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace tutor at $40 | $160 | $320 |
| Certified teacher at $70 | $280 | $560 |
| AP or SAT specialist at $120 | $480 | $960 |
| Tutoring center | $250 – $500 (membership) | |
| Science with Shobha at US$10 – $13 | $40 – $52 | $80 – $104 |
The right comparison is not the hourly rate but the cost of the outcome: a child who moves from Approaches to Meets on STAAR, or from a C to an A in Algebra 2, in one school year. At two classes a week that is roughly $3,000 to $6,000 with a US tutor and about $1,000 with us.
Where the price is hiding something
- A package you must buy up front (10 hours, a semester). It exists to keep you after the second bad class. Pay monthly.
- "Certified" without a subject. A certified elementary teacher is not a certified maths teacher; ask which certificate.
- A very low rate for AP Calculus. Someone is learning it alongside your child.
- No recording. The one thing online tutoring can give you that in-person cannot; a tutor who will not record is hiding the class.
- A center's "assessment fee." It is a sales meeting.
How to choose
Take two trial classes in the same week, with the same child and the same topic, and watch both. Ask each tutor to name the next three topics in your child's course; a tutor who knows the sequence knows the course. Then choose the tutor, not the price, and pay for one month. If the recording arrives the same day and the homework comes back marked, you have found it. Our free 30-minute class is a real lesson on the whiteboard, at your time; the price after it is US$10 to $13 an hour, and it does not change when the child does well.
Questions parents ask
1How much does a math tutor cost per hour?
2How much does a private math tutor cost per hour near me?
3Is $40 an hour good for a math tutor?
4How many hours of math tutoring a week does a child need?
See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →
Shobha
Founder and lead tutor, Science with Shobha
Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.