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5 Varsity Tutors Alternatives

Varsity Tutors is a platform offering private one-to-one tutoring for kids who are struggling in a range of different subjects. These include math, English, sciences, languages and more.

If you’re looking to upskill your kid or improve their knowledge in certain subjects with online tutoring services, Varsity Tutors isn’t your only option.

In this article, we’ll cover a Varsity Tutors review and explore some Varsity Tutors competitors.

Is Varsity Tutors legit?

Varsity Tutors is a legit platform for students looking to improve their learning. It’s owned by a company called Nerdy, which is an established learning provider.

Some customers on Trustpilot have also claimed that it can be difficult to claim refunds from Varsity Tutors. This is one of the reasons you might want to consider Varsity Tutors competitors.

Is Varsity Tutors a scam?

Varsity Tutors is not a scam for learners. It’s a real learning platform for kids, teens and adults.

If you’re looking to sign up for Varsity online tutoring, your kids will get a real tutoring experience, but there are other platforms worth considering. 

How much are Varsity Tutors?

Varsity Tutors’ average pricing is around $50 to $100 per hour. However, as many customers have noted, it can be expensive for certain subjects and the website isn’t upfront about costs.

What are the Varsity Tutors alternatives for learning?

There are a number of excellent alternatives to the Varsity Tutors platform for learning. In this article, we will discuss the best Varsity Tutors alternatives:

• Brighterly
• Tutor.com
• Khan Academy
• Preply
• Wyzant 

We’ll cover the pros and cons of each of these Varsity Tutors competitors so you can make the right choice for your child when choosing platforms for live online tutoring and classes.

Varsity Tutors Alternative #1: Brighterly

Brighterly is the first of our Varsity Tutors platform competitors and focuses on upskilling kids and teens from preschool to 12th grade in math.This single-subject focus means kids receive the best possible math tutoring, with highly qualified tutors and personalized lessons.

Brighterly tailors its online math tutoring to kids by carrying out a skills assessment to identify areas of improvement. From that, your child will receive a fully personalized lesson plan with weekly tutoring.

With Brighterly’s math tutors, kids won’t just learn by rote and memorization. They’ll learn to understand and apply mathematical concepts, which offers a key advantage over school learning. 90% of classes focus on the practice of math, not just the theory – and Brighterly’s game-based activities make learning fun.

Kids receive live support as part of Brighterly’s online tutoring services – so if there is ever a concept they’re struggling with, their tutor is on hand to help. To supplement and cement your kid’s learning, Brighterly also supplies a range of engaging and entertaining math worksheets.

Want to try before you buy? Brighterly offers a free demo lesson so you can be sure it’s the right choice for your child’s math learning.

The pros and cons of Brighterly

Pros of Brighterly	Cons of Brighterly
✅ Tutoring tailored to your kid’s needs Thanks to Brighterly’s initial skills assessment, tutors will only teach your child what they need to know. They’re trained to spot gaps in your kid’s knowledge and work on filling them.	➖No in-person connections While online learning offers many benefits for both parents and kids, children who enjoy learning in a real classroom setting may prefer in-person tutoring.
✅ Online learning offers parents flexibility With online 1-on-1 tutoring, there’s no requirement for parents and kids to travel to assessment or learning centers. This is great for families in remote locations or parents who are time-poor.	➖Few options for adults Varsity Tutors offers some of its learning specifically to adults, whereas Brighterly’s learning is tailored to kids and teens from preschool to grade 12. However, adults can use its worksheets to refresh skills from any of these grades.
✅ Learning that’s fun and valuable Brighterly’s online tutoring services offer more than school-based learning by rote. Kids will actually understand key math concepts, and the engaging and game-based lesson delivery means they’ll enjoy it too!
✅ Brighterly is more affordable than Varsity Tutors Brighterly has a transparent pricing structure, with bulk-purchase options making monthly prices cheaper. You can give your child the best math education at a lower price with Brighterly.

How much does Brighterly cost?

Brighterly offers different pricing bundles based on your needs and finances:

• Introductory one-month package: $204 ($25.50 per lesson) 
• Three-month plan: $192 a month ($24 per lesson)
• 12-month plan: $156 a month ($19.50 per lesson)

Why do users choose Brighterly? 

In comparison, Brighterly has a 4.7 rating on Trustpilot. Customers say Brighterly’s tutors are highly engaging and supportive with their children, as well as considerate with their learning needs and homework completion. Parents report that their kids’ confidence and math abilities are greatly improved thanks to Brighterly’s tutoring.

Varsity Tutors Alternative #2: Tutor.com

Tutor.com is a service that focuses heavily on improving academic achievement. It offers online tutoring services to students of all ages, from kindergarten to college-age learners.

The service partners with schools, universities and workplaces to offer personalized tutoring to students and workers from low-income backgrounds. However, if your child’s school or your workplace isn’t partnered with Tutor.com, you can still benefit from private tutoring.

Tutor.com was one of the earliest online tutoring platforms around, starting with 100 tutors. Today, it has over 3,000 thoroughly vetted tutors.

The pros and cons of Tutor.com

Pros of Tutor.com	Cons of Tutor.com
✅ Extensive vetting of tutors Tutor.com has a rigorous vetting process to ensure tutors are competent and qualified. As well as demonstrating their subject expertise, tutors must pass a third-party background check to assure parents and students of their identity.	➖High turnover of staff Tutors at Tutor.com have reported that the staff turnover is high. This means there may be a lack of consistency with your child’s learning if their tutors are replaced midway through their lessons.
✅ Support for low-income families and flexible options Tutor.com partners with educational institutions and businesses to ensure everyone has access to education. For those who can’t access the platform via school or work, it offers a range of plans and price options to make online tutoring services more affordable.	➖Lack of personalization Many Tutor.com customers have said the tutors don’t always have a personalized approach to their kid’s learning.
✅ Dedicated test prep If you’re looking to improve your kid’s grades, Tutor.com has dedicated test prep tutoring. Its focus on improving grades extends from early years to higher education.	➖Some issues with the software Some customers and tutors at Tutor.com have remarked that the software crashes often. It can also experience connectivity problems even if both internet connections are fine.

How much does Tutor.com cost?

Tutor.com’s pricing is based on how many hours students will use in a month. For just one hour a month, the price is $39.99. For three hours a month, the cost is $114.99 a month. For five hours a month, the cost is $179.99 a month. The price per hour goes down the more hours a month you choose.

User reviews about Tutor.com

Tutor.com currently has a 2.0 rating on Trustpilot. Users have fed back that Tutor.com does not listen to feedback, scheduled sessions don’t go ahead and that tutors primarily use chat functions instead of live video and audio sessions. This isn’t the best way for kids to learn, and platforms like Brighterly offer direct tutoring and engagement with tutors via video calls.

Varsity Tutors Alternative #3: Khan Academy

Unlike many of these Varsity Tutors platform competitors, Khan Academy is a free platform offering math education to everyone. 

Once members sign up, they get access to a wealth of resources. This includes video lessons, exercises and quizzes on all areas of math, including algebra and statistics. It also offers free learning for other academic subjects, including music, ancient art and history.

Learners can also improve their life skills with courses like financial literacy, internet safety and social and emotional learning.

Khan Academy is one of the few Varsity online tutoring alternatives that does not offer live tutoring, but its focus is on making education free for all.

The pros and cons of Khan Academy

Pros of Khan Academy	Cons of Khan Academy
✅ Free education for all As a nonprofit, Khan Academy’s philosophy is to make education available for everyone. That means if your kid is struggling with certain math concepts or other subjects, they can access key learning on these topics for free.	➖No live lessons Kids don’t learn directly from a tutor who teaches them live. This means if they’re struggling with a concept, they don’t have someone to address the problem with.
✅ Kids can learn at their own pace Rather than regularly scheduled lessons, kids can learn in their own time and at their own speed. If there’s a concept they want to spend more time on before moving to the next, they’re able to do that.	➖Lack of personalization Because your child isn’t being taught by a tutor who understands their knowledge gaps, the learning isn’t tailored to their needs.
✅ Learning dashboard to track progress Kids and parents can see their progress with an interactive dashboard. This is helpful both in terms of moving through different grades and improving their learning of specific concepts.

How much does Khan Academy cost?

Khan Academy is the only option on this list that is totally free. There are no costs associated with Khan Academy.

Varsity Tutors Alternative #4: Preply

Preply is a Varsity Tutors competitor that focuses mainly on language tutoring. Students can learn over 20 languages through Preply, including Spanish, Chinese and Hindi. Preply also offers math tutors, but this service is smaller than its language tutoring services.

The platform isn’t aimed at school kids, like many Varsity Tutors alternatives. It instead focuses on high school, college and adult learners. The only offering for younger kids is English lessons via private tutoring.

With Preply, you or your teen will be assigned a tutor who meets your needs. Then, you’ll begin lessons with them and reinforce your learning by speaking, reading, writing and repeating your chosen language.

Preply also has specific offerings for businesses that need employees to learn new languages for corporate purposes.

The pros and cons of Preply

Pros of Preply	Cons of Preply
✅ Dedicated options for adults and businesses Many education and online tutoring platforms focus on educating kids and teens. Preply is one of few platforms dedicated to teaching adults and offers specific solutions for businesses.	➖Potential issues around refunds Some Preply users have reported that they were told they could refund unused hours but then were blocked from doing so. This is a consideration if you block-book your hours and may purchase more than you need.
✅ Try before you buy Preply offers a 25 or 50-minute trial lesson to students before they buy. In the trial, tutors will create a personalized lesson plan. If students are unsatisfied with the tutor, they can choose another one for free.	➖Some issues with canceled lessons Customers of Preply have reported on review sites that lessons may be canceled with little prior warning. This may impact the consistency of your learning.
✅ Lessons available 24/7 Preply offers lessons to students 24/7, 365 days a year. Many other Varsity Tutor alternatives stick to more traditional hours.

How much does Preply cost?

Preply isn’t upfront about its exact costs. For its school-age private English tutoring, parents can expect to pay anything between $15 and $50 an hour. Preply’s own website also quotes between $20 and $80 per hour for private language tutoring.

Varsity Tutors Alternative #5: Wyzant

Wyzant offers a network of tutors across a range of subjects. Operating in a similar way to an online marketplace, it’s a little different from other Varsity Tutors competitors.

With tutors available in over 300 subjects, parents and kids can choose from a wealth of options. You or your kid can choose the tutor you feel is the most suitable, and their prices will vary based on their experience and offering.

You can search Wyzant’s database to find local or online tutors, but unlike some of the other Varsity Tutors platform competitors detailed here, your kid won’t be matched to a suitable tutor. However, Wyzant is considered one of the best platforms for finding private tutors.

The pros and cons of Wyzant

Pros of Wyzant	Cons of Wyzant
✅ Choosing your preferred tutor Empower your kids by giving them a say in who their tutor is. Or, if you have a preference, you can choose a tutor for your kids.	➖Tutor trial and error The ability to choose your own tutor is a great perk. But the downside of choosing your own tutor is that there’s more trial and error in finding the right tutor for your kid.
✅ Flexible pricing Depending on the tutor you or your child choose, you can get a much better price per hour. This flexibility also allows parents with less spending power to tutor their kids than those who can afford Varsity Tutors classes or its other competitors’ classes.	➖The best tutors may be more expensive On the flipside of the flexible pricing, you may find that the best and most suitable tutors are the most expensive.
✅ Many subjects on offer A tutoring service that specializes in one subject is great if that’s all your kid needs support with. But if you’d like to upskill them in a few different areas, you can do that with Wyzant.	➖It takes time to get to know your kid Because there’s no skills assessment upfront, learning won’t be immediately tailored to your child’s needs. It may take your tutor some time to understand their strengths and knowledge gaps.

How much does Wyzant cost?

You can expect to pay a minimum of $15 per hour for Wyzant tutors. Prices will vary based on each tutor and often depend on their experience.

User reviews about Wyzant 

Wyzant has a rating of 1.7 on Trustpilot. Users report issue before even working with Wyzant, including a difficult website and lack of human customer support. Some customers have reported issues with the vetting of tutors, with many deemed unreliable, canceling or wasting time in their tutoring sessions and still charging customers. 

Conclusion

There are a lot of businesses that offer similar services to the Varsity Tutors platform, each with its own pros and cons. Varsity online tutoring is one of many options for tutoring you or your child, depending on your needs. 

Here, we covered the best alternatives to Varsity Tutors, which featured some of the largest online tutoring service platforms. Brighterly provides highly qualified and trusted math tutors to help kids with the basics and even the trickiest math concepts. Tutor.com is a great option for those from lower-income households if their school or business is partnered with the platform. 

Khan Academy is a fantastic option for those who may not be able to afford one-on-one tutoring right now. Preply is a dedicated language tutoring platform that also has math courses. It’s also the only option on this list with a specific business-focused solution. Wyzant offers tutors across hundreds of subjects, giving you and your kid the flexibility to choose your own tutor. 

So, all in all, it’s up to you to decide if to consider any of these websites like Varsity Tutors for your child’s tutoring.

For the best online math courses that feature personalized lessons, tutor support and exciting gamified learning, Brighterly is the clear choice.

Book a free trial lesson with Brighterly today!