On-Demand Tutoring Marketplaces: How Do they Work?

Online tutoring marketplaces are by far not the most recent phenomenon. If you will spend some time googling, you will find out, that the biggest and most popular tutoring website examples, as well as the rest of the eLearning apps like Coursera and Udemy, were founded a long time ago.

However, it is an undeniable fact, that the true popularity of on-demand tutoring marketplaces was reached during the COVID pandemic. Due to the specifics and various regulations, students and children were forced to adapt to new conditions.

One of the solutions, which allowed us to keep up the learning process somehow was to adopt different online tutoring software like Zoom, as well as switch to eLearning format, taking online courses.

Fortunately for the eLearning industry, the demand for such services remains high, despite that the Pandemic has officially ended. It is possible to assume, that thanks to such unfortunate events, the eLearning industry managed to find its target audience and will keep increasing even more.

For instance, according to Statista, the size of online eLearning and tutoring marketplaces will rise to 167.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2026.

In other words, this industry has all the chances for future growth and is one of the most demanded for today, proposing a lot of possibilities for startups. Yet, before creating a tutoring website, it is worth understanding how tutoring marketplaces work.

On-Demand Tutoring Marketplace Explained

Any type of online tutoring software related to the eLearning sphere. However, it doesn’t mean, that all of them are the same. For instance, these services can be:

• Educational platforms that hire online tutors. All that the tutor needs, in this case, are proficiency, enthusiasm, and a good internet connection. Working materials, management, marketing, and all kinds of support are provided.
• Marketplaces. Here you are on your own. You can create your account, post information about yourself, your skills, achievements, and opportunities, find students, and earn money.
• Video chat platforms. This is where we’ll find our most beloved Zoom and all similar products.
• A mix of everything above.

Clearly, online tutoring marketplaces mainly belong to the second type of eLearning applications. The “on-demand” title means, that all the services, provided on this online learning platform, are highly customizable and adapted to a specific individual, having a lot in common with the adaptive learning concept.

To rephrase it, on-demand tutoring marketplaces, contrary to MOOCs, propose a mainly individualistic studying approach, in terms of one-on-one communication between student and tutor, or studying in small groups of up to 10 people.

Why is It Worth Creating a Tutoring Website?

If various statistics and prognoses about eLearning growth are not convincing enough, then, let’s consider some extra facts, which are mostly based on general beliefs and pure logic.

First of all, the educational system in most countries is outdated because they basically can’t keep up with all the trends that constantly appear. One of the best examples is the popularity of various IT courses like Mate Academy. As a matter of fact, such specialized tutoring apps and courses

1. allow students to learn the basics of a specific industry, avoiding “extra” materials, significantly decreasing the learning curve and time, required for becoming a specialist,
2. propose a number of extra features, like help with finding a job in the field, students are interested in,
3. invite experts from the field as orators and tutors, ensuring knowledge sharing,
4. such private on-demand tutoring marketplaces are more flexible, reacting to new trends and adapting them for the studying process much faster, compared to the more traditional institutions.

Overall, the on-demand tutoring marketplace business seems to be a great and promising alternative to regular institutions, designed for studying.

Benefits of Tutoring Marketplace Development

Also, it is worth discussing the potential benefits of creating a tutoring app. This will help not only to better understand the demands and must-have features of such applications but also to know your potential target audience and its needs.

Undoubtedly, it is impossible to talk about online tutoring marketplaces, avoiding the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, it is just one example of how tutoring apps can increase the user experience and give a chance for various categories of people to reach a more qualified education.

In other words, the first and main reason to create an on-demand tutoring marketplace is its everyday topicality.

For instance, it gives access to a worldwide pool of talent, allowing students to get a high-quality online education, regardless of where they are located at the moment: in Africa, or in the United States. Thus, it significantly impacts the overall educational level of the whole of humankind.

Additionally, contrary to the more traditional studying practices, tutoring marketplaces are commonly used to improve knowledge on a specific topic, ignoring uninterested topics or academic subjects.

Probably the best example of this is the variety of various online tutoring services, which specialize in the English language, or a wide range of online IT and programming courses.

To sum up, tutoring marketplaces allow one to gain expertise in a specific field, like becoming a niche-experienced developer. At the same time, more traditional learning programs are designed to give a basic and general understanding of a range of subjects. As a matter of fact, with the use of IT and the Internet, tutorship has become a much more effective way of learning, allowing students to communicate not only with local teachers but with various experienced tutors worldwide.

Essential Features of The Online Tutoring Platform

If you are thinking about creating a tutoring online marketplace or other samples of a virtual learning platform for the education industry, you might find useful some of the existing examples of such successful eLearning platforms.

Frankly speaking, online tutoring software development is a well-practiced industry, with a wide range of different business models and use cases to examine and imitate.

Based on the analysis of some services, user feedback, and judging from our own experience we concluded, that a good online tutoring business should have:

• Quick registration, ideally – with social media profiles and easy login. This improves the user experience and has already become an essential part of any modern online platform with personal cabinets.

Additionally, registration with the use of social media profiles can be used for optional marketing. As an example, you can motivate your users to share their experiences or achievements with their friends on these platforms in exchange for some bonuses in your app.

• Convenient search with filters. Even in case, when you are going to provide only one type of educational content, let’s say English classes, you have to provide your user with the possibility to comfortably search for their private tutors.

As the functionality expenses, and you are adding new tutoring subjects - you will definitely have to make it possible for college students to find desirable content.

• Built-in messenger would also be a great addition, which will enhance the communication between the users, and upscale the student-teacher interactions.

• Scheduling via a built-in calendar or sync with a Google Calendar. Once again, it is a great feature, which makes the platform more convenient and satisfying for the users, allowing them to better track the pace of learning and better understand the deadlines. Alternatively, it helps to set up a physical meeting if needed, like in the case of Fahrstundenplanner.

• Editing a schedule: changing the time, canceling, etc.

• Safe and fast payment, receiving a check, having several payment options: for the entire course / for each lesson separately / etc. Convenient payment gateways always are essential for any paid platform. For example, you can consider integrating ApplePay and Google Wallet within your tutoring marketplace, which will be convenient for most of your potential clients.

• Gaining a rating, leaving feedback and recommendations. For a more transparent and convenient user learning experience, it is important to give feedback and rating criteria. As a result, both students and qualified tutors will have instruments for grading each other and gaining a clearer understanding of the available options in the marketplace.

Clearly, the foregoing list is by far not final. It is rather a list of must-have features for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

How to Create a Tutoring Website

It’s clear now that there is a demand and we know which platform will satisfy this demand. The last question is how to do it.

Developing and successfully launching a well-designed and useful platform takes time and resources. In addition, the release never means that the work is done. There always is something that needs to be added, fixed, or deleted.

Therefore, focus on the MVP. To do this, you need to choose the most important and necessary features and work on them.

Don’t underestimate the importance of design, the new Google algorithms are very UX-oriented. Therefore, even if you want to save on something or someone, it should not be a designer.

The development process takes place in parallel with the tracking of SEO trends and their prompt application. Creative graphics, animation, and usability – three pillars upon which the design of your site rests.

With a clear understanding of what you want to get as the final result, find a team of skilled developers.

You can always use ready-for-use solutions, but they won’t be suitable for a complex project with advanced functionality, advanced features, and integrated software.

Apart from the above-stated, you will also need to hire a trustworthy dedicated team, which will be able to deliver exactly what you are looking for.

eLearning Platform with Incora

Clearly, if you are considering the development of a high-quality software product, you will need to find a responsible and experienced software engineering team, that has proven experience in working with various common technologies or custom development tools. Finding a development team, which has experience in this particular type of product is a great additional bonus.

In such a case, you will be able not only to get a great software product but also to have a few pieces of advice from the developers on what technologies to use, what functionality to prioritize, etc.

Eventually, such circumstances seem to be a win-win strategy. Fortunately, the Incora team has a large number of developers, who have extensive experience in this field. To prove this statement, we encourage you to check some of our case studies before contacting us.