One-to-one online tuition, and when not to buy it.
One-to-one online tuition costs a little over twice as much per hour as a place in a group class, and for a lot of children it is worth every rupee. For a lot of others it is a more expensive way to get the same result, and it quietly removes something a batch gives. This page is the honest version of that comparison, including the cases where we would tell you not to.
A free 20-minute assessment. We find where your child actually is, then tell you what we would do about it. No card, no commitment.
What one-to-one online tuition means here
One student, one teacher, 12 live classes a month of 45 min each. The lesson plan is written for your child rather than for a group, the pace moves as fast or as slowly as they need, and the schedule can be set around an unusual timetable or a time zone that does not line up with India.
The teacher is matched the same way as for a batch - on class, board and the specific problem, from people who have already taught that combination. You meet them in the free assessment before anything is paid for. With one-to-one, that match matters more than it does in a group, because there is no batch to absorb a personality that does not fit.
You also get a fortnightly written report rather than a monthly one, and a direct line to the teacher between classes. That is the honest list. It does not include anything about accelerated results, because we cannot promise those and neither can anyone else.
One-to-One - from ₹5,000 a month
Class 1 to 10 · 12 live classes/month · 45 min each
- Fully personalised lesson plan
- Flexible scheduling, including for NRI time zones
- Ideal for children who need to catch up quickly
- Direct WhatsApp line to the teacher
- Detailed fortnightly progress report
What the extra fee actually buys
| One-to-one | Group class | |
|---|---|---|
| Per month | ₹5,000 | ₹3,000 |
| Live classes | 12 live classes/month | 16 live classes/month |
| Length of a class | 45 min | 50 min |
| Roughly, per class | ₹417 | ₹188 |
| Students in the room | 1 student | Group class |
Put plainly: one-to-one costs about ₹417 a class against roughly ₹188 for a batch place, and you get fewer classes a month for the higher fee. That is not a trick - the teacher’s hour is being split between one family instead of five.
So the question is not whether individual attention is better in the abstract. Of course more attention is better than less. The question is whether this child, this year, will get more than twice as much out of it as they would from a batch. For a student closing a specific gap against a deadline, the answer is usually yes. For a student who is broadly keeping up, it is usually no, and the honest recommendation is to put the difference into a batch place plus consistent practice.
A last piece of arithmetic worth doing at home: a batch place plus the free printable worksheets and practice games costs less than one-to-one and fills more hours. Free things are not a lesser version of paid things when what the student needs is repetition.
Four situations where one-to-one is genuinely the right call
These are the cases where we recommend it ourselves, rather than waiting to be asked for it.
There is a specific gap and a deadline
A Class 10 student who cannot factorise, or a Class 6 child who never learnt place value. The work has to be shaped around exactly what this student missed, and there is no time to wait for the batch to reach it.
Your child freezes in front of other students
Not shyness in general - the particular kind where a child who knows the answer will not say it aloud with anyone else listening. A group class helps most children with this, and makes a small number of them worse.
The schedule genuinely will not fit
Families abroad in awkward time zones, a student in a sport or performance programme, or a child recovering from an illness that broke up their year. One-to-one can be scheduled around all of it.
The learning need is unusual
A student working significantly above or below their class level, or one with a diagnosed learning difference that needs a different pace and a different route. A batch cannot be reshaped that far without failing the other students in it.
Four situations where we would talk you out of it
We sell one-to-one. We also lose money every time we say this, and we say it several times a month, because a family who was talked into the expensive tier leaves within a term and a family who was given a straight answer stays for years.
Your child is broadly on track and you want an edge
This is the most common reason parents ask for one-to-one, and it is the weakest one. A student who is keeping up does not need more attention; they need more practice and better habits, and a batch supplies both at less than half the price.
The problem is confidence rather than content
A child who has decided they are bad at maths rebuilds that belief by being third out of five to understand something, not by being alone with an adult. One-to-one can quietly reinforce the idea that they are a special case who needs special handling.
Your child learns by arguing
Some students only really understand a method once they have heard someone else get it wrong. In a batch they hear several other routes to an answer every class. One-to-one gives them one route - the teacher's - and it is a genuine loss.
You are buying it because it sounds better
One-to-one is the premium tier, so it reads as the serious choice. It is not automatically the better one, and for a student who is fine in a group it is simply a more expensive way to get the same result.
What we suggest to most families
The pattern that works best is rarely one format for the whole year. It is a term of one-to-one to close the specific gap - the algebra from Class 8, the place value from Class 2, whatever the diagnostic actually shows - and then a move into a batch at the right level once the gap is closed.
That costs a fraction of a year of one-to-one, and it puts the student back into a group at the point where a group starts helping rather than overwhelming. Tell us at the start that this is the plan and we will teach towards it. A tutor who wants you in one-to-one indefinitely is not describing your child’s need; they are describing their own revenue.
There is one more option worth knowing about. If you are in Bengaluru and the real problem is that your child will not engage with a screen at all, the limited number of in-person seats may be a better answer than paying more for the same format that is not working. Ask us on WhatsApp and we will say honestly whether we have a seat.
Before you choose a format
How much does one-to-one online tuition cost?
One-to-one starts at ₹5,000 a month for Class 1-5 for 12 live classes of 45 min each, which is about ₹417 a class. A live place is ₹3,000 a month for 16 classes of 50 min, or about ₹188 a class. Every plan is published in full on the fees page rather than quoted on a call.
Is one-to-one better than a group class?
For most students, no. It is better for a student closing a specific gap against a deadline, for one who genuinely freezes in front of others, and for anyone whose schedule or learning need will not fit a fixed batch. For a student who is broadly on track, a group class usually produces the same result for less than half the price, and adds something one-to-one cannot.
What does a batch give that one-to-one does not?
Other people's reasoning. In a group class, a student hears several other routes to an answer every class, including the wrong ones, which is how a lot of understanding actually forms. It also normalises difficulty: discovering that other students find quadratic equations hard does more for a fifteen-year-old's confidence than any amount of reassurance from an adult.
Can we start one-to-one and move into a batch later?
Yes, and that is what we suggest most often. A term of one-to-one to close the specific gap, then a move into a batch at the right level, costs far less than a year of one-to-one and usually works better. Tell us at the start that this is the plan, and we will teach towards it rather than towards keeping you.
Will you tell us if we do not need one-to-one?
Yes. After the free assessment we will say which format we think fits your child, including when that is the cheaper one. We would rather have a student in a batch for two years than in one-to-one for two months and gone. If we think your child does not need paid tuition at all, we will say that too.
Does one-to-one work for a young child in Class 1 or 2?
It can, but be careful with it. Six and seven-year-olds get a lot from hearing other children speak, and a group class is where a child who will not answer in English learns to. One-to-one is the right call for a young child who is a long way behind the batch, or who joined school late - usually for a term, then into a group. See Class 1 and Class 2 for what those years actually ask for.
How is the one-to-one teacher chosen?
The same way as for a batch: on class, board and the specific problem, from teachers who have already taught that combination. You meet them in the free assessment before anything is paid for, and you can ask for a different teacher afterwards. With one-to-one that match matters more, because there is no group to absorb a personality mismatch.
One free class, then a straight recommendation.
Book an assessment and we will tell you which format we think fits your child - including when that is the cheaper one.
- You tell us the class, board and what is going wrong.
- We match a teacher who has taught exactly that, and send you a time.
- A free 20-minute assessment. Sit beside your child if you like.
- No card, no commitment
- Live classes, never a crowd
- The same teacher every week