Teach English Online With Cambly

What you do

You talk with people who are learning English. They call you, you have a conversation, and you help them along.

There is no lesson plan to write. Students choose you and start a call.

You can also apply to Cambly Kids, which is a second application made from inside your existing account.

What it pays

Cambly pays $0.17 a minute, which it puts at $10.20 an hour. Its tutor help centre repeats the same figure. Cambly Kids pays $0.20 a minute, or $12 an hour.

Now the sentence that matters more than the rate.

You are paid per minute of completed lesson time. Not per minute you are logged in. Not per minute you sit waiting for a call.

So that $10.20 figure is what a full hour of talking pays. An hour with no students pays nothing.

The number nobody quotes

Cambly has Priority Hours, where you commit to being available. In one, you are guaranteed at least 15 minutes of paid chat time, even if nobody calls.

Fifteen minutes at $0.17 is $2.55.

That is the floor for an hour of your life spent sitting at a computer, ready to work. It is not a scandal, and Cambly publishes it plainly. It is simply the number that turns the headline hourly figure into something you can plan around.

Some waiting is paid. You are paid for up to 10 minutes when a booked student is late. If a student drops out mid-call, you are paid for up to 5 minutes of that. Past that, Cambly says it is up to you whether you wait, unpaid. A student who cancels 12 hours or less before a booked lesson means a $2 payment to you.

Cambly does not publish how many paid minutes a real tutor gets in a week. So there is no honest weekly figure, and we do not print one.

Getting the money out

The landing page says weekly pay by direct deposit. The help centre is more specific, and you should plan on the help centre.

Pay is processed every Tuesday for the previous Tuesday to Monday. You choose whether it is sent every 1, 2 or 4 weeks. Your balance must reach $20 before it is sent.

Money can arrive by Stripe Connect, Stripe Global Payouts or PayPal. Two things to know. PayPal disappears as an option after November 11, 2026, and PayPal already costs you a 2% fee. A bank outside the United States also loses about 1% to currency conversion plus a country fee.

After Cambly sends it, allow up to 3 business days to a US bank and up to 7 outside.

Who this fits

This fits you if you are a native English speaker who likes talking to strangers.

You do not need a teaching certificate, a degree or any teaching experience. That is unusual, and it is the door.

It fits if you live outside the United States. Payment options vary by location.

It fits if you want to work in odd fragments of time. It fits only if you are honest with yourself about the unpaid waiting.

Who should skip this

Skip this if you live in California, Massachusetts or New Jersey. Cambly does not allow tutoring from those three states.

Skip it if you need a guaranteed hourly amount. A committed hour can pay $2.55.

Skip it if you are not a native English speaker, because Cambly requires that.

Skip it if you are under 18.

Skip it if you need money quickly. Your balance has to reach $20 first, then wait for the Tuesday run, then wait for the bank.

Your first week

Day 1. Apply, and set up your equipment while you wait. Sound matters more than video here.

Day 2. Read how Priority Hours work before you book any. Know that the floor is 15 paid minutes.

Day 3. Open availability at a time that is evening in Asia or Europe, not evening where you are. Your students set the clock, not you.

Day 4. Log your first sessions. Write down minutes in call, not hours logged in.

Day 5. Do the arithmetic. Paid minutes times $0.17, divided by the hours you actually sat there.

That is your real rate. It is the number to judge this gig by.

Questions people ask

Is it really $10.20 an hour? That figure is the per-minute rate times 60. You earn it only while you are in a call.

Do I need a degree or a teaching certificate? No. Cambly says neither is required, and neither is prior experience.

Can I do this from anywhere? Cambly says tutors live all over the world, but it does not publish a country list. Payment options vary by location, and three US states are barred.

What happens if nobody calls? Outside a Priority Hour, you earn nothing. In one, you get at least 15 paid minutes.

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How to pick a side gig that fits you