Cambly and Preply are the two platforms most new online English teachers apply to first — and they could hardly be more different. Cambly pays a fixed per-minute rate for drop-in conversation with no degree, no TEFL and no lesson planning. Preply is a marketplace where you set your own price, compete for students and keep a growing share of what you earn. This comparison covers pay, teaching hours, requirements, how each treats non-native speakers, and which one fits you better in 2026.
Cambly vs Preply at a Glance
| Cambly | Preply | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Drop-in conversation calls (plus optional scheduled "reservations") | Marketplace — students book lessons from your profile |
| Pay | Fixed ≈ $0.17/minute (≈ $10.20/hour); Cambly Kids slightly higher | You set the rate — typically $8–35/hour; new tutors usually $10–15 |
| Commission | None — the rate is net | 100% of the first lesson with each new student, then a sliding 18–33% commission |
| Degree required | No | No |
| TEFL required | No | No, but certified tutors convert far better |
| Non-native speakers | Generally not accepted — native-level fluency and a passport from a majority English-speaking country are expected | Accepted — thousands of non-native tutors; students filter by price and reviews |
| Hours | Log in whenever you like; demand peaks at Asian and Latin American evenings | Set your own calendar; students book in advance |
| Lesson prep | None (optional Cambly curriculum) | Expected — you build or adapt lesson materials |
| Payout | Weekly via PayPal | Withdraw any time via PayPal, Payoneer, Wise or Skrill |
| Time to first income | Days | 2–6 weeks (profile approval plus first bookings) |
Pay: What You Actually Earn on Each
Cambly
Cambly pays by the minute, and only for minutes on a call. At roughly $10.20 an hour, a busy two-hour evening block earns around $20 — but if students do not call, you earn nothing while waiting. Cambly Kids and priority hours pay a little more. There is no way to raise your rate, and no commission is taken from it.
Preply
On Preply you keep whatever you charge minus commission. Preply keeps 100% of the first (trial) lesson with every new student and then takes a sliding commission that starts at 33% and falls to 18% as your lifetime hours with Preply grow. A tutor charging $20/hour at the top commission tier nets about $13.40; at the lowest tier, $16.40. Because you control the rate, experienced Preply tutors routinely net $20–30 an hour — something Cambly cannot match.
Rule of thumb: in your first month, Cambly usually pays more per hour actually worked. From month three onward, a Preply tutor with reviews and a sensible rate almost always earns more — and the gap widens every quarter.
Teaching Hours and Flexibility
Cambly is the more flexible of the two: open the app, go online, take calls, go offline. There is no penalty for irregular hours, which makes it ideal for filling gaps in a schedule or testing whether you like teaching at all. The trade-off is unpredictability — call volume depends on the time of day and how many other tutors are online.
Preply rewards consistency. Students book a slot and expect you to keep it; cancellations hurt your ranking. In return you get a predictable weekly income from repeat students, and you can concentrate work into the hours you prefer rather than the hours students happen to call.
Requirements and the Application Process
- Cambly: be a native-level speaker, upload a short intro video, pass an ID check. Most tutors are approved within a few days. Degree and TEFL are not required.
- Preply: create a profile with a photo, a 1–2 minute intro video and a written description; choose your rate and subjects. Approval takes days to a few weeks. Degree and TEFL are optional, but Preply's algorithm and students both favour tutors who list a recognised certificate. See our TEFL, TESOL and CELTA certification guide if you are weighing whether to get one first.
Cambly vs Preply for Non-Native Speakers
This is the decisive factor for many teachers. Cambly's whole product is "talk to a native speaker", and it screens accordingly — non-native applicants are generally not accepted, regardless of qualifications. Preply has no nationality requirement: non-native tutors make up a large share of its English teachers and compete on price, specialism (exam preparation, business English, teaching beginners in the student's first language) and reviews. If you are a non-native speaker, Preply — alongside italki — is the realistic choice, and a TEFL certificate plus a competitive launch rate will get your first bookings.
Which One Fits You Better?
Choose Cambly if you:
- are a native speaker who wants income this week with zero preparation;
- want to teach in unpredictable pockets of time rather than fixed slots;
- prefer conversation to structured lessons and are happy at a fixed ~$10/hour.
Choose Preply if you:
- are a non-native speaker, or a native speaker who wants to earn well above $10/hour;
- are willing to plan lessons and keep a regular calendar;
- want to build a base of repeat students and, eventually, raise your rate as your reviews grow.
Many teachers do both for the first few months: Cambly for immediate, predictable cash while the Preply profile gathers its first reviews, then shift hours to Preply as bookings fill up. This is the route described in our guide to teaching without a degree, and it works equally well with a degree.
Step-by-Step: Earning Your First $500 on Cambly and Preply
- Week 1: apply to both. Record one intro video and reuse it. Set your Preply rate 10–20% below the median for your profile type so you appear in "affordable" filters.
- Weeks 1–3: go online on Cambly during peak hours (roughly 19:00–23:00 in East Asia and Latin America). Aim for 10 paid hours a week ≈ $100.
- Weeks 2–6: respond to Preply messages within an hour, offer a clear lesson plan in your trial, and ask happy students to leave a review. Expect 3–8 regular students by week six.
- Month 3: raise your Preply rate for new students by $3–5. Keep Cambly only for the hours Preply has not filled.
Compare these two with Lingoda, italki, Engoo and others in our full online English teaching platforms comparison, and if you are based in Britain, see the UK requirements guide for tax and timing specifics.
Final Thoughts
Cambly is the easiest job in online English teaching; Preply is the better business. Cambly wins on speed and simplicity, Preply wins on earnings, flexibility for non-native speakers and long-term growth. If you can only pick one and you want to still be doing this in a year, pick Preply — and use Cambly as the on-ramp.