An online platform is one of, if not the most important tools you need as an independent online ESL teacher. Without a reliable platform, you’ll have no way of connecting with students worldwide and will be limited to growing your business locally, which has limitations when your target audience is probably primarily living abroad.
If you’re an established teacher, you probably already use an online platform. Many teachers are used to software such as Zoom or Classin. But these can become quite costly over time and affect your profit margin.
Did you know, over the last two years, new companies are offering online platforms designed with teachers in mind?
This means that not only do you have more options to choose from, but newer technology offers better tools and features you can use with your students leading to increased enjoyment and engagement.
To help you decide which is the best option for your business, we have created a round-up of 9 platforms for independent online ESL teachers to use with their students.
There are affiliate links used on this page. If you use any of the following links to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I have had a positive experience using or I feel would benefit you, a fellow online teacher. Read my full affiliate disclosure here.
Best Platforms For Independent Online ESL Teachers
Best Free Platform:
Voov is an excellent starting point for new independent ESL teachers. With no upfront costs and a relatively simple, easy system that doesn’t take up a lot of bandwidth. Plus, it is a familiar product in the Chinese market so can be easier for your Chinese students to access and use.
Best For Interactivity and Student Engagement
If teaching children, the best platform is Koala Go. With a 3D virtual learning zone that is similar to Minecraft, with building blocks and controlling a customizable avatar, it can give the wow factor to your students. Plus, it has animated rewards and a fully interactive co-browser for your students to use.
Best For Teaching Adults
Vei is the best for independent online teachers who focus on supporting adults. It doesn’t have any “fancy” interactivity outside of a whiteboard, video, and shared browser. But, it will help you to set up your business professionally with a landing page, CRM, invoicing, booking system, and product creation all in one platform.
Best All-Inclusive Platform
For having everything under one roof including invoicing, booking, pre-recorded courses, interactive whiteboard and co-browser, as well as additional features such as a curriculum, Superkid has to be the best all-inclusive platform.
9 Platforms for Independent Online ESL Teachers
Zoom
Let’s start with Zoom as it’s probably the most well-known platform on our list.
Zoom as an online platform for teachers can work really well. It offers an easy way for students to connect with you via a class link or code. Once in class, you and your students can use the whiteboard, chat box, and screen-sharing functions.
It also has emojis that students can use to interact in class, which can work very well in group classes where students can use the hand emoji to raise their hands, for example.
With Zoom, you can also record your classes which is a key feature many online teachers like. These recordings can then be sent to your students to review after the class or, for you to use to review a student’s progress.
If you’re a new teacher just starting out, then initial funds may be quite small. The good news is that Zoom offers a free plan. You can use Zoom for 40 minutes for free with your students. If you need longer for your classes, you will have to purchase a paid plan. Zoom’s pro plan should be more than sufficient for independent ESL teachers and costs £119 / $149.90 per year or £12.99 / $15.99 per month.
What we like:
- Free plan up to 40-minute meetings with fewer than 100 attendees
- Reliable program
- Ability to record meetings
What we don’t like:
- Minimal interactive features
- It’s very basic
- Students can’t easily engage with the material without annotation tools or sharing their controls (which I wouldn’t recommend)
Zhumu
Zhumu is a Chinese company almost identical to Zoom. If you teach Chinese students, this is a good program that they can easily access in China.
With the same features as Zoom, it offers:
- A whiteboard
- Screen sharing
- Chatbox function
- Annotation tools
- Screen sharing.
However, Zhumu recently required new users to be living in China in order to create an account. If you previously signed up with Zhumu, this could be a good platform for you to use. Otherwise, it is only suitable for you if living in China.
Zhumu also provides a free plan with 40-minute meetings. For longer meetings, you will need to sign up for their pro plan at ¥168 per month.
What we like
- Reliable software
- Easy access for Chinese clients
- Class recording function
What we don’t like
- Not available for new users outside of China
- Limited time on the basic free plan
- Minimal functions limiting interactivity in class.
Teach With Koala
Teach with Koala is an up-and-coming platform that is drastically growing in popularity within the online teaching community – and for good reason.
If you haven’t already, make sure to check out all of Koala’s features in this post here.
Also known as Koala Go, this platform offers an all-in-one tool for teachers looking for an interactive platform. Not only does it provide standard features such as a whiteboard, annotation, and screen-sharing functions. But it also offers:
- Rewards
- Cobrowser where students can interact directly with screen elements
- 3d immersive learning environment
- Invoicing system
- Additional income opportunities with a teacher marketplace and class marketplace.
The 3D immersive environment is like nothing else on the market. Think of it like Minecraft with the ability to build blocks and create a range of classrooms. For example, I have created a Fairground, Medieval Castle, Farm, and more which students love to explore whilst practising their English.
It is my personal favourite teaching platform and the one I have transferred all of my personal students across to from Zhumu.
There is a basic free plan offered with Teach with Koala where you can create three whiteboards and teach an unlimited number of students. But, it does limit your use of the co-browser which I feel is a core feature, and, there are ads which pop up very frequently causing disruption to your lesson.
The paid version is $263.88 a year or $21.99 a month. If you do wish to purchase the paid version, you can use our affiliate link and receive $48 off the annual price.
What we like
- 3d playground where students each have their own avatar to control and explore learning environments
- A co-browser to incorporate immersive learning Vs passive learning.
- Additional opportunities for teachers to support fellow teachers and diversify their income
What we don’t like
- No internal class recording function. You would need to use a third-party tool to record your screen whilst teaching
- Requires students to have fully updated devices, which can be quite challenging to achieve with language barriers.
Superkid
Another relatively newer platform but with incredible potential to build your independent online teaching business from one place.
Superkid is an all-in-one platform enabling you to offer both live and pre-recorded classes. An account with Superkid provides you with a bookable calendar for you to set your hours with your students, recorded lessons, an interactive teaching area, invoicing, and more.
The platform itself is highly interactive with a standard whiteboard, but also just like with Teach with Koala, you have interactive elements where students can grab and move items across the screen.
They also have a whiteboard, document tab, and co-browser, plus subject-specific tools e.g. rulers and graphs for teaching maths.
Within the co-browser, students can interact directly with moveable elements on the screen – great for independent online ESL teachers using curriculums such as Abridge Academy.
Superkid also has
- Interactive rewards
- Emojis to provide reactions to your students
- Option to add coupons to your classes
- Students own portals/profiles where they can access their classes and previous recordings.
Superkid has 3 pricing levels with the basic package being free, bar a 15% commission fee taken from bookings. The free plan does come with a limit of only 2 free classes per student per month but is ideal for independent teachers just getting started.
Their next plan is £27 per month with no student limits at all and includes Superkids resource library for you to use too.
Finally, their best value plan is £49 per month which includes everything in the previous plan plus access to get EPIC! Books, Wordwall pro subscription, and a choice of curriculum from Abridge Academy, Young Learners Readers, or Going Up Education.
What we like
- All in one tool with a huge range of features
- Students own portals to access all lesson recordings, class bookings, and resources set
- Classes automatically recorded
- Co-browser feature
What we don’t like
- Limited interactivity on the main classroom pages outside of the co-browser
- Busy platform needing stable internet connections and updated devices which isn’t always easy to achieve with students
ClassIn
Classin is an oldie but goodie where online platforms for independent teachers are concerned. It is well known and was actually used by several of the old big ESL companies as their teaching platform.
It includes a range of features helping independent online ESL teachers run their businesses efficiently and professionally. Features including:
- Being able to send messages to students and attach different files
- Grading homework
- Producing learning reports for individual students
- Being able to make use of breakout rooms
- Use a range of teaching tools such as a timer, dice, and quiz questions
- Plus the ability to upload your teaching materials to the classroom.
Although Classin has many tools integrated, including a visual reward for students to receive, it doesn’t have a co-browser function. Meaning that interactions are limited to drawing and typing tools within the whiteboard.
Classin does offer a free version of its platform for educators to use, but it is quite limited. You do not gain access to as many of their tools, and you are limited to 40-minute classes with only 20 per month. Their website is not very transparent in terms of pricing, but for their pro account, which is what a growing independent ESL business would need, it costs $300 for the year. This does include unlimited classes and offers more teaching tools to support your online lesson.
What we like
- Provides some excellent teaching tools to help engage students
- Includes messaging and the ability to send files to your student all from the same platform
What we don’t like
- Its basic plan is not sufficient for an established independent online ESL teacher
- Its pro plan is quite expensive when compared with its competition
Voov
Voov is another teaching platform that many online ESL teachers turned to when moving independently as it is easily accessible to clients in China.
Available in over 100 countries, Voov is easy to use and is compatible with tablets, computers, and mobile phones.
Within the platform, its core features include
- Video calling with up to 2000 attendees
- Screen sharing functions
- A whiteboard with tools such as drawing, text, and highlighting
- Live class comments section plus reaction emojis
One of the reasons this platform has been quite popular with teachers just starting their independent businesses is that it is completely free. There is a pro plan, but their free plan includes everything a teacher needs to get started, with no class time restrictions or the number of classes booked in a month.
What we like
- Free plan ideal for new independent online ESL teachers who might not have the budget for better technology
- Includes essential tools for connecting with students and does not require a high bandwidth
What we don’t like
- Very basic platform, without interactive features or additional tools to engage students
- No option to send messages to students or additional learning resources
Vei
Another relatively new kid on the block, Vei is an all-in-one platform that not only offers live video calls but helps you manage the back end of your business and client leads too.
With a full CRM, within Vei you can
- Manage clients and prospective clients
- Send emails and reminders directly from the platform
- Schedule calls and produce a booking calendar to share
- Set up and receive payments
- Send files to your students.
Although Vei has its own video calling program you can use, it also connects with popular programs such as Zoom and Google Meet.
Like most of the platforms shared here for online ESL teachers, Vei also offers a free plan. This includes up to 5 students per booking, which is ideal if you offer group classes. It does however only include 3 free sessions, after which you will need to upgrade to their paid plan.
Vei’s premium plan costs $360 for the year or $39 per month. There are no limits to the number of customers or classes taught, and you can create pre-recorded courses too. Their premium plan also includes email marketing and the ability to create a customizable landing page for your business.
What we like
- Everything is in one place to simplify your business tasks
- Ability to create a landing page which is excellent if you do not have a website
What we don’t like
- Can be quite costly if you are just starting your private tutoring business
- Not ideal for teaching children as there aren’t any interactive or engaging elements to the platform.
Skype
Skype is another well-known platform around the world. But, like Zoom, it is incredibly basic and probably best used for teaching adults.
Being well known, it has a global reach and is easily accessed in many countries. You can message your students via chat and video call within the platform.
Aside from this, however, Skype does not have many more features. For teaching children, I feel it is too basic and plain to retain a child’s attention online. But it could be exactly what you’re looking for as an adult teacher, especially if you are focusing on conversational lessons.
The good news is that Skype is free for all calls made to another Skype account. You only need to pay for calls made to mobile or landline numbers. Prices vary depending on what country you are calling and whether using Skype credits or not.
What we like
- Easy system ideal for conversational classes
- Great for communicating with adult clients
- Free to use
What we don’t like
- No form of interaction
- The very limited system focused solely on calls Vs using a whiteboard or shared browser
- Not ideal for teaching younger learners.
Google Classroom and Google Meet
Google Classroom is another free online platform that helps independent teachers to connect with their students.
You are able to share classroom announcements with your students and include a range of material from Google’s products e.g. YouTube videos or Google Drive files.
A feature we really like with Google Classrooms is that you can set assignments for your students to complete without having to use a third-party messaging app. These can be essays, quizzes, reading tasks, and so on. Your students don’t need to print anything out and can submit answers directly via their account and you can give feedback and grade assignments given.
Google Classroom alone however is not enough for independent online esl teachers to be able to connect with their students. You also need to utilize Google Meet.
Whereas Google Classroom is great for the back end before and after class activities, Google Meet is what you would use for the live teaching part of your services. Not only can you meet live with your students, but you can make use of their whiteboard and break-out rooms similar to how Zoom works.
On top of this, Google Meet is able to connect with other Google products such as Jamboard, helping to improve interactivity and collaboration elements in class.
Unfortunately, however, if you focus on offering your services to the Chinese market, your students will only be able to access these programs using a VPN. Classroom and Meet are both Google products, which are banned across China.
What we like
- Basic products are free (optional add-ons require payment)
- Messaging system and extra learning materials can be sent from the same place
- Easy to use
What we don’t like
- Not easily accessible to the Chinese market
- As a Google product, their security and privacy policies are questionable
- Could be quite costly for a truly interactive learning experience having to purchase different add-ons individually
Now you know the important ins and outs of each of these platforms for independent online ESL teachers to use, you can establish which one would be the best option for you.
Consider where you are in your business e.g. just starting out with limited funds, or being able to invest in better technology. Also, think about your business needs. Do you teach children and need something with interactive elements to retain their engagement and motivate them to participate? Do you want a system that includes messaging and sending files? Would you prefer all of your invoices to be sent from the same place?
Answering these questions will help you establish which is the best platform to help your business grow efficiently and reputably.
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