TutorBird has become a popular choice among private tutors looking for a straightforward way to manage their administrative tasks. With its calendar-based billing system and intuitive interface, it lets educators spend less time on paperwork and more time on teaching. But as tutoring businesses grow and diversify, understanding TutorBird's strengths and where it reaches its limits becomes essential.
To create this TutorBird review, I've analyzed the platform extensively. I believe it's the ideal choice if:
- You're a solo private tutor or run a small tutoring operation
- You want simple, calendar-based billing that automatically calculates charges
- You need a basic website builder included with your subscription
- You don't require support for many languages beyond English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, or Polish
- You value straightforward pricing based on the number of tutors
However, TutorBird might not be the best choice if:
- You run a larger academy or learning center with many students
- You need broader multilingual support beyond the six languages TutorBird offers
- You need grading and transcript features
- You want mobile push notifications and more advanced communication tools
- Your pricing model would benefit from scaling by student count rather than tutor count
In this case, you should consider Teach 'n Go: a school management platform built for academies, learning centers, and tutoring businesses that need more comprehensive features. With support for over 20 languages, advanced communication tools, and pricing that scales with your student base, it's designed for educational businesses ready to grow beyond the solo-tutor model.
If you're exploring options for managing a larger tutoring operation, you can start your 14-day free trial of Teach 'n Go here: start your 14-day free trial.
Table of contents
What is TutorBird?
TutorBird is a web-based tutor management software designed for private tutors, tutoring centers, and test preparation centers. Based in Canada, the platform has been serving educators since 2014.
The platform was created to address a common issue: the administrative burden that takes tutors away from teaching. TutorBird aims to handle scheduling, billing, student management, and communication so educators can focus on what they do best.
The company describes itself as a small, passionate team that works together in a single office, which contrasts with many remote-first software companies.
At its core, TutorBird operates on a calendar-based billing philosophy. When tutors schedule lessons and mark attendance, the system automatically calculates what students owe. This tight integration between scheduling and billing is central to how the platform works.
TutorBird primarily targets individual private tutors and small tutoring businesses who need an affordable, straightforward solution. The platform supports multi-tutor operations as well, with features for managing staff schedules, permissions, and payroll calculations. Users consistently praise its ease of use and responsive customer support.
TutorBird pros & cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Calendar-based billing automatically calculates charges | ❌ Six languages may not cover all international needs |
| ✅ Generally intuitive interface | ❌ No built-in virtual classroom for online lessons |
| ✅ Affordable pricing starting at $14.95/month | ❌ Pricing scales per tutor, which may not suit larger operations |
| ✅ Website builder included in subscription | ❌ No grading or transcript features |
| ✅ Responsive customer support with phone and email | ❌ No mobile push notifications |
| ✅ 30-day free trial with 90-day money-back guarantee | — |
TutorBird review: How it works & key features
Calendar & scheduling: The foundation of TutorBird's approach
TutorBird's scheduling system serves as a key component of the entire platform.
The calendar supports private lessons, group sessions, and non-tutoring events, with options for recurring schedules at daily, weekly, or monthly intervals.
Users can create custom categories and locations for lessons, each with unique color coding for visual organization. The system includes automatic email and SMS reminders to reduce no-shows, with customizable timing and content for each reminder type.
A standout feature is the ability to sync with personal calendars like Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook. This two-way visibility helps tutors avoid double-booking by seeing personal commitments alongside their tutoring schedule.
For tutoring centers with multiple instructors, the platform manages tutor availability and prevents scheduling conflicts. The calendar filters by student, tutor, category, or location, making it easy to view specific subsets of the schedule.
Student management: Organized records in one place
The student management feature centralizes all client information.
Each student profile stores contact details, notes, and attachments, with lesson history and billing information accessible through other areas of the app. Students can be grouped by families, which simplifies communication and allows for combined invoicing when parents have multiple children enrolled.
TutorBird supports different student statuses: Active, Trial, Waiting, and Lead. This helps tutors track prospective students through the enrollment pipeline. The waitlist feature is very useful for managing capacity and ensuring potential clients aren't forgotten.
Bulk communication capabilities allow tutors to send emails to specific groups of students or all clients at once. The platform also supports importing student lists from spreadsheets, which speeds up the initial setup for tutors transitioning from other systems.
Billing & invoicing: Automated financial management
The billing system is where TutorBird's calendar-based approach functions best.
Rather than manually calculating charges, the platform automatically generates billing amounts based on scheduled lessons and attendance records. Tutors set default prices for each student (per lesson, monthly, or hourly), and the system handles the math.
Invoices can be created manually or automated on a recurring schedule. The platform supports automatic email delivery of invoices, with a summary sent to the tutor a few days before for review. Overdue reminders and late fees can also be automated, reducing awkward payment conversations.
For payment collection, TutorBird integrates with Stripe and PayPal, accepting credit cards and bank transfers. The Auto-Pay feature allows families to store a payment method on file for automatic charging when invoices are generated. Offline payments like cash or checks can be recorded manually.
Student portal and website builder
TutorBird offers a student portal where parents and students can access schedules, make payments, view lesson notes, and submit homework.
The website builder is an included feature that allows tutors to create a professional web presence without coding knowledge. The drag-and-drop editor offers mobile-responsive templates, branding customization, and integrated forms for new student registration. Tutors can use a free TutorBird subdomain or connect their own custom domain.
The login widget for the student portal can be embedded directly on websites built with TutorBird or on external platforms like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress.
Where TutorBird falls short
While TutorBird serves solo tutors and small operations well, several limitations become apparent as businesses grow or diversify.
These constraints reflect a platform optimized for simplicity rather than comprehensive school management.
Limited international capabilities
While TutorBird's interface is available in six languages (English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and Polish), businesses serving highly diverse international populations may find this insufficient.
Additionally, the platform relies on Stripe and PayPal for payments, and some users outside North America have reported that Stripe isn't available in their region, limiting payment options. (If you're unsure about regional payment support, Stripe’s availability overview is here: Stripe supported countries and availability.)
Pricing model constraints
The per-tutor pricing structure works well for solo practitioners but becomes less favorable as organizations grow. A tutoring center adding instructors faces linear cost increases regardless of how many students each tutor serves. Businesses with high student-to-tutor ratios might find alternative pricing models more economical.
Limited academic features
TutorBird focuses on attendance and billing records rather than comprehensive academic tracking. Schools that need detailed grade books, student transcripts, or formal progress reports will find these capabilities absent. The platform doesn't offer the depth of academic management that larger academies typically require.
Communication tools
The messaging capabilities include bulk email, SMS, and a Posts/Studio News module for announcements within the student portal. However, schools wanting mobile push notifications or more advanced outreach options will need to supplement with external tools.
These limitations aren't failures; they're the natural result of building a focused solution for individual tutors. However, they create opportunities for platforms designed to support larger educational operations.
Top TutorBird alternative: Teach 'n Go
Teach 'n Go provides a more comprehensive school management platform designed for larger educational operations.
Founded in 2013 by Natalie Masrujeh and Haris Petrasitis, the software serves academies, learning centers, and tutoring businesses in over 55 countries.
Multilingual platform for international operations
Perhaps the most significant differentiator is Teach 'n Go's support for over 20 languages.
Each user, whether staff, teacher, student, or parent, can set their own preferred language for the interface. This makes the platform accessible to diverse school communities where families may be more comfortable in their native language.
The supported languages include English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, German, and many others. While user-inputted content like notes and messages remains in the original language, the system navigation and interface elements adapt to each user's preference.
Comprehensive people management
Teach 'n Go's student information system goes beyond basic contact storage.
The platform manages detailed profiles for students, teachers, prospects, and related contacts, all interconnected in one database. Custom fields can be created to capture specific data points relevant to each school's needs.
The prospect tracking functionality helps schools manage their enrollment pipeline. Potential students are tracked from initial inquiry through to enrollment, with the ability to log notes along the way. When a prospect enrolls, they can be converted to students while retaining related contact data.
For schools with complex family structures, the system handles relationships between students and multiple contacts (parents, guardians, employers). Parents can access a single portal to view information for all their enrolled children and easily switch between profiles.
Advanced communication and reporting
Teach 'n Go provides multiple communication channels beyond basic email.
The platform supports group email, SMS messaging, in-app announcements, and mobile push notifications. Messages can be targeted to specific individuals, classes, or pre-defined contact lists.
Announcements can include images, links, and attachments, and can be scheduled for future delivery with expiration dates. The communication history tracks all sent messages, providing accountability and context for follow-up conversations.
The reporting capabilities extend to academic tracking as well. Teachers can record grades in a gradebook, and the system supports generating student transcripts and custom reports. Custom document templates allow schools to create branded certificates, letters, and reports that automatically pull student data using variables.
Flexible pricing for growing schools
Teach 'n Go's pricing scales with student count rather than staff numbers.
Starting at $79/month for up to 100 students, the model accommodates schools that grow their student base without penalizing them for adding teachers. This structure is advantageous for academies with favorable student-to-instructor ratios.
All pricing tiers include every feature: unlimited teachers, unlimited classes, mobile app access, all integrations, and the full communication suite. There are no feature gates based on plan level. Optional one-time setup services are available for training, data migration, and custom branding, but these aren't required.
The platform offers a 14-day free trial without requiring a credit card, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee for new subscribers.
Helpful internal read if you're comparing tools and workflows: how you can improve your school management system.
TutorBird or Teach 'n Go: Comparison summary
| Aspect | TutorBird | Teach 'n Go |
|---|---|---|
| Target audience | Solo tutors and small tutoring businesses | Academies, learning centers, and larger tutoring operations |
| Pricing model | Per tutor ($14.95 + $4.95/additional tutor) | Per student count ($79/month for up to 100 students) |
| Language support | 6 languages | 20+ languages |
| Student portal | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Access to schedules, payments, notes, and homework |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Comprehensive with homework submission and grades |
| Communication tools | ⭐⭐⭐ Email and SMS messaging |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Email, SMS, announcements, push notifications |
| Reporting & grades | ⭐⭐⭐ Attendance and billing reports |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Grades, gradebook, custom reports |
| Mobile app | Browser-based mobile access | Dedicated iOS and Android apps |
| Website builder | Included | Not included |
| Free trial | 30 days | 14 days |
| Best for | Individual tutors wanting simplicity | Schools needing comprehensive management |
Final verdict
The choice between TutorBird and Teach 'n Go depends on your business size, growth trajectory, and operational complexity.
👉 Choose TutorBird if you're a private tutor or run a small tutoring operation where simplicity matters most. The platform is great at the fundamentals: scheduling lessons, tracking attendance, and automating billing. Its calendar-based approach means less time calculating charges and more time teaching.
The included website builder and straightforward pricing make it accessible for educators just starting to formalize their business operations. If you don't need extensive academic tracking features like grading and transcripts, TutorBird delivers exactly what you need without unnecessary complexity.
Get started with TutorBird here.
👉 Choose Teach 'n Go if you're running an academy, language school, or learning center that requires more comprehensive management capabilities. The platform's multilingual support makes it suitable for international operations or diverse student populations. Advanced features like grading, gradebooks, and communication tools support the needs of larger educational organizations.
The student-based pricing model rewards growth without penalizing you for building your teaching team. For schools that have outgrown spreadsheets and need a system that scales with their ambitions, Teach 'n Go provides the infrastructure to manage it all.
Get started with Teach 'n Go here: start your 14-day free trial.
Both platforms serve their audiences well. TutorBird simplifies administration for independent educators; Teach 'n Go provides the depth that growing academies require. Your choice depends on where you are today and where you're heading tomorrow.
Related internal guide: school scheduling options for learning centers.
