How much should I charge for music lessons or tutoring?

Enough to make the income you want once holidays, costs and unpaid lessons are counted, which is what this calculator works out. We don't publish typical rates: what someone else charges can't tell you whether your price covers your year.

Why does it start at 40 weeks?

Many teachers and tutors teach in school terms, and New Zealand's four school terms add up to 39 or 40 weeks a year. Families don't pay for the holidays between terms, so those weeks bring in nothing. If you teach through the holidays, change the number.

Is the income before or after tax?

Before tax. The calculator works out what your lessons need to bring in, and your tax comes out of that. If you have a take-home figure in mind, put in a higher one.

Do I need to add GST to my prices?

Only if you're registered for GST. You must register once your turnover reaches $60,000 in 12 months, or you expect it to, and you can choose to register below that. Once registered, you add 15% GST on top of the prices the calculator shows. Inland Revenue sets out the rules at ird.govt.nz.

Should a shared lesson cost less?

Less for each student, usually. Many teachers charge a shared lesson a little more in total than a one-to-one lesson, for the extra preparation. The calculator shows each student's share at your hourly rate, so you can round up from there.

What to charge for a lesson, worked back from what you want to earn.

Put in the income you want before tax, the weeks and hours you teach and what the business costs. You get an hourly rate, a price for each lesson length and what a term comes to.

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Your year

Income you want a year, before tax $

What you want to make from teaching once costs are paid.

Weeks you teach a year

School terms add up to 39 or 40.

Hours of lessons a week

Time spent teaching, not preparing.

Business costs a year $

Room hire, instruments and music, software, travel.

Lessons you don't get paid for %

Cancellations you don't charge for, free trial lessons.

What to charge

Your hourly rate

$82.90

$63,000 of fees from 760 paid hours a year.

One-to-one lessons
One-to-one	Each lesson	10-week term
30 minutes	$42	$420
45 minutes	$63	$630
60 minutes	$83	$830

Shared 60-minute lessons

2 students: $42 each ($84 in all)
3 students: $28 each ($84 in all)

That's your hourly rate split between the students. Many teachers charge a shared lesson a little more in total than a one-to-one.

Lesson prices are rounded up to the whole dollar. If you're registered for GST, add 15% on top.

Compare with what you charge now Optional

Your price now $

For a lesson of

Why weeks and unpaid lessons matter more than you'd think

A year has 52 weeks, but families pay for school terms, and New Zealand's four terms add up to 39 or 40 weeks. The holidays between them bring in nothing, and a few public holidays fall in term time too. So does the lesson a student misses that you don't charge for, and the free trial that doesn't turn into a student.

Work your price out as if you teach 48 weeks and a 30-minute lesson comes to $35. Teach the 40 weeks of the school year at that price and you make $50,200 before tax, not $60,000.

A worked example

Say you want $60,000 a year before tax. You teach 20 hours a week for 40 weeks, the business costs $3,000 a year, and 5% of lessons go unpaid.

Your lessons need to bring in $63,000: the income plus the costs.
You teach 800 hours a year, and 5% of them aren't paid, which leaves 760 paid hours.
$63,000 over 760 hours is $82.90 an hour.
A 30-minute lesson is half of that, rounded up: $42. A 45-minute lesson is $63, and an hour is $83.
A 10-week term of weekly 30-minute lessons comes to $420.

What to do with your price

Write it up as a price list, with one price for each lesson length you teach. If you invoice by the term, give the term fee as well, so a family knows what to expect. Work it out again each year, and whenever your hours or costs change.

Questions people ask.

How much should I charge for music lessons or tutoring?: Enough to make the income you want once holidays, costs and unpaid lessons are counted, which is what this calculator works out. We don't publish typical rates: what someone else charges can't tell you whether your price covers your year.
Why does it start at 40 weeks?: Many teachers and tutors teach in school terms, and New Zealand's four school terms add up to 39 or 40 weeks a year. Families don't pay for the holidays between terms, so those weeks bring in nothing. If you teach through the holidays, change the number.
Is the income before or after tax?: Before tax. The calculator works out what your lessons need to bring in, and your tax comes out of that. If you have a take-home figure in mind, put in a higher one.
Do I need to add GST to my prices?: Only if you're registered for GST. You must register once your turnover reaches $60,000 in 12 months, or you expect it to, and you can choose to register below that. Once registered, you add 15% GST on top of the prices the calculator shows. Inland Revenue sets out the rules at ird.govt.nz.
Should a shared lesson cost less?: Less for each student, usually. Many teachers charge a shared lesson a little more in total than a one-to-one lesson, for the extra preparation. The calculator shows each student's share at your hourly rate, so you can round up from there.

How Prosford HQ does this

In Prosford HQ you set each lesson length up once, with its price, and every lesson booked on it charges that price. A shared lesson is priced for each student. When it's time to bill, a billing run drafts one invoice for each family from what they're enrolled in and what's been taught, ready for you to check and send.

Invoicing and billing in Prosford HQ

Put next term in properly.

Your studio is ready the moment you finish the form. 30 days free, no card, and we'll move your students in.

Start your free trial