Latin tutor: what tutoring costs and what the alternatives are

What a Latin tutor costs

There are no nationwide, independent price surveys in Germany. These figures give an orientation:

• Private one-to-one tutoring: a large tutoring platform states an average of around €23 per hour for Latin, usually €20 to €30, less or more depending on the city. Group lessons are cheaper.
• Tutoring centres: each branch sets its own prices. Examples from price lists: one-to-one lessons for €224 a month with two sessions per week, or €299 a month, sometimes plus a registration fee.
• Online tutoring: Stiftung Warentest, the German consumer testing organisation, tested seven providers in early 2025. Prices depend on the subscription model, the package of hours and the tutor, and were in part “confusing and non-transparent”.

According to a 2016 study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, around 1.2 million school students in Germany had private tutoring at that time; at the Gymnasium (academic secondary school) it was 18.7 percent. Parents spent almost €900 million a year on it in total. There are no more recent representative figures.

When a tutor is the better choice

To be honest: in some cases, clearly. A good tutor sees exactly where the problem lies, explains a rule a second time in a different way and coordinates with the school lessons. Research from England shows clear learning gains from one-to-one tuition – if it is of high quality, stays close to classroom teaching and runs in short, frequent sessions over a few weeks.

At the same time its effect is disputed: an analysis of large school achievement studies in Hamburg found no measurable advantage of private tutoring in comparable groups. Stiftung Warentest advises seeing tutoring as temporary help, not as a “permanent crutch”, and warns: if only the parents want it, it has little chance of success.

A tutor is particularly worthwhile when there are big gaps from earlier years, when moving up to the next year is at risk or when a child does not get started when learning alone.

What a learning app can take over

Much of what tutoring costs is simply practice: producing forms, identifying sentence elements, revising vocabulary. That works without a paid lesson too – provided the exercise helps you on instead of only saying “wrong”.

Disce ludens was built by a Latin teacher for exactly that: graded hints instead of the solution, fair checking, a flashcard box that plans the revision. But an app does not explain in conversation and does not notice when a child loses interest. It works best alongside school lessons – and alongside a tutor if one is needed: the tutoring session is kept for explaining, the practice happens in between. The app is in German: exercises, hints and meanings are German, as in the original.

Free and low-cost help

• Education and participation package (Bildungs- und Teilhabepaket): in Germany, children from families receiving basic income support, social assistance, the child supplement or housing benefit can get learning support, even if moving up a year is not at risk. A separate application is needed, usually with confirmation from the school; responsible is the Jobcenter or the city or district.
• “Students help students”: many schools arrange for older students to tutor younger ones, free of charge or for little money. It is worth asking.
• All-day schools: at all-day schools, support is more often free than at half-day schools.
• The Latin teacher: knows best where the gaps are and often knows good local options.

What parents should look out for with tutoring

• Compare several offers and only sign after a satisfactory trial lesson.
• Ask about the tutor’s qualifications and the group size.
• Choose a short minimum term and a short notice period; factor in registration fees.
• Send cancellations in a way you can prove, for example by registered mail.
• Coordinate tutoring with the teacher so that it builds on the school lessons.

Try it

A real exercise from Disce ludens:

What Disce ludens does – and what it doesn’t

Frequently asked questions