When I launched TutorLyft, I promised myself one thing: I’d never build a platform that treated tutoring like a commodity. I’d seen what happens when companies scale fast and put growth ahead of trust.
The first time I typed “Superprof reviews” into Google, I thought I was looking at a competitor. Instead, I was looking at a warning sign.
On the surface, the story looked good. Trustpilot shows a 4.0 out of 5 rating across thousands of reviews. Glassdoor reports that 85% of tutors would recommend it to a friend. At first glance, you might think: “Seems safe. Why not try it?”
But here’s the truth: the deeper I dug, the more the reviews told me something else entirely. And what they revealed is exactly why I believe families need alternatives that put fit, safety, and transparency first.
The glossy side of Superprof reviews
Superprof is massive. With millions of tutors around the world, it markets itself as a global hub for learning anything: math, languages, music, coding — you name it.
For parents, that’s appealing. Search for a tutor, click a profile, get connected. For tutors, the pitch is “set your own rates, no commission.”
That’s the official story. The one you’ll find on Trustpilot or Glassdoor:
- Trustpilot: 4.0 stars. Reviews say “easy to use,” “lots of choice,” “helpful tutor.”
- Glassdoor: 4.1 stars. Tutors praise flexibility, the ability to “be your own boss.”
- Indeed: Thousands of tutor reviews describe it as a useful side hustle, especially for part-timers.
If you stop there, you’d think Superprof is a safe bet.
But search one more word: “reddit”
Like many parents do, I added one extra word to my search: “reddit.” And the tone shifted completely.
I found threads (example 1, example 2) where udents and tutors described experiences that went far beyond the glossy 4-star average:
- “Superprof is a SCAM! They make you pay a fee to message a tutor and then everyone you meet is not available.”
- I tried signing up as a student and I have to pay a monthly fee of $49 just to contact a teacher! I find this a bit outrageous, since this fee does not cover any of the lessons. So ya, it’s not the best platform to use.
- “They don’t really tell you that you have to pay to connect. I never had a single lesson, and they refused to refund me.”
- “Tutors don’t respond, or they ghost after one message. You’re still billed.”
The themes were consistent: hidden fees, poor communication, refunds denied, tutors unverified or inactive.
And that’s when it clicked for me. These weren’t just bad reviews — they were broken trust.
Why this matters
For a parent, trying tutoring is already a leap of faith. It’s admitting: “my child needs extra help, and I need to find the right person to guide them.” That’s not easy.
Now imagine paying just to send a message — and hearing nothing back. Or booking someone who cancels last minute. Or realizing your child’s first experience with tutoring was with someone who didn’t have the subject-matter expertise to teach the material.
I’ve spoken with Canadian parents who told me:
We tried tutoring once through Superprof. We thought we were paying for a lesson, but later realized it was just a subscription fee to message tutors. Our child never even had a session — and we felt misled.
That’s devastating. Not because they had a bad experience with a tutor — but because the platform’s design left them believing tutoring itself was broken.
As a founder, I can live with competition. But I can’t live with families walking away from education altogether because their first try felt like a scam.
The hidden flaws behind the ratings
The problem isn’t just individual bad experiences. It’s structural. Here’s what keeps showing up when you cut through the surface:
- Pay before trust
Parents are asked to purchase a “Student Pass” or subscription before even speaking to a tutor. If that tutor never responds, the money is gone. - Refund opacity
Multiple reviews describe refunds being denied even when no lessons occurred. Policies are vague, leaving parents stuck. - Weak tutor vetting
On Superprof, almost anyone can create a tutor profile. There’s little to no formal vetting — credentials are often self-reported, and inactive profiles can sit live for months. To a parent, the listing looks legitimate, but in reality there’s no guarantee the tutor has been verified, is active, or is even qualified to teach the subject they advertise. - Visibility for sale
Tutors often complain they need to pay for “premium placement” to get leads. Good educators get buried without paying extra. - Marketplace over relationships
Platforms like this prioritize “matching volume.” But tutoring isn’t about transactions. It’s about fit, trust, and continuity.
Individually, these issues might be tolerable. Together, they erode the very thing tutoring depends on: confidence.
What I chose to do differently
When I built TutorLyft, I carried these lessons with me. The goal wasn’t just to “be another platform.” It was to prove you could scale without sacrificing trust.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Parents and students can book a free consultation first. You don’t pay just to send a message.
- Every tutor is vetted. Real people, real credentials, verified before they join.
- Refunds aren’t a fight. If something doesn’t work, we fix it. Period.
- Tutors are matched with care. Our goal is not “as many as possible,” but “the right one the first time.”
It’s slower to build this way. It doesn’t create millions of profiles overnight. But it means when a parent or student tries tutoring for the first time, their review doesn’t end with “never again.”
The bigger picture
It might sound like I’m piling on Superprof. And in some ways, I am. I don’t doubt there are thousands of parents and students who’ve had a positive experience with the platform — and I’m genuinely glad for them. I want Superprof to succeed in making tutoring accessible, because more students getting support is always a good thing. But that’s not what many reviews, community threads, and my own conversations with families reflect.
Superprof is a massive platform, and this article only scratches the surface of its impact on how families experience tutoring — and how those first experiences can shape their trust in tutoring more broadly.
And that’s the real danger. For a lot of families, Superprof will be their first taste of tutoring. They’ll sign up, pay what they think is a lesson fee, and instead get stuck with a subscription or a tutor who never replies. After that kind of experience, parents don’t just walk away saying “Superprof doesn’t work.” They walk away believing “all tutoring companies are a rip-off.”
That single conclusion ripples out. It keeps kids from trying again with a different tutor. It leaves parents frustrated and disillusioned. And it damages the credibility of tutoring as a whole — even for the platforms and educators working hard to get it right.
That’s why one of our core operating principles at TutorLyft is simple: earn every booking. We recognize that families are choosing to spend their hard-earned dollars with us, and that trust has to be respected every single time. Tutoring isn’t supposed to feel like a gamble. It’s supposed to feel like progress, hope, and possibility. Families deserve that — from day one.
.jpg)