Figuring out how to price your piano lessons is one of biggest challenges for a teacher when opening a studio.
How much you charge depends on if you want to be an ordinary teacher or an extraordinary teacher living an extraordinary life.
The ordinary way to figure out how much to charge for piano lessons is to call 10-20 teachers in your area and ask them what they charge. Ask them about their training, years of experience, and any special features of their studio. Then analyze the data you’ve collected and set a price that matches what other teachers with your level of expertise are charging.
That’s an easy way to set your prices, and if you’re just getting starting you might want to set your prices following these steps.
But I’m guessing that because you’re visiting this website, you’d like to be an extraordinary teacher and live an extraordinary life. If that’s the case, the way you set your prices will be very different from the way an ordinary teacher sets prices.
Most piano teachers severely undervalue themselves. Why? In most cases, it’s because they worry about getting enough students to fill their slots, lack confidence to charge what they are really worth, or worry about asking families to pay more.
You will overcome your fears and insecurities about charging higher prices as you work to become an extraordinary teacher, and this website will help you get there. Utilize the resources in the Piano Teacher’s Playground, learn how to teach kids to create music through piano improv, and learn how to better structure your piano teaching business. Be sure to also subscribe to my newsletter because I share my best tips and in-depth trainings only with subscribers and in my teacher training courses.
As you become a better teacher, you’ll find that you don’t have to offer the lowest prices to attract clients. Yes, there are a lot of people looking for a cheap piano teacher. But there are also a lot of people looking for a high-quality piano teacher, and they are willing to pay more for such a teacher. And you’ll likely discover that you get higher quality students when you charge higher prices.
Your prices should reflect what you believe your time is worth and the amount of value students receive from your instruction.
Who determines what your time is worth? You do! Take a minute to evaluate your skill level, how many years of experience you have, how much time you spend preparing lesson plans for individual students, and all the special things you do that make your studio stand out. When you take everything into account, how much do you believe your instruction is worth?
Would you like some reassurance that people in your community will pay for quality extracurricular instruction? Call up a ballet studio, hockey league or a karate class and ask what they charge. You might be surprised to see how highly the instructors value an hour’s worth of their time, and I hope this will inspire you to charge what you believe you’re worth and reassure you that your community can support higher tuition for high quality piano instruction.
What should you do if you have current students who you would like to keep, but who you know couldn’t afford a higher rate? Go ahead and raise your prices and then watch my blog for an upcoming article for ideas on how to work with these students.
Charging what you’re worth will help you live an extraordinary life
I know way too many piano teachers who put their heart and soul into their lessons and work long hours every week and still only have a few hundred extra bucks to show for it each month. Sure, a few hundred helps, but it will still take you forever to save up for a new family vehicle or the family trip you’d love to take.
What if instead you could be earning a few thousand each month? What could you accomplish with a higher income?
And if you were charging what you’re really worth, would you have to work as many hours? Instead of cramming in every single time slot from the time school lets out until evening, could you just work the hours that you wanted to work, and then have more time to enjoy the other aspects of your life?
And if you were an extraordinary teacher who charged what she was really worth, would you enjoy teaching even more? You could more easily afford fun resources for your students as well as professional development to help yourself become an even better teacher.
Summary of how to choose your rates for piano lessons
I’d reccommend that you do still call 10-20 teachers in your area to give you a starting point as you begin to consider prices. Piano tuition varies hugely from one region to another, and even from one city to another within the same state.
In 2012 I called about 30 teachers in my area and recorded this data:
- A novice teacher was charging $8-$10 for a 30 minute lesson.
- A more experienced teacher was asking between $40-$55 per month, in most cases for weekly 30 minute lessons.
- An experienced teacher with confidence charged $55-$80 each month.
- A high-end teacher was typically offering lessons at a rate between $80 and $120 per month.
I live in a area that is saturated with piano teachers and this data is already old and becoming even more outdated, so please do be sure to call teachers where you live and find out the current going rates. Your area will likely have very different pricepoints than these, but I hope this info is helpful for some teachers.
After calling piano teachers in your area, take some time to evaluate all that you have to offer and what you really believe your instruction is worth. Resist the negative self-talk that would convince you to undervalue yourself. Determine a rate that you honestly believe represents what your time is worth and the amount of value students receive through your instruction. And if students gain more from you than they would with an average teacher, then you should definitely ask for more than the average teachers in your city.
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Excellent article! Thank you!! Another thing to consider when figuring your prices is what is your overhead for your business? I teach at our local music store, so I pay rent every month. I also have to pay childcare for my son while I teach. I also live out in the county–about 25 min from town. I would probably put myself in the 2nd category range…($45-$55) having taught about 7.5 years. I charge $75/month though. After reading through your article, I wondered if I was charging too much! I calculated my childcare, gas, and rent overhead per student and that comes to a whopping $26.16 per student in overhead each month. This isn’t including tithing to my church or taxes! So my take home pay is about $49…again having not included tithe or taxes. Wow! I’m not making as much as I thought!
Excellent point, Becky! I’m so glad you posted this comment, and a lot of teachers will benefit from reading your tip. I think most of us are surprised when we take the time to calculate our overhead. It really is something we should do so that we can be aware of how much we’re actually bringing home.
Also, the ranges listed are already very outdated, so I hope they don’t cause too much worry. They are so outdated that I wonder if they’re even helpful. But at least it gives some insight into the fact that there are different price levels for different levels of experience and specialties. Thanks again for your very helpful comment.
Great article! You nailed it. When I sit down and figure how much time I spend planning lessons, it’s about 1/2 hour per student outside of the bench. I pointed that out to my parents at my last piano recital, yet they still want me to have longer lessons to make up for the time if they missed a lesson. And the time to print and laminate the games – yikes!
And then there are materials – I go through ink and paper like crazy! I charge $20/ year per student, but it’s not enough to invest in fun things, like the piano harp I saw on a FB post today, prizes and incentives for practicing, etc.
How do y’all charge for the extras?
Thanks you letting everyone, how much the lessons cost, I now I have the idea..
I use a monthly prize box as incentives and buy small things as I go. I don’t put everything in at once. But one of my parents started paying me a little bit extra because she saw how much I put in to teaching her kids. Don’t be afraid to still charge if they miss the lesson and don’t be afraid to charge more for the extra time. The time slot they were given and pay for is the time allotted for you to teach them. I used to do the same thing as you but realized I was putting in too much. I decided I would credit if I canceled the lesson, but if they missed I would still collect the money. It’s the time.
I teach violin, not piano. But I work the same way. Parents pay for the month, 4 lessons at a time, 90$ for 4 x 30 minutes and 120$ for in-home (Canadian dollars). If they miss, too bad so sad, you forfeit your money. If they let me know far enough ahead I will try to reschedule, of course. If I miss, which almost never happens, I reschedule them.
You’re gettting my time, whether you show up or not. I will never understand those parents who just don’t show up for lessons some of the time. But it gives me time to do the books so I’m not complaining!
Thanks for sharing what you do! You’re helping encourage others to be firm in their studio policies, and doing so makes life so much better for all of us teachers.
I’ve been teaching piano now privately in-home (at the student’s home) for about 20 years. What started out as a side job has, over the years, blossomed into a full-time career.
I have tried out many different pricing models and lesson policies over those years. But the current one I use (and that I think works best) is a tuition-based system during the school year. I charge the same flat rate for lessons every month regardless of the number of lessons taken. If a month has 5 weeks, I charge the same as 4. I have a no make-up policy in the home but offer a quarterly make-up day at my house should anyone choose to take advantage of it (they rarely do). In addition, the tuition includes 4-weeks of vacation each year coinciding with major school vacations. The months thy get a “free” fifth lesson makes up for it. In the summer, I prorate lessons at a slightly higher rate.
This allows me to plan my income, budget, and have more stability in my finances. Before the amount changed month to month. I would recommend giving students a policy letter that states your make-up/ missed lesson policy up at the first lesson and have them sign a copy. This has been invaluable when there has been a dispute (rate).
Hope this helps. Cheers!
Thank you so much for this! It was very helpful :)
Good day guys
I really enjoyed this article.
I’ve just got a quick question on how to choose what I feel my time/expertise is worth.
I’ve been trained by 6 of the world’s best piano instructors over these past 4 years and I’ve paid over $10000 for lessons and I’m literally fluent in every possible genre and even sub genres that you can think of.
When I was in a heavy metal band playing guitar I offered guitar lessons to upcoming musicians in my town and out of that came a few rock bands and some of them have played numerous live shows, but after the band broke up I started taking piano lessons and never looked back.
Although I’m new to teaching piano lessons I exactly know how to teach people getting very good at the piano like I do by watching my 6 instructors very closely and learn how they teach.
I personally feel that for my level of knowledge I want to charge $129 for 4x 30 minute lessons a month.
Is that maybe too high?
If someone can please give me some advise I will really appreciate it.
Cheers
Stephan
That’s only $10 more per month than what I charge. You’d be surprised what people will pay. Go for it! $32.25 per lesson is fairly competitive, from my experience.
Hi Kristin!
Are you talking about private one on one lessons or group lessons in this article?
Wonderful site, and a great post here about what to charge.
I’ve been teaching lessons as a side gig off and on for years now, but since 2017 my business has really skyrocketed. About 15 years ago, I charged $15 for a 30-minute saxophone less. Then, about ten years ago, I was charging $20 per half-hour. When a mother asked the price for clarinet lessons and expressed surprise about how cheap they were, I realized I could be demanding more.
From 2017 through 2019, I charged $25/half-hour lesson, on piano, bass, guitar, and saxophone, with a few music composition/theory students here and there, and one jazz piano student. It occurred to me that I could probably increase _again_ to $30 per lesson without adversely affecting business, so I went up to $30 in 2020.
Long story short, it’s worked. I lost one student, who was on the cusp of quitting; I think the price increase probably helped make his parents’ decision for him. None of my other students batted an eye, and I continue to bring on some new students. I’m down a bit from my peak in 2018-2019 (ten students per week), but it’s still an enjoyable (and lucrative) side business.
For reference, that’s my rate in the rural Southern United States, near a few small cities. I also teach music full-time at a local private school.
Thank you again for your wonderful website!
I charge $15 for a group lesson (up to 10 in a class) and $45 for 35 min private lessons. But I consider that I have to get a babysitter, as well, like someone said above. I’ve narrowed down all of my students to Tuesday-Wednesdays between 4-10pm (I have some students in other time zones). I’m not only classically trained, but do jazz improv, gospel music (black gospel, specifically, which is more complicated than jazz today), music theory, and ear training. I’m bridging everything together for every student.
Great article! I can’t believe how little teachers are charging for lessons.
Don’t undervalue yourself and charge what you are worth!
Hi, I am a young kid (not gonna state my age but I’m older than 10) who is level 8 RCM. I’ve always wanted to make a little bit money off my piano passion and knack. I’ve never taught before, but have been playing piano for 6.5 years now! I am clearly not skilled enough to teach seriously, but if I taught beginners piano, how much should I charge. Also, I wouldn’t own a studio (as I wouldn’t be able to afford rent) I would go to people’s houses. So I’m curious how I should advertise myself. Anyways, great article. It helped me a lot!
Hey Nick! Did you ever start teaching lessons? You can certainly make great money as a kid teaching lessons.
When my grandpa was in his teens he knew the guitar very very well. Because of this, he started teaching lessons. At one point he had 30-40 students a week (I forgot the exact number) and was making 3x what his dad made.
That might be an extreme example but if you can just get 5 a week and you charge just $20 for a lesson, that’s still $100 a week and a pretty fun activity.
Good luck!
Hey, I’m in a very similar situation as you, as a young teacher (high school age, but started teaching before). I charge $10 CAD for a thirty minute lesson.
I’m working on my level 9 RCM, have been playing for about 6 years, and have three students. I teach using piano adventures and have one student transferring into RCM.
Hooe this provides some insight.
Hope you are doing well!