Availy vs Teachworks — A Simpler, Flat-Priced Alternative
Teachworks is a capable platform for multi-branch tutoring businesses. But its base-plus-per-lesson pricing, paid SMS add-on, and heavier setup can be a lot for a solo instructor or small studio. Availy covers the same day-to-day — self-booking, credits, reminders, and student records — at one flat price.
| Feature | Availy | Teachworks |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat — $29/mo solo, $99/mo studio, unlimited students, no per-lesson fees | A base fee plus a charge per student-lesson, so cost rises as you teach more |
| Email & SMS reminders | Both included, opt-in per channel | Email included; SMS is a paid add-on (purchased as credits) |
| Calendar sync & invites | Instructors connect Google Calendar: lessons push into it and their Google busy times block availability. Plus a personal feed for every user (Google, Apple & Outlook) and an invite on every booking email | Staff calendar feeds (free add-on) plus a two-way Google Calendar sync add-on; feeds are staff-only — no student or family feeds |
| Student self-booking | Native — students book from your real-time availability | Available via add-ons; reviewers note it can be fiddly to set up |
| Setup effort | Launch your studio the same afternoon | Powerful but heavier — reviewers cite a steep, sometimes paid, onboarding |
| Lesson credits & packages | Prepaid credits with instructor-set rates and optional expiry | Prepaid packages and automated invoicing |
| Learning plans & homework | Goals and homework tasks per student, shared with parents and pulled into lesson reminders | Lesson notes on each session |
| Online payment processing | Yes — students pay invoices by card via Stripe (USD & CAD), no Availy markup, plus balance & who's-paid tracking | Yes — built-in Stripe payments (cards + ACH) |
| Student & parent portals | Students and guardians get their own logins | Yes — parent/student portal |
| Multi-location / branches | Multi-instructor studios (up to 10 instructors on Studio) | Yes — branch accounts built for multi-location businesses |
| Your own branded subdomain & landing page | Studio plan: yourstudio.availy.app with your brand | Website booking plugin for your existing site |
Comparison based on each product's publicly published features and pricing as of July 2026. Teachworks is a trademark of its respective owner and is not affiliated with Availy. Details change — check their site for the latest.
When Teachworks is the better fit
If you run a larger tutoring center or franchise with multiple branches, need deep back-office tooling, QuickBooks sync, or an API to build on, Teachworks is built for that scale. Its per-lesson pricing and add-ons make more sense for an established multi-location business than for a solo instructor.
Common questions
- Is Availy cheaper than Teachworks?
- It depends on how much you teach. Teachworks charges a base fee plus a charge per student-lesson, so your bill grows with your lesson volume, while Availy is a flat $29 per month for a solo instructor or $99 per month for a studio with unlimited students and no per-lesson fees. A low-volume tutor may pay less on Teachworks; a busy studio will usually pay less on Availy, and always knows the bill in advance.
- Does Availy charge extra for SMS reminders?
- No. Email and SMS reminders are both included in every Availy plan and each channel is opt-in per user. On Teachworks, SMS is a paid add-on rather than part of the base plan.
- Does Availy sync with Google Calendar like Teachworks does?
- Close, and included rather than an add-on. Connect your Google account and Availy writes your lessons straight into your Google calendar, then reads your Google busy times so anything already on your calendar blocks the slots students can book. Teachworks' add-on also updates Availy when you edit the event in Google; Availy doesn't do that yet, so scheduling changes still happen in Availy. Every user — students and parents included — also gets a personal calendar feed for Google, Apple or Outlook, and a calendar invite on every booking email.
When to choose Availy
Choose Availy if you're a solo instructor or small studio who wants predictable flat pricing, SMS reminders included, and a setup you finish the same day — not a months-long onboarding. You still get self-booking, lesson credits, reminders, and student records, without add-ons or per-lesson fees.
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