Tuition is one of the largest discretionary costs a family in the Emirates carries, and one of the least transparent. Rates are quoted by the hour, by the subject, and rarely in writing. This guide sets out what is actually being charged in 2026 so you can judge whether your own arrangement is fair.
The published 2026 rates
| Type | Rate | Class size | Live teaching? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private home tutor, Dubai | AED 120–250 per hour | 1 | Yes |
| Tuition centre, group | AED 80–150 per hour | 10–20 | Yes |
| Online 1-to-1, CBSE specialist | AED 60–120 per hour | 1 | Yes |
| Senior secondary specialist (IB, A-Level, Class 12) | AED 150–300+ per hour | 1 | Yes |
| Large online platform | AED 45–80 per session | 20–40 | Usually |
| Recorded-video app | AED 60–200 per month | — | No |
Why CBSE tuition is cheaper than IB or A-Level
Supply. There are far more tutors in the UAE who know the CBSE syllabus well than there are who can teach IB Higher Level Mathematics. Scarcity, not quality, sets most of the difference between an AED 80 rate and an AED 250 one.
The calculation most families never do
Hourly pricing hides the annual figure. Work it through for a Grade 8 child taking three subjects at a mid-market AED 120 an hour, once a week each:
- 3 subjects × 4.33 weeks × AED 120 = AED 1,559 per month
- Across a ten-month academic year: AED 15,590
- For two children: AED 31,180 a year
That is a school fee in itself — and it buys three hours of teaching a week, not fifteen.
Five questions worth asking any provider
- How many children are in the class? Six is attention. Thirty is a lecture. There is no version of “small group” that includes twenty-five.
- Is it live, and are cameras on? A recording cannot notice that your child stopped following.
- What is the all-in monthly figure for every subject we need? Not the hourly rate. The monthly total.
- Can I sit in on a class? Any provider who hesitates has answered a different question.
- What happens if we want to stop? Notice periods and annual lock-ins tell you how confident they are in the teaching.
What a fair price looks like
There is no single right number, but there is a right ratio: what you pay should track how much of a teacher’s attention your child actually receives. Paying AED 250 an hour for one-to-one attention is expensive but coherent. Paying AED 100 an hour to be one of twenty-five children is not — you are paying private-tuition prices for a classroom experience your child already has at school.
Rates compiled from published 2026 UAE tutoring price guides. Figures vary by emirate, subject and grade — treat them as a range, not a quotation.
Written by the academic team at Progmetics Education. Book a free demo class to see how we work.
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