How Much to Charge for Summer Camp, Tutoring and Kids' Classes

Most small providers set their first price by looking at what the place down the street charges. That tells you what families will pay. It doesn't tell you whether you'll make money. Start with your own numbers, then check the market.

How much should I charge for summer camp?

Charge enough to cover your weekly costs at a realistic enrollment, plus a margin, and then check that against local prices. For a national reference point, the American Camp Association puts the average day camp fee at $73 to $87 per child per day, for camps where day camp is at least half of what they run (as reported by Care.com in 2026). The association notes that the figures come from a sample, so treat them as a rough guide, not a target.

Your local market matters more than the national average. A camp in a high-rent metro and one in a small town can both be priced correctly and be far apart.

What are typical market rates for camps, tutoring and classes?

Published rate data exists for some categories and not others. Here is what current sources report:

Offering	Typical price	Unit	Source
Day camp (camps that mainly run day programs)	$73–$87	Per child, per day	American Camp Association, via Care.com (2026)
Tutoring, elementary to high school	About $24	Per hour (average posted starting rate)	Care.com (Sept. 2025)
Tutoring, college level	$60	Per hour (average posted starting rate)	Care.com (Sept. 2025)
Test prep tutoring	$100	Per hour (average posted starting rate)	Care.com (Sept. 2025)
Private yoga lesson	$125–$256 (average $181)	Per session	Thumbtack (2026)
Each extra student in a private yoga session	$5–$15	Per added student	Thumbtack (2026)

The Care.com tutoring figures are starting rates that tutors post, not what they end up charging. Specialized subjects and test prep sit at the top of the range.

How much should I charge for tutoring per hour?

Start from your costs and experience, then place yourself against local tutors in your subject. Care.com's September 2025 data shows average posted starting rates of about $24 an hour for elementary through high school, $60 for college-level tutoring and $100 for test prep.

If you tutor through a marketplace, price for the cut. Wyzant says tutors keep 75% of their posted hourly rate, so a $60 posted rate pays you $45. Wyzant says tutors keep their full rate for students they refer themselves.

How much should I charge for a kids' art class or kids' yoga class?

Price group classes per child per class, using the same cost method below. There is no reliable published national average for kids' group art or yoga classes, so local listings are your best benchmark.

The closest published yoga data is for private lessons: Thumbtack's 2026 guide puts the average at $181 per session, with $5 to $15 added for each extra student. A group class splits the instructor's time across many kids, so your per-child price will land well below a private-lesson price. For art, build materials into the price per child. Paint, clay and paper are a real cost per head, and they rise with every kid you add.

How do I calculate my price and break-even per child?

Add up every cost for one session or one week, divide by the number of kids you can realistically fill, add a margin, then adjust for payment and marketplace fees. Use these lines:

• Instructor pay: every staff hour, including setup and cleanup
• Space rent: the share of rent for the hours you use
• Materials: a cost per child
• Insurance: your general liability and any accident policy, spread across sessions
• Software and marketplace fees: registration software, card processing and any platform commission
• Marketing: ads, flyers and listing fees

Use a realistic fill rate, not your capacity. If you've run the program before, use last year's average enrollment. If it's new, assume you won't sell out.

Here is one example with hypothetical round numbers for a one-week, five-day day camp with 20 spots. These are not market figures. Replace them with your own.

Line (example only)	Amount
Instructor pay: 2 staff × 40 hours × $20	$1,600
Space rent for the week	$1,000
Insurance, share for the week	$150
Marketing for the week	$250
Fixed costs for the week	$3,000
Materials per child	$15
Realistic enrollment: 75% of 20 spots	15 kids
Break-even per child: $3,000 ÷ 15 + $15	$215
Price with a 20% margin: $215 × 1.2	$258
Price after assumed 3% card fees: $258 ÷ 0.97	$266, round to $270

In this example, $270 a week works out to $54 a day. That's below the American Camp Association's national day camp average, which suggests this camp has room to charge more if local prices support it.

How do marketplace fees change my price?

Marketplace fees come out of your price, so divide by what you keep instead of adding the fee on top. If a platform takes 30%, you keep 70%, so a $100 net price needs a $143 listed price ($100 ÷ 0.70).

Current fees from the platforms' own pages:

• Outschool: takes 30% of the class price, and the teacher receives 70%. Parents pay a separate marketplace fee that doesn't come out of the teacher's share.
• ActivityHero: a basic business profile is free. The MarketingHero plan costs $0 a month plus a 15% fee on paid registrations made on ActivityHero.com, plus card processing fees. The free profile alone doesn't appear in marketplace search.
• Wyzant: tutors keep 75% of their posted hourly rate.

Should I charge per class or per term?

Charge per term or per session block when you can, and offer drop-in classes at a higher per-class price. Term pricing gives you enrollment you can plan staff and space around, and it cuts the number of missed classes you have to manage. Drop-ins work for trial classes and for families who can't commit, but price them so a full term is the better deal.

For camps, sell by the week. Families plan summer week by week, and a weekly price matches how they budget.

Are summer camps profitable?

A camp is profitable when enrollment clears your break-even number, and the fill rate decides it. In the example above, the camp breaks even at $215 per child with 15 kids. At the same price with 10 kids, it loses money. That's why you should set your price at a fill rate you've actually hit, and set a minimum enrollment that lets you cancel or combine a week before you've spent on staff.

How should I handle sibling discounts, early-bird pricing, deposits and refunds?

Write every discount and policy down before registration opens, and run each one through your break-even math.

• Sibling discounts: a second child often costs you only materials and a share of staff time, so a modest discount can still be profitable. Apply it to the second child, not the whole order.
• Early-bird pricing: give a clear deadline. Early sign-ups tell you which weeks will fill and which to cut.
• Deposits: a non-refundable deposit at registration holds the spot and covers your early costs. Collect the balance by a set date before the session.
• Refunds: state the cutoff dates, what's refundable and how credits work. Clear terms prevent most disputes.

Issue itemized receipts with your business name, address and taxpayer ID. IRS Publication 503 says day camp can count as a work-related care expense, while overnight camp doesn't. Families paying through a dependent care FSA or claiming the child and dependent care credit need your name, address and taxpayer ID to do it. A clean receipt makes your camp easier to choose.

How do I raise my prices?

Raise prices with notice, a reason and a date. Announce the new rate before the next term or summer registration opens, and give current families a set window at the old rate. Tie the increase to something real, like rent, staff pay or added hours. Then re-run your break-even math every season, because costs drift up even when your prices don't.

Where can families find my program once it's priced?

List it where families are already searching. You can list your programs on Kaleto, where families search for camps, classes and enrichment programs. AI assistants connected to Kaleto can search those listings too. List your program on Kaleto.