Pack, pay per lesson or monthly fee?
A lesson pack suits regular students who want flexibility, pay per lesson suits trial lessons and occasional students, and a monthly fee suits a fixed weekly schedule. You can offer more than one option.
Is one better than the others? Honestly, no. Each one suits a different type of student:
| Option | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lesson pack | The student pays for a number of lessons in advance and uses them before the pack expires. | Regular students whose schedule changes from one week to the next | Agreeing on what happens with cancelled lessons and expiry |
| Pay per lesson | The student pays for each lesson, before or after it. | Trial lessons and occasional students | You have to chase a payment after every lesson |
| Monthly fee | The student pays the same amount every month for a fixed weekly schedule. | Students with a fixed day and time | Months with more or fewer lessons, and holidays |
How many lessons should a pack have and what should you charge?
Half of the 14 SmartCookie teachers we analyzed create packs of 4 to 10 lessons, and the typical price per lesson within a pack is €15.
Sizes and expiry come from 110 packs created by 14 teachers on SmartCookie, as of 10th of October 2026. Prices only count packs in euros, from 13 teachers.
- Typical pack size
- 9 lessons
- 14 teachers
- Pack size, middle half of teachers
- 4 to 10 lessons
- 14 teachers
- Typical expiry
- 90 days
- 14 teachers
- Typical price per lesson
- €15
- 13 teachers
Source: anonymized SmartCookie data, 10th of October 2026.
Offer one or two sizes, not five. A short pack makes the first step easy for a new student and a longer one rewards your regulars. Giving more options often just creates more doubts.
A small discount per lesson makes the pack the obvious choice, but it isn't required: paying in advance already saves the student hassle, and saves you from chasing payments. Whatever you choose, work out the price per lesson first and then multiply, so you know exactly what each lesson earns you.
Expiry, cancelled lessons and renewals
A lesson pack should expire and a lesson cancelled in time should stay in the pack. Bring up renewal before the last lesson.
The expiry date keeps the pack moving. Without one, Laura's last two lessons can sit there for a year (and come back in June, when your schedule is bursting). In our data, the typical pack expires after 90 days. Leave room for a holiday or a week of flu.
What happens to a cancelled lesson within a pack depends on your cancellation policy, so write it down before you sell the pack. The usual approach: with enough notice, the lesson stays in the pack; with late notice or a no-show, it counts as used. Don't have a policy yet? Copy our cancellation policy template.
On SmartCookie, a lesson comes off the pack as soon as its start time arrives. A cancelled lesson or one marked as absent isn't deducted; if your policy says it counts, mark it as present.
Renewals are where a pack is won or lost. Bring it up two or three lessons before the end, when the student is happy with their progress, so the next pack feels like the natural next step and not a bill out of the blue.
Lesson pack terms template
A lesson pack's terms fit in a few words: lessons and price, start and expiry, cancelled lessons, renewal and unused lessons.
Send these terms with the first payment request, so everyone knows how the pack works before the first lesson. Replace the [brackets] with your details.
Lesson pack terms
Pack terms Hi [student name], here's how your pack works: - Pack: [10] lessons of [60] minutes for [price], paid before the first lesson. - Validity: the pack starts on [start date] and expires [90] days later. - Cancelled lessons: if you cancel in line with my cancellation policy, the lesson stays in your pack. If you cancel late or don't show up, it counts as used. - Renewal: I'll let you know when you have [2] lessons left, so you can renew without a gap. - Unused lessons: lessons you haven't used by the expiry date [are refunded / can be moved once, up to 2 weeks later]. Any questions, just write to me. [your name]
How we got this data
We took a snapshot of the lesson packs created by 14 SmartCookie teachers on 10th of October 2026. It describes our users, not the whole private lessons market.
The sample: 110 packs from 14 teachers, as of 10th of October 2026. Test accounts are excluded, and prices only count packs in euros with a price above zero (13 teachers).
The calculation: we took the middle value of each teacher's packs (size, days until expiry and price per lesson, which is the pack price divided by its number of lessons) and then the middle value across teachers, so that a teacher with many packs doesn't skew the result. Sizes are rounded to whole lessons. A figure only appears if at least 10 teachers are behind it.
The limits: this isn't a market study. With 14 teachers the sample is small, so take it as a guide, not a rule.
Let the pack count itself
Create your packs once, assign them to your students and turn on reminders so SmartCookie alerts them before the pack runs out. One less thing to keep in your head.