Last lesson: Oct 2
MA
Comparison
Google Classroom for private tutors, and a simpler option
A private tutor can use Google Classroom: Google's help pages say anyone over 13 can create classes with a personal Google account, for free. It is built for a school class, though. Students sign in with a Google account to join, work is organised as assignments, and the lesson itself happens in Meet. Tuboard is built for one student at a time, who joins with a link and a name.
Updated
Students
Lessons, materials and progress for every student in one place.
My students
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What Google Classroom does well
If your students are used to Classroom from school, it is familiar, and it is strong at the paperwork side of teaching.
Assignments and grades
Set work, collect it and mark it in one place.
Due dates
Students see what is due and when.
Topics in Classwork
Materials and assignments can be grouped by topic.
Google Drive built in
Docs, Slides and files attach straight from Drive.
Where it gets awkward for one-to-one tutoring
Classroom assumes a teacher with a class of 30. A private tutor with twelve students, one at a time, ends up working around it.
Every student needs a Google account
They sign in before joining. Some school accounts cannot join a class made with a personal account.
One class per student
Twelve students means twelve classes to set up and keep apart.
No board for the lesson
Classroom has no whiteboard of its own. The live part happens somewhere else.
Built around assignments
The lesson's own working never lands back in the class.
Google Classroom and Tuboard side by side
Google Classroom details from Google's own help pages on 4 November 2026.
| Price | How a student joins | How work is organised | The live lesson | Homework | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuboard | Free during beta | Opens a link and types a name. Nothing else | A workspace per student, topics inside | A shared board with the PDF beside it. The call stays in Zoom or Meet | A topic the student writes in. No marks |
| Google Classroom | Free with a personal Google account | Signs in with a Google account, then a class code or link | A class, with topics in Classwork | In Google Meet. No whiteboard of its own | Assignments with due dates and grades |
Using both, or only one
If you set graded homework every week, Classroom does that well, and you can teach the lesson in Tuboard beside it. If what you need is a place per student that holds the materials and the lesson, Tuboard covers it on its own, and your student never has to create an account.
- Graded homework: Classroom is good at it
- Materials and the live lesson: Tuboard
- Google Docs links open in the student's topic
The short answers.
Is Google Classroom free for private tutors?
Yes. Google's help pages say anyone over 13 can create a class with a personal Google account, at no cost.
Do students need a Google account for Google Classroom?
Yes. Students sign in to Classroom with a Google account and then join with a class code or link. Some school accounts are not allowed to join classes made with a personal account.
Can students join Tuboard without a Google account?
Yes. They open your link and type their name, and that is all. Signing in with Google is optional.
Does Tuboard grade homework?
No. Homework lives in a topic where the student writes the answers, and you read them there. There are no marks or due dates.
Can I add Google Docs to Tuboard?
Yes, as a link in the student's topic. A document that allows it opens inside Tuboard, and anything else opens in a new tab.
Try it with one student.
Create a workspace, add the next topic and send the link. Your student types a name and is in.
How it works from the inside.
The student workspace
One workspace per student or group, sorted by topic, with the lesson inside it.
ExploreAn online whiteboard for maths
A PDF beside the board, formulas, graphs and labelled figures. The board lives in the student's topic.
ExploreFormulas and graphs
Fractions, roots, integrals and matrices from the keyboard. No LaTeX required.
ExploreInstead of Notion and Miro
Why general documents and whiteboards do not carry maths in a lesson.
ExploreGuides and comparisons.
A platform for private tutors
Store each student's materials and teach the lesson in the same place.
ExploreWhere to store tutoring materials
Drive, Notion, Dropbox, a messenger or a workspace per student, compared.
ExploreShare materials without sending files
One link per student instead of attachments, homework included.
ExploreNotion for tutors
What a tutor template does, and where the lesson falls out of it.
ExploreHow to teach maths online
A one-to-one setup that keeps the student writing, not watching.
ExploreFor English and IELTS tutors
Essays in one document, workbooks, videos and listening in the topic.
Explore