How to create private lesson packages that students buy and renew

Single lessons feel simpler, but they push all the uncertainty onto you: every week is a new charge and a new chance for the student to disappear. Packages flip that.

• Predictable cash flow. You get paid before you teach and know what's coming in each month.
• Student commitment. Someone who has already paid for eight lessons tends to show up more than someone deciding lesson by lesson, and consistency is what makes students improve.
• Less chasing payments. One payment per cycle instead of four or eight.
• Renewal as a time to talk. The end of a package is the natural moment to show progress and agree on the next cycle.

Big platforms follow this logic: on Preply, students subscribe in 28-day cycles with a fixed number of lessons, and the minimum plan is 4 lessons per cycle.

When you work out how to create private lesson packages, three sizes cover almost every language student. More options than that make choosing harder.

A 20- or 24-lesson package is the next step for students who have renewed, not the first offer.

If you keep single lessons, price them clearly above the packages. That way the single lesson works as a reference point that shows the savings, instead of competing with them.

A package with no expiry turns into a debt on your calendar: the student disappears for three months and comes back wanting the lessons at the old price, in a slot you've already sold. A simple rule is to allow the time the agreed pace requires, plus half of that as a buffer:

• 4 lessons, 1 a week: 4 weeks + 2 of buffer = 6 weeks.
• 8 lessons, 2 a week: 4 weeks + 2 of buffer = 6 weeks.
• 8 lessons, 1 a week: 8 weeks + 4 of buffer = 12 weeks.
• 12 lessons, 1 a week: 12 weeks + 6 of buffer = 18 weeks.

Also decide what happens to an expired lesson: it lapses, or it can be frozen once for health reasons or travel. For comparison, on Preply unbooked lessons expire when the cycle renews. Write the rule down before the sale.

In Brazil, anyone who buys outside a physical business location, such as online, can withdraw within 7 days and get back what they paid (article 49 of the Consumer Defense Code). If you teach students in other countries, check their local cooling-off rules too. Your validity and refund policy has to live alongside these rules.

This is the rule that causes the most friction, so it needs to be short and apply equally to everyone:

• Notice to reschedule: 24 hours is a window that's simple to explain and to follow.
• Cancelled with notice: the lesson goes back to the balance and gets rescheduled.
• Cancelled late or no-show: the lesson is deducted from the package.
• Late arrival: the lesson ends at the agreed time.
• You cancel: the lesson goes back to the balance at no cost, with a new time offered.
• Exception: one per package, at your discretion, for a real emergency.

Put these rules in your private lessons contract and repeat them in three lines in your sales message.

A package discount pays for itself with what you stop losing: empty slots, unpaid no-shows, time spent chasing payments. It doesn't pay for itself with volume, because each lesson still costs you an hour.

Start from your hourly rate (if you don't have one yet, work it out with the guide on how much to charge for private lessons) and apply a small, growing discount. With a lesson at R$ 80 (about US$ 16 at R$ 5 to the dollar):

The question that decides it: what does this discount buy? If the 12-lesson package keeps a student for three months instead of losing them after one, the R$ 96 has more than paid for itself. If the student would have bought 12 lessons anyway, the discount is just income left on the table.

Rounding helps students remember the price (R$ 600 instead of R$ 608), but rounding down is a discount too. Count it.

A practical way to run packages is to treat each lesson as a credit. The student buys, the balance appears and each lesson taught (or late cancellation) deducts one. A zero balance means it's time to renew. Both sides can see how much has been used, and the question “how many lessons do I have left?” goes away.

That's how packages work on Ludi. You set up your packages, the student buys on the platform and the lessons go into their balance once payment is confirmed. At the last lesson of a package, the student is told that a new payment unlocks the next ones. Ludi's fee on packages is added to your price and paid by the student: 3% for students you already had and 10% for students who found you through Ludi's search or a partner's coupon. You receive the price you set, minus the payment provider fee.

• Show the price per lesson for each package, not just the total. That's how students compare.
• Highlight one package as recommended, usually the 8-lesson one.
• Name packages by goal, not just by number: “Routine” for 8 lessons, “Exam Intensive” for 12.
• Write the rules in three lines right below: validity, notice to reschedule and what happens with no-shows.
• Offer them at the end of the trial lesson, with your assessment in hand.

An example of how to close: “Based on what we saw today, the best way to get you ready for your interview in March is two lessons a week. The Routine package has 8 lessons, is valid for 6 weeks and works out to R$ 75 a lesson. Shall I book Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 pm?”

These figures are illustrative: swap in your own, based on your costs and the range in your niche. If you are figuring out how to create private lesson packages in dollars, see also receiving payments from students abroad.