In the past few years, there’s been an explosion of companies hiring teachers to teach ESL online. Not only do young students all over the world want to learn English, but adults are also looking for English lessons to move up in the business world.

As online education technology has improved, there’s more opportunity than ever to teach ESL online from the comfort of home, or anywhere in the world you wish to live. Most companies are looking for native or fluent English speakers, and some require a college degree, too.

A few also look for TEFL certification, which could be useful if you ever want to teach ESL in an international school. But teaching online offers schedule flexibility and the freedom to work wherever you want (as long as you have good internet!).

Whether you’re looking to teach kids or adults, here are the best companies for teaching ESL online.

ESL lessons are more in demand than ever, so there’s no shortage of companies hiring online English teachers. Here are 30 of the best companies for online ESL teaching jobs, most of which pay $18 per hour or more.

1. Berlitz

Just as you might have used Berlitz to learn Spanish, French, or another foreign language, other people use this global language instruction company to learn English. You can teach ESL online with Berlitz’s virtual classroom, a software that includes a dynamic white board, image libraries, application sharing, and other instructional features.

You don’t necessarily need teaching experience to teach English online with Berlitz. Learn more about joining this well-established language services company here.

2. Cambly

Cambly hires mostly native English speakers to teach learners from all over the world. You can teach adults through the main company or head over to Cambly Kids if you’d prefer to work with young learners.

Since Cambly’s students come from all over the world, you might have more flexibility in where you live. The downside, though, is that Cambly pays a bit less than some other companies at just $10.20 per hour.

3. Cafe Talk

Cafe Talk is open to tutors of any subjects who want to connect with a global audience of more than 46,000 learners. From ESL to music to yoga, you have control over setting your hours, specialties, and even rates.

Tutor fees start at 60% of the lesson price and go up to 85%. You can learn more about teaching English (or any subject) online with CafeTalk here.

4. Continuum Education Services

Although not a direct employer, Continuum Education Services (CES) recruits English teachers and matches them with online teaching jobs. Once you get matched with a job, you’ll get paid a base rate plus performance bonuses for each class you teach.

To sign up for CES, you must have a college degree and be a native English speaker. CES also requires that you have your ESL teaching certification or plan to get it within the first 90 days of signing up.

5. DaDa

DaDa connects ESL teachers with students in China, but you can work from wherever you want as long as you have a good internet connection. After applying and interviewing, DaDa will ask you to teach a few trial classes.

If all goes well, DaDa hopes you’ll commit to a 12-month contract and agree to teach at least two hours per day at a minimum of two days per week.

6. Education First (EF)

Like Berlitz, EF is another giant in the international education world. EF employs more than 46,500 staff and teachers across 117 countries.

Through EF, you set your availability and can teach kids or adults from all over the world. EF offers 24/7 support and pays between $12 and $19 per hour.

Check out all the perks of teaching English online with EF here.

7. Englishunt

Founded in Seoul, Korea in 2000, Englishunt offers video classes to learners across Korea, China, and Japan. Englishunt looks for U.S. citizens who have at least 48 college credit hours or a TEFL certificate.

You’ll hold conversational lessons with adult learners for just 10, 15, or 20 minutes, and the pay is $2 for every 10 minutes. Since the shifts take place during Korean business hours (and on the weekend), it’d probably be easiest for you to live somewhere in Asia.

8. Global Mate New York

Global Mate New York connects teachers with English language learners in Korea. About 80% of its students are 19 to 50 years old, typically college students, graduate students, or working professionals. The other 20% are middle or high school students or retirees.

Global Mate New York looks for teachers who have a four-year degree. They prefer, but don’t require, a background in English or education and previous teaching experience. After a training period, the company hires teachers for six-month contracts.

9. Go Fluent

Go Fluent is an English distance learning company that hires ESL teachers to work with mainly adult learners from all over the world. At the time of writing, it’s mainly hiring for corporate English trainers who have experience working in the corporate world.

You’ll need excellent English language skills, but not necessarily a college degree to work with Go Fluent.

10. Gogokid

With Gogokid, you could earn between $14 and $25 per hour teaching kids in China. GoGo Kid requires applicants to have a college degree. After applying and interviewing, you’ll present a demo lesson. Assuming all goes well, you’ll soon be teaching lessons to Chinese students, all of which are one-on-one.

11. iTalki

iTalki is a huge online community with more than five million language learners and 10,000 teachers. Along with teaching from home and setting your own schedule, you can also set your own rates as an iTalki teacher. iTalki charges a 15% fee, and you get to keep the rest.

Learn more about teaching with iTalki here.

12. iTutorGroup

iTutorGroup is another huge player in online education, and it provides personalized learning experiences to students all over the world. It offers 24/7 support to its more than 20,000 teachers, as well as performance bonuses on top of your salary.

To join iTutorGroup, you must be a native English speaker and have a TEFL certificate or be willing to get one after you’re hired. Learn more about the requirements of joining iTutorGroup here.

13. Learnlight

Founded in 2007, Learnlight’s ed-tech team is now based in 20 countries. The company looks for TEFL-certified teachers with a business background who are able to commit to a fixed schedule for at least one year. Learnlight prefers candidates with a minimum of two years of teaching experience.

14. Lingoda

Lingoda is an online language school looking for ESL teachers with two years of teaching experience. Since Lingoda has its own curriculum and materials, you don’t have to do much lesson-planning.

You’ll teach group classes with up to five students at a time. Lingoda is looking for teachers who can commit to a minimum of five hours per week.

15. Mango Languages

Mango Languages is committed to helping its students hold realistic conversations and develop their everyday communication skills. This global company hires full-time language coaches to work from anywhere — and it offers a salary and benefits to its employees.

16. Open English

Open English hires English teachers to hold small group lessons to its more than 500,000 students. It’s looking for native English speakers who can bring their unique methods into the online classroom.

17. Pearson

You might know Pearson as a publisher of academic textbooks, but this huge global company is also getting in on the online English instruction game. Pearson hires teachers to teach ESL online one-on-one to learners across the globe. Learn more about joining Pearson on its careers page.

18. Qkids

If you love working with kids, check out Qkids to get connected with Chinese learners between the ages of four and 12. Qkids provides you with lessons, and you’ll teach children with cute characters and funny stories.

Qkids looks for U.S. or Canadian citizens who have some teaching or tutoring experience.

19. Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone hires online English teachers who have a college degree and a few years of teaching experience. In particular, the company wants teachers who can commit to 10 hours per week between the hours of midnight and 6 AM EST. If you’re not a night owl, you might do best if you relocate to a more reasonable time zone!

20. Rype

Rype connects ESL teachers with its network of more than 100,000 students per month. Along with teaching English, you could tutor academic subjects, such as elementary math, reading, phonics, or writing.

Rype requires previous teaching experience and a commitment of at least 10 hours per week. If you get hired, you could make up to $2,000 per month teaching with Rype.

21. Samespeak

Samespeak is a small company that hires English coaches to give half-hour online lessons. You’ll make $10 for every 30 minutes of teaching. Any native English speaker can register with Samespeak, and the company provides lessons and materials for you.

22. SayABC

SayABC offers a modern teaching platform as you help children, mainly between the ages of five and 12, enhance their English language skills. This Beijing-located company pays up to $19 for each 40-minute session. Although SayABC prefers candidates to have a Bachelor’s degree, it will accept teachers with Associate’s degrees or current college students.

23. SkimaTalk

SkimaTalk lets you work as many or as few hours as you want each week, and its top-earning teachers take home $1,000 per month. It looks for native English speakers and prefers, but doesn’t require, past teaching experience.

24. Teach Away

Along with recruiting teachers for jobs in international schools all over the world, Teach Away also hires ESL teachers to work online from the comfort of home. Teach Away additionally hires licensed teachers for K-12 subjects and one-on-one math tutoring. To qualify, you’ll need a Bachelor’s degree.

25. Teachlingo

Teachlingo is a jobs marketplace where ESL teachers can create a profile, upload their materials, and apply for jobs. Hiring companies can also seek you out on Teachlingo if they think you’d be a good fit for an opening.

If you’re on the hunt for an ESL teaching job, creating a free profile with Teachlingo could get you one step closer to getting hired.

26. TwoSigmas

TwoSigmas looks for English speakers with teaching experience or an ESL teaching certificate to work with kids between the ages of three and 12. Based in the UK, this company partners with schools all over the world to connect you with English language learners. It also helpfully provides a bunch of resources to help you ace your TwoSigmas teacher interview.

27. VerbalPlanet

VerbalPlanet is a flexible online education platform that lets tutors create a profile and set their own hours. You’ll have total flexibility and will hold lessons over Skype.

28. VIPKID

International learning provider VIPKID has employed over 60,000 teachers to work with more than 500,000 students across 35 countries. FlexJobs named VIPKIDS as one of the top 100 remote companies to work for in 2018. You can set your own schedule, and VIPKID takes care of lesson planning and communicating with parents.

29. Voxy

To date, Voxy has provided English lessons to more than four million people across 150 countries. It provides 24/7 support to its teachers, as well as planned lessons and authentic materials. If you get hired, you could work with students from all over the world and be eligible for paid orientation and incentive programs.

30. 51Talk

51Talk is an online English education platform that connects English teachers with young learners in China. The company has its own specially designed curriculum but also gives you the freedom to tailor your lessons to each individual student.

Succeeding as an online ESL teacher

Teaching can be a fun and fulfilling job, but it’s also a challenging one. As an ESL teacher, you’ll need strong skills in cross-cultural communication. It can be helpful to understand your students’ background, so you can provide examples and activities that are relevant to their lives.

You’ll also want to come up with engaging activities that will hold your students’ interest while helping them improve their learning skills. The age of your students will make a big difference in how you plan your lessons and choose your materials.

It can help to plan activities that appeal to all different kinds of learning styles (visual, auditory, etc.). As an English speaker, you’re in an especially good position to help your students improve their conversational skills.

Along with thoughtfully crafted lessons and materials, you’ll need a strong internet connection to teach ESL online, as well as proficiency in whatever classroom technology your company uses. You might also need a webcam and headset, and of course a quiet environment for teaching.

Finally, consider the time zone of the students you’re working with. There are lots of opportunities to teach students in China and other Asian countries, but the time zone difference could be tough if you’re located in the western hemisphere.

Luckily, teaching ESL online means you can pack your bags and work from the beaches of Bali, the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, or wherever you want! Think about what kind of company and hours would work best so you can find an online ESL teaching job with a company that matches your needs. Happy teaching!