How to create an online academy: a step-by-step guide for tutoring and test prep
From the first decision (what you sell and to whom) to the day your first students sit an exam. The steps work on any platform; where it helps, we show how each one is done in Acatudy.
Start on the Free plan: it never expires and needs no credit card. Upgrade whenever you need more.
In short
An online academy is more than videos behind a paywall. Students need a clear path (courses and units), practice with feedback, exams that are graded fairly, and a simple way to pay. Families want to see progress. You need all of it to run without spreadsheets glued together.
The short version: define one offer for one audience, organize it as courses and units, build a question bank before you build exams, connect payments to your own Stripe account, publish a simple website, and invite a small first group before you open to everyone.
1. Decide what you sell and to whom
Start narrow. “SAT Math prep for juniors, 8 weeks, two live sessions a week plus practice” is easier to build, price and sell than “tutoring for every subject”. You can widen the catalog once the first program works.
Write down three things before you touch any software: the outcome you promise (a target score, a passed course, a grade level caught up), the format (self-paced, live classes, or both) and how students pay (one-time for the program, monthly, or yearly).
Test prep
A fixed date and a score goal: SAT, ACT, AP or state tests. Practice volume and timed exams matter most.
Tutoring center
Ongoing support by grade and subject, such as Grade 10 Algebra II. Progress reports for families matter most.
Career and licensing
Courses that end in a licensing exam, such as CNA or CDL theory. Question banks and certificates matter most.
2. Organize courses, subjects and units
Use the structure families already understand: a course (Grade 10, SAT Prep 2027) holds subjects (Algebra II, SAT Math), and each subject is split into units with lessons, files, videos and a short test.
In Acatudy that is exactly how the catalog works. Plans limit the number of courses (1 on Free, 5 on Basic, 10 on Professional, 20 on Institutional), not subjects or units.
3. Build the question bank before the exams
Most test prep material already exists as worksheets and spreadsheets. Put it in a question bank organized by topic (SAT Math › Algebra › Linear equations) and every later step gets easier: unit tests, practice by topic, and full exams all draw from the same questions.
Write an explanation for each question. Students learn more from the explanation of a wrong answer than from the score.
- Import what you have: Acatudy reads CSV and Excel spreadsheets and GIFT or Aiken text files, with a preview before saving.
- Use multiple-choice and numeric (grid-in) questions for anything that can be scored automatically, and short or essay answers when you need to read the reasoning.
- If you start from a PDF or a syllabus, an AI question generator can draft questions for you to review. See how to generate questions with AI.
4. Separate practice from official exams
Students should be able to practice as much as they want without it affecting their grade, and sit a small number of timed exams that do count. Mixing the two makes grades meaningless and discourages practice.
In Acatudy, practice tests are unlimited and never count toward the grade; only official exams do. The server keeps the time and submits the exam when it runs out. The Free plan includes 1 new official exam a month; paid plans have no monthly limit. More in how to grade exams fast.
5. Get paid with Stripe
Use a payment processor that pays out to your own bank account and handles cards, receipts and refunds. Stripe is the usual choice for small education businesses in the US.
Decide the pricing model first: a one-time price for a program with an end date (a fall SAT cohort), or a monthly or yearly subscription for ongoing tutoring. Access should start automatically when the payment goes through and end when it should.
In Acatudy you connect your own Stripe account; students pay you directly and access is granted automatically. Acatudy's fee on each sale drops with your plan: 5% on Free, 2% on Basic, 1% on Professional and 0.5% on Institutional, plus Stripe's own processing fees.
6. Publish a simple website
Your website has one job: explain who the program is for, what students get and what it costs, and send visitors to sign up. A home page, a page per program, pricing and a contact or FAQ section are enough to start.
Acatudy includes a visual website editor on every plan, the Free plan too, on your academy's subdomain; your own domain is available from Basic. On Professional and Institutional, Kody can draft the site for you. See how to build an academy website with AI.
7. Invite a first group before you open
Launch with 10 to 20 students you already know: current tutoring families or last year's cohort. They will find the broken links and confusing instructions before strangers do.
Import them from a spreadsheet and let each student set their own password. Watch how they use practice tests in the first two weeks and adjust units before you advertise.
8. Measure, report and improve
- Look at each exam question by question. A question that the strongest students miss usually has a wrong key or an unclear wording.
- Report progress to families. A short weekly report keeps parents involved and reduces cancellations. Acatudy sends a weekly report to families from Basic.
- Add material where students struggle. Study summaries of the hardest units help more than another video. See how to make study summaries.
What it costs to start on Acatudy
| Plan | Price | Courses | Storage | Fee per sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, does not expire | 1 | 10 GB | 5% |
| Basic | $39/month | 5 | 100 GB | 2% |
| Professional | $75/month | 10 | 500 GB | 1% |
| Institutional | $139/month | 20 | 1 TB | 0.5% |
Every plan has unlimited students. Annual billing is 20% cheaper. Full details on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start an online academy?
The software can cost nothing at first: Acatudy's Free plan does not expire and has unlimited students. Your main costs are your time to prepare material, a domain if you want one, and the payment processor's fees on each sale.
Do I need a website before I start?
Not a separate one. Acatudy includes a website editor on every plan, so your academy's pages, sign-up and student area live in the same place.
Can I teach live classes as well as self-paced courses?
Yes. Self-paced units, practice tests and exams are on every plan; live classes and 1:1 tutoring sessions are available from the Professional plan.
How do students pay me?
Through your own Stripe account. You create access plans (one-time, monthly or yearly), students pay by card, and access to the course or subjects is granted automatically.
Can I move my existing material?
Yes. Questions can be imported from CSV, Excel, GIFT or Aiken files, files and videos uploaded to each unit, and students imported from a spreadsheet.
Create your academy today
Start on the Free plan: unlimited students, no credit card, and it does not expire.
