Instruction Market: Only One in Three Tutors Sells Knowledge Legally

With the start of the school year, the instruction market has also come to life. Tutoring is sought not only by struggling students but also by those aiming for top grades. As the year progresses, students who regularly need tutoring will be joined by those preparing for the state graduation exam and university students preparing for exams. Finding an instructor is not a problem – hundreds advertise on online platforms and within businesses that legally engage in this work. Most tutoring occurs online, less frequently at the instructor’s or student’s home. Mathematics, physics, statistics, chemistry, and computer programming top the list of sought-after subjects, with foreign languages, Croatian, accounting, piano, solfeggio, and drawing also in demand. Instructors include students, professors, engineers, university assistants, and economists…

The price depends on whether the session lasts 45 or 60 minutes and ranges from five to 50 euros. It is cheapest to hire students or businesses operating outside of Zagreb. For example, a mechanical engineer offers 45-minute tutoring sessions in mathematics, physics, technical mechanics, and computer programming for 20 euros. A master of physical and theoretical chemistry at a prestigious German university conducts online tutoring in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, costing between 15 and 20 euros, depending on duration. An English language professor charges 15 euros for 45 minutes of instruction, while a Croatian studies student charges 15 euros for 60 minutes.

What is allowed, what is not

During the preparation of this text, we contacted several participants in the instruction market, but unlike those operating legally, those in the gray zone refused to communicate. The findings of the State Inspectorate indicate that tutoring is widely conducted illegally.

– The Market Inspection of the State Inspectorate conducted a total of 76 inspections in 2024 and 2025 regarding the possible performance of unregistered tutoring activities outside the educational system. In 50 cases, advertising of these services without registration was found, as well as the performance of unregistered activities. In cases of established violations, administrative and/or misdemeanor measures were taken by filing charges and issuing misdemeanor orders, emphasizing that if an individual provides tutoring services, they are subject to obligations regulated by tax regulations – stated the State Inspectorate.

The Law on the Prohibition and Prevention of Unregistered Activities prescribes misdemeanor penalties. If it is determined during the inspection that an individual is performing unregistered activities according to Article 10 of this law, monetary fines ranging from 1327.23 to 3981.68 euros are prescribed, and in the case of advertising unregistered activities, fines from 663.61 to 1327.23 euros.

Providers of tutoring who operate legally within businesses engage verified instructors with extensive experience and conduct thousands of hours annually. The price of legal tutoring is somewhat higher than that of illegal tutoring, which is logical considering the contributions to the state that accompany it. However, this is not a rule. Some legal tutoring providers have lower prices than those operating illegally. According to Roman Krvavica, co-owner of eInstrukcija, a platform operating since 2020 under the company Faktograf, with last year’s revenue exceeding 200,000 euros and profit, which also has favorable prices, they have had over 5000 users so far, who primarily sought tutoring in mathematics, physics, and chemistry for high school.

– Users of our online tutoring and graduation exam preparation come equally from all parts of Croatia. The price for an hour of tutoring is 15 euros for elementary school, 16 euros for high school, and 18 euros for university students. Preparation for the graduation exam costs from 96 to 480 euros. The courses for the state graduation exam are particularly interesting. They are conducted ‘one-on-one’ with us, allowing graduates to prepare for exams much more effectively and in a shorter period since all attention is focused on one student – says Krvavica.

According to him, eInstrukcija has about fifty permanent instructors and the same number of occasional ones. Only five percent of registered candidates for instructors meet their strict criteria, which include knowledge checks, communication skills, literacy, social skills, and teaching ability.

– Today we have over 500 Google reviews with an average rating of 4.9/5, which confirms that our efforts have paid off – says Krvavica.

Brodsko-Posavska County to the World

The family business Instruction Eržen, founded in 2020, is based in Batrina. It provides online lessons to students across Croatia, as well as to the children of Croatian emigrants in Europe. The owner of the business, Jelena Eržen, an economist and teacher of economic subjects, and her husband Tomislav, a professor of mathematics and computer science, provide tutoring in accounting and mathematics to students.

– Year after year, we are seeing an increase in the number of students. In the past year, our website recorded over 50,000 views. We are not oriented towards mass offerings of instructors and various subjects. Our primary goal is quality and an individual approach to each student. Over the past six years, more than 400 students have passed through our business, for whom we have conducted over 8500 hours of tutoring, averaging 1400 hours per year – says Jelena Eržen, adding that the users of the tutoring services are elementary and high school students, university students, as well as participants in various courses and training, and those who wish to improve their knowledge of business practices, such as bookkeeping. Tutoring is mostly conducted individually, but there is also the option of working in smaller groups (of two to three students) when it suits the participants.

– Our participants prefer individual work because this way we achieve the best results. All tutoring and education are conducted on the Zoom platform, which allows us to work with participants from all over Croatia and abroad. We often work with the children of our emigrants in Germany, England, and Austria, as well as with students in Mostar. The price of tutoring is from 20 euros for 60 minutes for elementary and high school students, while for university students and course/training participants, it is 24 euros for 60 minutes. We also offer discounts – explains Eržen.

A Small Investment for Multiple Gains

She adds that the investment to open the business was small, but that decision has paid off multiple times.

– To show ourselves to the market, we were aware that we had to be legal. After registering the business, we advertised on social media and immediately received our first inquiries and engagements. Although there are more and more tutoring businesses, we believe there is room in the market for anyone who works well – says Jelena Eržen, who has been educating teachers who want to open tutoring businesses for the past two years.

So far, over 200 participants have completed the training, and some of them have successfully launched and run tutoring businesses. Under the business Sal Terrae, founded in 2024 in Otok, owner Marija Živković, a master of chemistry, provides tutoring in STEM, specifically mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

– We offer STEM for elementary, high school, and university levels. The primary focus is on mathematics, chemistry, and physics for elementary and high schools, as well as organic, analytical, inorganic chemistry, and biochemistry for university students – emphasizes Živković.

The programs also include group or individual preparations for the state graduation exam, and the instructors are masters of science with completed pedagogical-didactic-methodological training.

– We are most sought after for specialized subjects for universities because we have specialized in that area the most. Next is high school and elementary school mathematics, followed by chemistry, while physics is the least represented – says Živković.

According to her, users most often seek individual online tutoring. Sal Terrae has the lowest prices for tutoring among legal providers, lower than those operating illegally. Prices depend on whether it is for elementary and high school or university.

– The price ranges from five to fourteen euros per school hour. The lowest is for elementary school students, and the highest for university students. It also depends on the number of hours; we offer discounts for multiple hours booked. It also depends on whether it is for exam preparation in a specialized subject or for the graduation exam, and whether it is individual or group tutoring – says Živković.

No Barriers, Only Penalties

Opening a tutoring business is a safer and more profitable long-term option than working illegally, says tax advisor Romana Vitas from the company Porezno savjetovanje Vitas.

– This way, the activity is conducted legally, invoices can be issued, and cooperation with legal entities is possible, and income is reported in the tax system. Working illegally involves significant risk and high monetary penalties. According to the Crafts Act, there are no legal barriers for an employed person to open a business. The previous obligation for a worker to seek the employer’s consent for additional work was abolished by amendments to the Labor Act, so now they only need to inform the employer. However, there are limitations. The Labor Act prescribes a so-called legal prohibition of competition – a worker may not, without the employer’s consent, engage in business in the same field as the employer. Also, if at the time of establishing the employment relationship the employer knew that the worker was engaged in certain jobs and did not require them to stop, it is considered that the employer has given consent for the worker to engage in such jobs. This consent can later be revoked under certain conditions. It should be noted that there may be additional restrictions in collective or individual agreements. According to the Law on the Prohibition and Prevention of Unregistered Activities, individuals providing services without the required registration face fines ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 kuna, or from 1300 to 4000 euros. The new Law on Combating Undeclared Work further stipulates that for violations of undeclared work – the employer as an individual and the responsible person in a legal entity – are fined between 920 and 1320 euros – explains Vitas.

Some legal tutoring providers from Zagreb, who do not wish to publicly stand out, complain about unfair competition. Specifically, it involves someone opening a business, renting space, organizing instructors, and gathering large groups of participants, charging them three to six euros per hour, thus undermining both the price and the quality of tutoring.