These terms cover everything money- and session-related on Skillfora: pricing, refunds, instructor payouts, content ownership, and why we set a minimum session price. They apply alongside the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If anything below conflicts with the general Terms of Service, this document controls for service- and payment-specific matters.
Quick reference:
The minimum is set in USD; bookings made in other currencies use the prevailing exchange rate at the time of booking. Instructors set their own prices above the minimum.
The minimum is a deliberate floor, not a target — instructors are free and encouraged to price above it. There are four reasons we set one:
To protect instructor earnings. Live one-on-one teaching is fundamentally different from selling a recorded course. Each session consumes a real hour of an instructor's time, plus preparation. Below USD 3 per hour, after the Platform's 25% commission, the instructor's net earnings drop into a range that does not justify the time commitment for any qualified professional. A floor protects instructors from racing each other to unsustainable prices and devaluing the marketplace.
To signal quality to students. Marketplaces with no price floor tend to attract bargain-shoppers and bargain-providers — both of whom churn quickly and leave bad reviews. A modest floor self-selects for students who take learning seriously and instructors who teach seriously. Students who need free resources have excellent options elsewhere (YouTube, free MOOCs, government skills programs); Skillfora is for learners who want personalised attention from a real expert and are prepared to pay for it.
To keep the Platform sustainable. Skillfora pays for video infrastructure, optional cloud recording, secure storage, payment processing, and dispute review on every session. Below a certain price, our commission cannot cover these costs and the Platform itself becomes unviable.
To reflect what good teaching is worth. A practitioner sharing an hour of expertise — with feedback, debugging, and personalised pacing — is genuinely more valuable than a free YouTube tutorial. The floor signals that we believe instructors should be respected as professionals.
We set the floor at USD 3 (rather than something higher) because we want the Platform accessible to early-career instructors and price-sensitive students alike. As the Platform grows, instructors with strong reviews can and should price well above the floor — successful instructors typically charge USD 15–40 per hour, and senior specialists charge USD 60 or more.
Cloud recording is available on every session. The student decides at checkout whether the session is recorded; the instructor does not control this. Pricing details for recording (where applicable) are shown during the booking flow.
Sessions that are not recorded carry reduced dispute-resolution protection — without a recording, claims about session quality or content may be harder to substantiate. Storage, access, and deletion rules for recordings are in the Privacy Policy.
A student is entitled to a full refund in the following situations:
Email support@skillfora.com within 7 calendar days of the session end time. Include:
Our team will review the recording (where one exists), chat history, and your evidence, and respond within 3 business days. The instructor may be asked for their side during the review.
To allow time for refund claims, instructor earnings from a completed session are held by the Platform for 10 calendar days after the session ends. This window covers the 7-day refund-claim window plus a 3-day review buffer. Earnings are released to the instructor's payout balance on day 11 if no claim is filed or the claim is denied.
Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method within 5 to 10 business days, depending on the payment provider and bank. The exact timing is determined by the payment provider, not by us.
If your original payment method does not support reversal (for example, certain prepaid cards or older mobile wallets), our team will email you to request alternative payment details — for example, a bank account or e-wallet (Easypaisa, JazzCash, or similar). Once you provide working details, the refund will be issued within 5 business days.
Demo sessions follow a separate flow. Free demo sessions cannot be refunded as no money changed hands; paid demo sessions follow the same rules as standard sessions, scaled to the demo price.
If you initiate a chargeback through your bank or card issuer instead of contacting us first, we may suspend your account pending investigation. We strongly encourage you to email support@skillfora.com first — most issues are resolved within a few days through our internal process and avoid the friction (and potential card-issuer fees) of a chargeback.
This part applies to users registered as Independent Instructors. By offering or delivering sessions on Skillfora, you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms below in addition to the Terms of Service.
You are an Independent Instructor — an independent service provider, not an employee, agent, partner, or joint venturer of Skillfora. You are responsible for your own taxes, social-security contributions, equipment, and working hours. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment relationship.
You are solely responsible for declaring and paying any taxes due on your earnings under whichever law applies to you. Skillfora does not withhold tax, deduct tax, or issue tax certificates on your behalf. If, in the future, applicable law requires the Platform to withhold tax on instructor payouts, we will deduct and remit the required amount and notify you accordingly.
You may close your instructor account at any time. On termination:
We may terminate or suspend your account for violations of these Terms or the acceptable use rules in the Terms of Service 9. The financial consequences described in Terms of Service 10 apply.
Questions about pricing, refunds, payouts, or anything else covered above: support@skillfora.com.