How much do online English lessons for kids cost in the United Arab Emirates?

What do CurioKids plans cost for a family in the UAE?

Your child's plan decides only the number of lessons each week. Starter has 1, Growth has 2 and Accelerator has 3. The lesson itself never changes from plan to plan: a real teacher, your child on their own with them, 25 minutes in the CurioKids online classroom.

Starter has the lowest total, and each step up lowers the price of a single lesson. There is no separate charge for the classroom.

Are prices for the UAE shown in UAE dirhams?

Yes. Choose the United Arab Emirates as your country when you create your parent account, and CurioKids shows and charges every plan in UAE dirhams. A card from a bank in the UAE pays that amount with no exchange step.

Many families in the UAE have moved from other countries and still use a card from home. That works too, though the bank may convert the dirham amount at its own rate. Payments go through Stripe, and CurioKids never sees your full card number.

What is included in the price?

Every plan includes the same: live, 1-to-1, 25-minute lessons with a real teacher for children aged 4 to 12, in the CurioKids online classroom with video, an interactive whiteboard, lesson slides and games. Most children start with Phonics Starter, our 52-lesson reading course, then move through CEFR-based levels Pre-A1, A1 and A2. Teachers give feedback after lessons, you follow progress in your parent dashboard, and there is no charge for materials. See our curriculum and safety pages.

UAE schools follow many curricula, from the national one to British, American, IB and Indian programmes, so two children of the same age can need very different lessons. CurioKids follows its own CEFR-based curriculum, with levels Pre-A1, A1 and A2, and isn't linked to any school's exams. That gives you one scale for your child's English, whichever school they attend.

How does billing every 4 weeks fit a school year in the UAE?

A UAE school year runs through terms with a long summer break and shorter holidays in between, including around Eid, and family routines often change during Ramadan. Billing in 4-week periods means a period that falls in a short month holds the same lessons as any other. Your child's school calendar has the exact dates.

Plans bill every 4 weeks, not by calendar month, so every billing period has the same number of lessons: 13 payments a year. Every plan can be paid weekly instead, and paying every 4 weeks costs less than four weekly payments. You're charged when you subscribe and then at the start of each billing period. Your price is locked on your subscription, so future price changes don't affect you. You can change plan or cancel anytime, and cancel a single lesson up to 2 hours before it starts.

If your family spends part of the summer abroad, cancel the lessons you'll miss, or keep lessons going from wherever you stay. In a crowded term, a few weeks on Starter keeps the habit alive until there is more room in the week.

When do lessons fit a week in the UAE?

When you book, every lesson time is shown in UAE time. The UAE keeps the same clock all year, so the slot you pick in September is still at that time in March. A 25-minute lesson usually fits on a school day between about 4pm and 8pm, planned around prayer times. For most families the weekend is Saturday and Sunday, when a morning lesson can be a calm start to the day, and with a shorter school day on Friday, a Friday afternoon is worth trying too.

During Ramadan, many families move lessons to suit the different rhythm of the day. If you travel, our guide to online lessons across time zones helps you keep a slot that still works.

Which plan suits a child in the UAE?

It depends on how much English your child already hears, at school and at home:

• Starter, 1 lesson a week: a child at an English-medium school who speaks easily but wants steadier reading and spelling, in a busy week.
• Growth, 2 lessons a week: a child who speaks Arabic at home and attends a bilingual school, who needs regular speaking time and clear phonics for the short vowels that written Arabic usually leaves out.
• Accelerator, 3 lessons a week: a child who has just moved to the UAE, or joined an English-medium school with little English, and needs to catch up.

Adjust the plan after a few weeks. Our guide how many English lessons a week does my child need? explains the trade-offs, and online English lessons for children in the UAE covers school and family life here.

How do the costs compare with tutoring centres and home tutors in the UAE?

Families in the UAE add English through group courses at a tutoring centre, a private tutor who visits the home, or live lessons online. Each is priced differently, by the term, the month or the hour, so compare what your child actually gets:

• What one lesson costs, and how many minutes it lasts.
• How many other children are in the group, and how much of the time your child speaks.
• Whether the course follows your child's level or the class's curriculum.
• Registration fees, books and materials charged separately.
• The drive across town in traffic and heat, and who has to make it each week.

A group course can cost less per hour because families share the teacher; a 1-to-1 lesson gives every minute to your child. Our guide 1-to-1 or group English classes: which suits my child? sets out both.

Is the first lesson free for children in the UAE?

Yes. Create a parent account, add your child and book the free first lesson without entering a card. The teacher hears how your child speaks and reads and records a starting level, so lessons for children aged 4 to 12 begin in the right place. If you don't continue, there is nothing to cancel or pay.

CurioKids opens lessons one country at a time. If lessons for families in the United Arab Emirates haven't opened yet, this guide shows a waitlist where the prices will be. Our guide on what to look for in a free first lesson helps you judge that first lesson.

Where can I see UAE prices and join the waitlist?

Visit our United Arab Emirates page to see how lessons work and, once lessons for families in the United Arab Emirates open, to book your child's free first lesson; until then it has a waitlist, and we'll let you know when you can book. Once they open, the prices for the United Arab Emirates also show any current offer and its terms. Our United Arab Emirates page is also in العربية. For school, English at home and lesson times in the United Arab Emirates, read our guide to online English lessons for children in United Arab Emirates.