How this list works
How the OTC Company List works
Short answer: The Online Teachers Company List (list.onlineteachers.club) is a free directory of 383 online ESL companies, part of Online Teachers Club (OTC). Each company page shows its saved listing: pay, who it hires, qualifications, students and a status (305 Open, 34 Closed, 44 not known). The community score is teacher up votes minus down votes, last counted on November 1, 2026. Official pay is quoted word for word from the company's own page with the date we checked it; we never estimate pay. Anyone can ask for a fix from a company page.
This page explains our own process only. Every number on it is counted from the saved listings when the site is built, so it changes when the data changes. A listing is a summary to help you research, not a promise that a company is hiring or will pay a set amount. Always check the company's own site before you apply.
How the list is built and checked
From saved listing to the page you are reading, in six steps.
- Listings are saved records. Each company has one saved record in the list's own database: pay, who it hires, qualifications, students, status, a description and an official link when we have one. Most listings (285) started on the original Online Teachers Club company directory. 66 were imported from Good Air Language's public list of online teaching companies and say so in their text, and 7 carry a dated note from a hiring post on the OTC job board. Teacher edits and new company suggestions go live only after an admin approves them.
- Status comes from the saved listing. Open, Closed or Unknown is whatever the saved listing says. The Who's hiring now page is separate: we only add a company there after opening its own careers page and noting the date, or when it posted on the free OTC job board in the last 45 days. We do not guess openings.
- Teacher votes make the community score. Every company page has Vote up and Vote down buttons. Each vote adds or takes away 1 point from that company's saved score, and each browser can vote once per company. A written star review also adds its stars to the score (there were 0 published reviews when votes were last counted). 3 listings that are not yet saved in the live database cannot be voted on. Scores shown on the site were read from the live database on November 1, 2026. Initial votes were added automatically based on how often teachers discuss each company in the OTC community. As real votes come in, rankings will become more accurate over time.
- Rankings and best lists are computed, not hand-ordered. The top-rated ranking sorts every open company with a score above zero, highest first; ties share a rank and closed companies are left out. Best lists are filtered from the saved fields (some use a hand-checked set of listings), and each list states its rule at the top. Sponsored placements do not change the vote ranking.
- Pay is quoted, never estimated. The pay on a listing is what was saved for it. When a company's own site states pay or fees, we quote it word for word with the link and the date we checked (November 1, 2026). If the saved figures disagree we show Not confirmed; if there is no figure we show Not listed. We do not average, convert or add pay figures.
- You can fix a listing. On any company page, press Fix info (or Request an edit), sign in, choose the field (pay, who they hire, qualifications, students, hiring status and more), write the correct text and add your source. To add a missing company, use Suggest a company. Both go to an admin for review before anything changes on the site.
What each label on the list means
These are the labels you see on company pages, best lists and comparisons, and where each one comes from.
| Label | What it means | Listings now |
|---|
| Open (or Applications open) | The saved listing says the company takes applications. It is the listing status, not a check that the company is hiring today. | 305 |
| Closed | The saved listing says the company has stopped hiring or closed. Closed companies are left out of the best lists and the top-rated ranking, but their pages stay online. | 34 |
| Unknown or blank | No status has been confirmed for this listing yet. | 44 |
| Hiring now (on Who's hiring now) | Either the company's own careers or teach page showed an open application when we opened it (marked Applications open or Limited intake, with the date we checked), or a hiring post appeared on the free OTC job board in the last 45 days. The page shows its own last-updated date (now November 1, 2026) and is planned for a weekly refresh. | 4 official pages, 6 job board posts |
| Community score | Teacher up votes minus down votes saved for that company. 20 companies also carry starting votes based on how often teachers discuss them in the OTC community. | Votes counted November 1, 2026 |
| Reported pay | The pay saved on the listing, as reported by teachers or copied from a source. Treat it as a guide and confirm with the company. | - |
| Not confirmed | The saved pay figures disagree with each other or look wrong, so no figure is shown rather than picking one. | 63 |
| Not listed | The listing has no pay figure. | 2 |
| Tutors set their own rate | A marketplace where teachers choose their own price. The company keeps a commission or fee instead of paying a set rate. | 5 |
| Official pay quote | Pay or fee wording copied word for word from the company's own site, with a link and the date we checked it (November 1, 2026). See the pay report. | 16 companies (26 more checked with no public pay) |
| Last updated | On each company page: the newest date we have for that listing (its last database save, a dated note in the listing, or a teacher review). On best lists: the newest of those dates among the companies on the list. | Newest: November 4, 2026 |
Counts are from this build of the site. A listing status or score is not a promise of work, students or income.
