How to build a tutoring app for iOS
What a tutoring app needs
- Tutor profiles with subjects, rates, and reviews
- Search and filtering by subject and availability
- Booking with a time-slot picker
- Messaging between student and tutor
- Payment for sessions (Stripe, a real-world service)
- Accounts and a backend (Supabase)
The MVP slice is: browse tutors, book a session, pay, and message. Live video calling needs a third-party calling SDK and is a larger addition you can layer on once the booking loop works.
Core screens and data
A tutoring app needs a tutor search, a tutor profile, a booking screen with a time-slot picker, a messaging thread, a payment step, and a student dashboard of sessions. The table below maps each screen to what it stores.
| Screen | What it does | What it stores |
|---|---|---|
| Tutor search | Lists tutors with filters for subject and availability | Tutor index, subjects, filter state |
| Tutor profile | Shows rates, subjects, bio, and reviews | Tutor record, rates, ratings |
| Booking | Picks an open time slot and confirms a session | Availability, bookings, session times |
| Messaging | Threads a student and tutor around a session | Conversations, messages, timestamps |
| Payment | Charges the session fee by card | Payments, session reference, Stripe reference |
| Student dashboard | Shows upcoming and past sessions | Student profile, booked sessions, history |
Starter prompt
Paste this into AppFlight to start the build. It names the screens, the shared data, and where payment fits so the first version is close to what you want.
Build a tutoring app that connects students with tutors. Students search tutors by subject and filter by availability, open a profile to see rates, subjects, a short bio, and reviews, then book an open time slot. Students and tutors message each other around a session, and the student pays the session fee by card through Stripe, since tutoring is a real-world service delivered by a person. Keep a commission on each booking. Store tutor profiles, availability, bookings, and messages in Supabase with student and tutor accounts. Live video is not part of this first build. Later, offer a subscription that unlocks priority booking through RevenueCat and in-app purchase, kept separate from the per-session payment.
How to build it with AppFlight
Describe it, for example: "A tutoring app where students search tutors by subject, view profiles and rates, book an open time slot, pay for the session, and message the tutor." AppFlight plans the screens, generates native SwiftUI, and runs it in a live simulator. Use the Supabase connector for profiles, bookings, and messages, and the Stripe connector for session payments. You iterate by asking for changes in plain language.
Monetization for a tutoring app
A tutoring session is a real-world service delivered by a person, so Apple lets you collect payment through Stripe, usually taking a commission on each booking. If you also sell a subscription that unlocks app features, unlimited messaging or priority booking, that digital upgrade uses in-app purchase with RevenueCat. The session fee and the software subscription are different flows, so route each through the right method.
Shipping it to the App Store
When it works in the simulator, AppFlight signs the build, uploads to TestFlight so you can test booking and payment, then submits to the App Store with metadata and screenshots. If Apple rejects the build, AppFlight reads the reason, fixes it, and resubmits. Apple reviews every app, so a submission is not the same as an approval, but the pipeline runs without you opening Xcode.
FAQ
Can a tutoring app take payment with Stripe?
Yes. A tutoring session is a real-world service, so Apple allows Stripe rather than in-app purchase. AppFlight has a one-click Stripe connector.
Does AppFlight build video calling?
Not on its own. Live video needs a third-party calling SDK, which is a separate integration. The MVP is booking, payment, and messaging.
Do I need a backend?
Yes, for shared profiles, bookings, and messages. AppFlight connects Supabase for the database and accounts.