Teacher (Private Education) — Job Description & Salary in Germany
Teacher salary data: P25, median, and P75 base pay, sourced.
Salary band
Base salary, gross annual
- 25th percentile
- €28,000
- Median
- €35,000
- 75th percentile
- €44,000
For reference: the statutory minimum wage in Germany has stood at €13.90 gross per hour since January 1, 2026 — roughly €2,410 gross a month for a full-time role at 40 hours/week. (BMAS: Mindestlohn steigt zum 1. Januar 2026 auf 13,90 Euro)
Gross fixed salary per year for an employed teacher at a private school (Ersatzschule or Ergänzungsschule) in Germany, full-time basis. This range sits noticeably below the TV-L comparison pay for teachers in the public sector (median around €49,800 gross per year according to StepStone), and deliberately shouldn't be confused with it: under settled case law from the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht), Ersatzschulen may not fall significantly below that comparison pay, and most federal states accept 80 to 90 percent of TV-L comparison pay as the floor; Ergänzungsschulen are not subject to this floor. Language schools and tutoring institutes mostly don't pay a fixed salary at all but a fee per teaching unit: around €15 per 45-minute unit when employed directly by the language school, noticeably more for private tutoring, and €10 to €17 per hour at most tutoring institutes. This range refers to permanent employment; for freelance roles, see the hourly rates in the sources.
Sources: Gehaltsvergleich.com, Lehrer/in private Schule; StepStone Gehaltsdaten Lehrkraft (Vergleichswert öffentlicher Dienst); StepStone Gehaltsdaten Lehrer/in für Deutsch als Fremdsprache; Indeed Karriere-Guide, Gehalt Nachhilfelehrer (Stundensatz)
Updated