The honest answer is that neither wins outright. They solve different problems, and students who do well usually use both. Here's how to tell which one a given situation calls for.
What 1-on-1 is genuinely better at
Diagnosing what's actually wrong. Most persistent difficulty in maths and science isn't the topic being taught — it's a gap two years upstream. A tutor watching one student work can find that in minutes. A teacher facing sixty cannot.
Pace. In a group, the pace is set for the middle. If you're ahead you're bored; if you're behind you compound the deficit weekly.
Asking the embarrassing question. The question a student won't ask in front of classmates is very often the one blocking everything else.
Irregular schedules. Individual sessions bend around exams, illness and travel. Fixed batches don't.
What group classes are genuinely better at
Cost per hour. Nothing beats splitting a tutor across thirty students.
Coverage. Working through a full syllabus in order is well suited to a group.
Pace-setting. Some students need the external structure of a class that moves whether or not they do.
Seeing other people's mistakes. Watching someone else get it wrong, and hearing why, is a real form of learning that solo tutoring can't replicate.
The pattern that works
Most students who use tutoring well follow the same shape:
- Group class or school for coverage — moving through the syllabus
- 1-on-1 for the specific things that aren't landing
- Intensive 1-on-1 in the weeks before an exam, on weak areas only
The mistake is using individual tutoring for coverage. Paying for one-to-one attention while someone recites a chapter you could have read is expensive and not especially effective.
What this looks like in practice
Because Aedume prices per session rather than per month, the "1-on-1 for specific things" model is actually affordable — you book a 15 or 30 minute session on the exact topic that's stuck, rather than a standing weekly hour that drifts.
For the group side, live classes are hosted by verified tutors at a lower per-student price, with some free. They're group sessions, so the same caveats apply: good for coverage, less good for your particular confusion.
Deciding for a specific student
Choose 1-on-1 if the student is stuck on something specific, is significantly ahead or behind their class, won't speak up in a group, or is preparing for an exam with identified weak areas.
Choose a group class if they need to cover a syllabus, work better with external structure, or the budget only supports one of the two.
Choose both if you can, weighted toward group for coverage and individual for repair.
A note on ratios
"Small group" covers a wide range. Five students is a genuinely different experience from twenty-five, which is different again from a recorded lecture with a comment box. Ask the actual number before comparing prices — a 1:5 class at a slightly higher rate is often better value than 1:40 at half the price.
Ready to try either? Browse tutors for individual sessions, or see what live classes are scheduled.