Preply promo code or referral link: which discount is bigger?
By Alex · Updated
If you search for a Preply promo code, you will find dozens of coupon sites promising 10%, 15% or 20% off. There is a bigger discount that is not a code at all: the official Refer a Friend invite link, which cuts the price of your trial lesson by 70%. This article explains the difference so you can pick the option that saves the most.
What a Preply promo code actually gives you
Promo codes on Preply are typed in at checkout. They come from Preply's own campaigns (for example, the student discount for people with a university email address) or from partner sites. In practice most publicly listed codes are worth 10-20%, are limited in time, and many of the codes copied between coupon sites no longer work.
Codes also tend to apply to a specific purchase, such as your first subscription, rather than to the trial lesson itself. Always read the conditions on preply.com before counting on a code.
What the referral link gives you
Refer a Friend is Preply's official referral program. An existing student shares a personal invite link; a new user who signs up through it gets 70% off their first trial lesson. There is no code to type: Preply recognises the link and shows the discount on the checkout page.
- Discount: 70% off the trial (first) lesson.
- Eligibility: new users who have never registered on Preply before.
- Tutor rate: the tutor must charge $7 per hour or more.
- Validity: 90 days after you sign up through the link, one-time use.
- What the referrer gets: lesson credits after you confirm your first subscription lesson.
Side-by-side comparison
Take a tutor who charges $20 per hour. With a typical 15% promo code the trial would cost $17. With the referral link it costs $6. The gap is even more noticeable with more expensive tutors: a $40 trial becomes $12 instead of $34.
The trade-off is that the referral discount covers only the trial lesson. Subsequent lessons are paid at the tutor's regular price through a Preply subscription. Some promo codes, on the other hand, target the subscription. If you already know you will study for months, it can make sense to use the referral link for the trial and then look for a subscription offer separately.
Can you combine a promo code with the referral link?
No. Preply applies one discount per purchase, and the referral offer is tied to your account at sign-up. If you register through an invite link, the 70% trial discount is attached automatically, and entering a promo code at the same checkout will not stack on top of it.
How to make sure the 70% is applied
Open Preply through the invite link, and register right away in the same browser session. Preply shows a banner along the lines of “See your 70% off the first lesson on checkout page”. Pick a tutor whose rate is $7 per hour or more, book a trial, and check the price on the payment screen before you confirm. If you leave the site and come back later without the link, the offer can be lost.
Frequently asked questions
Is a referral link the same as a promo code?
No. A promo code is typed in at checkout and usually gives 10-20%. A referral link is a personal invite from an existing student; signing up through it gives 70% off the trial lesson without any code.
Does the 70% discount apply to every lesson?
No, only to the trial (first) lesson. Later lessons are paid at the tutor's regular rate through a subscription.
Is the referral discount official?
Yes. Refer a Friend is Preply's own program, documented in the Preply Help Center. The person who shares the link receives lesson credits from Preply after you confirm your first subscription lesson.
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