Case: Klasna's euro prices for diaspora families

When someone brings a price worry, check two things in order: is the arithmetic right, and is the comparison one buyers actually make?

Klasna set 15 euros a lesson in 2025: the 8-lesson price of 650 divided by 45 and rounded up. At today's planning rate of 51, 15 euros is 765 hryvnias, and (765 − 650) / 650 = 17.69% above the hryvnia price. Nazar's arithmetic is right.

His comparison is the problem. It sets Klasna's euro price against Klasna's own hryvnia list. No family in Kraków or Munich makes that comparison: they weigh Klasna against what they'd do locally, in euros. A correct number about the wrong comparison can still push you to the wrong decision.

Abroad, the alternative is set by where the family lives, not where the school is from. All 50 EU families were asked in September 2026 what they would do without Klasna: a local private tutor 21, a local group course 7, a Ukrainian online tutor 8, a Ukrainian online school 6, free apps 5, nothing 3.

A local private tutor is named by 21 of 50, 42%, the largest group. The Ukrainian online options together reach 14 (28%). Nazar always thought of other Ukrainian schools as the competition abroad: same language, same category, easy to find. But a mother in Kraków weighs Klasna against the tutor down the street, paid in euros.

The converted hryvnia price list isn't an alternative at all. It's Klasna's own price in another currency.

Local tutors' prices differ a lot between countries: in the scan they run from 24 to 40 euros a lesson. One EU-wide average would hide that, so compute a ceiling per country: the median local tutor there plus the net value of the differences.

Differences against a local tutor, per lesson: a tutor who explains in Ukrainian and talks to parents in Ukrainian +5, evening slots that fit after local school +2, a monthly progress note to parents in Ukrainian +1, and two minuses: a 50-minute lesson instead of 60, −4 (the only line with a market price), and online only, −3. Net +1.

Poland: tutors at 24, 25 and 28, median 25, ceiling 25 + 1 = 26. Germany: median 35, ceiling 36. Most of the differences are interview assumptions, so treat the ceilings as estimates.

With ceilings of 26 in Poland and 36 in Germany, Leo's question is natural: why not charge Germans more? Two reasons to keep one EU price:

• Rules. Prices that differ by country of residence inside the EU can run into EU rules against treating customers differently by where they live. Whether those rules cover live online lessons sold from Ukraine needs a lawyer's check, as of October 2026.
• Trust. Diaspora families compare notes; a price that depends on the country is hard to explain.

So one price must fit under the lowest relevant ceiling: Poland's 26, since Polish families are more than half (26 of 50). A hryvnia price for families in Ukraine alongside a euro price for the EU is a different case, but check it the same way before launch. None of this is legal advice; it's the safe default until a lawyer says otherwise.

Teaching a family abroad costs Klasna the same as teaching one in Kyiv: the tutor gets 390, video and AI cost 30, and the fee takes 2.5% of the price. So the euro floor is the hryvnia floor converted:

420 / 0.975 = 430.77 UAH; 430.77 / 51 = 8.45 EUR.

The corridor for a single EU price therefore runs from 8.45 to Poland's 26. Today's 15 sits inside, but low. Against its ceiling, a Polish family keeps 26 − 15 = 11 EUR of value per lesson and a German family 36 − 15 = 21. Klasna's contribution is 15 × 51 × 0.975 − 420 = 325.88 UAH per lesson.

The rate of 51 is a planning assumption (the finance course's September actual was 47.00), so a floor in euros moves with the exchange rate and is worth rechecking when the rate shifts.

With a corridor of 8.45–26 EUR, candidate prices sort quickly:

• 8: below the floor of 8.45; every lesson loses money.
• 15: inside, but a Polish family keeps 11 EUR of value per lesson: a lot handed over.
• 22: inside; a Polish family keeps 26 − 22 = 4 EUR, a margin it can still feel.
• 27, 30: above Poland's 26, so most Polish families would be better off with a local tutor. 30 would still be under Germany's 36, which is exactly why a single price must fit the lower ceiling.

Inside the corridor the choice is how much value to leave with families. Hanna's request is the right habit: show two or three candidates with what each leaves families and Klasna, before picking one.

Each candidate price has two sides: what it leaves families and what it leaves Klasna. Contribution per lesson in euros works like the hryvnia version, with the exchange rate in the middle:

contribution = price in EUR × rate × (1 − fee) − direct costs

At 22 EUR: 22 × 51 = 1,122 UAH; × 0.975 = 1,093.95; − 420 = 673.95 UAH, roughly double the 325.88 at today's 15. A Polish family would still keep 4 EUR of value per lesson against its ceiling, a German family 14.

Put candidates side by side in one small table (price, value left for Polish and German families, contribution) and the trade-off becomes visible. The memo can then argue for one price instead of announcing it.

One more check before any EU price goes live. In the EU, a price shown to consumers is the final price, including any VAT due. A lower number with VAT added at checkout would make the shown price misleading.

How VAT applies to Klasna's live online lessons sold from Ukraine to families in each EU country hasn't been checked yet: the treatment of live teaching differs from digital services, and the answer may differ by country. So the memo says it plainly: check VAT per country with a tax adviser before the new price goes live, and adjust the shown price if VAT is due. This is a flagged item, not legal or tax advice.

How it fits together: check the arithmetic and the comparison, find the alternative families name where they live, build a ceiling per country, fit one EU price between the euro floor and the lowest ceiling, and show what it leaves both sides. The next module asks what buyers will actually pay.