What Is Handouts Online? A Worksheet Library for ESL/EFL Teachers

Handouts Online is a subscription-based library of printable ESL/EFL worksheets for English teachers. It offers over 500 ready-to-print handouts covering conversation, grammar, business English, travel English, reading, vocabulary, games, and quizzes. Free sample worksheets are available to try before subscribing, while members can download and photocopy materials for their classes. If you teach English and want ready-made, classroom-tested materials without building them from scratch, this is the type of resource worth evaluating.

What the platform provides

The site positions itself around one core promise: worksheets you can download, print, and use immediately. Key features described on the site include:

• Hundreds of worksheets — the site states there are over 500, spanning conversation, grammar, games, reading, and vocabulary.
• Teaching notes and answer keys — every worksheet is described as including step-by-step instructions and answers, so you can hand it to a substitute or pick it up cold.
• Print and photocopy rights — members are permitted to download and photocopy worksheets for their classes.
• Free sample worksheets — an extensive sample collection lets you judge quality and level fit before paying.
• Online teaching support — worksheets can be emailed directly to students, which suits remote lessons.
• Search — a search system helps you locate materials by topic or structure.

How the content is organized

Materials are grouped both by category and by grammar structure, so you can browse by lesson type or by the specific language point you need to teach.

Browse by category

Top requested grammar structures

The site highlights the grammar areas teachers request most, each with its own lesson set:

• Present tenses (simple and continuous)
• Past tenses (simple and continuous)
• Present perfect (simple and continuous)
• Future forms (will, going to, present continuous)
• Modals (would, could, might, etc.)
• Conditionals (first, second, third, mixed)
• Prepositions (time, location, movement)
• Adjectives (comparatives, superlatives)

Who it fits and who it doesn't

A good fit if you:

• Teach ESL/EFL and regularly need print-ready materials
• Want teaching notes and answer keys included rather than writing your own
• Teach online and need worksheets you can email to students
• Value photocopying rights for classroom distribution
• Prefer browsing a curated library over assembling free resources from scattered sites

Probably not the right fit if you:

• Only need occasional one-off worksheets (the free samples may cover this)
• Teach a subject outside ESL/EFL
• Need fully customizable or editable content rather than print-ready handouts

Pricing and access

The site states membership is $24 for a full year of unlimited access to all teaching resources. Free sample worksheets are available separately, so you can assess the material before committing. The site does not indicate whether any login is required for the free samples, so check the sample page directly if that matters to you.

How to evaluate it before subscribing

1. Start with the free samples. Download several across different categories (grammar, conversation, business) to judge level accuracy and layout quality.
2. Check level fit. Confirm the samples match the proficiency levels you actually teach — a mismatch here is the most common reason a worksheet library disappoints.
3. Test the search. Try finding a specific structure you teach often (for example, mixed conditionals) to see how quickly the library surfaces relevant material.
4. Confirm your use case. If you teach online, verify that the worksheet format emails and displays well for students.
5. Weigh cost against volume. At $24/year, the value depends on how many worksheets you'll realistically use — frequent planners get more from it than occasional users.

The main practical takeaway: use the free samples as your decision tool. They tell you more about level fit and quality than any description can.