How to price online coaching

Monthly subscription

The client pays the same amount every month for as long as they stay. It is simple, predictable for both of you, and it matches how coaching works: ongoing support, not a one-off product.

Packages

A set price for a set length of time, such as 12 weeks, often paid up front. Packages suit a clear goal with an end date, like an event. The risk is that clients see the end date as the finish line, so plan what comes next before it arrives.

Tiers

Two or three levels of the same service at different prices, with more of your time at each level. For example: a program-only tier, a standard tier with weekly check-ins, and a top tier with calls. Keep it to three at most. More choices make deciding harder.

Hybrid

Online coaching plus some in-person sessions, for example one session a month. It suits trainers moving existing clients online, and it makes a natural top tier.

Before you pick a number, write down exactly what the client gets. A price only means something next to a clear list:

• Program updates, and how often.
• Check-ins, how often, and how fast you reply.
• Messages, and your reply window.
• Form reviews, and how many videos.
• Calls, how many and how long.
• Any extras, such as habit tracking or goal setting.

Anything you leave vague will be read as included.

Online coaching still costs you time. It is just spread across the week instead of booked in sessions. Price from that time, not from a gut feeling.

1. Decide what you want to earn from coaching in a month, after your business costs.
2. Decide how many hours a month you will spend on client work. Leave out marketing and admin.
3. Estimate how many hours a month one client takes: writing programs, reviewing check-ins, messages and calls.
4. Divide your client hours by the hours per client. That is roughly how many clients you can coach well.
5. Divide your target income by that number of clients. That is your starting monthly price.

An example to show the sums, not a recommendation: say you want to earn $4,000 a month, you have 60 hours a month for client work, and each client takes about 3 hours a month. That is room for 20 clients, so a starting price of $200 a month. Put in your own numbers and you will get your own answer.

If the answer feels too high, do not just lower it. Look at the inputs instead. Could better systems cut the time each client takes? Could a top tier give some clients more of you, for more?

It is tempting to start cheap to win your first clients. It usually backfires:

• A low price means you need more clients to earn the same, so each one gets less of your time and worse results.
• Raising prices later is harder than starting at a fair price.
• Price signals quality. A very cheap coach can look like a risky choice.
• A client who has paid very little can find it easier to drift away.

If you want to help people on a tight budget, offer a cheaper tier with less of your time, such as a program without weekly check-ins, instead of discounting your full service.

• Say who it is for and what they get first, then the price.
• Think about showing your price openly. Hiding it behind “message me” puts some people off and fills your diary with calls from people it does not suit.
• If it helps your cash flow, offer a small saving for paying several months up front. Do not make it so big that monthly looks like a bad deal.
• Put the terms in writing: how billing works, how to cancel, and your refund policy.

• Raise prices for new clients first. It costs you nothing with the clients you have.
• A full diary, or a waiting list, is a sign your price is too low.
• Give existing clients plenty of notice, for example a month or two, and explain what has improved.
• Some coaches keep existing clients on their old price as a thank-you. That is a choice, not a rule.