As an independent coach, you likely want to maximize your income. However, deciding on your rates can sometimes be complicated.

Your life coach prices don’t just dictate how much you earn; they’re also an indicator of how much you view your services to be worth. 

In other words, your existing and potential clients are likely basing the caliber of your services on your fee structure.

There are a lot of factors that go into setting the cost of life coaching sessions and adjusting them as the market evolves. Established coaches review their rates periodically to keep up with their professional growth and competitors.

Whether launching a new coaching business or wanting to tweak your existing pricing structure, this guide will help you nail the perfect rates.

How Much Should a Life Coach Charge?

In our free report on accurate coaching rates, we’ve shared the benchmarks to consider when setting your fees. However, considering a life coach session cost involves evaluating several factors.

How Much Do You Want to Earn?

Make a list of all your expenses (rent, mortgage or FHA loans, utilities, groceries, and so on) and set a realistic goal for your savings. Create a budget for how much you want to pay out for yourself from your business earnings.

Next, note down all your business expenses for your coaching practice. This may include renting office space or spending money on ads to promote your program. Calculate how much of your income will also need to be put away for taxes.

Add up the numbers to define your ideal business income.

How Much Time Do You Have?

Do you have a completely clear schedule you can devote to coaching or just a couple of hours a week outside of your day job? Be realistic about how much time you can afford to dedicate to your business without overcommitting.

Next, consider how your time will be split between working with clients and working on your business.

The first will involve preparing for your sessions, conducting them, and keeping clients accountable.

The latter may include producing content, answering emails, and filing invoices. Paperbell can take a lot of this off your shoulders by automating your bookings, payments, and contracts.

What Does Your Ideal Client Look Like?

Some handbags cost $20, while others cost $200,000. The people who are buying the cheap handbags likely aren’t buying the designer handbags, and vice versa. And yet there’s still a demand for both of these products.

The same is true for your life coaching services. Think about the person you want to serve: How much money do they make? How much would they be willing to pay for coaching? Make sure your pricing aligns with your target audience profile.

What Kind of Services Do You Offer?

Both one-on-one and group coaching sessions have their benefits. Individual coaching is more personalized and impactful, so you can charge higher fees. However, group coaching programs can be scaled.

Consider how much you want to make with your sessions on average and how many individual or group coaching clients you need for that.

You can also create life coach packages that include a certain number of sessions over a set period of time. This requires commitment from your client to complete a longer coaching process.

Some examples of life coaching packages are:

• A VIP Package with 20 x 90-minute sessions, an initial two-hour life strategy session, 10 emergency 15-minute calls, and a “graduation lunch” over 6 to 12 months. It costs $7,515.
• A 6 Months Business and Marketing Coaching Package with a full business review, action plan, monthly video calls, and follow-up email support. It costs $3,128.
• A 3-month Love Coach Package with 6 x 60-minute bi-monthly online sessions, unlimited support between calls, and worksheets as well as other tools as needed. It costs $495.

Of course, there’s more to coaching than talking to people. Some coaches sell digital products like eBooks and online courses.

Whatever your service looks like, always try to up-sell. Provide optional add-ons, such as access to a daily messaging service, or a weekly video call rather than email check-ins. 

Here’s some advice that every coach should consider: Don’t be afraid to include an ultra-premium tier that’s significantly pricier than your other services. Most clients won’t go for this option but the one or two clients a year who do buy it are going to seriously increase your profits.

How Qualified Are You?

Credibility builds trust. In other words, clients will be willing to invest more in someone they feel is qualified to coach them.

This doesn’t just relate to your coaching credentials but any other relevant accreditations and experience you might have.

Did you work in corporate team management for 10 years? Do you have a large social media following or positive online testimonials? Is your Bachelor of Communications helping you to guide your clients? All of these can increase the value of your services.

Traps to Avoid When Deciding on Your Life Coaching Prices

Here are some pitfalls to look out for when setting your life coaching fees.

Overpricing

There’s a fine line between creating a premium service and setting unrealistic expectations. 

If your life coach rates are too high, you may dissuade clients from committing altogether. Or worse, run the risk of under-delivering in line with your rates. Be ambitious but also be realistic.

Underpricing

You may be tempted to undercut the competition, but are your cheap services cheapening your offering?

Charging more can be scary but ask yourself honestly: Are you pricing yourself low out of fear? Are you making assumptions about how much they can afford to pay?

Always challenge the narrative you’re telling yourself. Remember, clients often take you more seriously when they’re required to invest more.

Over-Complicating Your Pricing Structures

Coaching isn’t always straightforward, so if there’s one thing you can make crystal clear to the client, it’s your pricing.

No one likes hidden costs and fuzzy services. Make sure your client is fully informed about all your fees (including add-ons) before they sign with you.

Should You Publish Your Life Coaching Rates?

It depends on your preferences and both have their pros and cons.

Sharing your life coaching rates publicly means anyone who contacts you already knows they can afford you, so there’s very little chance they’ll bail after you give them a quote.

On the other hand, keeping your pricing hidden means you can connect with the client and pitch yourself to them personally with a discovery call. It can create a sense of exclusivity and premium service. It also allows you to deliver custom pricing based on the client. 

Setting up your coaching packages in Paperbell makes it easy to go either way. You can share a link to your package page publicly, or keep it hidden until your prospect is ready to buy. 

Signs Your Life Coach Prices Area Too Low

Setting low rates is one of the most common mistakes new coaches make. Here are some signs you’re underpricing (and undervaluing) your services.

Your clients aren’t committing. Missed appointments, last-minute cancellations, low effort; if multiple clients aren’t taking your coaching services seriously, it means they don’t value you or your time. 

You’re only just scraping by. Spreading yourself too thin will show up in your work. Plus, you didn’t become a coach to struggle—you have a business to run.

You can’t imagine scaling. No room to take on more clients or increase your service offering? Make room by raising your life coach rates. That way, you’ll be able to handle fewer clients and earn more, or free up room to create new products and opportunities without losing out financially.

How and When to Raise Your Life Coaching Fees

There are three scenarios in which you should be raising your life coaching fees:

• When you desperately need to,
• Before you need to, and
• On a regular basis.

Take the aforementioned example of financially scraping by. Clearly, there’s a need to be bringing in more money here, so raising your fees makes sense.

Ideally, you shouldn’t be letting yourself get to this point, which means proactively raising your rates. This might be in anticipation of a tougher season, or when you’re planning something that’s going to require a bit more money, such as up-skilling through a new course.

And then, of course, you need to review your fees yearly. Think about how much you and your personal brand have grown—your rates should reflect that. 

If you are raising your prices, be sure to inform your recurring clients well in advance. If you’re concerned about retention, you can consider selling them a long-term commitment at your current rate to stay on board.

How to Set up a Refund Policy

You don’t have to offer refunds for your coaching but if you do, make sure you have a clear policy. It should be clearly stated in your coaching contract so when your clients sign with you, they know what to expect in case they aren’t satisfied with your services. 

Paperbell makes it easy to store your contracts and get them digitally signed. You can also include additional terms and conditions for each client to avoid misunderstandings.

Most coaches don’t offer refunds. Instead, they meet the client for a discovery session so they can get a sense of what it would be like working together.

As long as you communicate your terms clearly, any potential refunds can be handled according to your policy.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2021 and has since been updated for accuracy.