Do you dream of inspiring others to achieve their goals? If so, life coaching could be the job for you.
Life coaching has skyrocketed as a career path, with over 100,000 practitioners worldwide. That’s an increase of a whopping 54% between 2019 and 2022. The industry has also generated $4.564 billion in annual revenue.
So, how much do life coaches make? And how can you maximize the earning potential of your life coaching business?
There are many different factors that influence life coach salary, including your niche, experience, and the life coaching platform you use. Read on to discover how much life coaches earn, who the most successful coaches are, and the practical steps you can take to bring in more money as a life coach.
What are Life Coaches? And What Do They Do?
Since you're reading about how much life coaches make, you likely have an idea of what they do. Still, the life-coaching industry can be a tad confusing, so let's quickly recap what life coaches actually do before delving into how they make money.
Have you ever heard of Tony Robbins, Iyanla Vanzant or Jay Shetty? While these personalities are known for a range of different activities, life coaching is a key part of their success and influence.
If you’re new to life coaching, watch Melanie Robbins’ TEDx talk on "How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over" and you’ll quickly get an understanding of we’re talking about here:
Put simply, life coaches help clients reach their goals and develop a new, positive outlook on their challenges. This can be achieved by:
- Setting attainable goals with your client and supporting their progress
- Advising clients based on your personal or professional experiences
- Supporting clients to overcome setbacks to their goals and development
- Giving an alternative perspective to your client’s challenges
- Providing a non-judgemental space for clients to share their journey
Life coaching is a broad term. Coaches typically home in on a particular niche they have the most expertise or personal experience with. Some choose to focus on a specific type of challenge, such as:
- Improving connections with loved ones
- Changing careers or stepping up the career ladder
- Boosting self-esteem
- Connecting with spirituality
- Developing personal wellbeing
- Finding true love
- Increasing productivity
Others may decide to work with clients who are going through a particular stage of their life or grappling with a major challenge or change. This includes coaching through divorce, grief, and other life events. For example, wellness coach Gabriella Espinosa offers coaching for menopausal women.
While some clients often share personal challenges with their life coach, life coaching isn’t the same as therapy. Life coaches aren’t trained mental health professionals and can’t provide mental health treatments or therapies. Instead, life coaches help clients to reach their full potential, achieve their goals, and recognize their unique strengths.
How Much Money Do Life Coaches Make?
Life coach salaries will vary depending on their experience, qualifications, and niche. In most cases, life coaches are self-employed and set their own rates.
Let's take a look at how much life coaches make per hour, session, and package.
How much do life coaches make per hour?
Budding life coaches can charge around $50 to $75 per hour. More experienced coaches can expect to bring in around $100 per hour.
However, if you’re a #1 NY Times bestselling author and world-renowned life coach who has empowered more than 50 million people from 100 countries around the world – like Tony Robbins – you can charge more.
Many life coaches don’t recommend charging on an hourly basis. This is because it’s hard for clients to gauge what they’ll be getting back – which can make the coaching seem like a bottomless money pit.
Top tip: Traditionally, you may think of life coaching as a service. However, by productizing your services and focusing on reaching a specific goal, you can break out of the trap of an hourly rate.
How much do life coaches make per session?
Experienced coaches can charge around $100-$150 per session. This can go to upwards of $200 per session with 10+ years of experience.
How much do life coaches make per year?
According to the Coaching Federation, $67,800 is the national average salary for life coaches. However, as life coaches differ in terms of experience and services, there’s not one set figure for a life coaching salary. Other sources place the average figure at closer to $38,000. However, these figures are averages, with many coaches reaching much higher salaries.
How much do life coaches make per coaching package?
Some life coaches prefer charging via a package pricing model. Coaches offer a package deal of a certain number of sessions, or a period of time they will work with the client. This will vary depending on their expertise, with more experienced coaches charging more for a smaller coaching bundle.
Selling via a package or bundle ensures that the sessions are more goal oriented. Your coaching package can focus on a set goal your client wishes to achieve, which makes the overall benefit for your client clear and upfront.
Speaking to Woman and Home magazine, quantum transformation coach Suzy Ashworth recommends that new life coaches stick to charging around $1,900 for a 3-month package, and experienced coaches charge upwards of $6,000 for 6-10 sessions.
What Type of Life Coach Makes the Most Money?
Wellness and relationship coaches are in high demand. But they’re not the only life coaching type that can bring in the big bucks. Here are some of the statistics for average coaching salaries.
Life coach salary
As explored above, the annual life coach salary ranges from $38,000 to around $67,800. However, this figure varies between states, and some coaches earn much more.
Wellbeing and health coach salary
These coaches offer clients non-medical guidance and support on wellbeing issues, including exercise, diet, mindfulness, stress management, and more. Data from Salary.com and Glassdoor shows the typical wellbeing and health coach salary ranges between $50,000 and $70,000 but can go as high as $100,000+.
Relationship coach salary
Relationship coaches help their clients to navigate the challenges of dating, marriage, and/or divorce. According to statistics from Salary.com, ZipRecruiter, and Glassdoor, the average salary for a relationship coach can range from $48,000 to over $100,000.
Career coach salary
Career coaches support and advise their clients about advancing in their career – or changing jobs. According to statistics from Salary.com, Comparably, and Glassdoor, the average salary for a career coach ranges from $49,000 to over $80,000.
Spiritual coach salary
Spiritual coaches help clients to connect with their spirituality, covering traditional religions to manifestation and Shamanism. According to data from ZipRecruiter, average spiritual coach salaries in the US can vary from around $52,000 to $72,000 per year.
Who are the Most Successful Life Coaches (and How Much do They Make)?
There are thousands of successful life coaches who’ve built their empires through a diverse mix of seminars, online courses, bestselling books, and more. Here are three of the most famous life coaches – and what they earn.
Tony Robbins
American writer and motivational speaker Tony Robbins is arguably the most well-known and successful life coach. With a life coaching business that comprises over 200 coaches trained in his techniques, Robbins brings in a whopping $83 million dollars in estimated annual income.
What makes Robbins stand out is the myriad of different coaching options he provides to his clients. From one-to-one coaching to online peer groups, clients can access coaching services in a way that suits them.
Robin Sharma
Known for his book “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”, Robin Sharma has an estimated net worth of around $10 million. The humanitarian and leadership expert offers video training and public speaking, as well as selling 25 million copies of his books worldwide.
Gabrielle Bernstein
With an estimated net worth of $25 million, spiritual life coach Gabrielle Bernstein has reached audiences around the world. Connecting with fans through her “Dear Gabby” podcast, she offers a coaching app, several New York Times bestselling books, and an online writing masterclass.
How Much Should You Charge as a Life Coach?
As explored above, there’s no one set price for life coaching services. Ultimately, the amount you charge will depend on several factors:
Niche
More specific coaching services will draw in a larger payout. For example, general life coaches will typically not charge as much as coaches who specialize in supporting middle-aged women through divorce.
Experience
Your initial rate doesn’t have to be long-term. Charge a lower rate as you build up testimonials and reputation. Then, once you have a following, you can gradually raise your prices.
Qualifications
Life coaching qualifications are currently unregulated, so in most cases, it’s more beneficial to have experience. Not all coaching niches require qualifications. With that being said, seeing that you have obtained a qualification in coaching can help some clients to feel more confident in your services. Becoming a member of the International Coaching Federation can also boost your reputation with potential clients.
Beyond this, some coaching niches, such as mental or physical health, do require specific training and qualifications.
Coaching packages
You’ll also need to consider how you want to charge your customers. You might decide to charge per hour, session, or offer a monthly rate. Most coaches prefer a package deal, which sets out exactly what customers can expect from your services. With Whop, you can easily set up bundles, so your customers can buy one-to-one coaching sessions, online courses, and community access in one go. You can also offer monthly, yearly, or one-off payments.
How Can I Make a Lot of Money as a Life Coach?
As you can see, there are a lot of different ways that you can make money as a life coach - but how do you make the most money? Aside from earning through coaching sessions, there are many other ways to bring in additional income on top of a life coach salary. These include:
Online courses and workshops
Some clients may prefer online courses to one-to-one coaching sessions, as they’re typically less expensive. Creating an online course allows you to reach these clients you might otherwise have missed – and reach thousands more worldwide. Meanwhile, with live online workshops, you can bring in extra money by teaching several clients at once.
Digital products
Life coaches can also bring in extra cash through digital products, including eBooks, spreadsheets, and more. Once completed, digital products can become a passive income stream.
For example, renowned author and coach, Rich Litvin, provides a range of different coaching programs that are pre-recorded, self-study courses. The product is ready to purchase and use at your convenience. With digital products, you can stop charging for your time and multiple your income.
Exclusive communities
Coaching students often learn better alongside their peers. Connecting your coaching services with forums and other communication tools helps you to build strong communities around your brand.
With Whop, you can connect with leading messaging platforms, such as Discord and Telegram, or, you can make your own community inside your very own whop. Plus, you can also monetize your online communities by creating exclusive content and membership tiers, which are gated behind a paywall.
Coaching apps
With apps like Calm and Headspace launching onto the market, there’s plenty of interest for mindfulness, productivity, and stress management apps. Why not create an app with affirmations to inspire your clients? Or a motivational calendar to schedule their goals?
Even if you don’t have any development experience, Whop features experienced app developers who build apps for sellers – and you could even get your app designed for free.
Seminars and webinars
Many life coaches also make money sharing their expertise at seminars and online webinars. You can host seminars that last from one to several days, which clients pay to attend. Webinars are similar, but as they’re online, they’re much cheaper to run and can easily be recorded. You can then sell access to them from your whop.
Discover Whop - The Best All-Inclusive Platform for Life Coaches
To maximize your life coach salary, you need to sell on the right platform.
Many online commerce platforms take a toll on your profits. There are typically monthly subscription fees to pay. On top of that, you’ll also have transaction fees. These additional costs soon build up.
Plus, you’ll typically need a mix of platforms to handle all of your different needs, such as course creation or email marketing. On the other hand, you might find some commerce platforms are too restrictive, with limited integrations. These platforms might also limit the types of products you can sell.
That’s where Whop comes in!
With Whop, there’s no fixed monthly fee to pay. We only charge a 3% fee per transaction. That means more money in your pocket from what you create.
You’ll also have access to valuable tools for managing your coaching business. Want to create a course to teach thousands of students at once? No problem. Whop has you covered with our built-in course creator. Or if you already have a course on another platform, that’s fine too. Simply migrate the course over to us.
What about scheduling your coaching sessions? Or receiving payments from clients? Whop makes every step easy. Students can book their sessions without leaving the site. Just embed your chosen scheduling app within your very own whop. Payment is also simple - you’ll just add a product to your store and create a checkout link to send to your client.
Getting started with Whop is quick and easy. Create an account in just five minutes, set up your whop (your online hub), and add the apps you need to sell your life coaching sessions, courses, digital downloads, and more.
