Acclaimed author, Sol Luckman, famously said, “It takes money to make money.” This means it’s necessary to buy certain things to make a business profitable. If you aspire to be a health coach, you’ll be outlying cash to establish and grow your business. So, just how much does it cost to become a health coach?
In relation to the recommended services and products below, you’ll need to pay approximately $7,000 at the low end (not including office supplies) and roughly $9,000 at the high end (with office supplies). These amounts are broken down into one-time and ongoing costs for your first year. One-time costs include such things as certified training and logo design and amount to about $5,000 (not including office supplies). Ongoing costs per year equal approximately $2,000 and cover such things as coaching software and hosting.
By investing in products and services considered truly important, you’ll set yourself up on the path to success. Below is a description and cost breakdown for each item to give you a solid base for growth…
1. Certified Health Coach Training
Like any other degree that verifies education and experience, a health coach certificate validates you have the knowledge and expertise to practice professionally. You’ll need to choose an accredited certification program from either the National Commission of Certifying Agencies or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools. These programs are six months to a year long and are offered in person or online.
While not mandatory, there are many benefits to certification. Most importantly, it will help you attract clients because it guarantees your credibility. Certified training even includes business basics such as marketing, setting rates, getting clients and arranging banking. Choosing a program can be confusing, so here are five reputable ones for you to consider and their costs:
- Ace Fitness Health Coach – $499/Basic Plan, $649/Plus Plan, $899/Advantage Plan (one-time fees)
- Adapt Health Coach – $12,000 one-time fee
- Health Coach Institute – $5,450 one-time fee
- Institute for Integrative Nutrition – $6,800 one-time fee
- National Society of Health Coaches – $595 one-time fee
For a closer look at these programs, check out our guide to the Best Health Coaching Certification Programs.
2. Health Coach Software
Long gone are the days of wall calendars, appointment books, and counting on your fingers. Now there’s software specifically created for health coaches to streamline administrative tasks such as:
- Client management
- Online scheduling
- Sales and marketing
- Managing a calendar
- Online billing and banking
- Automatic reminders
If you’re a solopreneur, doing these things the conventional way will take a huge bite out of your actual coaching time, which could undermine your business. To greatly simplify your life, you can try one of these credible software solutions for your coaching business:
- CoachAccountable:
- Two Clients – $20/month or $240/year
- Five Clients – $40/month or $480/year
- 10 Clients – $70/month or $840/year
- Coaches Console:
- Core Console System – $147/month or $1,499/year (15 percent discount)
- Total Console System – $247/month or $2,519/year (15 percent discount)
- Satori App:
- Starter – $39/month (billed monthly) or $33/month (billed yearly)
- Trailblazer – $59/month (billed monthly) or $49/month (billed yearly)
- Pro – $99/month (billed monthly) or $83/month (billed yearly)
For a closer look at these programs and others, check out our guide to the Best Online Health Coach Software.
3. Website Tools
If you’re a newbie health coach, a website should be a priority. Whether it’s branding, marketing, drawing clients, or establishing credibility, a well-designed website is a must-have for your business. No doubt, these days, people expect every business to have a website. In fact, in 2017, 88 percent of consumers researched goods and services online before buying.
When you consider there are about $3.5 billion Google searches daily, there’s probably someone searching for your specific service right now. Keep in mind, too, that the average American spends about 23.6 hours a week online. These numbers work in your favor when you have a website that highlights your skills and showcases your services. Moreover, your website is accessible 24/7, even if you’re not.
The lack of a website makes you look more unprofessional to consumers, even to the point of steering away potential clients. That’s why a bad website is still better than no website at all. As Bill Gates said, “If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.”
Setting up and operating a website requires special tools. Let’s briefly look at these, one by one:
Domain Registration
A domain name is a website’s address. In other words, it’s the information you type into your browser to go to a website. A domain name usually looks something like this: https://www.myhealthcoachingbusiness.com. Not only does it direct people to your site, but a domain name also creates brand awareness.
Our favorite domain registration site for the past several years is Namecheap because it’s affordable and easy to use:
- .com – $8.88/year
- .net – $12.98/year
- .org – $12.98/year
Hosting
A web host is a service business that makes your website accessible online around the world. These companies host or “store” your website and maintain them on specialized computers for a monthly fee.
Our favorite hosting company for starter websites is SiteGround because they’re super reliable and offer great support (we’ve used them for many websites):
- Startup Plan – $3.95/month or $47.40/year
- Grow Big Plan – $5.95/month or $71.40/year
- Go Geek Plan – $11.95/month or $143.40/year
WordPress Theme
The theme of your website is what gives it its unique look, such as the layout, graphics, color scheme, and fonts. It’s essentially a template that you upload to your site, which you can then customize to your liking without having to know how to code.
One of the nicest WordPress themes we’ve come across that’s specifically designed for health coaches is called Health Coach, which is created by StylemixThemes and costs $59.
For other great examples, check out our guide to the Best WordPress Themes for Health Coaches.
Logo Design
A logo is a unique, customized emblem combining images, colors, and fonts that visually represents you and your business (think UPS, Pepsi, and Amazon, for example). A logo literally establishes your brand identity in the blink of an eye.
Our go-to service for high-quality label creation is 48 Hours Logo, which costs on average $128 per logo (it’s what we used to get a nice logo for this site, one of many great design submissions we received).
To learn more about logo design, check out our guide on How to Design a Health Coaching Logo.
Stock Photos
Stock photos are images you can license for your website, which spares you the expense of hiring a professional photographer. Whether it’s pictures of fruits and vegetables, people working out or anything else health-related, there are plenty of great high-quality images available for health coaches online.
Our favorite stock photography site for health coaches is DepositPhotos because it’s less expensive than most competitors and provides a great selection (all the photos on this site are licensed from DepositPhotos):
- Subscription:
- $699/year for 75 images
- $999/year for 150 images
- $1,999/year for 750 images
- Flexible Plan:
- $299/year for 30 images every month (additional images are $1 each)
DepositPhotos also offers attractive monthly plans and ‘on demand’ plans.
Image Editor
An image editor is a versatile artistic tool used to customize and manipulate a photo’s appearance, including cropping, resizing, retouching, and adjusting exposure. An image editor is a budget-friendly alternative to hiring a professional designer, and it’s fast and simple.
For the longest time, Photoshop was the only game in town. But many cloud-based online image editors have sprung up in recent years. Our favorite among these is PicMonkey because it’s super intuitive and cheaper than Photoshop ($71.88/year vs. $239.88/year for a Basic Plan). (Read our overview of PicMonkey.)
Appointment Scheduler
Appointment schedulers are used to automate scheduling and appointment-setting. With an appointment scheduler, you won’t have to worry about double-booking or overbooking. A scheduler can keep you on track by generating reminders for you and your client. Schedulers are also great for eliminating no-shows.
Our favorite appointment scheduler is Bookly Pro because of its ease of integration, awesome features, and great support. The regular license costs $89. (Read our overview of Bookly Pro.)
Content Creation
They say content is king, and the more your website has, the more traffic you’ll draw from Google. You’ll also have more leverage to place yourself as an expert in your health coaching niche. But not everyone has the time to write tons of articles which is why done-for-you content, better known as Private Label Rights (PLR) content, may be a good option.
Essentially, PLR is anonymously written material you can place on your website, free of charge. You can have a steady stream of content to post without taking time away from other aspects of your business to write it yourself.
Our go-to service for well-written, done-for-you content for health coaches is PLR.me:
- Pay-As-You-Go – $22/one-time fee ($2.20 per credit)
- Monthly – $99/month (100 credits/month)
- 400 Annual Plan – $379/year (400 credits/year)
To learn more about PLR.me, check out our detailed PLR.me review, plus find out how you can get 10 FREE credits to download any type of content you want right now!
To learn more about content creation for your website, check out our Complete Guide to Content for Health Coaches (Tips & Tools).
Email Autoresponder
An email autoresponder is a program that automatically sends out emails when activated by an event such as the sale of an ebook or the signing up for a newsletter. These autopilot emails can help you keep in touch with your clients, sell services, and build relationships.
Our autoresponder software of choice is GetResponse because it’s reliable, easy to use, and more cost-effective than competitors like AWeber. You can also sign up for a free trial without needing to enter a credit card:
- Regular Email Plan – $15/month
- Pro Plan – $49/month
(Read our overview of GetResponse.)
Live Chat
Live chat allows you to instantly interact with website visitors. It works by typing a message in a chat box where you’re then immediately connected with a live agent. According to Invespcro.com, 73% percent of consumers prefer communicating with businesses via chat, and 63 percent are more likely to revisit businesses offering chat. Thus, including live chat for your website may be a good investment depending on the level you’re at with your health coaching business.
Our pick for the best live chat solution goes to, appropriately enough, Live Chat, which offers a Starter plan for $16/month.
To learn more about using live chat, check out our guide on How To Create A Health Coaching Website.
4. Office Supplies
When you think of office supplies, do paper clips, staplers, and pens come to mind? Sure, these things are important, but there are other supplies just as essential.
Even though your business is online, you’ll still need some “offline” supplies. These items provide a more functional work environment and keep you connected with clients. Even if you’re working in your home, the proper equipment won’t only help you perform more efficiently, but will show clients you’re professional regardless of the surroundings.
Note: Depending on your current setup, some or all these office supplies may or may not be relevant to you and your business. This is why we offer two total cost breakdowns: one that factors in the office supplies and one that doesn’t (see the Health Coach Cost Breakdown below this section).
Business Cards
A business card is a pocket-sized billboard. In only 2 x 3.5 inches, it presents your name, profession, logo, address, email, and website information. All a business card’s graphic elements meld for specific psychological effects. It also telegraphs volumes about you and your branding.
Our preferred choice for high-quality business cards is MOO because they offer intuitive design tools and print high-quality cards at an affordable price ($19.99 for 50 cards).
To learn more about business cards, check out our Definitive Guide to Health Coach Business Cards.
Standing Desk
As its name suggests, a standing desk allows you to work while standing. It’s designed to counteract the long-term consequences of sitting, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It can also reduce back pain and extend your lifespan. Also, when clients see you taking care of yourself by using a standing desk, they’ll respect that you “walk your talk.”
We’re particularly partial to the Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk because of its stylish design, stability, and ease of assembly. It currently retails on Amazon for around $535. (Read our overview of the Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk.)
Headset
A wireless headset is a necessity if you spend a substantial amount of time on the phone. A headset enables the microphone to remain stationary while you talk and frees up your hands so you can type or take notes. There are also noise-canceling headsets that filter up to 75 percent of background sounds on both ends of the call.
Our favorite headset is the Jabra Evolve 40 because of its clear sound, wireless range, and ease of use. It currently costs about $68 and is available on Amazon. (Read our overview of the Jabra Evolve 40.)
Webcam
A webcam is a small camera that attaches to your computer and allows you to have live video chats with clients. During a video session, you’ll each be able to see subtle communication cues such as facial expressions and body language. A webcam is especially useful for a health coach because it allows you to demonstrate things conveyed visually, such as how to stretch.
We currently use the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920S and love it for its mic and picture quality. It currently retails for about $70 on Amazon. (Read our overview of the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920S.)
Note Taking
Do you have a jumble of legal pads and dog-eared notebooks? A tablet computer helps you transform chaos to order when you need to take accurate notes during important client consultations. Using a stylus, you can take notes, add a photo or sketch.
We find these note-taking tools particularly effective:
- iPad Pro – $1,088
- Apple Pencil – $129
(Read our overview of these Apple products.)
Total Health Coach Cost Breakdown
Taking all this information into account, here’s a snapshot of how these figures stack up for a first-year health coach and every year thereafter:
First Year
- Health Coach Certification Program = $4,948 (average)
- Health Coach Software = $1,063 (average)
- Website Tools = $1,262 (represents one-time costs and ongoing costs with the least expensive price plans selected)
- Office Supplies = $1,904
TOTAL = $9,177 (excluding the office supplies, the cost is $7,273)
After the First Year
- Health Coach Certification Program = $0
- Health Coach Software = $1,063 (average)
- Website Tools = $930 (represents ongoing costs with the least expensive price plans selected)
- Office Supplies = $0
TOTAL = $1,993/year
To learn more about these office supplies, check out our guide to the 20 Best Health Coaching Tools.
Conclusion
While money can’t buy everything, it can pay for the education and supplies necessary to get your health coaching business up and running. So how much does it cost to become a health coach? Enough to take you from reading this wherever you are right now to reading it in your very own office!
So, what are your thoughts about our cost breakdown to become a health coach? Have we left anything out? Leave your comments below!
Sources
Hello Debbie, Do you feel the cost to become a health coach probably varies depending on what area of the country you live in? In the past, I was teaching at some local senior centers and rec centers for a while but felt that a lot of the moms and ladies knew more than me (or at least they thought they did, lol). I can remember having a sweet elderly lady in one of my weekly classes and she had stage 4 cancer. I did not feel very adequate or qualified to advise her as to her diet other than things I read. Because of that incident I just decided I couldn’t teach any longer and never got any more training.
Hi there, these costs bear no relation to where you live. Thanks.
SO MUCH VALUABLE INFORMATION AND DATA!!! Wow! Thank you for breaking it down into such bite size pieces! Written with such clarity and knowledge! You’ve made it super easy for anyone to make a sensible decision! You covered everything and so much more, you have definitely thought this through and included every imaginable expense!
Glad you found it helpful, thanks 🙂
Wow Debbie, you certainly have covered this topic thoroughly. I must admit that I have no plans of becoming a health coach at this point in my life, but if I were younger, it’s definitely a vocation I would consider as I’ve always been a health and fitness nut (still am really).
But I know that it’s an occupation that is gaining in popularity and that would be one of the first questions most people would want to know…how much does it cost? Your guide explains all the costs involved very nicely. But I couldn’t help but notice the difference in cost between some of the reputable certified training programs you included. Is there one you would recommend that offers the best program for the price?
I had never heard of a standing desk before, that’s great idea, especially in that line of work. Great blog with such valuable info. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise!
Sue
Hi Sue, thanks for the compliment! As far as your question is concerned, we particularly recommend Health Coach Institute, which we discuss here. Thanks for reading!
Interesting breakdown of the cost of becoming a health coach. I also thought the education side would come up to be around 2K or slightly more. I didn’t know there are so many elements involved in the online side of things, especially on the PLR content. Isn’t that an outdated marketing technique and somewhat blackhat. Would you be worried about duplicate content?
Good question Cathy. I address your point about PLR content here. In short, it’s not a problem if (and only if) you take the time to customize it to your needs while also adding your two cents to it. Thanks!
Hello Debbie,
Thank you for taking the pressure off for someone like me who has thought about becoming a health coach for some time now. I felt absolutely no pressure while reading the content on your website. Everything is said and laid out perfectly and it makes me want to pursue my dreams and goals as a health coach. Have a blessed day.
Glad you found it helpful Tiya!