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how much does a coach earn

How Much Does a Coach Earn?

By Andy Chandler

The honest answer is that it depends on many different factors.

What are you going to do with your coaching qualification? Will coaching become your primary income or form part of a wider portfolio career? Will you join an existing coaching organisation as an associate or set up your own coaching business? Have you come from a corporate career with an established network of contacts, or are you building relationships from scratch? Which sector do you want to work in – corporate, education, healthcare, the public sector or charities? Fees and opportunities vary considerably across different markets. It also makes a difference whether you are starting your first business or adding coaching to an established consultancy or professional practice.

Perhaps the biggest factor of all is how you arrive at coaching.  Some people train as coaches at the start of a new career. Others bring decades of experience as leaders, HR professionals, consultants, therapists, teachers, healthcare professionals or business owners. They already have credibility, trusted relationships and potential clients who know their work. For them, coaching often becomes a natural extension of what they already do rather than something they have to build entirely from the ground up.

Equally, someone starting a coaching business without an existing network can absolutely create a successful practice, but it is likely to take longer because they are building two things at the same time: their coaching capability and their business. Neither route is better than the other; they simply have different starting points, and that has a significant influence on how quickly coaching begins to generate an income.      

The good news…

Coaching is an established and growing profession. When Barefoot started 30 years ago, we spent plenty of time explaining what coaching is, and what it isn’t. Today, most people and organisations understand coaching as a serious and effective development activity.

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) has estimated the global coaching industry to be worth around $5.34 billion, with 122,974 coach practitioners worldwide. Average coaching income is reported at around £38,000 to £40,000 a year and typical session fees sitting around £180 to £190. Those averages do not tell the whole story, but they do show that coaching is no longer a fringe activity or a vague personal-development hobby. People are earning from it, and organisations are investing in it.

But… here’s what most people don’t realise

This is the bit that’s missed: Coaching isn’t always a full-time job. It often sits alongside something else with 93% of coaches stating they receive income from other activities beyond coaching. The ICF survey found that freelance coaches spend, on average, about 12-hours a week coaching. That’s certainly not full-time and that figure includes coaching and all of the work that goes around it (such as business generation, invoicing, administration etc…). So straight away, you’ve got a different picture.

It also tends to grow over time. Few people come out of training with a full diary packed with clients and a fully formed coaching business. More often, they start using coaching where they already are, build confidence and credibility, and gradually find that more opportunities begin to open up.

What is also worth knowing

There may well be a very good reason why for many coaching is just one of their many strings to their bow. There is an energetic cost associated with the act of coaching. I remember leaving my coach training programme many years ago and immediately creating a spreadsheet to show my potential earnings if I simply coached four days a week. At the kind of rates I had assumed, it was a very attractive proposition. You can even find some earnings calculators on-line which let you move the dial to 60+ hours of coaching a week.

Our advice: to be a great coach you have to manage your energy levels to be at your best for your clients – and unless you’re superhuman (which you may well be of course) – you will need to temper your enthusiasm and set a more realistic and sustainable expectation on coaching hours.

So how much can you earn?

So how much can you earn as a coach in practice? There isn’t one answer.

For some people, coaching becomes a few thousand pounds a year alongside their existing role. For others, it develops into a healthy part-time income or becomes part of a broader portfolio career that includes facilitation, consulting and leadership development. A smaller group do go on to build six-figure coaching businesses, but that is not the starting point for most people, and it is rarely the whole story.

Data from our own survey suggests a similar picture. Most coaches earned under £80k, around 1 in 10 had moved beyond £150k, and interestingly, coaching was often only one part of their overall income. In other words, it’s not usually “just coaching” – it’s coaching plus other things.

And it’s not all freelance

There is another important part of the picture too: organisations are increasingly investing in their own internal coaching capability.

At Barefoot, we often train people who go on to use coaching inside their organisation – sometimes as part of an existing leadership, HR, OD or people-development role, and sometimes in dedicated internal coach roles.

For some people, coaching is a “side-of-desk” role that improves the quality of conversations they are already having. For others, it becomes a more formal part-time or full-time role within the organisation. Salary benchmarks need to be treated carefully because internal coaching roles are often blended with HR, L&D, OD, talent or leadership development responsibilities. Even so, current UK benchmarks suggest internal or organisational coach roles are often around the low-£30,000s, while broader corporate coaching roles can sit closer to the £50,000s, depending on scope, seniority and employer.

What actually makes the difference?

It’s not just about your hourly rate (even though many people focus on that). What really drives income is a combination of how many clients you have, how many hours you are coaching, who you are coaching, and the experience and reputation you bring. It also matters whether organisations are paying for the coaching, rather than individuals funding it themselves.

For example, coaches who work with leaders and organisations tend to earn more. More experienced coaches usually earn more too, which is no great surprise. But the biggest growth often comes not simply from charging higher fees, but from building a stronger client base and becoming known for the work you do.

A few watch-outs

“I’ll train as a coach and then immediately go full-time.”. It can happen but for most people, that’s not how it works. What usually happens is much more gradual. You train, you start using coaching in your current role, or as part of a wider portfolio, and you build confidence and credibility over time. Then you may begin to pick up clients, either internally or externally, and slowly – but often very solidly – it grows.

It’s also worth noting that being a great coach is no guarantee of being able to build a great coaching business. For people moving into self-employment for the first time, there can be a lot to learn: how to find clients, talk about your work, price your services, manage your energy and build confidence as you go.

Where most people actually start

This is the bit I think is really important if you’re considering training: the first return on coaching usually isn’t money. Often, it shows up first in better conversations, more confidence, a stronger leadership presence, and a shift in how you show up at work and more broadly in your wider life. And then the income piece can follow. Some people stay there, using coaching as a powerful skill in their existing work. Others go on to do associate work, build a side practice, or eventually create a full coaching business.

A more helpful way to think about it

Instead of asking: “How much can I earn as a coach?” Try asking: “What role could coaching play in my work and my life?” Because coaching can play different roles at different stages. It might begin as a skillset, become a career boost, develop into a side income, or, over time, become a full profession. The important thing is to think about the role coaching could play in your work and your life, rather than only asking what it might pay on day one.

Final thought

Coaching can absolutely pay but it’s rarely an overnight switch. For most people, it starts as something small, useful and integrated into what they already do - and then grows into something bigger.

Thinking About a Career in Coaching?

Understanding earning potential is just one part of the picture. If you’d like to learn more about becoming a coach, join a free Barefoot Coaching taster session and explore what training, accreditation, and life as a professional coach can look like.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make a living as a coach?
Yes, plenty of coaches make a living from coaching, but most build towards this over time.

Is coaching usually full-time?
Not always. Many coaches combine coaching with leadership, facilitation, consulting, training, or another professional role.

How much can a new coach earn?
New coaches often start by using coaching in their existing work or taking on a small number of clients before building a more established practice.

Do organisations employ internal coaches?
Yes. Many organisations now invest in internal coaching capability, either by training leaders, managers, HR and L&D professionals to coach alongside their existing role, or by creating more formal internal coach roles. Salary data varies because these roles are often blended with HR, OD or leadership development responsibilities, but UK salary benchmarks for internal or organisational coach roles often sit in the low-£30,000s, with corporate coaching roles typically higher.

What affects a coach’s income?
Income is shaped by experience, client base, niche, reputation, fees, number of coaching hours, and whether clients are individuals or organisations.

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Andy Chandler

Chief Executive Office - MBA, PCC

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jordan

One Response

  1. What an incredibly wise, reassuring and helpful piece – thank you, Andy! I often worry I’m not doing enough to ‘be’ a coach, but am now trying to see it as a lens and way of being that I can bring to everything I already do, and will do, whatever they are and may be.

    Reply

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