If you’re ready to either start a coaching business or take your business online and to the next level, you know that mobile has to be part of it. The International Coaching Federation estimates that the industry is at $20 billion in value and still growing. And a large number of those people are searching for coaching that works on mobile.
In this article, we’ll round up the best coaching apps to reach your clients on mobile. We’ll cover:
- What to look for in a coaching app.
- 13 of the best apps for coaches
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What to look for in a coaching app
There are different features in this article that could be considered coaching apps. We’ve cast a wide net to include different tools, but it’s important to note that some of these options are web apps. Our preference would be coaching tools with native mobile apps. This makes your coaching more effective–since you reach people where they’re at. We can’t forget that some people don’t even have PCs or tablets. Mobile-first is the way to go!
Otherwise, here are some of the features you can look for. Remember, different coaching businesses have different needs. Here are some of the common features to watch for:
- Scheduling options: Creating 1:1 and/or group sessions, coaching calendar, self-serve scheduling, and/or live event pages.
- Connection options: Messaging, email, chat, discussion boards, member profiles, etc.
- Payment tools: Payment processing, plan and bundle creation, multi-currency, tracking and reminders, renewals, etc.
- Program building: Automations, courses with lessons, content options, video libraries, etc.
- Apps: Does the software have native apps that let you do the relevant things above? Or do you need to use web apps or multiple integrations?
The best coaching apps
1. Mighty Pro
Branded app for coaching programs and communities
How do coaches launch a coaching business that lives on their own apps? The answer? Mighty Pro!
Mighty Pro lets you build a white-label coaching app delivered to your clients under your own brand. With Mighty Pro, your coaching clients get your apps (not ours), your branded notifications, and move through your coaching programs.
Imagine bringing together coaching sessions, courses, and/or online communities if relevant. And you can collect payments in multiple currencies, manage plans/members, and scale your offers.
Imagine saying “Download our app!” to potential clients. It’s a game-changer. And it’s all for much less than custom app development would cost.
Only Mighty has people magic, software that’s designed to boost member engagement with each other. This means features like AI-assisted member profiles and member introductions, the Infinite Question Generator, auto landing pages and instant course outlines–tools to make it radically easier to run a thriving coaching app. And the ConvertKit integration makes it simple to connect email marketing.
This is what Mighty's people explorer looks like:
If you’re already coaching on an existing platform, we can take care of the migration too.
With Mighty Pro, you get:
- Premium coaching apps in the App Store and Google Play Store under your brand.
- A ton of coaching delivery features like live & pre-recorded courses or programs, livestreaming, discussions, forums, virtual events, and chat & messaging.
- VIP support and proactive upgrades from a team of Account Executives and Community Strategists who have supported 7- and 8-figure coaching businesses.
- Mobile brand strategy, best practices, and app-store marketing.
- Built-in ConvertKit integration to bring email marketing and community together
- Premium Mighty Co-Host™ features like the Infinite Question Generator,content creation tools, and rich member lists.
Book a call and we’ll show you what we could build together!
2. Nudge Coach
App for courses & nudges
Nudge Coach is an app-builder and coaching platform that lets you create a coaching program around “nudges.” It has the tools to build video lessons and prompts, as well as a neat card feature that makes posts that appear like a social media platform.
Nudge is a DIY app builder, which results in a simple coaching app without needing coding or programming. The app also comes with basic online community features, including a forum function and group and 1:1 messaging. It’s designed with a view to boost accountability and habit-building.
Pros
- Goal tracking and nudges
- Forum discussions, groups, and messaging functions
- Video and inspirational cards for program building
- Options for branded apps
Cons
- Customization is limited unless you go white-label
- The community and group features are really basic
- No event options
Pricing
- On the Nudge app: 5 Free clients, $60/mo for up to 50, then $100/mo for up to 100.
- White-label apps require a custom quote.
3. Satori
Web app only
Satori doesn’t completely fit on this list, because its mobile app functions are limited to none. There’s only a web app, with limited mobile responsiveness. But you will often see Satori on lists of coaching apps. For that reason, we’ll include it here.
Satori is a good administrative platform for managing a coaching business. It was designed for yoga instructors and includes a lot of the features that a coach running a primarily 1:1 coaching business would need. This includes things like scheduling and booking 1:1 sessions, as well as keeping client information and managing sales.
Satori Pros
- Admin tools for running your coaching business and selling sessions
- Discovery questionnaires, pre-qualifying tools, and easy onboarding
- Self-service options for client booking with built-in reminders
- Customizable availability, calendar connections, and auto-local time zone
Satori Cons
- No apps
- No course features
- No tools for bringing clients together for group coaching or even small group coaching; it’s best for a 1:1 business.
Pricing
- $9/mo for 3 clients, $39/mo for unlimited; $79/mo pro
4. Kajabi
Best for prerecorded course programs and sales funnels
Kajabi is a well-known course platform and learning management system that you can use to create and host an online course. It also has features built in that are useful for running a coaching business.
With lots of content options to build out structured courses, dripping content, and quizzes & assessments, Kajabi makes it easy to create a course-based coaching program. And Kajabi has integrated marketing features into its platform to make selling courses easier. This includes pre-made coaching sales funnels. Kajabi also has a landing page builder and a basic, built-in email software. You can sell courses, trigger up- and down-sells, build sales automations, and more.
Kajabi is a great platform. But its weaknesses are with live courses and meetings. Kajabi recently bought the app Vibely to add a community feature and video calling to its platform. But it still exists in a separate platform with a separate app, making it awkward for UX. Kajabi is also one of the more expensive course platforms, and there are more affordable and better Kajabi alternatives available.
Kajabi Pros
- Good for building pre-recorded courses with a powerful LMS
- Excellent integrated marketing and funnel features to build landing pages, automations, run promos, etc.
- Basic integrated email to run sequences, tag subscribers, and promote your offers
Kajabi Cons
- Features for live courses, communities, and video-calling are with a separate log-on on a separate app
- No white-label apps (you can’t get Kajabi under your own brand)
- It’s expensive
Kajabi Pricing
- $55-$319/mo depending on the package
Kajabi is great for building pre-recorded courses. But if you’ve outgrown it, here’s how to move away from Kajabi (and a few options for where you should go).
5. ClickFunnels
Best for building sales funnels
ClickFunnels and Kajabi have some features in common–but while Kajabi dabbles in sales funnels, ClickFunnels masters them. However, ClickFunnels doesn’t have a very good course platform. ClickFunnels was created by Russel Brunson to help online businesses master the art of making sales online, and the software centers on a hundred different “funnels” that have been carefully built and tested to sell just about anything.
ClickFunnels also has a web and landing page builder, so it can replicate some of the features of a website builder–but each part of the site is connected to its funnels to maximize sales. Like Kajabi, ClickFunnels lets you customize your funnels to match your brand and specific needs. Also like Kajabi, it has a built-in email software that lets you reach your potential clients, run promos.
ClickFunnels Pros
- Fantastic funnel builder with lots of pre-made funnels to work with
- Integrated landing pages, website builder, and emails
ClickFunnels Cons
- The “built-in” course and membership functions are really basic
- It can be overkill for some coaching businesses
ClickFunnels Pricing
- $147-$497/mo
6. Coach Accountable
Coach Accountable comes with a booking widget that can be embedded on a website, and intake forms that can be automated. It has self-serve appointment functions and SMS and email reminders for sessions.
You can create both private and shared client notes, action plans, track metrics and success, and manage your past history with the client. Coach Accountable also has tools for coaching teams, which makes it unique. You can pair coaches and clients and customize the permissions for a certain coach. And you can share resources and templates. And for a multi-coach practice, you can oversee other coaches’ work. It has assignments and worksheet tools and different ways to teach courses.
It’s a good option for running a coaching business. However, it doesn’t have a mobile app. Coach Accountable is a web app only. While they claim to be mobile-friendly, users could have some problems accessing the tools on their phones.
Coach Accountable Pros
- Solid coaching solution with lots of useful features
- Can be used for coaching teams
Coach Accountable Cons
- No mobile apps–just web apps
Coach Accountable Pricing
- $4-$10/client depending on size
7. Podia
Podia started out as a coaching and course platform that’s a lot like Kajabi, letting you sell courses, digital downloads, coaching, and webinars. But Podia has recently rebranded itself as a website builder with products built-in–which could be a good combo for a coach.
Podia’s value proposition is bringing your email, marketing, website, and products under the same roof. And it has some good digital product options for coaches: you can sell memberships, downloads, or PDFs. However, we should note that many of the features are more basic than Kajabi.
Podia Pros
- Website builder with a clean design that's pretty easy to use
- A “Kajabi light” with useful features all in one place
- Designed with coaches in mind
Podia Cons
- Podia takes a huge percentage of revenue on most plans
- Podia’s course features are really basic and there are no community or membership features
Podia Pricing
- 5-10% or revenue or $75/mo (depending on plan)
8. Coaching.com
Coaching.com is an online coaching marketplace–the only one we’ll include on this list. Coaches can pay to be listed there, and potential clients can find you. But it also has built-in software for running the back end of a coaching business: a calendar scheduler, session notes, a video-conferencing platform, templates to build from, and notifications.
Like any marketplace, Coaching.com takes a cut–you get 1 client for free, then it’s $157-$197/mo as you grow. This price includes your listing in the marketplace.
Coaching.com does have a mobile app you can use to run the business. It’s a bit basic, but has some of the tools of the online portal.
Coaching.com Pros
- Listing in a coaching marketplace with lots of potential clients
- An integrated software to run your coaching business
Coaching.com Cons
- It’s a marketplace. You own nothing and face stiff competition.
- The ops features are really limited; no courses, community, forums, etc.
- The app is basic.
Pricing
- 1 client free, then $157-$197/mo.
9. Jane.app
Jane.app is a common coaching and therapy tool. Contrary to its name, it’s not really an app. Its focus is online–it’s a web app. Coaches and therapists can use it to set up appointment booking options for self-scheduling (and cancellation). Coaches can also create discovery questionnaires, session reminders and host sessions. Jane can also be used to collect payments.
Jane.app Pros
- A good system designed specifically for coaches and therapists
- Everything in one place on the web app
Jane.app Cons
- Contrary to its name, Jane doesn’t have an app. It’s a web app with mobile-friendly design
- The built-in video-meeting tools are clunky and basic (compared to Zoom, etc.)
Jane.app Pricing
- $54-$99/mo
10. Thinkific
Thinkific is an online course platform that has tools for coaches to use. It combines a course platform with landing pages, and it has options for customizing the look and feel of your site and course. Thinkific also has some templates for different types of businesses; this includes coaching.
Like most platforms for selling courses online, Thinkific has tools for creating content and getting students through structured lessons. It also has membership and payment features included, so you can sell coaching packages. It has a few basic community features for a coaching community–but it’s not the best choice here. Other community platforms combine course platforms and community features more effectively.
Thinkific Pros
- Build out courses and landing pages
- Some useful integrated marketing features
- Option for branded apps
Thinkific Cons
- No scheduling or event features.
- The apps are poorly rated
Thinkific Pricing
- $49-$199/mo + enterprise options
11. Zoom
Zoom is a common video calling platform, but it’s still one of the best. It’s got a lot of free functionality for meetings and it’s got scheduling options, calendar integrations, backgrounds, password protections, and more. Best of all, the Zoom app is really good, and gives you enough power to run coaching sessions from your phone if you want.
Zoom Pros
- Great video conferencing tool everybody knows
- Easy to use with free options & a great app
Zoom Cons
- Needs to be integrated with other apps to run a coaching business
Zoom Pricing
- Check the website. There are a ton of different options
12. Geneva
Geneva is a free conferencing app that comes with video chat, forum rooms, and 1:1 messaging. It works well for live virtual events and could work for group coaching. Geneva gives you a community feel for coaching with a video-first features set.
Members can chat in different ways or post on message boards. And Geneva has a good app that works for every device.
Geneva Pros
- Good video conferencing platform with cool design
- Apps for every device
Geneva Cons
- It’s not a commerce platform. You can’t sell or gate anything
- It’s missing key features like courses, products, and bundles
Geneva Pricing
- Free
13. Calendly
Calendly is a calendar scheduling app that’s been a game-changer for client management for many coaches. Calendly links to your calendar and lets you schedule client sessions by sending a link. Clients can see your calendar availability and book at their convenience. You can create different types of meetings and availability, and Calendly automatically sends invites, meeting info, etc. It’s also easy to integrate Calendly with Zoom.
The Calendly app is easy to use, and it works well. In short, Calendly is a great coaching app. And it can be integrated with tools like Zoom to give you a more robust set of features.
Calendly Pros
- Easy and intuitive appointment booking
- Automated links, scheduling, and rescheduling
Calendly Cons
- It’s a scheduler–not a full business tool
Ready to start?
If you’re ready to start building a coaching business, come build with Mighty! Mighty brings together courses and communities in your own branded app. Or, if you’re just getting started, you can start on Mighty Networks and upgrade to a branded app once you’ve proven the business model.
