Top 10 Group Coaching Platforms for Business Coaches in 2026
The best group coaching platforms for business coaches do one thing well that community apps and course builders usually split apart: they carry a founder from the application call, through the signed agreement and the payment plan, into a cohort where weekly numbers, commitments and hot-seat calls live next to their private 1:1 notes. If your offer is a 12-week accelerator, a year-long mastermind or a group program with a few private sessions on top, the deciding question is simple. Can one tool run the sales side and the delivery side, or will you glue four tools together and chase members across all of them?
Our pick is Coachful, because it puts booking, contracts, payments, cohort groups, weekly check-ins, courses and your website behind one login, with one branded app for members. We make Coachful, so weigh that, and read the nine other entries below: Kajabi, Circle and Mighty Networks are strong if your group is really a content business, and CoachAccountable, Simply.Coach and Satori suit coaches who mostly sell 1:1 work. For the wider category across every niche, see our parent guide to the best group coaching platforms.
What do business coaches need from a group coaching platform?
Business coaches need a platform that handles high-ticket enrollment, structured accountability on business numbers, and a mix of group and private time. Most group tools were built for creators selling low-priced memberships, so the gaps show up quickly once a single seat costs as much as a month of a client's revenue.
Here is what that looks like in practice for coaches who work with founders, consultants, agency owners and small-business operators:
- Application before checkout. Masterminds and accelerators rarely sell through a "buy now" button. A prospect fills in an application, books a call, and only then gets a payment link. The platform needs an application funnel, a booking page with intake questions, and a way to see which calls converted.
- Agreements signed before day one. Group business coaching involves confidential numbers, peer discussions and sometimes competitors in the same room. A written agreement that covers confidentiality, attendance and the line between coaching and consulting protects everyone. The ICF Code of Ethics asks coaches to set clear agreements and confidentiality terms, which is easier when e-signature lives inside the tool.
- Payment plans and renewals. Business owners often pay a large program in installments, then roll into a monthly mastermind. Subscriptions, payment plans and invoices per transaction matter more here than in most niches, because clients expect receipts they can pass to their bookkeeper.
- Weekly numbers, not just weekly posts. A business cohort runs on commitments: "close three proposals", "launch the offer page", "review cash flow". Members should report against weekly goals and check-ins so the coach sees who is moving and who has gone quiet, without scrolling a feed.
- Group calls plus private time. Many business offers bundle weekly group calls with a monthly 1:1, so booking with session credits sits alongside the cohort.
- Content as a supporting act. Frameworks, templates and recorded trainings (pricing worksheets, hiring scorecards, 90-day plans) back up the calls. Drip release keeps a cohort on the same module.
- A clear scope line. Business coaches are not attorneys, accountants or financial advisers. Members will ask about contracts, tax and investments. The platform's agreement template and program copy should say where coaching ends and where to refer out.
If you are still shaping the offer itself, our 90-day plan for starting a group coaching business covers pricing and enrollment before you pick software.
Which group coaching platforms for business coaches are worth comparing?
Ranking criteria: one login for the whole client journey, delivery between sessions (goals, check-ins, cohort space), total stack cost at real group sizes, and setup effort, including whether someone will build it for you.
| Rank and platform | Best for | Entry price as listed | Biggest gap for business coaches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Accelerators and masterminds that mix group calls, 1:1 sessions and weekly accountability | Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients | No Salesforce or HubSpot integration; no PayPal |
| 2. Kajabi | Coaches whose group sits inside a course and email business | $179/mo Basic | No per-client check-ins or habits; Basic caps at 5 products |
| 3. Circle | Large paid communities with events | $89/mo Professional (annual) | No 1:1 scheduling or client back office; 2% fee on Professional |
| 4. Mighty Networks | Community plus courses under a member app | $95/mo Launch | No contracts or invoicing; 2% fee on Launch |
| 5. CoachAccountable | Accountability on action plans and metrics | $20/mo Starter | Priced per active client; no website or funnels |
| 6. Simply.Coach | Contract-led coaching practices and corporate sponsors | $9/mo Starter | Caps on clients, contracts and programs below Leap |
| 7. Satori | Packaged programs sold mostly 1:1 | $33/mo Essentials | No courses, community or landing pages (older profile) |
| 8. Thinkific | Cohort courses with live sessions | $109/mo Start | Communities only from Grow; course-first structure |
| 9. Heartbeat | Small paid communities with automations | $49/mo Build | 5% transaction fee on Build; no coaching records |
| 10. Skool | A cheap, gamified community and classroom | $9/mo Hobby | 10% + 30¢ fees on Hobby; no custom-domain site or 1:1 records |
How did we choose and rank these tools?
We started from what business coaches actually sell: application-based programs, monthly masterminds, retainers with group access and VIP days. Then we checked each vendor's own pricing page and documentation for the jobs those offers need. Prices for Kajabi, Circle, Mighty Networks, CoachAccountable, Simply.Coach, Satori and Skool are as listed in October 2026; Thinkific and Heartbeat are as listed on their pricing pages in November 2026. We did not run each tool with a live cohort, so where we mention user sentiment, it comes from public Trustpilot ratings and what vendors document.
Weighting went to four things. First, whether one login covers sales, payment, agreements and delivery. Second, whether members get structure between calls, such as weekly goals and check-ins rather than an open feed. Third, the cost of the full stack at 5, 15 and 40 clients, including platform fees on payments. Fourth, how long setup takes for a coach with a full client load. Tools that mainly replace 1:1 practice software were ranked in the middle, because they handle the back office but leave the group experience thin.
1. Coachful: the full client journey in one place
Coachful is a coaching platform that covers booking, payments, contracts, program delivery with habits and check-ins, courses, a community, a website with funnels and email, and an AI assistant. Coaches get one login; clients get one branded app. It is built for coaches who deliver programs rather than only sessions, solo coaches growing into a small team, and anyone replacing four to six tools. For a business coach, that means the mastermind application, the signed agreement, the payment plan and the weekly cohort all sit in the same account.
How the group side works. When a member enrolls in a program, Coachful creates a cohort group for them automatically. Inside, you get a community feed, group chat, direct messages, video events, group calls and webinars. The program itself runs as multiple weeks with weekly goals, daily tasks, habits, morning and evening check-ins, goals with progress bars and streaks. For a 12-week accelerator, week three might carry the goal "publish the new offer page", two tasks and a Friday check-in asking for leads booked and proposals sent.
Members see their program, the current week and their cohort mates in their own branded home:
How the sales side works. Business coaching is often sold through an application. Coachful has booking, application, lead-magnet and checkout funnels with pixels and UTM tracking, and booking pages that ask intake questions before the call. The Intakes page shows how many calls are coming up and how many converted. Payments run through your own Stripe Connect or Razorpay account: one-time, subscriptions, payment plans, order bumps, coupons, refunds, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with an invoice per transaction plus manual invoices for clients who pay by bank transfer. Coachful charges a 0% platform fee on those payments; you pay only Stripe or Razorpay processing. Coaching agreements with e-signature go out before the first call and are stored on the client record.
Mixing group and 1:1. Most business offers include private time. Booking pages handle availability rules, buffers, minimum notice and time-zone detection, with two-way Google, Apple/iCloud and Outlook calendar sync and built-in video or auto-created Zoom, Meet or Teams links. Session credits let you sell "weekly group call plus one private session a month" as a single offer. The client record pulls goals, check-ins, habits, notes, intake answers, tags, payments and sessions together, and flags each member as thriving, active, quiet or at risk, so you know who needs a nudge before renewal.
Content and marketing. Courses with modules, lessons, drip and completion tracking deliver your frameworks; downloads, videos and bundles sit in the same home. The section-based website builder includes a blog, custom domain, SEO settings and 30 designed homepage templates. Email lists, broadcasts and multi-step sequences with triggers, delays, branching and A/B splits handle nurture between cohorts. Michelle, the built-in AI assistant, works from your live practice data: she drafts programs and emails, summarizes recorded sessions and briefs you before a call. Team plans add coach seats with per-coach availability and staff permissions, for when you bring in an associate coach to run a second cohort.
This walkthrough shows how programs are built and delivered:
Why Coachful stands out: a free white-glove service. On every plan, you can open Create > We'll build it for you and describe what you want built: a website, a mastermind sales page, an application funnel, a 12-week program, a course outline, an email sequence or an automation. You can attach up to 8 reference links and 10 files, and the Coachful team builds it inside your account, usually within about 24 hours. Nothing gets invented: no fake testimonials, credentials or prices, and gaps are left for you to fill. One recent build was for a business mentor to beauty professionals, who got a 12-week mentorship sales page, a free start-up-guide funnel and rewritten follow-up emails. Another was a real-estate and money coach who got a year-long cohort program with an application form, an eight-page site and a nine-day bootcamp funnel. It does not cover recording videos, logo design, ad management or ongoing marketing. More detail is in how the white-glove service works.
Limits to know. Coachful is not HIPAA-certified and has no PayPal. It has no multi-stage sales deal board for large teams and no Salesforce or HubSpot integration, which matters if you sell corporate group programs through an enterprise pipeline. There are no routing forms that pick a host from form answers, and affiliate payouts are recorded manually rather than sent for you. The client app ships under the Coachful listing with your branding, not under your own App Store account. There is no permanent free plan; there is a free trial.
Price: flat monthly plans, with lower plans capping the number of clients and Pro unlimited (Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients; Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients; Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients; Studio: $199/month with unlimited clients). More on the business niche is on the Coachful for business coaches page.
2. Kajabi: when the group sits inside a content business
Kajabi suits the business coach who already earns from a course, a newsletter and a podcast, and treats the group program as the premium tier on top. It combines courses, communities, a website, funnels and email marketing, so you can run a webinar funnel into a paid community without stitching tools together.
For business coaches specifically, the strength is marketing depth. A free "pricing your services" training can feed an email sequence that sells a group accelerator, and the accelerator lives as a community plus a course. Coaching itself is modeled as products and communities rather than per-client plans, so there are no habit trackers or daily check-ins, and no per-member view of who completed this week's commitment.
As listed in October 2026, Basic is $179/mo ($143/mo billed annually) with 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 1 community and 0 AI credits. Growth is $249/mo ($199/mo annually) with 50 products and 25,000 contacts; Pro is $499/mo ($399/mo annually). Kajabi Payments in the US charges 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, and using another processor (other than PayPal) adds a Kajabi fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro. A 14-day trial is documented in its help center. On Trustpilot, Kajabi shows 3.4 from 2,347 reviews.
The five-product cap on Basic bites sooner than coaches expect: a lead magnet, a course, a community, a mastermind and a VIP day already make five. Our course platforms for business coaches guide goes deeper on Kajabi's course side.
Pick it over Coachful if your revenue is mostly courses and email list sales, the group is a side tier, and you are happy to run accountability through calls rather than in-app check-ins.
3. Circle: for big paid communities and events
Circle is a community platform with courses, events, live streams and paid memberships. It fits a business coach who runs a large, lower-priced membership (think hundreds of solopreneurs paying monthly) alongside a smaller premium mastermind that lives in a private space.
Spaces and events are where Circle shines. You can give each cohort its own space, schedule weekly hot-seat calls as events and stream workshops. What it lacks is the coaching back office: there is no 1:1 scheduling, no client records, no per-client check-ins or coaching plans. Branded mobile apps arrive only on the custom-priced Circle Plus plan.
As listed in October 2026, Professional is $89/mo billed annually with 3 admins and 10 moderators; Business is $199/mo annually; Scale is $419/mo annually. Monthly prices were not shown on the page we captured. Circle takes a fee on payments of 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, and 0.5% on Circle Plus, on top of Stripe processing. There is a 14-day trial with no card required. Trustpilot shows 4.1 from 129 reviews.
The 2% fee matters at business-coaching price points. As an illustration, ten seats in a high-ticket mastermind can mean a fee measured in hundreds of dollars per cohort, on top of the subscription. Our community platforms for business coaches comparison covers Circle's community features in more depth.
Pick it over Coachful if the community is the product, membership numbers run into the hundreds, and you already have separate tools for booking, contracts and private sessions.
4. Mighty Networks: a member app with courses and livestreams
Mighty Networks blends community, courses and events into one network, with Mighty-branded member apps. A business coach might use it for a year-long "growth circle" where members post wins, join monthly livestreams and work through a course on systems and hiring.
The livestream allowance is the feature to look at. Launch includes 20 hours a month for up to 100 attendees, which covers weekly group calls for a mid-sized cohort. What you will not find: 1:1 scheduling, invoicing, contracts, per-client habits, check-ins or private coaching plans. A fully branded app under your own name requires the custom-priced Mighty Pro plan.
As listed in October 2026, Launch is $95/mo ($79/mo annually) with 3 hosts and 200 GB of storage; Scale is $215/mo ($179/mo annually); Growth is $354/mo billed annually. Platform fees on sales are 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth and Mighty Pro, plus Stripe. The trial runs 14 days with no card and includes Growth features. Trustpilot shows 3.3 from 219 reviews.
For business coaches, the gap is the sales path. Applications, discovery calls and signed agreements need another tool, and payment plans for a premium program will carry Mighty's fee.
Pick it over Coachful if your members care most about a lively app-based network with built-in livestreaming, and private coaching is a small part of the offer.
5. CoachAccountable: accountability on action plans and metrics
CoachAccountable is a coaching back office built around sessions, action plans, metrics, worksheets, courses, invoicing and agreements. Its metrics feature is the most relevant part for business coaching: you can track a client's revenue, leads or calls made as numbers over time, which maps well to business coaching.
Group work is possible, but the pricing model works against it. Billing is per active client, so a 40-person cohort pushes you up the tiers. There is no native mobile app (older profile), no website, landing pages or marketing automation, and no community feed of the kind cohorts expect. You would run the group's conversation somewhere else.
As listed in October 2026: Starter $20/mo for 2 active clients, Level 1 $40/mo for 5, Level 2 $70/mo for 10, Level 3 $120/mo for 20, Level 4 $250/mo for 50 and Level 5 $400/mo for 100. The trial is 30 days, with no card and no limits. Transaction fees are not stated on the pricing page; processor fees apply. Trustpilot shows 4.8 from 47 reviews, the highest rating in this list.
For a business coach with a dozen private retainer clients and a small group on the side, CoachAccountable can work well. Once the group grows, the per-client price and the missing community push most coaches toward a second tool. Our best business coaching software roundup compares it for 1:1 retainers.
Pick it over Coachful if your practice is mostly 1:1 retainers, you want numeric metrics on every client, and the group is small enough that per-client billing stays cheap.
6. Simply.Coach: contracts, sponsors and structured programs
Simply.Coach is a coaching practice platform with contracts, programs, sessions, booking pages and a client portal, plus business tiers for coaching firms. Business coaches who sell into companies will notice the sponsor seats on the Surge tier, which let an HR lead or founder see progress on a program they paid for.
Group delivery is lighter. Programs and sessions are there, but there is no community feed, no website builder and no funnels in what the vendor lists. Every solo tier below Leap caps clients, contracts and programs, so a coach running three cohorts plus private clients needs to check the numbers carefully.
As listed in October 2026: Starter $9/mo (3 active coachees, 1 contract, 1 program), Essentials $29/mo (7 coachees, 3 contracts, 3 programs), Growth $49/mo (30 coachees, 10 contracts and programs), Leap $69/mo (unlimited coachees, contracts and programs). Business tiers are CoCreate at $79/mo per active coach with 10 clients per coach, and Surge at $159/mo per active coach with 25 clients per coach. There is a 14-day trial with no card. Automated invoices were marked "Coming Soon" on the solo pricing page, and there are no refunds for mid-period cancellations.
That invoice detail matters more to business coaches than most: clients often need a proper invoice for their books, and a manual workaround adds admin every month.
Pick it over Coachful if most of your group work is sold to companies that want sponsor visibility, and you do not need a website, funnels or a member community.
7. Satori: packages and programs for a 1:1-first practice
Satori is a coaching practice tool covering scheduling, a client portal, packages and programs, invoices and contracts. Only active clients count toward billing, which is friendly for coaches whose roster rises and falls with each cohort.
For group business coaching, it is the thinnest of the three practice tools here. The older profile lists no landing pages, courses or community, no native mobile app and no native Zoom integration. Satori is a good fit for selling a "six-session business strategy package" with a contract and invoice, less so for running a cohort with weekly peer accountability.
As listed in October 2026: Essentials is $33/mo ($27.5/mo annually) for up to 10 active paying clients. Pro is $49/mo, with older profile limits of 50 active clients and 10 programs. Leader is $124/mo, with 150 active clients in the older profile. Satori does not charge on client payments; PayPal and Stripe fees apply. The trial is 15 days, unrestricted, with no card during the trial and a refund available within 30 days of signing up. There is also a Scholar plan at $0 for coaches studying for a certification, limited to pro-bono clients.
Satori lists both PayPal and Stripe for client payments. That is a real difference for coaches whose clients ask to pay by PayPal.
Pick it over Coachful if you sell 1:1 packages first, want PayPal on the checkout, and run any group work through a separate community tool.
8. Thinkific: cohort courses with live sessions
Thinkific is a course platform that has added live cohorts, coaching sessions and communities. For a business coach, the obvious use is a cohort-based course, say a six-week "build your sales system" program, where lessons drip weekly and live sessions run alongside.
On the Start plan, as listed on Thinkific's pricing page in November 2026, you get unlimited courses, live cohorts and coaching with unlimited Zoom sessions, bookable calendars and attendance tracking, quizzes and assignments, bundles, upsells and payment plans, memberships and a custom domain. Communities start on Grow, which includes three. Grow also adds B2B sales and invoicing for selling bulk seats to companies, plus bulk enrollment, which helps a business coach who sells a cohort to a client's leadership team.
Prices listed in November 2026: Start $109/mo ($82/mo billed annually), Grow $219/mo ($164/mo annually) and Expand $499/mo ($374/mo annually), with a custom-priced tier above. We could not confirm Thinkific's transaction fees from the pricing page, so check them before you commit.
The structure is course-first. Members move through lessons; there are no daily habits, morning check-ins or per-client status flags, and private coaching notes are not the focus. For accelerators where the curriculum carries the weight, that is fine. For masterminds, where the value is the room and the follow-up, it feels heavy on content and light on accountability.
Pick it over Coachful if your group offer is really a structured course with graded assignments and certificates, and you sell seats to companies by invoice.
9. Heartbeat: a small paid community with automations
Heartbeat is a community platform with discussions, courses, documents, events, payments and workflows. Its pricing suits a business coach starting a paid peer group of a few dozen to a few hundred members.
As listed on Heartbeat's pricing page in November 2026, Build is $49/mo ($40/mo billed annually) for up to 350 members, with unlimited channels, courses, events and documents, five automation workflows, a custom domain and Zapier, Zoom and Google Calendar integrations. Grow is $149/mo ($124/mo annually) for up to 5,000 members, with unlimited workflows, an affiliate program and API access. Scale is $849/mo ($766/mo annually) with unlimited members and a white-label branded app. Heartbeat keeps a transaction fee on payments of 5% on Build, 2.5% on Grow and 1.25% on Scale, on top of Stripe processing. There is a 14-day trial with no card required.
The 5% fee is the number to model. On a premium group program, it can cost more than the subscription itself, so business coaches selling high-ticket seats usually need Grow or above. Cohort courses, private channels and automated groups work well for separating a mastermind from a wider membership.
Like the other community tools, Heartbeat stops short of coaching records: no intake answers on a client file, no coaching agreements with e-signature, and no weekly check-in forms tied to goals.
Pick it over Coachful if you want a low-cost community for a peer group, the members mostly support each other, and you rarely run private sessions.
10. Skool: the low-cost community and classroom
Skool puts a community feed, a classroom and a calendar into one group, with gamified leaderboards for member activity.
For a coach who wants a public free group that feeds a paid program, Skool is quick to start. For running the paid program itself, the limits show. There is no custom-domain website, no funnels, no email automation and no public API. There are no 1:1 client records, intake forms, habits or check-ins. Payments run only through Skool Payments.
As listed in October 2026, Hobby is $9/mo ($7.5/mo annually) and Pro is $99/mo ($82.5/mo annually), both with unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls. Fees are 10% + 30¢ on all transactions on Hobby. On Pro, they are 2.9% + 30¢ up to $899 and 3.9% + 30¢ above $900. Payouts are weekly. The trial length and card requirement were not stated on the pricing page. Trustpilot shows 1.6 from 54 reviews.
That fee band matters for business coaching: a mastermind seat above $900 lands in the higher 3.9% bracket on Pro, and on Hobby, 10% of a premium seat is a meaningful cut.
Pick it over Coachful if you mainly need a low-cost public community for lead generation and plan to deliver paid coaching somewhere else.
How do the features compare for business coaching groups?
The matrix below lists what each vendor documents for the jobs a business group program needs. "Partial" means the feature exists in a limited form or only on higher plans; "Not listed" means we could not confirm it from the vendor's pricing page or profile, so check before you buy.
| Platform | Application funnel | E-sign agreements | Payment plans | Cohort community | Weekly goals and check-ins | 1:1 booking | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, auto-created on enrollment | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kajabi | Yes (funnels) | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | No | Not listed | Yes |
| Circle | No | No | Not listed | Yes | No | No | No |
| Mighty Networks | No | No | Not listed | Yes | No | No | No |
| CoachAccountable | No | Yes | Not listed | No | Partial (metrics, action plans) | Yes | No |
| Simply.Coach | No | Yes (contracts) | Not listed | No | Partial (programs) | Yes | No |
| Satori | No | Yes (contracts) | Not listed | No | No | Yes | No |
| Thinkific | Partial (landing pages) | Not listed | Yes | From Grow | No | Yes | Yes |
| Heartbeat | Partial (landing pages) | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | No | No | Partial (landing pages) |
| Skool | No | No | Not listed | Yes | No | No | No |
The pattern is clear. Community tools (Circle, Mighty Networks, Heartbeat, Skool) handle the room but not the sales path or the private work. Practice tools (CoachAccountable, Simply.Coach, Satori) handle agreements and 1:1 sessions but not the cohort. Kajabi and Thinkific sit closer to content. A business coach running application-based groups with private sessions on top will usually end up with two or three of these unless one platform covers both halves.
What does each platform cost at 5, 15 and 40 clients?
Here is the cheapest listed monthly plan that fits each group size, before payment processing. Annual billing is cheaper on most tools. Fees are the vendor's own cut on payments, where documented.
| Platform | 5 clients | 15 clients | 40 clients | Platform fee on payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients | Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients | Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients | 0%; processor fees only |
| Kajabi | $179 (Basic) | $179 (Basic) | $179 (Basic) | 0.5% to 2% if not using Kajabi Payments |
| Circle | $89 (Professional, annual) | $89 (Professional, annual) | $89 (Professional, annual) | 2% on Professional |
| Mighty Networks | $95 (Launch) | $95 (Launch) | $95 (Launch) | 2% on Launch |
| CoachAccountable | $40 (Level 1) | $120 (Level 3) | $250 (Level 4) | Not stated |
| Simply.Coach | $29 (Essentials) | $49 (Growth) | $69 (Leap) | Not stated |
| Satori | $33 (Essentials) | $49 (Pro) | $49 (Pro) | None from Satori |
| Thinkific | $109 (Start) | $109 (Start) | $109 (Start) | Not confirmed |
| Heartbeat | $49 (Build) | $49 (Build) | $49 (Build) | 5% on Build |
| Skool | $9 (Hobby) | $9 (Hobby) | $9 (Hobby) | 10% + 30¢ on Hobby |
The sticker price is only half the story. Take an example cohort of 15 business owners paying a mid-four-figure program fee: a 2% to 10% platform cut can cost more each month than the subscription. The community tools also leave out booking, contracts and invoicing, so add a scheduler and an e-signature tool to their column. And the practice tools leave out the community and website, so add those to theirs. Our payment platforms for business coaches guide walks through processing fees in more detail.
How would a business coach set up a group program in Coachful?
Here is a worked example: a coach launching a 12-week accelerator for service-business owners, with weekly group calls, one private session a month and an application before enrollment. Each step uses features documented above.
- Build the program. Create a 12-week program with a weekly goal per week (week 1 "clarify the core offer", week 4 "publish the sales page", week 8 "run five sales calls") and two or three daily tasks. Add a Friday evening check-in asking for leads, calls and one win. Michelle can draft the first version from a short description, or you can start from one of the program templates.
- Write the agreement. Set a coaching agreement covering confidentiality between members, attendance and recordings, refund terms, and a scope line: coaching does not replace legal, tax or financial advice, and you will refer members to an attorney or accountant when questions go there. Have a lawyer review it. Coachful sends it for e-signature before the first call. Our coaching contracts page shows how agreements attach to the client record.
- Price the offer. Work out the price from your target income, seat count and delivery hours, then create the offer with a one-time option and a payment plan through your own Stripe account. Add session credits for the monthly private session.
- Set up the application funnel. Use an application funnel that asks about revenue stage, team size and the main bottleneck, then sends qualified applicants to a booking page with intake questions. Add your Meta Pixel and UTM tags. See coaching funnel software for funnel types.
- Schedule the calls. Create a recurring group call and a 1:1 session type with buffers and minimum notice. Calendar sync blocks out your client work elsewhere, and reminders go by email, plus SMS and WhatsApp once messaging is enabled.
- Load the content. Add your frameworks as a dripped course: one module per phase, with downloads such as a pricing worksheet and a hiring scorecard.
- Open enrollment. When a member pays, Coachful enrolls them and adds them to the cohort group automatically. Their branded home shows the program, the week, the community and the next call.
- Run the weeks. Before each call, check the client list for members marked quiet or at risk and ask Michelle for a briefing. After the call, post the recording summary in the cohort feed.
- Plan the renewal. Around week 10, send an email sequence inviting graduates into a monthly mastermind, sold as a subscription.
If you would rather not build any of this yourself, request the program, application funnel and sales page through the white-glove service and edit what comes back. The group coaching software page shows the cohort features in more detail.
What mistakes do business coaches make when choosing a group platform?
The most common mistake is picking a community app for a program that is really sold and delivered like consulting. A few others come up again and again:
- Ignoring payment fees at high ticket prices. A percentage fee that feels small on a $50 membership becomes a real cost on a premium mastermind seat. Model it at your actual price before signing up.
- Skipping the written agreement. Business groups share revenue figures, client names and plans. Without a signed confidentiality and scope agreement, one awkward disclosure can end a cohort.
- Blurring coaching and consulting. If members expect you to write their contracts or file their taxes, the program copy failed. State the scope in the sales page, the agreement and the welcome message, and refer out to qualified professionals.
- Relying on the feed for accountability. Feeds reward the loudest members. Weekly goals and check-ins show you the quiet founder who stopped reporting in week five.
- Choosing per-client pricing for a growing cohort. A tool priced per active client looks cheap at 5 and expensive at 40. Check the 40-client column before you commit.
- Splitting the journey across too many logins. Members who must remember a booking tool, a community, a course site and a payment portal drop off, and you lose the full picture of each client.
If you are still weighing community-first tools, our guides for leadership coaches and webinar platforms for business coaches cover adjacent choices.
Which group coaching platform should a business coach choose?
Choose Coachful if you run application-based accelerators or masterminds that mix group calls with private sessions, and you want the sales path, agreements, payments and weekly accountability in one place. Choose Kajabi or Thinkific if the group is a premium tier on a content business. Choose Circle, Mighty Networks, Heartbeat or Skool if the community is the product and private coaching is rare. Choose CoachAccountable, Simply.Coach or Satori if your practice is mostly 1:1 work with a small group on the side.
For most business coaches, the group is not a separate product. It is one stage in a client relationship that starts with an application and ends with a renewal. A platform that follows the client through every stage saves you the admin of keeping four tools in sync. Coachful is a coaching platform for coaches who deliver programs; it does not do clinical record-keeping, PayPal or enterprise CRM integrations. To start, take the free trial and request a white-glove build of your first program and funnel.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best group coaching platform for business coaches?
For application-based accelerators and masterminds with private sessions on top, Coachful ranks first because it covers booking, agreements, payments, cohort groups and weekly check-ins in one login. If your group is mainly a content membership, Kajabi or Circle may fit better. If you sell mostly 1:1 work, CoachAccountable is worth a look.
Can I run a mastermind and 1:1 coaching on the same platform?
Yes, on platforms that combine community and scheduling. Coachful lets you sell group access and private sessions as one offer using session credits, with both on the same client record. Most community tools in this list, such as Circle, Mighty Networks and Skool, do not include 1:1 booking.
How much should a group coaching platform cost a business coach?
Listed entry prices in this roundup run from $9 a month (Skool Hobby) to $179 a month (Kajabi Basic). The real cost includes payment fees and any extra tools you need for booking, contracts or a website. Check the cost table above at your expected group size.
Do I need a contract for group business coaching?
A written agreement is strongly advised. It should cover confidentiality between members, attendance, refunds and the scope of coaching versus legal, tax or financial advice. Laws vary by country and state, so have a local lawyer review your template.
Which platforms charge a fee on my program payments?
As listed in October and November 2026, Circle, Mighty Networks, Heartbeat and Skool take a percentage on payments, and Kajabi adds a fee if you use a processor other than Kajabi Payments or PayPal. Coachful charges a 0% platform fee, and Satori takes nothing on client payments; processor fees still apply.
Is Skool good enough for a paid business mastermind?
Skool works for a free or low-priced community and classroom. For a premium mastermind, its transaction fees, lack of a custom-domain website and missing 1:1 client records are real limits. Many coaches use it for lead generation and deliver paid work elsewhere.
What is Coachful's white-glove service?
It is a free build service on every Coachful plan. You describe what you want, such as a mastermind sales page, an application funnel or a 12-week program, attach references and files, and the team builds it inside your account, usually within about 24 hours. It does not include video recording, logo design or ad management.
Can corporate clients pay for a group program by invoice?
In Coachful, you can create manual invoices alongside card payments through your own Stripe or Razorpay account. Thinkific lists B2B sales and invoicing from its Grow plan, and Simply.Coach's business tiers add sponsor seats for companies. Check how each tool handles your clients' purchase-order process.
Does Coachful integrate with HubSpot or Salesforce?
No. Coachful has no Salesforce or HubSpot integration and no multi-stage deal board for large sales teams. It does connect to Zapier, Stripe, Razorpay, Google, Apple and Outlook calendars, Zoom, Meet, Teams, Meta Pixel and GA4.
How long does it take to set up a group program?
It depends on how much content you already have. With templates, an AI assistant that drafts programs and emails, and a white-glove build of the funnel and sales page, the structure can be in place before your first enrollment call. Recording your own training videos is the part that usually takes longest.
