Best Platform for Grief Coaches: 10 Options Ranked
The best platform for grief coaches is the one that lets a bereaved client find you, pay, sign your agreement, join a program or group and hear from you between sessions without ever being handed a second login. Grief work rarely fits a single product. Most grief coaches sell a mix: a 1:1 package for the first months after a death, a small cohort for people with the same kind of loss, a self-paced course for those not ready to talk, and an ongoing circle for the anniversaries and holidays that arrive every year. The real question is how much of that mix one platform can sell and deliver, and what the whole stack costs.
Our pick is Coachful. It puts booking, checkout, coaching agreements, multi-week programs with gentle check-ins, courses, a private community and your website under one login for you and one branded app for your clients. We make Coachful, so weigh that, but every claim below about it comes from its documented features, and every other tool is described from what its vendor lists and what public reviewers report. We have not run hands-on tests of the other nine platforms.
This guide works as a decision tool first. Answer five questions about your practice, use the table to see which platform your answers point to, then read the ranked sections, the costs at 5, 15 and 40 clients, and the red flags to watch before you commit.
What do grief coaches actually sell online?
Grief coaches sell support in four shapes: private sessions, time-bound programs, self-paced learning and ongoing community. A platform that only handles one of those shapes will leave you stitching tools together the moment a client wants to move from one to the next.
Here is what a typical online grief practice offers, with prices left to you (see the FAQ on how to set them):
- A 1:1 package. For example, six or eight sessions over three months for someone in the early months after a death, with short written reflections between calls. Clients often want to book around bad days, so flexible rescheduling matters.
- A loss-specific cohort. An eight-week group for widowed parents, adult children who lost a parent, pet loss, or loss after a long illness. Eight to twelve people, a weekly video call, prompts between calls, and a private space where members can talk at 2 a.m. when the house is quiet.
- A seasonal workshop. "Getting through the holidays" in November, a Mother's Day or Father's Day session in spring, an anniversary-planning workshop. These are short, timely and good first purchases.
- A self-paced course. "The first year after loss," with audio lessons, journaling worksheets and drip release so nobody is flooded with six modules on day one.
- A remembrance circle or membership. A monthly subscription with a live circle, a feed for sharing memories and small rituals, and access to past recordings.
- Workplace grief training. Sessions for HR teams or managers on supporting bereaved employees, often sold by invoice rather than checkout.
Notice what ties these together. A workshop buyer becomes a cohort member, a cohort member becomes a 1:1 client after a hard anniversary, a 1:1 client joins the circle when sessions end. Each move should feel like walking into another room of the same house, not signing up somewhere new. That is the main reason this ranking rewards platforms that hold the whole client journey.
One scope point before the tools. Grief coaching is not grief therapy or treatment. If a client describes thoughts of suicide or self-harm, cannot manage daily life many months after the loss, or shows signs of what clinicians now call prolonged grief disorder, refer them to a licensed mental health professional. In the US, people in crisis can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Put your referral line in your coaching agreement and on your intake form, whatever platform you choose.
Which five questions should you answer before choosing?
Answer these five honestly and the right platform usually becomes obvious. Write your answers down; the table in the next section maps them to picks.
- Do clients work with you between sessions, or only during them? If you send reflection prompts, check in on hard weeks or run multi-week programs, you need delivery tools, not just a booking link.
- Is your core offer 1:1, group, self-paced, or a blend? Pure courses suit a course platform. A blend needs booking, programs, courses and community in one place.
- How many active clients do you expect in the next year? Five, fifteen or forty changes the math. Some tools price by clients, some by contacts, some take a cut of every sale.
- Are you a licensed clinician who needs charting, or a coach? Licensed therapists keeping clinical records need a clinical practice system. Coaches do not, and pay for complexity they will not use.
- How much setup can you face right now? Many grief coaches come to this work after their own loss, often from nursing, hospice, chaplaincy or teaching. Not everyone wants to spend a month connecting six tools. Done-for-you setup has real value here.
Which platform fits your answers?
Find the row whose answers sound most like your practice. Coachful fits the widest range because it covers 1:1, group, course and community in one account; the others fit narrower patterns.
| Platform | Pick it if your answers are | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Between-session work matters; you blend 1:1, groups, courses and a circle; 5 to 40+ clients; coach, not clinician; you want it built for you | Not HIPAA-certified; no PayPal |
| Kajabi | Mostly courses and a community; large email list; budget for a premium monthly fee | No per-client plans, habits or daily check-ins |
| Mighty Networks | Community and live circles are the product; members join a network, not a private plan | No 1:1 scheduling, invoicing or contracts |
| Podia | A simple storefront for a course, a workshop and a few sessions; small email list | Small email allowances; no native video calls (older profile) |
| Practice Better | You are licensed and need charting and telehealth alongside programs | No website builder or funnels (older profile) |
| Thinkific | Self-paced courses first, with a community attached | No built-in 1:1 scheduling |
| Teachable | Selling a course or two on a tight budget | No native scheduling; 7.5% fee on Starter |
| Systeme.io | Funnels and email on almost no budget, before you have clients | No 1:1 client records or check-ins (older profile) |
| Stan Store | You sell from Instagram or TikTok via a link in bio | No client records, contracts or programs |
| Skool | A low-cost classroom and community for a large group | Gamified leaderboards; no website, funnels or email automation |
How did we rank these 10 platforms?
We ranked on four things, in this order: how much of selling and delivery runs under one login for coach and client, how well the platform supports work between sessions, the total monthly cost of the stack you would actually need, and how much setup effort it asks of you (including whether someone will build it for you).
Vendor prices and limits are as listed in October 2026. Ratings are Trustpilot scores seen on 25 October 2026. Direct coaching-practice tools sit in the middle of the list rather than at the bottom, because they do 1:1 delivery well even where they lack selling tools.
Ranked by one login for the whole client journey, between-session delivery, total stack cost and setup effort:
| Platform | Rank | Best for grief coaches who | Entry price (monthly) | Trustpilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | 1 | Sell and deliver 1:1, cohorts, courses and a circle in one place | Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients | 4.5 (21 reviews) |
| Kajabi | 2 | Run a course and community business with a big list | $179 ($143 annual) | 3.4 (2,347) |
| Mighty Networks | 3 | Lead a community with live circles | $95 ($79 annual) + 2% fee | 3.3 (219) |
| Podia | 4 | Want a simple shop for a few products | $49 ($42 annual) + 5% fee | 4.1 (153) |
| Practice Better | 5 | Are licensed and need charting | $0 for 3 clients; $35 ($25 annual) for 10 | 3.8 (87) |
| Thinkific | 6 | Lead with self-paced courses | $109 ($82 annual) | 1.8 (868) |
| Teachable | 7 | Sell one or two courses cheaply | $39 ($29 annual) + 7.5% fee | 3.3 (1,110) |
| Systeme.io | 8 | Need funnels and email before clients | $0 (free plan) | 4.9 (8,696) |
| Stan Store | 9 | Sell from social media | $29 ($25 annual) | 4.7 (2,205) |
| Skool | 10 | Host a large, low-cost group | $9 ($7.50 annual) + 10% + 30¢ | 1.6 (54) |
1. Coachful: why is it the best platform for grief coaches?
Coachful is the best fit because it is built for coaches who deliver programs, not just sessions, and grief work happens mostly between sessions. One subscription covers booking, payments, coaching agreements, multi-week programs with check-ins, courses, a community, a website with funnels and email, and an AI assistant. You log in once; your client opens one app carrying your branding.
Selling: from first visit to signed agreement
A grieving person rarely buys on the first visit. They read, come back, maybe join a free holiday workshop, then book a call. Coachful's section-based website builder (30 designed homepage templates, a blog, custom domain and SEO settings) holds the pages, and booking, application, lead-magnet and checkout funnels move people from a gentle free resource to a paid offer. Email lists, broadcasts and multi-step sequences with triggers, delays and branching handle the follow-up, so someone who downloads "Five things to say to a grieving friend" can receive a slow, respectful sequence rather than a hard sell.
Booking pages support availability rules, buffers, minimum notice and time-zone detection, with two-way Google, Apple/iCloud and Outlook calendar sync. Buffers matter more in grief work than most niches: after a heavy session you may want 30 minutes before the next one. Calls run on built-in video or auto-created Zoom, Meet or Teams links. Intake questions can be asked at booking, which is where you ask about the loss, how long ago it happened and your referral screening question.
Payments run through your own Stripe Connect or Razorpay account: one-time, subscriptions, payment plans, order bumps, coupons, refunds, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Stripe Tax. Coachful takes a 0% platform fee (since August 2026); you pay only Stripe or Razorpay processing. Payment plans help a lot here, because grief often arrives alongside funeral costs and lost income. Coaching agreements with e-signature go out before the first call and are stored on the client record, so your scope and referral language is signed before anyone opens up. See coaching contracts for how that works.
Delivery: support between sessions without pressure
Programs run for as many weeks as you set, with weekly goals, daily tasks, habits, morning and evening check-ins, goals with progress bars and streaks. You decide which of those to use. A widowed client may welcome a single evening prompt ("What was one moment today you want to remember?") and want nothing to do with streaks, so keep the habit list short and the tasks optional in tone.
Coaching flows let you build check-ins that respond to the answer. The screen below shows an emotional check-in branching into an acceptance step or a calming-breath step, which is close to what a grief coach needs on an anniversary week.
Here is a short walkthrough of how check-ins are set up and what the client sees:
For cohorts, a cohort group is created automatically when someone enrolls in a program, with a community feed, group chat, direct messages and video events. Your widowed-parents group gets its own private room without you creating it by hand. Group calls and webinars run inside the same account. Read more about running groups in our guide to group coaching platforms for grief coaches.
Courses support modules, lessons, drip release and completion tracking, alongside downloads, videos, books, AI tools, events and bundles, all delivered into the client's branded home and app. Drip is the feature to use for a "first year after loss" course, so lessons arrive at a pace a grieving person can absorb.
Noticing who has gone quiet
The client record holds goals, check-ins, habits, notes, intake answers, tags, payments and sessions, plus an AI briefing per client and a status of thriving, active, quiet or at risk. In grief work, silence is information. A client who stops checking in the week before a death anniversary may need a short message from you, and the quiet and at-risk flags put that in front of you instead of leaving it to memory.
Michelle, the built-in AI assistant, works from your live practice data: she can draft a program outline, write a holiday-workshop email, summarize a recorded session (get the client's consent before recording) and brief you before a call. She can also give you optional private feedback on your own coaching against ICF Core Competencies 3 to 8. Questions and planning are included in your Coachful membership; confirmed builds and changes use AI credits. If you are working toward an ICF credential, Coachful counts coaching hours and distinct clients against ACC, PCC and MCC thresholds and exports an ICF client coaching log (see ICF hour tracking).
Why Coachful stands out: a free white-glove service. On every plan, you can describe what you want built (a website, a funnel, a program, a course outline and written material, an email sequence, an intake form) and attach up to 8 reference links and 10 files. The Coachful team builds it inside your account, usually within about 24 hours. Nothing gets invented: no fake credentials, testimonials or prices, and gaps are left for you to fill. It does not include recording videos, logo design, ad management or ongoing marketing. For a grief coach who wants to start this season rather than next year, this is often the deciding factor. Details are in our white-glove service guide.
What Coachful does not do
Be clear about the limits. Coachful is not HIPAA-certified and offers no BAA, so it is not the place for clinical records or insurance billing; licensed therapists doing clinical grief therapy should keep those records in a clinical system. There is no PayPal and no permanent free plan. The client app ships under the Coachful listing with your branding, not under your own App Store account. It is not a course marketplace, so it will not bring you buyers the way a directory might. Trustpilot shows 4.5 from 21 reviews, a small sample.
To start, take a free trial and request the white-glove build for your website or first program (current plans: 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). Monthly plans cancel in one click.
2. Kajabi: is it worth the premium for a grief course business?
Kajabi suits a grief coach whose business is mainly courses, a community and a large email list, and who can absorb a premium monthly fee. It bundles courses, community, website, funnels and email in one product.
As listed in October 2026, Basic costs $179 a month ($143 billed annually) and caps you at 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 1 community and 1 website, with 0 AI credits. Growth is $249 ($199 annual) for 50 products and 25,000 contacts. Pro is $499 ($399 annual). A grief coach with a holiday workshop, a "first year" course, a cohort, a membership and a workplace training already uses all five Basic products, so expect to reach Growth quickly if you sell seasonal variations.
On fees, Kajabi Payments (US) charges 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, falling slightly on higher plans. Using another processor (other than PayPal) adds a Kajabi fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth or 0.5% on Pro on top of the processor's fees. The trial is 14 days per Kajabi's help center; a card is optional, and if entered Kajabi places an authorization hold.
The gap for grief work
Kajabi treats coaching as products and communities, not per-client plans. It has no habit tracking or daily client check-ins, so the evening reflection prompt or anniversary-week check-in described above would live in email or a separate tool. Trustpilot showed 3.4 from 2,347 reviews in October 2026.
Pick it over Coachful if your practice is mostly self-paced courses sold to a large list, you rarely work 1:1 between sessions, and you want a long-established course ecosystem.
3. Mighty Networks: does a community-first platform suit grief circles?
Mighty Networks fits when the community itself is what you sell: a remembrance circle, a pet-loss network, a members' space with regular livestreams. It combines community, courses and events, and members use Mighty-branded apps.
Launch costs $95 a month ($79 annual) with 3 hosts and livestreaming for 20 hours a month and up to 100 attendees. Scale is $215 ($179 annual) with 30 livestream hours and 200 attendees. Growth is listed at $354 a month on annual billing. A 14-day trial needs no card and includes Growth features. On top of Stripe processing, Mighty takes a platform fee of 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth and Mighty Pro.
Those livestream hours are worth checking against your calendar. A weekly 90-minute circle plus a monthly workshop is roughly 8 hours a month, comfortably inside Launch.
Where grief coaches hit a wall
Mighty Networks has no 1:1 scheduling, invoicing or contracts, and no per-client habits, check-ins or private coaching plans. If a circle member asks for private sessions after a hard anniversary, you need another tool for booking, payment and agreement. Your own branded apps are only on custom-priced Mighty Pro. Trustpilot: 3.3 from 219 reviews.
Pick it over Coachful if your offer is a large community with frequent livestreams, you do almost no 1:1 work, and members are happy inside a Mighty-branded app. For more options in this category see community platforms for grief coaches.
4. Podia: is a simple storefront enough?
Podia is a straightforward storefront for courses, downloads, webinars, coaching sessions and community. It suits a grief coach who wants to sell a workshop recording, a journaling download and a handful of sessions without much setup.
Mover costs $49 a month ($42 annual) and charges a 5% Podia transaction fee. Shaker at $99 ($84 annual) and Earthquaker at $179 ($150 annual) carry no Podia fee. Stripe or PayPal processing (2.9% + 30¢ standard) applies on every plan. The 14-day trial needs no card.
The constraint most grief coaches will feel is email. Mover includes 100 email subscribers, Shaker 500 and Earthquaker 1,000. A single holiday-season lead magnet shared by a hospice or funeral home could pass 100 sign-ups in a week.
Podia's delivery limits
Podia has no client habits, check-ins or per-client plans. An older profile lists no mobile app and no native video calls, so sessions run on an outside video tool. Trustpilot: 4.1 from 153 reviews.
Pick it over Coachful if you mainly sell a few digital products and occasional sessions, need very little delivery between calls, and value the simplest possible shop.
5. Practice Better: the right choice for licensed grief clinicians?
Practice Better is practice management for wellness and nutrition practitioners: scheduling, telehealth, charting, billing, programs and a client portal. For a licensed counselor who offers grief therapy and also runs a coaching-style program, the charting is the draw.
Its client-based pricing is easy to read. Sprout is $0 for 3 clients. Starter is $35 a month ($25 annual) for 10 clients. Professional is $69 ($59 annual) for 300 clients. Plus is $99 ($89 annual) for unlimited clients and 3 admins. Team is $155 ($145 annual) for 2 practitioners. Trials run 14 days on most paid plans and 30 days on Team. No platform fee is stated; payments run through Practice Better Payments powered by Stripe.
What to check before signing up
Evergreen programs, portal branding, a custom URL and SMS start on Plus, so a grief coach running always-open programs should budget for that tier. An older profile lists no website builder or funnel pages, which means a separate site and email tool to attract clients. There is one practitioner per account below Team. Trustpilot: 3.8 from 87 reviews.
Pick it over Coachful if you are a licensed clinician who needs charting and telehealth for clinical grief work, and you already have a website and marketing set up elsewhere.
6. Thinkific: should a course-led grief coach choose it?
Thinkific is a course platform with communities, memberships and coaching or webinar products. It is a reasonable home for a grief coach whose main product is a structured self-paced course.
Prices rose about 10% on 13 August 2026. Start is now $109 a month ($82 annual) with 1 community of 10 spaces and 5 live community events. Grow is $219 ($164 annual). Expand is $499 ($374 annual). There is a 30-day free trial on every self-serve plan. Thinkific charges no transaction fee with Thinkific Payments (rate described as in line with other processors at 2.9%); third-party gateways add a gateway fee whose amounts are not listed.
Missing pieces for 1:1 grief support
Thinkific has no built-in 1:1 scheduling; an older profile notes coaching relies on external booking links. There are no client habits, daily check-ins or per-client plans. A branded mobile app is a $199 monthly add-on. Trustpilot showed 1.8 from 868 reviews in October 2026, the second-lowest score in this list.
Pick it over Coachful if your business is a large self-paced course catalog with community spaces attached, and 1:1 work is a small add-on you handle elsewhere. Compare more options in course platforms for grief coaches.
7. Teachable: a low-cost way to sell a grief course?
Teachable is a course and digital-product platform with student mobile apps. It can be the cheapest way to put a single grief course online.
Starter is $39 a month ($29 annual) for 5 products and 1 admin, but takes a 7.5% platform fee on sales. Builder at $89 ($69 annual) and Growth at $189 ($139 annual) drop the platform fee to 0%. Teachable Payments processing is 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards and 3.9% + 30¢ for international cards, with a $15 chargeback fee. Plan cards show a 7-day trial plus a 30-day guarantee.
The 7.5% matters more than it looks. On an illustrative $2,000 month of course sales, Starter's fee is $150, which already exceeds the price difference to Builder.
Teachable and between-session care
There is no native scheduling or calendar sync; an older profile notes coaching calls rely on Calendly and Zoom. There are no client habits, daily check-ins or per-client plans. Trustpilot: 3.3 from 1,110 reviews.
Pick it over Coachful if you want to sell one recorded course with student apps at the lowest entry price, and you do not run programs or groups.
8. Systeme.io: can you start a grief practice on a free plan?
Systeme.io is a low-cost marketing suite with funnels, email, courses, community, a blog and an affiliate program. Its free plan is genuinely usable for building a list before you have paying clients.
Free covers 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course and 500 students, with no card required and no expiry. Startup is $17 a month for 5,000 contacts and 10 funnels. Webinar is $47. Unlimited is $97. Systeme.io charges 0% transaction fees on every plan, including free; you pay only Stripe or PayPal processing.
For a new grief coach, a sensible use is a holiday-season lead magnet funnel and a short email sequence, running while you find your first clients through hospices, bereavement groups and word of mouth.
The trade-offs
An older profile lists no native 1:1 scheduling with client records, habits or check-ins, basic community and course features, and no branded mobile app. Once clients arrive, you add booking, agreements and delivery somewhere else. Trustpilot shows 4.9 from 8,696 reviews, the highest score here.
Pick it over Coachful if you have no clients yet, need funnels and email on a near-zero budget, and are content to add delivery tools later.
9. Stan Store: does a link-in-bio shop work for grief coaching?
Stan Store is a link-in-bio storefront for digital products, courses, memberships and paid calls. Grief coaches who share on Instagram or TikTok (memorial reels, anniversary reflections) can sell straight from their profile link.
Creator is $29 a month ($25 annual) for unlimited products and customers. Creator Pro is $99 ($79 annual). Stan takes 0% of sales; standard Stripe or PayPal processing applies. The trial is 14 days, with the first month charged when it ends. Email marketing, upsells, discount codes and affiliates are only on Creator Pro, so a holiday workshop with a follow-up email sequence needs the higher plan.
Limits once someone becomes a client
Stan Store has no contracts, invoices or client records and is not a CRM. There are no programs with client tasks, habits or check-ins, and no team seats advertised. Trustpilot: 4.7 from 2,205 reviews.
Pick it over Coachful if nearly all your buyers come from social media, you sell low-priced downloads and calls, and you keep client work elsewhere. Note that Coachful also has a link-in-bio page that sells, and Instagram automations that DM a booking link when someone comments a keyword. More on finding clients in platforms to get clients for grief coaches.
10. Skool: why is a popular community tool last for grief coaches?
Skool combines community, a classroom and a calendar in one group, at a low price. It ranks last here because its signature feature, gamified leaderboards, sits awkwardly with grief work, and it lacks the selling tools a practice needs.
Hobby is $9 a month ($7.50 annual) but takes 10% + 30¢ on every transaction. Pro is $99 ($82.50 annual) with 2.9% + 30¢ on transactions up to $899 and 3.9% + 30¢ above $900. Payments run only through Skool Payments, with weekly payouts. Trial length and card terms were not stated on the pricing page in October 2026.
Points and rankings reward the members who post most. In a bereavement group, the person posting least is often the one struggling most, and a leaderboard puts them at the bottom.
Other gaps
Skool has no custom-domain website, funnels, email automation or public API, and no 1:1 client records, intake forms, habits or check-ins. Trustpilot: 1.6 from 54 reviews.
Pick it over Coachful if you run a large, low-priced group where engagement mechanics fit (perhaps a training community for other grief professionals) and you need nothing beyond community and classroom.
How do the 10 platforms compare on selling and delivery?
Only Coachful covers all seven jobs in one account. "Not listed" means the vendor facts we hold do not mention the feature; check the vendor's site before relying on it.
| Platform | Checkout and payment plans | 1:1 booking | Programs with check-ins | Courses | Community and groups | Website and funnels | Email sequences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Yes | Yes, with calendar sync | Yes | Yes, with drip | Yes, auto cohort groups | Yes | Yes, with branching |
| Kajabi | Yes | Not listed | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mighty Networks | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Podia | Yes | Coaching sessions; no native video | No | Yes | Yes | Storefront | Small allowances |
| Practice Better | Billing | Yes, with telehealth | Programs (evergreen on Plus) | Not listed | Not listed | No (older profile) | Not listed |
| Thinkific | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Teachable | Yes | No | No | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Systeme.io | Yes | No (older profile) | No | Yes, basic | Basic | Yes | Yes |
| Stan Store | Yes | Paid calls | No | Yes | Memberships | Link-in-bio only | Creator Pro only |
| Skool | Skool Payments only | No | No | Classroom | Yes | No | No |
If admin and client management matter more to you than selling, our companion guides on the best software for grief coaches and the best app for grief coaches cover that side.
What does a grief offer look like built end to end in Coachful?
Here is one illustrative offer, built from checkout to community, to show how the pieces connect. The program name, price and numbers are examples, not a real coach's practice.
The offer: "After the Funeral," an eight-week small group for adults who lost a parent in the last year. Up to ten members, one 75-minute group call a week, a private group space, an evening check-in, and an option to add two private sessions.
- The way in. A free "Getting through your first holidays" guide sits on a lead-magnet funnel on your Coachful website. Sign-ups join an email sequence: a gentle note on day 1, a short reflection on day 4, an invitation to a free holiday workshop on day 8, and the group offer on day 14.
- The checkout. The group sells through a checkout funnel with a payment plan (for example, three monthly payments) and an order bump for two private sessions. Payment goes to your own Stripe account.
- The agreement. The coaching agreement, including your scope line and referral language, is sent for e-signature before the first call and stored on the client record. Intake questions ask about the loss and include a screening question you review before the group starts.
- The program. Eight weeks, each with one weekly goal ("Write a letter you will not send"), two or three optional tasks, and one evening check-in built as a coaching flow that branches if someone reports a very hard day. A short audio lesson unlocks each week.
- The group. Enrollment creates the cohort group automatically. Members get a feed, group chat and the weekly video event in the same app as their lessons.
- Noticing. Each week you open the program dashboard, check who has gone quiet, and send a personal message before the next call.
- Afterwards. When week eight ends, a client journey invites graduates to a monthly remembrance circle subscription, so nobody falls off a cliff when the group closes.
Every step above happens in one account, and the client uses one app. If you would rather not build it yourself, describe it to the white-glove team and they will set up the funnel, program outline, email sequence and intake form in your account.
What will each platform cost at 5, 15 and 40 clients?
For a grief coach delivering 1:1 and group work, the cheapest sticker price is rarely the cheapest stack. Course and community tools need a separate scheduling, agreement and check-in setup for 1:1 clients, and fee-taking plans grow with every sale.
The table shows the lowest plan that covers each client count, monthly list prices as of October 2026. "Extra tools" flags what you would still need to add for 1:1 booking, agreements and between-session check-ins.
| Platform | 5 clients | 15 clients | 40 clients | Platform fee on sales | Extra tools needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachful | Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients | Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients | Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients | 0% (processing only) | None for this offer mix |
| Kajabi | $179 (Basic) | $179 | $179 (5-product cap) | 0% on Kajabi Payments; 0.5-2% otherwise | Check-ins; possibly booking |
| Mighty Networks | $95 (Launch) | $95 | $95 | 2% on Launch | Booking, agreements, invoicing |
| Podia | $49 (Mover) | $49 or $99 | $99 (Shaker) | 5% on Mover; 0% above | Video calls, check-ins |
| Practice Better | $35 (Starter) | $69 (Professional) | $69 | None stated | Website, funnels |
| Thinkific | $109 (Start) | $109 | $109 | 0% on Thinkific Payments | Booking, check-ins |
| Teachable | $39 (Starter) | $89 (Builder) | $89 | 7.5% on Starter; 0% above | Booking, check-ins |
| Systeme.io | $0 (Free) | $0 or $17 | $17 (Startup) | 0% | Booking, agreements, check-ins |
| Stan Store | $29 (Creator) | $99 (Pro, for email) | $99 | 0% | Agreements, records, programs |
| Skool | $9 (Hobby) | $99 (Pro) | $99 | 10% + 30¢ on Hobby | Website, booking, email |
To see how fees change the picture, take an illustrative month where a grief coach collects $3,000 from a cohort and a few 1:1 packages. On top of card processing, Podia Mover would take $150, Mighty Networks Launch $60, Teachable Starter $225 and Skool Hobby $300 in platform fees. Then add the monthly cost of whichever scheduling, e-signature and email tools fill the gaps in the last column. Coachful's platform fee on that same month is 0%; compare its plan line in the first row with the full stack each alternative needs.
For more detail by category, see scheduling software for grief coaches and email marketing platforms for grief coaches.
What red flags and switching costs should grief coaches watch for?
The biggest risk is not choosing the wrong tool; it is building a client experience across five tools and then discovering moving is painful. Watch for these before you commit:
- Percentage fees on entry plans. 5%, 7.5% or 10% feels small on day one and becomes your largest software cost once a cohort fills. Do the math on a realistic month.
- Product and contact caps. Seasonal offers multiply quickly (a holiday workshop, a Mother's Day session, an anniversary workshop). Check how many products and email contacts the plan allows.
- Engagement mechanics that do not fit grief. Leaderboards, public points and loud streak badges can shame the quietest members. Choose a platform where you control what clients see.
- Clinical records on a coaching tool. If you are licensed and keep clinical notes, use a system built for that. Coachful, for example, is not HIPAA-certified.
- Several logins for one grieving client. A person in early grief struggles to remember passwords. Every extra login is a reason to stop showing up.
- Data you cannot take with you. Ask how to export clients, notes, check-ins and course content before you sign up. Coachful exports full client data as a ZIP (roster, notes, check-ins, goals, habits, sessions, form responses) and offers course export.
- Funnels and memberships that do not move. An older profile of Kartra (not ranked here) notes its funnels and memberships are not portable to other platforms. Before you build, ask any vendor what happens to your pages if you leave.
Switching is easier than it used to be. When you move to Coachful, clients, programs and content are imported for you during onboarding, and the white-glove team can rebuild your site. One of their recent anonymized builds was for a somatic coach leaving Kajabi, who had the homepage and About page rebuilt and the contact form connected.
Which platform should a grief coach choose?
Choose Coachful if you sell more than one shape of support (1:1, cohorts, courses, a circle) and your clients need care between sessions, which describes most grief practices. It holds selling and delivery under one login, charges no platform fee on sales, and the free white-glove build means you can be ready for this holiday season rather than next year.
Choose Kajabi if you run a large course business with a big list, Mighty Networks if community is the whole product, and Practice Better if you are licensed and need charting. Systeme.io is a sensible free starting point for list-building before you have clients. Avoid gamified community tools for bereaved members.
Coachful, in short: a coaching platform for coaches who deliver programs, not just sessions, from solo practitioners to small teams replacing 4 to 6 tools. It is not a clinical record system, has no PayPal and is not a course marketplace. Start with a free trial and ask the team to build your first program or website (see plans). Grief coaches with a life coaching background may also find Coachful for life coaches useful.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best platform for grief coaches?
Coachful ranks first because it combines booking, checkout, coaching agreements, programs with check-ins, courses, community and a website under one login, with a branded app for clients. Kajabi and Mighty Networks are strong alternatives if your business is mostly courses or community.
What is Coachful's free white-glove service?
On every plan, you describe what you want built (a website, funnel, program, course outline, email sequence or intake form) and attach up to 8 links and 10 files. The Coachful team builds it inside your account, usually within about 24 hours, without inventing credentials, testimonials or prices. It does not include recording videos, logo design or ad management.
Is grief coaching the same as grief counseling?
No. Grief coaching supports people in moving forward with their lives after a loss; it is not therapy or treatment. Coaches should refer clients to a licensed professional for thoughts of suicide or self-harm, inability to function many months after a loss, or signs of prolonged grief disorder.
Can I store client notes about a death or trauma in Coachful?
You can keep coaching notes, intake answers and check-ins on the client record, and Coachful is GDPR-ready. It is not HIPAA-certified and offers no BAA, so licensed clinicians keeping clinical records should use a clinical practice system instead.
How should I price a grief coaching program?
Start from the hours you will actually spend (calls, prep, messages between sessions), the income you need, and how many clients you can hold without burning out, then compare with what other coaches in your area publish. Offer payment plans, since grief often comes with unexpected costs. Treat any figure in this article as an example, not a benchmark.
Do I need a separate app for my grief clients?
Not with Coachful: clients use one app carrying your branding for lessons, check-ins, chat and the group. Course tools such as Thinkific charge extra for a branded app, and Mighty Networks reserves own-brand apps for its custom-priced tier.
Which platform is best for an online grief support group?
For a paid group with a defined start and end, Coachful's automatic cohort groups, program check-ins and video events keep everything together. For a large, open community, Mighty Networks is purpose-built. Our membership platforms guide covers ongoing circles in more depth.
Can I accept PayPal for grief coaching on Coachful?
No. Coachful takes payments through your own Stripe Connect or Razorpay account, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, payment plans and subscriptions. If PayPal is essential, Podia, Teachable, Systeme.io and Stan Store list PayPal as an option.
Can I track ICF coaching hours while I build my grief practice?
Yes. Coachful counts coaching hours and distinct clients against ACC, PCC and MCC thresholds and exports an ICF client coaching log with paid and pro bono hours, which helps if you volunteer with bereavement groups.
Is there a free trial?
Coachful offers a free trial, and monthly plans cancel in one click. Of the others, Systeme.io and Practice Better have permanent free tiers, and most of the rest offer trials of 7 to 30 days as listed above.
