Best Life Coach Certification Programs (2024)

To determine the best life coach certification programs of 2024, we considered several factors including:

• Program cost (35%)
• Are payment plans available? (15%)
• For online programs, are there video/virtual learning sessions? (5%)
• Is instructor feedback on assignments available? (5%)
• Can users self-pace their program? (5%)
• Training available in specialized areas? (5%)
• Accredited by the International Coach Federation? (15%)
• Is there a learning community for users to interact with other life coaching students? (5%)
• BBB rating (2.5%)
• BBB complaints to reviews ratio (2.5%)
• Trustpilot rating (2.5%)
• Trustpilot # of reviews (2.5%)

We weighed the factors differently in our scoring based on what seemed most important in selecting a life coaching certification program.

A life coach works with an individual to guide them in defining the ideal version of their life and help them work toward living it, often incorporating goals related to work-life balance, well-being, relationships and more.
Life coaching—and coaching in general—is a popular and growing profession. According to a 2020 survey conducted by the International Coaching Foundation (ICF), there were 71,000 coach practitioners globally in 2019, which is a 33% increase from 2015^[1]2020 ICF Global Coaching Study: Executive Summary. International Coaching Federation. Accessed 3/8/2023. .

“A life coach is a professional who works with people to help them achieve personal and professional goals, improve their quality of life and overcome challenges,” says Sophie van het Erve, an IFC-certified life coach and founder of The 1 Reset. “They do so by providing a mirror, helping spot blindspots and creating action plans to achieve their goals.”

Anyone can call themselves a life coach, but having a certification from an ICF-accredited program is a good idea for a few reasons.

“I would highly recommend going through a coaching program and/or working one-on-one with a certified coach, to not only determine whether this is truly what you want, but also so you can ground yourself in the reasons why,” says van het Erve.

Ultimately, she says, becoming a life coach is a big investment of money and time. “The journey to become a life coach is invigorating but can be a rollercoaster as well,” advises van het Erve. “If you know you want to sign up for a program, I would talk to people who have gone through it recently and attend the free webinars that most schools provide. While the ICF-accredited programs uphold the same standards, their approaches differ, and it’s important to find the right fit.”

The difference between a life coach and a therapist is an important distinction. Therapists need a bachelor’s degree and typically, a master’s degree in order to practice, while a life coach doesn’t technically need a certification or any formal education to call themselves a life coach.

Additionally, life coaches and therapists have different goals in working with clients. “The way I often explain it is that a therapist is a mental health professional who is trained to diagnose and treat mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression and trauma,” says van het Erve. “A therapist helps you heal. A life coach helps you build for the future and supports you through developing strategies to achieve goals in a way that is aligned with your dreams, your values and how you want to live your life.”

Here are some differences between a life coach and a therapist:

There are plenty of benefits to becoming a life coach, says van het Erve. They include:

• The ability to work with individuals to help them make more conscious choices
• Helping people transform their lives with small changes
• It can bring a sense of joy and contentment to your career and life

Additionally, life coaching is a growing field that can be lucrative: According to data collected from Glass Door, life coaches can make around $61,000 per year^[4]How Much Does a Life Coach Make? . Glass Door. Accessed 4/20/2023. .

Above all, van het Erve says, being a life coach is fulfilling. “[As a life coach], you see that one step at a time, we can change our end destination with purpose, passion and energy,” she says. “And it absolutely fills me with joy and creates a fulfillment in and contentment with my life that I had not yet experienced before.”