This page is for a coach who wants to sell online coaching. A reader who wants to hire a trainer is in the wrong place.
We checked the prices and fees below on 14 November 2026. Software figures are in USD, before tax, on monthly billing. For what to charge clients, read the pricing guide, whose market sources date from 29 October 2026. We use its $200 worked example without repeating its market bands.
Pick a narrow offer
Write the offer in one sentence: who it is for, the result, and the length. "A 12-week strength programme for new mothers who train at home, three days a week" is an offer you can sell. "Online personal training" is a category. You cannot write the check-in questions, the payment page or the first message from a category.
Pick one length and sell that until five clients have paid. On a fixed block of 8, 12 or 16 weeks, you set an end date, then you renew or stop. Sell a monthly subscription to a client who wants ongoing training. Give that subscription a rhythm the client can feel, such as a new training block every 4 to 6 weeks. The pricing guide sets out both shapes.
Name the check-in in the offer. A weekly form, or a call every two weeks, is the work you are selling. You spend extra time each month when you review nutrition, and the price has to cover that time. Put nutrition in the offer when you will read the log. Leave it out when you will not.
Set the package from your costs
Price the package from what one client costs you to serve. You use that cost to decide whether you can keep the business open. Build it from three lines, then read the pricing guide as a market check.
- Your time. Count the hours one client takes in a month. Add programme writing, check-in review, messages and calls. Multiply those hours by the hourly pay you need, then add software, processing fees and your share of other business costs before choosing the package fee.
- Software. Kahunas is our product. On monthly billing, we ran
quoteSeatsfor 5 seats at $25.00 ($5.00 a seat) and 25 seats at $62.50 ($2.50 a seat). Count active and paused clients, including clients who have not accepted their invite, plus team members you have not archived. You, the owner, do not take a seat. A coach with 5 clients and no team members pays the 5-seat quote. Plans start from $15/month at the 3-seat floor, so one or two clients cost $15.00. Each figure is the quote for that seat count. Pricing shows any count in between. - Card fees. Stripe's published US rate for domestic cards, checked on 14 November 2026, is 2.9% + 30 cents per successful charge. On a $200 payment, the example price in the pricing guide, that is $6.10 ($200 times 2.9% is $5.80, plus 30 cents). The pricing guide uses the same $6.10. PayPal charges its own processing fee. Check the rate for your account and payment method before choosing it; we do not quote a PayPal rate here.
The table below uses the pricing guide's $200 example, with one payment per client each month and no team members. We count Kahunas software and standard Stripe card processing, excluding other Stripe products and services. Treat it as a worked illustration of that example.
| Line | 5 client seats | 25 client seats |
|---|---|---|
| Client payments at $200 | $1,000.00 | $5,000.00 |
Kahunas software, monthly quoteSeats | $25.00 | $62.50 |
| Stripe US domestic card fees at $6.10 each | $30.50 | $152.50 |
| Left before tax, marketing and other costs | $944.50 | $4,785.00 |
The 25-client row matches the pricing guide: software and card fees of $215, and $4,785.00 left. The 5-client row uses the same $200 example and the same $6.10 fee. We used the US domestic card rate in the Stripe column. Read Stripe's rate for your country if you coach outside the US. On the same pricing page, international cards add 1.5%, and currency conversion adds 1%. We left those extras out of the table.
If a larger seat plan costs the same or less, Kahunas bills the larger plan and you keep the spare seats. Kahunas pricing explains the lowest-price rule.
Kahunas has no permanent free tier. You get 14 days with the features of the plan you choose. Stripe takes your card when you sign up, shows the date of the first charge before you confirm, and charges nothing until the trial ends. A 5-seat plan includes workouts, nutrition and payments. Communities, Education and Challenges start at 100 seats. For new businesses on seat pricing, branding starts at 200 seats: your logo and colours, your own web address, and emails from your own domain. Coaches moving from an old branded store app keep white label at any seat tier. Recipes, automations and leads start at 25 seats. A new coach with 5 clients does not need those.
Seat tiers unlock eligibility, not every switch. The owner must enable Labs in Settings → General → Feature flags. Education, Challenges and Communities need their respective feature flags and are unavailable while legacy-mobile is enabled. Cycle Tracking needs the client's setup and health-data consent; coach sharing is private by default.
Businesses still using the legacy Kahunas store apps cannot use Whim, the coach AI assistant, Labs, Cycle Tracking, Challenges or the enhanced Content Library. Those features need the newer Kahunas platform and its web app, as well as any plan requirements.
Put delivery in one client app
A store listing lets a client search the coach's name in the App Store or Google Play and install an app to the home screen. In our previous offering, we published white-label coaching apps to the App Store and Google Play.
To take the first clients, put the programme, the meals, the check-in and the messages in one client app. Kahunas installs that app from a link, with no App Store or Google Play listing, including on branded plans. On iPhone, the client opens your link in Safari, taps Share, then Add to Home Screen. On Android, they open your link in Chrome, choose the install option from the menu, and follow the on-screen instructions. Chrome on a computer shows an Install app button. Workouts and meals open in the web app with the check-in and your messages.
New businesses on plans below 200 seats show Kahunas branding; coaches moving from an old branded store app keep white label at any tier. For new businesses on seat pricing, 200 seats unlock your logo, colours, web address and emails from your own domain. Clients install from the same link. Coaches switching from a store app to seat pricing first acknowledge moving their clients to the web app. A coach with 5 clients can start on the web app.
Take payment on your own Stripe or PayPal
Connect your own Stripe account or your own PayPal account, and sell from a payment link. Kahunas takes 0% commission. You pay Stripe's or PayPal's processing fee, and the rest lands in your account. Payments is where you connect the account and build the package. The pricing page states the 0% commission.
A package can be a subscription, a one-off payment, a set number of payments, or an upfront period that rolls into a subscription. Attach the workout plan, the meal plan and the check-in to the package. The client receives them when they pay. Use the same price on the payment link and in the message you send.
Get the first clients from people who know you
The first online personal training clients are people who have seen you coach. Write the names: former gym clients, friends who have asked for a programme, colleagues, people in the class you teach. Send each person one message with the offer, the length, the price and the payment link. Talk to the people who reply, and send the link on the day they reply.
After the first check-in, ask that client to introduce you to one person who wants the same result. Fill the next place from those introductions. A public post and paid ads come after you can describe a result from a paying client, and after you have a check-in you can repeat.
Raise the price once the calendar is full
Raise the price for the next new client when you cannot add another client without cutting the check-in time you promised. Tell current clients the date their rate stays in place, and put that date in the message. Put the new price on the payment link the day you announce it. The pricing guide covers how to time a rise.
FAQ
How do I start an online fitness coaching business?
Follow the order in this guide. Pick one narrow offer, price it from your time, software and card fees, put delivery in one client app, take payment on your own Stripe or PayPal, and sell the first places to people who know you. Raise the price when your calendar is full.
How do I get online personal training clients with no audience?
Start with people who have seen you coach. Write their names, send each person the offer and the payment link, and ask each paying client for one introduction. Paid ads and a public launch come after a paying client has finished a check-in you can describe.
How much does coaching software cost at the start?
On Kahunas, our product, 5 client seats cost $25.00 a month and 25 client seats cost $62.50 a month on monthly billing. We ran quoteSeats for those two counts on 14 November 2026. Plans start from $15/month at the 3-seat floor. Kahunas has no permanent free tier. The trial is 14 days. Stripe takes your card at signup and charges nothing until the trial ends.
Do I need a certification, insurance or a tax setup to start?
This guide does not set a certification, tax or insurance rule. Check the law where you live and where your clients live before you charge for coaching. A client may ask to see a certificate. Answer that as a sales question, and keep the legal check separate.
Do I need an app in the App Store to start online coaching?
A store listing lets a client search a coach's name in the App Store or Google Play and install an app to the home screen. In our previous offering, we published white-label coaching apps to the App Store and Google Play. Kahunas installs from a link, with no App Store or Google Play listing. For new businesses on seat pricing, branding starts at 200 seats; coaches moving from an old branded store app keep white label at any tier. A coach with 5 clients starts on that web app.
When should I raise my online coaching price?
Raise it for the next new client when your calendar is full and another client would cut the check-in time you promised. Keep current clients on the price they bought until the date you name. The pricing guide covers the timing in more detail.
Sources
Checked 14 November 2026, except where noted.
- stripe.com/pricing (US domestic cards at 2.9% + 30 cents per successful charge; international cards add 1.5%; currency conversion adds 1%)
- Kahunas pricing (seat prices from
quoteSeatson 14 November 2026, tier gates, 0% commission, 14-day trial) - Kahunas payments (own Stripe or PayPal account, package types and plan assignment at checkout)
- Kahunas web app (link-based installation, iPhone, Android and desktop instructions)
- Kahunas workouts and nutrition (plans and client logging in one app)
- How Much to Charge for Online Personal Training in 2026 (market ranges and the $200 example, checked 29 October 2026)
